Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Memorial Lecture: II

Added to it is a whole range of medicinal and aromatic plants some of which have
gone into commerce and have their centre of origin in the Himalaya. Among the
important ones are Asparagus racemosus, Atropa acuminata, Aconitum
heterophyllum Berberis spp. Bunium persicum, Carum sp., Colchium luteum, Coptis
teeta, Cymbopogaon spp., Cucuma zedoaria, Digitalis purpurea, Dioscorea
deltoidea, Ephedra gerardinana, Gentiana kurroa, Heracleum spp., Hyocyamus
niger, Inula spp., jurinea macrocephala, Mentha arvensis, Nardostachys jatamansi,
Orchis latifolia, Papaver somniferum, Physochlaina praealta, Podophyllum
hexandrum, Picrrohiza kurroa, Rheum emodi, Sausurea lappa, Swertia spp.
Valeriata wallichii, Viola odorata, etc. Most of the medicinal plants used in
indigenous system are at present extracted from nature.
In addition, wild progenitors of a number of ornamentals are found in the
Himalaya. Special mention must be made of species of Primula, Rhododendron and
whole range of orchids. Bamboo wealth of Himalaya particulary eastern region is
consderable. Many species of bamboos extend uupto Western Himalaya, except
Kashmir Valley.
The Himalayan region harbours many wild and domesticated animal species
whose abode falls on this region.
Conservation of Biota
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Faculty policies on land, agriculture, foresty, grazing, animal husbandry, fishing,
wildlife and tourism have resulted in habitat loss leading in turn to loss of biodiversty.
Equally important has been the lack of trained manpower, public awareness and
lack of financial support. Furthermore, conservation particulary in situ is no in the
mainstream of biosciences. Thus conservation of biodiversity has lagged behind as
far as its scientific and technological content is concerned (Khoshoo 1991).
Biodiversity is the sum total of species richness (i.e. number of species of plants,
animals and micro-organisms) living in a community or an ecosystem. The tropical
regions are vastly richer in biodiversity than the Polar Regions. Genetic diversity is
part of biodiversity and pertains to the heritable diversity at the species level. It is the
basic building block for organic evolution, hence it also affects the evolution and
success of a community or an ecosystem. Genetic diversity is also a critical input to
agriculture, horticulture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries and bio-industry,
Biodiversity in general, genetic diversity in particular is today highly politicized issue,
much to the disappointment of the scientist who care for the underlying science and
service to the society. Politicalization has been the result of the interest taken by
multinational corporations, businessmen, diplomats, bureaucrats, politicians and the
press (Khoshoo 1987).
Fig. 8: Interactive components of biosphere. Source: Khoshoo, 1997
In nature biodiversity is supported by two major factors; the ecological process,
and organic evolution (Fig. 8). There are reciprocal effects between the three. For
ensuring that biodiversity is in good health, the processes supporting it need to be
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