Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas - Plantlife

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Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas for Medicinal Plants in the Himalayabe smaller, based on valleys and span multiple altitudinal belts. In contrast, tracts in thewestern Himalaya are often geographically more extensive but confined to particularaltitudinal zones.The clustering process often proved to be hard, the boundaries of theclusters being difficult to establish precisely in this region of broken topography andfragmented habitats.Finally, the clusters were reviewed to ensure good representation according to severalmajor geographical features of the Indian Himalaya: (1) adequate coverage of all majorHimalayan regions (western, central, eastern); (2) adequate coverage of all majoradministrative units (states and districts); and (3) adequate coverage of all altitudinalecoregions (sub-tropical, temperate, alpine etc.). The review also consideredrepresentation in relation to the relative areas covered by these various geographicalfeatures.The end result was recognition of 15 IPAs for medicinal plants in the IndianHimalaya, each typically with a small number of tracts (Table 2).There are several noteworthy features of these provisionally recognised IPAs. One isthat, despite the procedures described above aimed at representation, most IPAs areconcentrated at high altitudes.This reflects the high proportion of endemic speciesfound at higher altitudes (alpine and sub-alpine zones), especially in the case of thewestern Himalaya (including the trans-Himalayan region), where even quite small sitescan be exceptionally rich in endemics. It is also noteworthy that the core areas of manyof the IPAs lie within protected areas, although there are places elsewhere (often ofsmall size) rich in medicinal plants.HimalayandivisionStateImportant Plant Areasfor medicinal plants(designated IPA numbersand names)No.of tractsNames of tractsWesternIndianHimalayaCentralHimalayaEasternIndianHimalayaJammuandKashmirHimachalPradeshUttaranchalWest Bengaland SikkimArunachalPradesh01. Khardung-la02. Sapi-Penzi-la03.Argi-Sarchu04. Chika-Peukar-Khangsar05. Rohtang and Solang06. Malana-Parbati-Sainj07. Rakcham-Chitkul andRupi-Bhaba08. Kedar-Gangotri009.Valley of Flowers and Niti10. Gauri and Pindar11. Dzongri-Phedang andSandakphu12. Lachen and Lachung13. Dirang-Tawang14. Upper Siang and Dibang15.Western Lohit-Changlang132323234222422Khardung-laSapi, Panikher-Parkachik, Penzi-la-RangdumArgi, SarchuChika-Rarik-Patseo, Peukar-Charji, KhangsarRohtang pass, Solang valleyMalana valley, Sainj-Tirthan, Manikaran-MantalaiRakcham-Chitkul, Rupi-BhabaKedarnath, Khatling-Sahastratal, Kedartal-Gangotri,Harsil-BhaironghatiMana-Valley of Flowers, Niti valley, Dronagiri, Kuari passGauri valley, Pindar valleyYuksam-Geochela, SandakphuLachen-Chopta, Lachung-GoechelaThingbu-Luguthang, Geshela-PTTso, Sela-Bangajang,Senge-NyukmadungPemako,Anini-Bruini-AndraDeomali, Demwee-TidingTable 3. Provisional IPAs for medicinal plants in the Indian Himalaya.22
Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas for Medicinal Plants in the Himalaya3.2.4. NepalThe report covers the whole country,including the terai zone at the foot of theHimalaya.The flora of Nepal containsabout 7000 species of flowering plants, ofwhich 246-310 are national endemics(according to various estimates).The greatmajority of these endemics are highaltitude plants, very few being known fromthe terai 48 .The district with the highestnumber of endemic species is Mustang (78species) followed by Dolpa (74 species)and Rasuwa (60 species).IndiaNepalChinaEstimates for the number of medicinalplant species in Nepal range from 593 to1624 (figures that include about 60imported species) 57 .The greatest numberof species is found in central Nepal and, in particular, in the sub-tropical zone (includingthe terai).There are diminishing numbers towards the east and west, and with increasingaltitude.Two criteria were used to identify the medicinal species under greatest threat.One was endemism and the other relates to pressures from collection.A short list of 30priority species of traded medicinal plants was prepared through extensive consultationof the literature using several indicators, especially: (1) high levels ofcommercial or local demand (indicated by quantities collected or high marketprices); (2) rarity (whether in terms of overall distribution or rarity wherefound); (3) slow growth rate; (4) potential for regeneration; and (5) difficulty ofpropagation.This short list was further refined at an Expert ConsultationMeeting held in Kathmandu on 3 March 2006, attended by 20 organisations,and also through interviews with individual experts.The refined list forms thebasis of that presented in Annex 1, which is an expanded version covering thewhole of the Himalaya, developed at, and following, the Regional Workshop.Figure 5. IPAs in NepalAvailable information on the geographical distribution of the priority medicinalspecies (as short-listed above) was then used as the main ingredient todetermine the localities of IPAs for medicinal plants in Nepal.The third IPAcriterion (‘presence of threatened habitats’) proved difficult to apply.Ahierarchical approach was taken to the identification of the IPAs, resulting inrecognition of 16 IPA Complexes, 1-9 Sites within each IPA Complex and asum total of 238 IPAs within the Sites (Table 3).The study was backed up bydetailed information compiled for each of the IPA Complexes under thefollowing headings: medicinal plants present, major vegetation types, number ofplant species belonging to various categories (e.g.‘endemics’,‘threatened’),types of threat, organisations active in the area, and ownership of land.Incarvillea mairei (H. Lév.) Grierson, amedicinal plant growing at Dolpa, Nepal.PHOTO ALAN HAMILTON23
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