The Role of Medicinal Plants Industry in Fostering Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Development

Contents: Foreword. The medicinal plants industry in India: issues, constraints and opportunities: 1. Emerging global markets in medicinal plant products: challenges and opportunities for Indian herbal drug industries/Vedanand. 2. Key issues and problems faced by the medicinal plants industry in India/K.M. Parikh. Research and development issues: 1. Interface between industry and R & D communities: the North American perspective/A. Venketeshwer Rao. 2. Quality specifications for Ayurvedic herbal raw materials: a review of the current status of standardization of herbs with special reference to marker compound analysis/R.M. Dobriyal and D.B.A. Narayana. The resource base: cultivation and processing technologies: 1. Opportunities and constraints for the production and development of medicinal plants in India/A. Puranik. 2. Technology and infrastructure needs for cultivation, processing and preservation of medicinal plants/M.K. Raina. Socio-economic and development issues: 1. Strategic planning for socio-economic development based on medicinal plants-a draft proposal/A.D.B. Vaidya. 2. Medicinal plants and tribal development/R.K. Mutatkar. 3. Medicinal plant cultivation, industry and rural communities/V.P.K. Nambiar. Developing social contracts between the medicinal plants industry and rural communities: linking the actors: 1. Linking collectors/producers to processors/consumers: a framework for establishing social contracts between industry and communities/M. Karki and J. Holley. Partnerships between industry and local community: key concepts and issues: 1. Developing partnership between medicinal plants industry and local community-a conceptual framework/Madhav Karki. 2. Technologies and policies for the conservation and utilization of medicinal plants through industry participation/S. Natesh. Case studies from the South Asia region: 1. medicinal plant diversity: the present situation and conservation needs in Bangladesh/M.I. Zuberi. 2. Some perspectives of rural trade in medicinal plants, based on a field study carried out in Himachal Pradesh, India/Manjul Bajaj. 3. Medicinal plants as the basis for linking rural people to safe and effective health care systems/V.P.K. Nambiar. 4. Rural perspectives in collection practices, primary processing and marketing: a case study of a tribal community-managed enterprise in Madhya Pradesh/A.A. Boaz. 5. Community-managed enterprises: participation of rural communities in medicinal and aromatic plants conservation and use/B.P. Subedi and N.K. Bhattarai. Conclusions and recommendations of the colloquium: the Delhi resolution. Appendices.

"The growing demand of consumers worldwide for herbal and natural products to meet both their healthcare needs and dietary supplements has opened up new opportunities for the medicinal plants-based industries. However, this market-propelled demand has created tremendous pressure on the natural resources which contribute more than 90% of the current demand for the raw materials of medicinal plants. The local communities mostly belonging to tribals and rural poor are not benefitted from the increased commercial activities as only a fraction of the total markets return reaches them.

The publication collates information describing concepts, approaches and practical experiences of the researchers, practitioners and commercialization experts in the field of medicinal plants use in the South Asian region. The research findings and case studies reported provide models and mechanisms not only on how to use the threatened medicinal plant resources widely but also how to enhance local benefits on a sustainable manner. The views expressed and recommendations suggested by the representatives of the Ayurvedic drug industry of India provide the perspectives from the industry. Development of long-term partnerships between industry and local communities is the thrust of this publication which has been reflected in the resolution adopted by the workshops."