Thanks Vijayashanakr ji again. I was part of this workshop in IIFM, Bhopal.
Unfortunately very few ground level workers attended this workshop. Most of them were dependent on old reference materials for deciding the present status of plants. We were rememberibg the school days when one person was preparing the note and others were copying the same even word to word. Later your organisation published it as book and it came in recommendtation. I felt that in such workshops participation of Traditional Healers and forest guards with scientists can make it really useful. One herb trader from Bhopal has attended this workshop. He was having immense knowledge about rare herbs but the format was in English. He attended first day and then after seeing the heap of books he never visited again. No doubt FRLHT took good step but practical difficultiues were there. The format shoukld be in regional languages. The researchers from Raigarh were not aware of "Pantropical" like words and they kept the sheets half filled but in publsihed book full sheets were there. Not aware how much money it took to organise this megaevent but today I feel that such information can be gathered in one tenth cost with reliable information and honorarium to participants with the help of EFLORAIndia like groups. In that workshop Dr.Sahu from Sagar walked out from the venue on the issue of extracting valuable information from researchers without paying them an honorarium. When he returned back his supporters started filling wrong information which later gone in recommnedations. But I felt fortunate to meet FRLHT experts like Dr. Ravi Kumar and Dr.Ved. regards Pankaj Oudhia On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 5:24 AM, Vijayasankar <[email protected]>wrote: > As per the recent national level study "Demand and Supply of medicinal > plants in India" conducted by FRLHT, Bangalore the annual trade/demand of > roots of Oroxylum indicum reported to be 1000-2000 MT. Due to this > unprecedented demand and over-exploitation, the wild populations (already > they are slow growing and sporadic by nature) are facing serious threat of > extinction. As the roots are used (it is an ingredient in Dasamula arishtam) > the entire plants are uprooted and thus killed. This not only wipes the > existing population, but stops the regeneration too. > > This species has been assigned with various threat categories (following > IUCN guidelines) ranging from Vulnerable to Endangered, for nine different > states, through CAMP workshops conducted by FRLHT with collaboration of > various stake holders such as the state forest depts., scientists, traders, > local knowledgeable community etc. > > The good news is large scale cultivation has been initiated by forest dept. > of Gujarat and perhaps few other states to meet the ever increasing demand > for the species. And various state forest depts. (incl Orissa) have taken up > conservation measures, following FRLHT's recommendations, to conserve the > species *in situ*. > > With regards > > Vijayasankar > > > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 1:30 PM, Pankaj Oudhia <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Thanks Vijayashankar ji. I have observed rich population in Orissa also. >> Old trees in dense forest are still safe as only Traditional Healers are >> aware of its presence. They discuss less about it because of fear of "Wood >> mafia" as well as Greedy traders. >> >> regards >> >> Pankaj Oudhia >> >> On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 8:38 PM, Vijayasankar >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> Though O. indicum is distributed across India, it is sporadic by nature. >>> You can't have a sizable population in one place. But we (FRLHT) have >>> observed a large population only in Chhattisgarh, and proposed the site for >>> *in situ* conservation. >>> >>> With regards >>> >>> Vijayasankar >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:27 AM, Pankaj Kumar >>> <[email protected]>wrote: >>> >>>> I believe this is what we call the survival of the fittest. Most >>>> probably the seedlings germinating on the other leaves or within the >>>> fruit coat wont survive for long. The plant is usually adapted for >>>> wind dispersal but it may happen due to abrupt rain. >>>> >>>> Why would a seed like to be dispersed like that, i.e., away from the >>>> mother plant: >>>> The possible answer which I could think is JUST TO REDUCE COMPETITION >>>> WITH THE MOTHER PLANT. >>>> >>>> But indeed this is a nice observation. If possible please keep an eye >>>> to check if the seedings can survive for long or if you wish to >>>> conserve the species, then you can just collect the seedlings and >>>> plant them at some distance from the mother plant. I dont know much >>>> about you Mr. Neil, but just in case you are a researcher then you may >>>> try to atleast publish this as a short note or wait for sometime to >>>> check if they survive and then publish it. It will just need some >>>> field observation from your side. >>>> Regards >>>> Pankaj >>>> >>> >>> >> >
