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Traditional Systems of Medicine

Conservation of Medicinal Plants: Experiences from Sri Lanka Ranjith Mahindapala IUCN – The World Conservation Union Asia Regional Office, Bangkok ranjith@iucnt.org. Traditional Systems of Medicine. Practiced over 3,000 years About 35% of the population dependent on ayurveda

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Traditional Systems of Medicine

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  1. Conservation of Medicinal Plants:Experiences from Sri LankaRanjith MahindapalaIUCN – The World Conservation UnionAsia Regional Office, Bangkokranjith@iucnt.org

  2. Traditional Systems of Medicine • Practiced over 3,000 years • About 35% of the population dependent on ayurveda • In Sri Lanka, 1,400 plants used • 200 species in common use • 50 species heavily used • 70-80 considered threatened

  3. Threats to Medicinal Plants • Increasing use (including industrial use) • Collection haphazard and unmanaged • Villagers using them for home remedies • Collection by traditional practitioners • Practitioners of rituals collecting requirements • Commercial collectors • Increasing exports • Destructive harvesting techniques • Deforestation • Habitat destruction

  4. Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants Project • In situ conservation • Ex situ conservation • Information and Institutional support

  5. In situ Conservation Criteria for Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas • Presence of important species (and active collection) • Human Pressure (dependency) • Habitat destruction ……. MPCAs in biogeographically representative areas: • Naula (intermediate zone) • Rajawaka (intermediate/wet zone) • Bibile (dry zone) • Kanneliya (wet zone) Emphasis on Community Management

  6. 5 MPCAs NAULA BIBILE KANNELIYA RAJAWAKA RITIGALA

  7. Conservation Area Project Management Unit • Office for meetings • Demonstration Garden • Nursery • Medicinal Plant Processing Facility • Ayurvedic dispensary • InformationCentre

  8. Baseline data Collection • Socio economic survey (livelihoods, demography, income, dependency....) • Ethnobotanical Survey (in two phases) • Resource Survey (including threats, population structures…)

  9. Example of Income Levels – Bibile MPCA

  10. Ethnobotanical Survey- Importance of Plants

  11. Resource Inventory • Provided a baseline assessment of the distribution, associated populations structures and densities, and ecological requirements of the medicinal plant species • Provided an informed basis for ongoing in situ conservation of medicinal plants species and ex situ cultivation

  12. Community Management Aspects • Community mobilization and empowerment • Convincing communities on the project benefits • Organization into Committees • Village Project Management Committees (VPMC) each having about 10 villages • Apex Conservation Area Management Committee (CAMC) • Village Micro-plans (identifying and implementing activities) • Mainstreaming project activities with other stakeholder agencies

  13. V 10 V 1 V 5 V 4 V 9 V 7 V 2 V 3 V 8 V 6 CORE FOREST MPCACommunity Management Aspects

  14. Community Organization Objectives • In situ conservation of threatened medicinal plants in their natural habitats, including identification of rare species • Ex situ conservation / cultivation in home gardens • Promotion of community well-being • Implementation of related development activities • Creation of community awareness • Promotion of indigenous medicine practices, and supporting guru kula practices • Promotion of wider linkages with others

  15. Functional Relationship for Project Activities Other Stakeholder Agencies Project Management Unit MPCA Project Office CAMC VPMC VPMC VPMC VPMC

  16. Community Participation –what have they done? (1/2) • Recognition of the value of conservation • Forest fire belts • Forest vigilant committees • Enrichment planting of the forest (including river bank planting) • School medicinal gardens • Joint Forest Management aspects • MoU with the Forest department (protection, sustainable harvesting etc.)

  17. Community Participation –what have they done? (2/2) • Commercial scale organized planting • Processing medicinal plants and linking with drug manufacturing facilities • Processing vegetables during the season • Production of ayurvedic medicine • Bee keeping • Nurseries and Supply of planting materials/Germplasm collections • Development of a Revolving Fund for further enterprise development and for micro-credit.

  18. Active Membership and Funds Collected (Bibile MPCA)

  19. Institutional and State Support (1/9) • Assist in Joint Forest Management – access to the forest • Awareness of the flora in the locality • Studies on Sustainable Harvesting Levels (Terminal chebula, Phyllanthus emblica, Coscinium fenestratum etc.) • Commitment to long-term studies • Exposure of communities to similar work in India • Sharing Ethnobotanical information and documenting in local language

  20. Institutional and State Support (2/9) • Developing propagation techniques (22 species) • Developing nursery practices • Providing technical know-how for nurseries and planting • Facilitating outgrower systems and purchasing • Primary processing

  21. Institutional and State Support (3/9) • Product development • Seasonality of medicinal plants • Other products such as vegetable drying, herbal teas and soups etc • Provide training in quality control and process control • Documentation of procedures • Facilitating marketing

  22. Institutional and State Support (4/9) • Traditional Knowledge • Knowledge base of traditional medicinal systems is threatened. • Only a small proportion of the traditional knowledge and the ethnobotanical information is documented. • The majority remains recorded in ancient, obscure ola (palm leaf) manuscripts scattered around the country or in the memory of elderly practitioners.

  23. Institutional and State Support (5/9) • The Guru Kula system • Elderly practitioners would normally not pass on such information, except to those trusted acolytes, preferably from the family. • The guru-kula system of ancient teaching of traditional knowledge is fast disappearing. • This knowledge not only addresses health care of individuals it also addresses the traditional care and management of the natural resources. • Preservation of traditional knowledge, particularly as it relates to the use of medicinal plants is essential. • Support provided include: • Identifying acolytes and teachers • Facilitating attachment training • Formal recognition of the system

  24. Institutional and State Support (6/9) • The Project’s approaches to address the IPR issues were two fold • A set of guidelines was provided to address IPR issues pertaining to the launching and implementation of project activities • The Project formulated the legislation on safeguarding IPR on the use of medicinal plants as a long-term measure.

  25. Institutional and State Support (7/9) • Legal framework to safeguard traditional knowledge • Sri Lanka’s the legislative framework does not specifically address the status of medicinal plants and the traditional knowledge related to them; • In response, this legislation was formulated through comprehensive consultations with the stakeholders; • Extensive review over a period of time by the Intellectual Property Rights Committee; • the proposed law is very useful in that it provides a legal position for the holders of traditional knowledge to register, and seek benefits, • the proposed legislation addresses Sri Lanka’s obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

  26. Institutional and State Support (8/9) • The Scope of the Legal framework • Access to traditional knowledge relating to medicinal plants and use thereof. • Equitable sharing of benefits derived from the access to traditional knowledge relating to medicinal plants and use thereof. • To the registration of traditional knowledge relating to medicinal plants and use thereof in the Register of Traditional Knowledge. • This Act shall not hinder or affect access to and the transfer of traditional knowledge relating to medicinal plants and use thereof for traditional purposes.

  27. Institutional and State Support (9/9) • Rights of the holders of Traditional Knowledge • Any holder of traditional knowledge may conclude a license contract for access to such traditional knowledge in accordance with the provisions of the Act. • Nothing in the Act shall prevent any holder of traditional knowledge whether a registered holder of traditional knowledge or not, from entering into license contract for access to such traditional knowledge with third parties.

  28. Some issues and Constraints • Conservation requires wider participation of communities – need to enhance membership • Conservation need to be supplemented/ complemented with economic benefits • Management aspects of communities to be developed • Monitoring & evaluation • Leadership issues; accountability • Relationships with local administration; issue of partnerships • Poor recognition of conservation activities

  29. Conclusions • Exit strategy of the Project • Training in management and finances, for community members; • Providing a business plan; • Institutional strengthening, to convert the CAMC into a company (under the Companies Ordinance), with membership from VPMCs; • Conduct ayurvedic clinic • Continue the drug manufacturing, medicinal plant processing facilities • Establishing linkages with private sector • Novel concept needing consolidation • Project providing lessons for pilot testing (Income generation, JFM etc.)

  30. Thank you for your interest!

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