Niche of medicinal plants in Himalaya.

Project is on the community involvement in conservation of medicinal plants in four hilly Districts of Jammu and Kashmir, India. During the project the local community will be sensitized for cultivation of the important medicinal plants like Aconitum heterophyllum, Atropa acuminata, Berberis lyceum, Bunium persicum, Digitalis purpurea, Dioscorea deltoid, Jurinea macrocephala, Picrorhiza kurroa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Sassurea costus, Trillium govinanium and Viola odorata of the study area. Once the community people will get motivated and start cultivation of the medicinal plants, the collection pressure on the wild species will get reduced automatically.

This approach will create a sense of belongingness among the community people; hence nature will allow the rapid and undisturbed multiplication of the medicinal plants in wild. The cultivation of medicinal plants in their own lands by local community will suffice the need for livelihood. Therefore, the approach will help in up-liftment of the economic status of the poor hilly people of the region as well as conservation of the medicinal plants in wild.

During the project the different niches of the medicinal plants will be explored and documented, however indigenous knowledge (IK) for the sustainable utilization of the medicinal plants will also be documented, in addition to this awareness camps will be organised in each proposed district for students and other hilly people, where experts in the field will be involved to interact with the target group.

The resource material like posters and cards of the important medicinal plants will be distributed among the target group. The project activities will be publicised in electronic and print media for easy dissemination in the region and out of the region.