Endangered herbal plants in Meghalaya faces threat of depletion
| Jun 18, 2018, 17:50 IST
TNT News | Shillong, June 18, 2018:
Meghalaya is in serious threat of facing scarcity of valuable herbal plants, observed the Society for Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge and Practice (SPIKAP).
A number of members mostly local village indigenous traditional healthcare practitioners belonging to the SPIKAP in Meghalaya have informed that there is tremendous pressure in sourcing of valuable herbal plants for their medicinal use and treatment of patients in the rural areas.
"We urge the State Government to consider reviewing the Central laws such as The Forest Conservation Act 1950, The Biological Diversity Act 2002, The Biological Diversity Rules 2004, The Meghalaya State Medicinal Plant Board http://www.megforest.gov.in/docs/megfor_medplants.pdf so as to amend them to suit the Customary Land and Forest Laws of Meghalaya as these Acts /Rules do not till date recognize the various category of land almost over 15 types of Land and Forest category in Meghalaya," said SPIKAP chairman John F Kharshiing.
While stating that Meghalaya have been blessed with such surroundings, he said that sometimes people tend to ignore and abuse the natural resources.
There also needs to be immediate and urgent livelihood funding and support to the villages surrounding the over 100 sacred forest and thousands of individual, clan and Hima/Elaka / Nokma forest in Meghalaya as the pressure continues due to increased human population activities.
"We will appreciate if the State Government will consider making it mandatory for all MLA Funds to include, adopt, to Fund and support 5th June World Environment Day plantation, nursery, environmental schemes to existing and new individual, clan and community forest. As a beginning it will be a great contribution to the future generation if all MLAs part 50 Lakhs from the 2 crore MLA Fund each year to such critical Eco activities for the benefit of Mankind. It would change the 60 Constituencies," Kharshiing added.
Furthermore, he stated that there also needs to be more increased budgetary allocation of Funds specifically for Home Gardens given that 80 % of land in Meghalaya is individually owned.
"We also understand that the present allocation under The Meghalaya State Medicinal Plant Board is too small and not sufficient," he observed.
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