After working for the preservation and protection of precious forest wealth, Himachal Pradesh has now come up with a novel afforestation scheme, ?Sanjha Van-Sanjivani Van?, a community driven programme, which envisages a massive plantation of medicinal plants.
The scheme has been launched recently by the state government together with the participation of the people. Every household has been motivated to plant at least one medicinal plant in its premises. The aim of the programme is to draw the attention of people towards the degradation of environment and also the consequences, besides protecting the eco-system by planting trees in order to make Himachal Pradesh a herbal state.
Forests play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance and in the socio-economic development of the country. They are not only an important source of subsistence employment, revenue earnings and raw material for various industries but also help in maintaining the fragile eco-system. Himachal Pradesh has a vast reserve of forest wealth, with its economic value totaling to about Rs. one lakh crore and this needs to be protected and preserved. Since the flora of the state consists of around 3,500 species of plants, of which, about 800 species are rich in medicinal value and 165 species are collected for commercial purposes. The state is the largest supplier of chilgoza, kuth, dioscoria, dhoop, picrorrhiza, valeriana and ephedra in the country.
More than one crore medicinal plants will be planted with the help of 525 joint forest management committees under the scheme. These committees would plant herbal plants on 2500 hectare under different afforestation components during this financial year. On the maturity of these plants, 75% of the income generated will go to the committee while the remaining 25% will be given to the Panchayat.
Official sources in the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation said the corporation will assist the JFMCs for developing skills for handling the medicinal plant produce, including marketing. The State Medicinal Plant Board has recently signed an MoU with Patanjali Yog Peeth Haridwar for marketing the medicinal plants and herbs.
According to the 2001 census, Himachal Pradesh has a population of 6.07 million, of which 90% reside in rural areas. For rural households, non-wood forest products are an important source of supplementary income and therefore its sustainability and management are crucial to rural livelihood. Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute an important aspect of non-wood forest products management.
The medicinal and aromatic plants in the state are able to provide 80% raw material to the herb-based industry in the country and can thus earn huge profits if they can be exported. One advantage with medicinal plants and herbs is that they can be grown with minimum efforts and they serve as cash crops. The Himachal Pradesh government has given a top priority status to conservation and development of forests. New initiatives have been taken to promote sustainable forest management through the participation of the masses.