Medicinal Plant Resources in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in the Central Himalayas

The traditional uses, cultivation practices, and economic contribution of medicinal plants to the rural economy in the Nanda Devi Biosphere in the central Himalayas of India were studied. Samplings were done on 16 species of plants stored and used by all the households within the sample areas. A total of eight species were cultivated on 4 percent of the private farm land, evolving as an indigenous practice in response to restrictions on traditional rights to collect in the wild and attempts to meet the increasing demand for medical products in the market place. Allium humile and Allium stracheyi accounted for 70 percent of the total land area in medicinal plant cultivation. All cultivated species except for Allium stracheyi were naturally regenerating in the forests and grazing lands. Among the cultivated species, Carum carvi yielded the highest economic returns, followed by Allium humile. Products from medicinal plant under cultivation and from species collected in the wild accounted for 3.67 percent and 6.45 percent of the total income, respectively, of an average household.