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NU vice chancellor, Professor Pardeshi Lal, along with SP Tripathi, chief wildlife warden, and others during the release of medicinal plant journal at the national conference in Lumami on March 6.[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Mokokchung, March 6 (EMN): A two-day national conference of “Stakeholders on conservation, cultivation, resource development and sustainable utilisation of medicinal plants of North eastern India” got underway at Nagaland University, Lumami campus, on March 6.
Eminent scientists, research scholars, local healers (traditional healers) and stakeholders from all over India are currently attending the national conference to discuss ideas, remedies measures and strategies to scoop out the potential of medicinal plants in the region and also to conserve and cultivate the plants in sustainable ways.
Speaking at the inaugural programme, Prof. AK Bhatnagar, president of society for conservation and resource development of medicinal plants (SMP), New Delhi, asserted that India has a great heritage of medicinal plants and its usage for cure and healing for various domestic animals and human being alike.
This medicinal knowledge of the tribal and the rural community, he said, has been instrumental in providing the lead to manufacture drugs in large scale in different parts of the world.
However, the professor lamented that the demand for the product exceed more than the supply because these medicinal plants are collected from the wild. In this connection, he asserted that immediate measures should be taken into consideration to bring these medicinal plants under cultivation in the farmer’s fields and earn profit out of it.
Bhatnagar further called upon the stakeholders that all these efforts should be contributed by the organisations, government and university.
Prof. Pardeshi Lal, vice chancellor, Nagaland University, released the ‘medicinal plant journal,’ while Prof. NS Jamir, department of botany, released the ‘conference abstract.’
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Pardeshi Lal, took a wide sweep of the Indian history of using plants for meeting the need of hunger and healing. He also dwelt on the need for preserving the medicinal plants particularly in the context of the state of Nagaland.
“Of the 34 biodiversity hubs in the world, four are located in India. Nagaland also falls under one of these biodiversity hubs, and despite the rather small acreage area, almost all the agro-climatic conditions are represented in the state,” Prof. Pardeshi Lal said.
He asserted that, possibly, all varieties of medicinal plants are present in the state of Nagaland. He exhorted the participants of the national conference to build on the momentum gained in the field of medicinal plants. He also appealed to go beyond mere academic exercise but take the lead and move the sector of medicinal plants forward while cautioning that stakeholders should not be deprived in the process.
The special guest and state chief wildlife warden, SP Tripathi, urged the participants to focus on research which has practical application. He also stated that horticulture and medicinal plants are viable economic activities for the state of Nagaland.
“Given the close relationship between the forest and wildlife with the community, disturbance of the former will affect the latter,”
Tripathi stated. He further exhorted the students to become brand ambassadors for the preservation of forest and wildlife. The inaugural programme came to a close with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. CR Deb, department of botany and joint secretary of the national conference executive committee.
The two-day national conference would include technical sessions and poster presentations. Apart from the keynote address, invited speakers, contributory papers, there would be an interaction between scientists and traditional healers from various parts of Nagaland as well as an interaction between buyers, sellers and farmers.
Some of the sub-themes are survey and conservation strategies of medicinal plant diversity of Himalayas and NE part of India; Ethno-botanical and phyto-prospecting studies of medicinal plants; molecular and bio-technological studies of medicinal plants; IPR and community benefit sharing mechanism; phyto-chemical analysis and
commercial leads etc.