Medicinal Plants and Sustainable Livelihood

Rural people from the developing countries derive a substantial portion of their income and products for their basic health care needs from medicinal plants gathered from the nature. Medicinal Plants based drug industries and enterprises which run into thousands, presently source more than 85 percent of their raw materials from the wild. In this era of the globalization of economy and knowledge systems, the fate of the medicinal plants is being determined as never before. Furthermore, the rapid rates of extinction of medicinal plant species combined with the rapid loss of indigenous knowledge systems have deep potential consequences on human health.

India is also known to harbor a rich diversity of plant species (about 17,000 species) of which 7,500 are medicinal plants. The Himalaya sustains a great diversity of medicinal plants. The village people have their own diverse system of health management while most of the common ailments were cured in the house by home remedies, which included many spices and condiments like Pepper, Ginger, Turmeric, Cumin, Amla, Tamarind, Basil etc. In India, there are lots of potential among rural people about the health care through their indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants and knowledge transferred by their ancestors. The book attempts to bridge the gaps in existing system and sustainable pattern of cultivation, marketing and policy issues related to medicinal plants.