Medicinal plants are an important subset of biodiversity which has lately emerged as a hot topic of discussions at various national and international fora. Medicinal plants have an unique significance for India and have remained a part of our cultural ethos from time immemorial. They meet the health needs of large sections of population, provide raw materials to various Indian systems of medicine and are an important source of livelihood to forest dwelling communities. India with its rich resource base and traditional knowledge regarding use of medicinal plants has the potential to emerge as a world leader in this sector, but many problem areas need to be talked. The book is a socio-economic study of medicinal plants sector. It seeks to critically examine the various dimensions or the sector which have a bearing on conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. The issues like demand and supply, nature of markets, benefit sharing arrangements, trend of exports and likely impact of developments in the field of biotechnology and emerging intellectual property regime have been analyzed. The available literature on the subjects and the feedback received from various stakeholders like collectors of medicinal plant, traders, pharmacies, foresters and scientists has been used to arrive at findings on various issues. Non-availability of accurate and reliable data on various aspects of medicinal plants sector is a major handicap in the study of this sector. The present survey methods for medicinal plants are inadequate and the time series data regarding population density of various medicinal plants is not available which makes it difficult to ascertain the health status of medicinal plants. However, the available reports clearly indicate that various medicinal plants are facing different degrees of threat to their existence. The book dwells on various problem areas which inhibit the growth of this sector and makes recommendations for the holistic development of this sector.
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