The Forest Department of Karnataka declared 183 plants, including 81 medicinal, as endangered, rare and vulnerable. The department also listed names of 40 animals that were endangered in the state.
As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the forest department has named 40 animals who are in the brink of extinction in Karnataka. This list includes among other animals,
- Black buck
- Wild Dog
- Elephants
- Indian brown mongoose
- Kolar-leaf nosed bat
- Lion-tailed Macau
- Tiger
- Sloth bear
- Travancore flying squirrel
- Spotted eagle
- India vulture
- Tree frog
- Travancore tortoise
What has come as alarming news is the inclusion of 81 medicinal plants in this list. The loss of these plants will not only jeopardise the environment, but pose difficulties to many ayurvedic medicine manufacturing companies and practitioners of this ancient form. Some of the threatened plant species that have been marked ‘red’ by the forest officials are,
- Arisina Balli
- Sambar Balli Twak
- Maakali Beeru Fly Catcher
- Tandavari
- Sampige
- Bobbi Mara
- Tarakasheera
- Seethe Ashoka
- Kadu Pindi.
The reason quoted for the vulnerability of the flora and fauna are deforestation, over-exploitation and smuggling of wood and plants. Most of these plants are found in the Western Ghats and Malnad regions of the State.
P.R. Leelavathi, Additional Secretary, Forest, Environment and Ecology who had directed the Chief Conservator of Forests to produce an action plan to protect the flora and fauna, suggested use of road margins along national and state highways to plant the vulnerable, threatened and endangered trees.
Original Article Image Credit dhruvaraj via cc Flickr
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I am trying to formulate a project involving pharmacy students to visit tribal villages where the less common/endangered medicinal herbs exist and help them cultivate by providing input.
This concept has the advantage of cultivating in the herbs natural habitat and providing the tribal villager to earn extra money and the needy industry to contact the village thru Forest dept for purchase etc.
Pl comment and help with info that is available with you.
Thank you Dr. Bapuji for your novel effort. I think it is an excellent idea to involve young students in such a kind of project and at the same time empower the tribal communities. Tribal villages, in general have a vast knowledge of endemic and local plants that most urban population are unaware of. If you search the neighbouring villages in your locality, you might find a community willing to share their knowledge with you. In karnataka, one researcher fears that the Jenu Kuruba tribe is fast losing its ecological inheritance because of western education. It might be a good idea to contact this particular community and interact, procure knowledge of their ecosystem by also helping them grow rare and endangered plants/trees. It will be a beneficial excercise for both your students and the tribe. Here is a link of the article we did on them. http://indiasendangered.com/vanishing-ecological-inheritance/ Do let me know in which part of the country you reside, and I can further assist you in finding a tribal community. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Dear Mam,
Thanks for your novel initiative. I want to see the list of plants (RET in Karnataka). where is the button? I am in my department developing a digital phytoinformatics center where I am digitalising not only medicinal plants but also invasive/alien plants and RET plants (from pressed herbarium specimens). Your imitative is extremely need of the hour. I’ll interact you. Pl give your contact address
Regards,
Dr. Dibyendu Talukdar,
Associate Professor in Botany,
R.P.M. College, Uttarpara, Hooghly 712258, West Bengal, India
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dibyendu_Talukdar/publications/?pubType…
http://community.frontiersin.org/people/DIBYENDUTALUKDAR/119379
Dear Dr. Talukdar, Thanks for your comment and the initiative you have taken. We can suggest the two websites for help. http://indiabiodiversity.org/checklist/show/186
and http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Biodiversity%20of%20Karnataka%20at%20a%20Glance_0.pdf
Hi Atula my son has to complete PPT , cld you pls provide your website details on my above given mail id
rajnishk1@yahoo.com
Thanks
Rajnish
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yup… Its a great collection…
thnak
you