CHAPTER 8

Disasters and Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs)

Preparing Governance for Resilient MAP-based Livelihood in Uttarakhand

Vinay Sharma
Pramod Chandra
Rajat Agrawal

Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India

Introduction

Around the world the medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are extensively traded and considered as an essential commodity for producing various herbal-based products including herbal drugs (Lubbe and Verpoorte 2011). As a result, these resources have become a vital source of livelihood and employment for many rural communities in the biodiversity-rich regions of the world. In the Indian context, the domain and role of MAPs in the form of herbal remedies and formulations for various health conditions is accessible with scientific validity in different traditional Indian scriptures and Vedic literature (i.e., Sushruta Samhita, Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Charaka Samhita, Bhela Samhita, and the medical part of the Bower Manuscript) (Loukas et al. 2010; Raju 2003; Zimmerman and Veith 1961).

The legacy of MAPs in India is largely maintained in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). The IHR contributes around 1,748 recognized species of valuable MAPs, which is 32.2 percent of India’s MAPs (Chandra and Sharma 2018). Uttarakhand in IHR is endowed with rich diversity of MAPs and represents nearly 40.10 percent MAPs of IHR (Kuniyal et al. 2015; Samant and Pal 2003). The inherent biodiversity of Uttarakhand is primarily attributed to its suitable geo-climatic conditions and unique landscape of the region. Geographically, Uttarakhand is situated on the south slope of Himalayan ranges, which varies from glaciers in the high mountains to tropical forest at lower altitude and forms different types of landscapes and climatic conditions. The ancient scriptures of India on medicine and medical science also describe the Himalayan region as a suitable habitat and veritable emporium of MAPs (Aswal 1993; Rautela 1998).

The Government of India has declared Uttarakhand as the "Herbal State” in the year 2003 to acknowledge the rich availability of MAPs and the herbal heritage of Uttarakhand (Sati 2013) and classified 132 species of MAPs (indigenous and exotic) as substantial for the socioeconomic development of the state (Kuniyal et al. 2015). Presently, 701 species of MAPs are officially recorded and recognized in Uttarakhand (Bisht, Negi, and Bhandari 2016), out of which 28 species are categorized as “globally significant medicinal plants” (GSMP) (Kuniyal et al. 2015; Kuniyal and Sundriyal 2013; Ved and Goraya 2008) by the state government with an objective of cultivation and conservation from socioeconomic as well as sustainability perspective.

Role of MAPs in Livelihood and Economy

The rich biodiversity of Uttarakhand offers a wide range of livelihood opportunities for the dwellers (Ram 2003). The opportunities are predominantly connected to agriculture, commercialization of forest-based products, fodder, alternative source of energy, and trade in MAPs. Particularly, the trade and commercialization of MAPs signifies a substantial role in the household income of many rural communities in the region. It has been estimated that 17 percent to 35 percent of household income of the rural communities in Uttarakhand comes through trade and sales of MAPs (Chauhan 2010). The trade of MAPs, in the form of wild harvested MAPs, is also a profitable source of revenue generation for the state government. In the year 2005 to 2006 the sales of MAPs from the forests of Uttarakhand had generated US$255.535 million, whereas up to March 2012 to 2013, it has grown up to US$402.674 million (UAFDC 2017).

However, despite the huge potential of MAPs for revenue generation, socioeconomic development, and uplift of rural communities, the MAP sector of Uttarakhand is facing diverse issues such as trade and marketing problems (Chandra and Sharma 2018; Kuniyal et al. 2013). Also, the absence of a planning framework for managing the resource base in the event of natural disasters is causing vulnerable conditions for the sustainability of MAP resources in Uttarakhand. This is consequently creating challenging situations for the livelihood of many rural communities but yet not discussed in academic or scientific literature.

Objectives of the Study

To instigate a conversation on the impact of various disasters on MAPs diversity in Uttarakhand in the academic literature and debates, this chapter primarily focuses on the following objectives:

Literature Review

In contemporary literature, no specific research studies are available on the impact of different disasters on MAPs diversity and the livelihood of associated communities. Therefore, major studies that describe how the disastrous events affect agriculture have been included in this study, because the MAPs are allied to agriculture.

Disasters and Natural Resources

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO 2018), in its report, The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2017, stated that “Disasters jeopardize agricultural production and development and often have cascading negative effects across national economies” (p. iii). The report categorically admits the adverse consequence of disasters on agriculture.

Similar to the impact of disasters on agriculture, any sort of disastrous situation poses serious threats for the existence of MAPs resources by habitat destruction and change in landscape, which consequently lead to the extinction of valuable MAP resources. The extinction of MAPs means the loss of raw materials to the pharmaceutical industries and the loss of livelihood for the inhabitants of the community.

Natural disasters pose major negative impact on agriculture and crop production and therefore there must be some national-level planning framework that could effectively reduce the impact of problems posed by disastrous situations (Lesk, Rowhani, and Ramankutty 2016; Long 1978). The re-occurrence of natural disasters will be a major threat for sustainable agriculture in the next decade, which will consequently challenge the competitiveness of the sector (Klomp and Hoogezand 2018). Particularly in mountain ecosystems, like Uttarakhand, the frequently occurring disasters are of dire consequence with the loss of numerous biodiversity resources. For the past several years Uttarakhand has been the victim of some major disasters, like the disaster of Kedarnath in 2013 and the massive forest fire of 2016. Such disasters badly affected the lives and resources of the state. But, unfortunately, no information is available about the impact of these disasters on MAPs’ sustainability in Uttarakhand. This illustrates the need to fill the information gaps when a disastrous happens. The loss of livelihood of the local community resulting from the disasters needs to be studied.

Methodology

After a careful consideration of the ontological and epistemological aspects associated with the MAPs sector in Uttarakhand, the post-positivist research philosophy is adopted to pursue this study. The ontological and epistemological considerations have led the authors to choose the qualitative reflexive methodology (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017) to understand the diverse aspects that eventually shape the sustainability and livelihood in the MAPs sector in Uttarakhand. Therefore, experience of one of the authors of this chapter associated with the MAP sector of Uttarakhand has been utilized to focus the study on the disastrous situations and the resulting impact on the sustainability of MAP resources and on the livelihood of associated communities. Further to achieving the objectives, the required information has been collected through reviewing the literature about the impact of disasters on the agriculture sector and reflexive interpretations have been made, because hardly any literature is available about the impact of disasters on the MAPs, to comprehend the impact of disasters on MAPs sector of Uttarakhand. Subsequently, after careful understanding of the impact of disasters on agriculture similar aspects have also been recognized in the MAPs sector in Uttarakhand. Finally, based on the understanding developed through the reflexive approach, the required strategies and recommendations are proposed in this chapter.

The related literature was reviewed between 2016 and 2017 and some unstructured interviews were also conducted, in the beginning of 2017, with individuals who were the victims of disasters in Uttarakhand and its consequential effects on their livelihood. The experiences of the victims were intensely recognized in the reflexive interpretation of the situation.

Analysis and Discussion

Institutions Working for the Management of the MAPs in Uttarakhand

Various institutions and agencies in Uttarakhand (Table 8.1) are working in the development of MAPs sector (Kuniyal et al. 2015). The common functional areas of these institutions include the research and developmental activities for MAPs resources; facilitating farmers and interest groups in cultivation; providing marketing and commercialization platform for the growers and harvesters through authorized trade channels; and activities for livelihood enhancement through the MAP sector. However, the threat to sustainability of MAPs as a consequence of disasters are not acknowledged as an area of concern by these groups. Therefore, the conservation of the MAPs in ordinary circumstances is properly managed, but in the case of any occurring disaster the existence and/or the management of MAPs becomes challenging. Which consequently, hinders the livelihood of many rural communities.

Table 8.1 Various institutions working for the management of medicinal and aromatic plants sector in Uttarakhand

Source: Compiled by authors.

Major Disasters of Uttarakhand and Their Impact on Natural Resources

The geography and ecosystem of Uttarakhand is very sensitive (Kala 2014; Kuniyal 2013); therefore, it always remains vulnerable to various kinds of disasters as seen in the disasters of Kedarnath in 2013 (Sharma, Joshi, and Agrawal 2015) and the massive forest fire of 2016 (Table 8.2). Experts have estimated that the total loss of the land and resources is still uncountable, and these disasters have washed-out numerous natural resources and destroyed the landscape in various ecologically sensitive zones of the state. Thus, this creates a need to document and monitor important natural resources (i.e., MAPs) for their sustainability and long-term existence.

Table 8.2 List of major disasters in Uttarakhand

Source: Indpaedia (2015) and compiled by authors.

Policy Gap and Natural Resources in Uttarakhand

The absence of tangible policy framework for mitigating the impact of disasters on MAPs sector of Uttarakhand is another key issue affecting the sustainability of the MAPs and livelihood of the rural communities. For example, the excessive fall of pine needles is usually considered a major cause of forest fires in the higher forests of Uttarakhand. As a result, the Himalayan ecosystem is steadily deteriorating (Joshi, Sharma, and Mittal 2015). Likewise, the strict legal regulations in Uttarakhand also prohibit the public participation in conservational measures (Joshi, Sharma, and Mittal 2015) of MAPs and hence community participation is also missing in the conservation of resources. It is also calculated that about 50 percent of the forests of India are vulnerable to forest fire (DTE 2016). On the other hand, the forests are the major sources of MAPs as about 90 percent of these plants are harvested from the wild. Therefore, proper measures should be implemented to prevent and minimize the impact of forest fires on MAPs.

Information Gap and Its Impact on MAPs Diversity in Disastrous Situations

Information gaps, as highlighted by FAO (n.d.) for agriculture sector in the situation of disasters, are similarly evident for the MAPs sector in Uttarakhand. The MAPs sector of Uttarakhand is witnessing a huge data gap at global, national, and regional levels in order to mitigate the impact of disasters on MAPs sustainability and livelihood of the associated communities. As a consequence, the information gap is leading the absence of quantifiable information on the number of MAPs that are vulnerable to the occurrence of disasters in particular areas of the state.

The report of FAO focuses on strengthening the regional and global database and information system to capture the extent and impact of disasters on the sector. The non-standardization process of data collection is leading to the understanding of the criticality of disastrous events for the MAPs sector. The regular monitoring and reporting of the existence of the MAPs and the impact of disasters is the need of the hour. The systematic collection and monitoring of the damage information is also critical for measuring the impact of disasters on the MAPs sector. In order to meet the above challenges, the necessary interventions are urgently required as a part of policy and information to tackle the loss and damage of this important resource and for the long-term sustainability of the MAPs. This is important as they are not only required to meet the needs of the contemporary herbal market, but they are equally important for the ecosystem and livelihood requirement of many rural communities.

Recommendations

Policy Intervention Required for Resilient MAP-based Livelihoods in Uttarakhand

In order to reduce or mitigate the impact of disasters on MAPs, especially in the areas where disasters cause heavy loss to natural resources, it is necessary to address the following guidelines. These guidelines are in line with FAO guidelines for mitigating the impact of disasters on agriculture and natural resources.

Framework for Preparing Governance for Resilient MAP-based Livelihoods in Uttarakhand

To prepare the governance for resilient MAP-based livelihood in Uttarakhand, the following framework is proposed (Figure 8.1). The proposed framework primarily focuses on four key aspects, which are initially required for the resilience of MAP-based livelihood and sustainable development of MAPs in Uttarakhand,

Conclusion

This chapter offers an initial attempt to preparing a system of governance for a resilient MAP-based livelihood in Uttarakhand along with exemplifying the impact of various disasters on the sustainability of MAPs resources and livelihood of native communities. However, the policy framework, which is presently operative in the MAPs sector of Uttarakhand, has a substantial strategy and information gap in terms of disaster risk reduction and the management of MAP resources. In particular, the policy and information gaps are creating several challenges for MAP sustainability and livelihood of the native communities.

To address the issues, the roles of various institutions engaged in the management of MAP resources were examined, then the sort of disasters that are frequently creating issues for the resource base and human survival in Uttarakhand and how the present policy structure is ineffective to tackle the situation have been discussed. Finally, the consequence of the information gap in the situation of disasters and post-disasters mitigations planning is also discussed in this chapter. The analysis was, however, limited by the absence of consistent information on the impact of disasters on MAPs’ sustainability and livelihood of rural communities in Uttarakhand. The study therefore sets the grounds for future disasters-related studies that are necessary for preparing a system of governance for resilient MAP-based livelihood and resources sustainability in the context of any sort of disaster. Thus, this study asserts that an immediate strategic intervention in the policy framework of MAPs of Uttarakhand to align it with disaster risk and mitigation for sustainable resources management and livelihood of rural communities associated with the sector is necessary.

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