Scientific publication (e.g., journal articles and book chapters independently peer-reviewed)
Production, distribution, use and trade of Valeriana jatamansi Jones in Nepal
Unknown/not recorded
Is the species endemic HIDE
No
Population Status
Common and wildly distributed
No formal international protection in place
National Level
Formal national protection in place
Government of Nepal has enlisted the species as one of the 30 prioritized non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for research, development and commercial cultivation;
Threats/Pressures impacting the conservation of the species
overexploitation of the resource base has accelerated because of unregulated harvestings from the wild; Furthermore, increasing human pressures and herbal market, coupled with climate change, have decimated the population and distribution of medicinal plants for the last couple of decades;
Population Trend
Unknown/not recorded
Sub-national Level
Unknown/not recorded
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Valeriana jatamansi
Common Name(s)
Indian Valerian
Sugandhawal
Tagar-Ganthoda
Muskroot
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?
Unknown/not recorded
Purpose of Use
Basic subsistence (meeting day to day essential needs)
Cultural/spiritual
Additional Details (if available)
traditional medicinal plant, folkloric in Nepal for epilepsy, cholera and neurosis and is used as analgesic, antispasmodic, antiseptic, carminative, diuretic, expectorant and sedative
the use reports of V. jatamansi from 47 districts for the following four categories: herbal remedy, subsistence use (livelihood), household economy and religious/ritual (cultural). It has high level of prominence (RIL) for subsistence use (tea, incense, nutrition, insect repellant) (0.17) and household economy (0.18) followed by traditional medicine (0.09), and ritual/religious use (0.09)
What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?
Large quantity of unprocessed air-dried rhizomes of V. jatamansi is illegally exported to India;
Provide Details of resource rights regime where relevant
Because of Nepal’s highly porous borders (with India towards south and China towards north), most of the products were channeled through illegally ; Although, local harvester can extract only up to 80% of the rhizome of matured plants guided by conservation protocols (ANSAB, 2010; GoN, 2012), they usually uproot and collect all what they find in the forests.
Local people (e.g., individuals, communities, co-operatives)
International external (individual, groups. e.g., hunters, anglers, photographers, tourists)
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Details of assessment carried out
it is being harvested and traded without considering its sustainability; Being a highly useful plant, it is one of the over exploited species in Nepal; over-exploitation of the resource base has accelerated because of unregulated harvesting from the wild;
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Charmakar, S., Kunwar, R., Sharma, H., Rimal, B., Baral, S., & Joshi, N. et al. (2021). Production, distribution, use and trade of Valeriana jatamansi Jones in Nepal. Global Ecology And Conservation, 30, e01792. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01792
wild stocks are locally declining;
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record