A. Species
Scientific name: Commiphora wightii
Common name(s): Gugal, Guggul, Mukul
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Andaman Is.
- Assam
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Tripura
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Darjiling
- Sikkim
- Andhra Pradesh
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra-Nagar-Haveli
- Delhi
- Diu
- Daman
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Jharkand
- Kerala
- Karaikal
- Karnataka
- Mahé
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Orissa
- Pondicherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Tamil Nadu
- Uttar Pradesh
- West Bengal
- Yanam
- Laccadive Is.
- Nicobar Is.
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu-Kashmir
- Uttaranchal
Country/Region: India - national data
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: India - national data
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1963
End Year: 2013
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Resin tapping
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene, Energy and Decorative and aesthetic
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Illegal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: National / local private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study, based on International trade data derived from the Government of India Department of Commerce EXPORT IMPORT DATA BANK (Version 7.2 – TRADESTAT) and the India-based Zauba import-export trade database, which relies on actual shipment documents. Also, CAMP (Conservation Assessment and Management Plan) assessment report.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Due to over-exploitation, C. wightii is one of the top 40 conservation priority species in India, and India is no longer self-sufficient in C. wightii oleo-resin. The situation in Gujarat illustrates this point. In 1963, the local Forest Department collected 30 t of gum-resin, but only 2.42 t were collected in 1999, with just to 1.6 t collected in Gujarat in 2013. Plants die from poor harvesting practices, over exploration and the application of ethephon on tapping cuts to increase guggul gum. This certainly increased gum production (especially in the low productivity season), but in the long-term this killls the plants. Over the last 2 decades, the wild C. wightii plant population in India had declined to less than 50% of its original size, leaving isolated subpopulations. More recently, in a CAMP (Conservation Assessment and Management Plan) report (September 2007) for Rajasthan, C. wightii was assessed as Critically Endangered for the state of Rajasthan (with an estimated decline of more than 80% in its wild populations over a three generation time period i.e. 50 − 60 years).
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Economically, C. wightii oleo-resin has a price range of 140–160 Indian rupees (INR) per kg (2006–2007) - around USD 1.80. But as supply dwindles prices rise. Ultimately the ecological demise of the species will force the price beyond what the market is willing to pay.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Economically, C. wightii oleo-resin has a price range of 140–160 Indian rupees (INR) per kg (2006–2007) - around USD 1.80. But as supply dwindles prices rise. Ultimately the ecological demise of the species will force the price beyond what the market is willing to pay.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Medicinally, oleum resin has genuine medical benefits, containing guggulsterone that can treat obesity and high levels of blood cholesterol. But as use is ecologically not sustainable, it is also considered nout sustainable from HH point of view
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
To encourage shifts to cultivated sources of supply, it would be useful to develop traceable supply chains for C. wightii oleo-resin from cultivated stocks, so that producers are not disadvantaged by CITES App. II monitoring requirements for wild harvested C. wightii oleo-resins.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2018-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-31