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Major Resource Use from Protected Areas by Local Communities: A Case of Harvesting Medicinal Plants in and Around Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary

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Forest conservation in protected areas of Bangladesh

Part of the book series: World Forests ((WFSE,volume 20))

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Abstract

Traditional systems of medicine have become a topic of global importance recently. Increased commercialization of economically important medicinal plants has resulted in overharvesting and threatening their survival. Because lack of data impedes the assessment of the conservation of medicinal plants, ethno-medicinal studies are important to fill this gap. This study considered the importance of medicinal plants, their traditional uses, commercialization, conservation, sustainability and prospects in Bangladesh. At the same time, an attempt was made to establish the link of medicinal plants and protected area management with the involvement of forest dependent local communities. The study was conducted among the local communities living in and around Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary. Data collection was predominantly qualitative recording the species use, identifying their relative importance (RI) and assessing the informants’ consensus factor (Fic) on associated knowledge. A total of 271 respondents (140 households, 36 professional collectors, 5 herbal practitioners) were interviewed accompanied by field observation and voucher specimen collection. A total of 44 plant species were in use against 33 ailments under 10 broad disease categories. Trees were the most commonly utilized growth form and leaves were the most commonly used plant part. Forested habitats were the major sources of medicinal plants. Five species were found to have high use versatility (RI > 1), Emblica officinale L. being the most versatile. Respiratory problems scored the highest Fic value (0.56) involving the use of 30 % species recorded. Terminalia bellerica Roxb., Sterculia villosa Roxb., Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. and Terminalia arjuna Bedd. were being harvested commercially. Use by the community, particularly for subsistence consumption ensured sustainable harvesting, but commercial extraction of some species appeared unsustainable. Buffer zone-based commercial farming of medicinal plants with a commercial value could serve a dual purpose of assuring sustainable Alternative Income Generation (AIG) for local communities and conserving the natural resources in protected areas.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Forest farming is defined as the cultivation of plants under a forest canopy as opposed to wild crafting, the practice of collecting wild plants and products from a forest (Becker and Workman 2003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wildlife Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Mountain Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Ina, Japan

    Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury

  2. Forest Policy Laboratory, Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Ina, Japan

    Masao Koike

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  1. Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury
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Correspondence to Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury .

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  1. Wildlife Ecology Laboratory,Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Institute of Mountain Science, Nagano-Ken, Japan

    Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury

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Chowdhury, M.S.H., Koike, M. (2014). Major Resource Use from Protected Areas by Local Communities: A Case of Harvesting Medicinal Plants in and Around Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary. In: Chowdhury, M. (eds) Forest conservation in protected areas of Bangladesh. World Forests, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08147-2_5

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