The Hindu Business Line : Sikkim plans to legalise collection of `Himalayan Viagra' herb

Sikkim is seriously considering following the footsteps of its Himalayan neighbours, Nepal and Bhutan, by legalising the collection of the medicinal herb, Cordyceps Sinensis, from the forest areas.

For the uninformed, Cordyceps Sinensis is popular known as `caterpillar fungus', widely known in the Himalayan belt as `Yarcha-Gombuk' and its connoisseurs do not tire to sing the aphrodisiac properties of this `Himalayan Viagra'.

With one kg of raw caterpillar fungus fetching as much as $2,000, Cordyceps Sinensis had reportedly funded the successful Maoist battle against the monarchy in Nepal.

Now the collection and trading of this medicinal herb is legal in Nepal.

BHUTAN RULES

Cordyceps Sinensis is also widely found in the highlands of Bhutan which made the collection and trading of the herb legal only in 2004. Only communities living in and around the high lands are allowed to collect it and sell it to traders through governmentorganised auctions.

Bhutan sells this product in three grades, A, B and C, at prices ranging from $2,685 to $2,485. Collection of the herb is strictly regulated and is done on rotation basis.

Nestled between Nepal, Bhutan and another giant producer of `Yarcha-Gombuk' China, Sikkim also has fair quantities of this medicinal herb in its high altitude areas of north, east and west dis- tricts. Now belatedly realising that its bio revenue source has been lying untapped, the State Government is now chewing over a proposal from the State forest department to legalise collection and trading of Cordyceps Sinensis abundantly stored in its highlands.

DRAFT PROPOSAL

Sources from the State forest department inform that the department has sent a draft proposal for legalising collection of Cordyceps Sinensis in the State. Collection of medicinal plants from the wild is prohibited in Sikkim.

The proposal is now being vetted by the State law department and after proper scrutiny, a Government notification will be issued in due course of time, it is informed.

Apart from the enormous revenue potential for locals and government, the bid to legalise collection of this medicinal herb could have been prompted by an incident of not so recent past where around 17 kg of `Yarcha-Gombuk' had been seized from two smugglers by the forest officials.

In July last year, the forest officials seized the consignment from the highlands of the State at Singtam meant for delivery outside the State. The incident had created a furore in the State and demands for bringing this clandestine business above-board had been made, leading to this latest bid of the State forest department.

AVAILABILITY

Cordyceps sinensis, a rare combination of a caterpillar and a fungus found in the altitudes above 4,500 m in the Himalayas. In Sikkim, it is found in areas such as Green Lake, Dzongri, Thamjey, Nathu La Pass, Doman Valley, Tholung Pass and other areas above 8,000 ft. All these areas are under the forest department.

Though no resource survey of this medicinal herb has been conducted in Sikkim, the forest department says that it knows where the herb is found in Sikkim.

One of the sailent features of the proposal is that only Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs), registered with the forest department will be allowed to collect the caterpillar fungus. The JFMC will have to be from that area where the herb is found.

Collection from sanctuaries will not be allowed. A 25-75 percentage share has been proposed by the department which is being screened by the law department. The JFMCs will get 75 per cent of the total Cordyceps sinensis they have collected while the remaining 25 percent will go to the State forest department. The department is also keen to market the forest produce through authorised dealers.

Experts on medicinal plants here have welcomed the proposal of the department. They also said that foreign technology is readily available to artificially produce the medicinal herb in Sikkim.

The experts have also endorsed the rationale behind the proposal.

"People are already collecting Cordyceps sinensis and other forest produce from the forest.

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