The Lok Sabha introduced the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 on December 16, 2021 in which seeks to facilitate fast-tracking of research, encourage the Indian system of medicine, and decriminalize
Rice is known as the grain of life, and is synonymous with food for Asians. In addition to being a staple food and an integral part of social rites, rituals and festivals in almost all Asian countries, it has a medicinal value too, which was clearly recognized by the medicine systems of the region centuries ago. Rice is the main constituent of life-saving oral rehydration solutions (ORS) and has been used for this purpose since time immemorial.
Forest minister J.P. Nadda today said the government would soon review the policy for exporting Khair wood and kuth to help protect the economic interests of the farmers. Presiding over a meeting of senior officers to review the functioning of the Forest Department here he said the government would consider relaxing the restriction on export of Kuth and take effective steps for proper management and exploitation of herbal plants. It would also take a decision regarding the rights of ownership on the trees grown on uncultured land, after considering all related aspects into consideration and in consultation with the Revenue Department. He said steps would be taken to exploit the state's immense potential for eco-tourism to help generate self-employment avenues for unemployed youth. Referring to the plans to deal with the monkey menace, Nadda said the government had decided to set up two primate protection parks and a number of centres for mass sterilisation of the animals, which were not only creating nuisance in towns but also causing extensive damage to crops in villages. He said a sterilisation centre was already operational at Tutukandi in Shimla and two more would be set up at Gopalpur in Kangra district and Tal in Hamirpur district at a cost of Rs 2.6 crore. He said these centres would be made operational within six months and a target had been set up for sterilising 5,000 monkeys in two years at each centre. The forest minister said the primate protection parks would be set up on the lines of Asola wildlife sanctuary in Delhi. One such park would be started next month at Tara Devi near Shimla, whereas, the other would be set up at Jheen in Hamirpur district. He said Rs 1.51 crore would be spent on the construction of each park. Youth were being imparted training for catching monkeys so that they could earn from the government scheme. He said encouraging cultivation of herbal plants on commercial scale could strengthen economy and the effort would be that each family in the local panchayat was associated in the venture. He said the Forest Department would develop plant nurseries in every district depending upon the climatic condition and mater would be discussed with the Ayurveda Department. He said peoples' participation was an important aspect of forest management and asserted that policy decisions should be taken keeping in view the public grievances. He said regular discussions would be held with field the officers for effective implementation of projects. Additional chief secretary, forests, Avay Shukla, gave a detailed account of the activities of the department. He said the policies were framed keeping in view the public interest.
Bamboos are one of the versatile plant groups with multifarious uses and meet many needs of the society. Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood and industrial raw material for both traditional cottage and modern industrial sectors. The employment potential of bamboo is very high and the major work forces involved are very poor.
The sprawling President's Estate that already boasts a Herbal Garden, a Nakshatra Garden, a Spiritual Garden and a Tactile Garden for the visually impaired will soon have a new patch of green -- a Palm Garden that will have on display an assortment of palm trees. The proposal has already been given the go-ahead by the President's Office and the garden staff is now working out the details of the garden that will be the newest attraction at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Palm Garden will be President Pratibha Patil's second gift to Rashtrapati Bhavan. She had planted a Jamun tree to inaugurate the Nakshatra Garden on her birthday this past December. According to sources, while the President -- who is fond of the fragrant "mogra' and the colour "basanti' -- has planted cypress (saru) and tulips, her husband Devisingh Shekhawat is interested in the Herbal Garden and has planted a "rudraksha' in the Spiritual Garden. Apart from increasing and maintaining the green cover at the President's House, efforts are also being made to make the place eco-friendly. "Steps will be taken to segregate waste generated inside Rashtrapati Bhavan and use of plastics will be greatly reduced. The President wants Rashtrapati Bhavan to be seen as an example of an eco-friendly unit. The residential units inside the estate would be encouraged to segregate their waste,' a Rashtrapati Bhavan source explained.
The tribal women in the sleepy village of Donga-nala in Korba district run a unit for making medicines from herbs, thus converting traditional medicinal knowledge into fortunes.
The Horticulture Department is initiating a study to check if a natural compound found in kinnow can be used for treating cancer patients and help in lowering cholesterol in the blood. The department has approached the Punjab Farmers Commission to either have a collaboration with the PGI or some other national-level institute to examine and study if limonene available in kinnow is useful for treating patients. The volume of limonene is of the same amount as vitamin C in the fruit.
About 100 medicinal plants and 150 crude drugs from the medicinal plants were on display at the DG Vaishnav College on February 8 and 9. The exhibition, organised by the Department of Botany of the college, was inaugurated by Prof Usman Ali, Director, Centre for Traditional plants research. Plants that serve as an antidote to snake bite (Siriya nangai, Velaragu), anti-diabetic (Naaval and pappaya), anti-jaundice (Amla, semmai agathi) and anticancer(Nithya Kalyani) were on display.
Women in Chhattisgarh learn to profit from the medicinal herbs that grow around them. Converting traditional medicinal knowledge into fortunes
The present study on socio-economic and socio-ecological aspects of Sambalpur Forest Division of Orissa reveals that forests play an important role in the economy of the State in terms of contribution to state revenue, State Domestic Product as well as dependence of people for livelihood. The people living adjacent to the reserved forests of Sambalpur Forest Division (pre-reorganised) are heavily dependent on these forests. Although the nominal forest cover of the state continues to remain unchanged one notices a gradual decline in the effective forest cover of the state. Feb 2008
Four Iranian scientists led by Abdolali Mohagheghzadeh of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences reviewed literature from 50 countries across five continents for remedies administered in the smoke
