Report of the Task Force on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants

The Planning Commission, government of India, set up the Task Force on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants on June 14, 1999. The chairperson was Dr. D. N. Tewari (member of the Planning Commission at the time).In India, the report states, medicinal plants are considered to be an important therapeutic aid for alleviating ailments. Approximately 8,000 species of medicinal plants are found in the country. In rural areas, common ailments are often managed with home remedies including spices and condiments like pepper, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin and tamarind. The report states that the current practices of harvesting medicinal plants are unsustainable and tend to deplete their ‘natural resource base’.The nine-chapter report contains an introduction (Chapter I) and discusses such themes as the conservation and development of medicinal plants (Chapter II); the cultivation of such plants (Chapter III); research and development (Chapter IV); standards and quality (Chapter V); the demand and supply of medicinal plants (Chapter VI); intellectual property rights (Chapter VII); policy and institutional arrangements (Chapter VIII); and the Task Force’s conclusions and recommendations (Chapter IX).