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

Abstract

Traditional systems of medicine have become a topic of global importancerecently. Increased commercialization of economically importantmedicinal plants has resulted in overharvesting and threatening theirsurvival. Because lack of data impedes the assessment of theconservation of medicinal plants, ethno-medicinal studies are importantto fill this gap. This study considered the importance of medicinalplants, their traditional uses, commercialization, conservation,sustainability and prospects in Bangladesh. At the same time, an attemptwas made to establish the link of medicinal plants and protected areamanagement with the involvement of forest dependent local communities.The study was conducted among the local communities living in and aroundRema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary. Data collection was predominantlyqualitative recording the species use, identifying their relativeimportance (RI) and assessing the informants' consensus factor (F-ic) onassociated knowledge. A total of 271 respondents (140 households, 36professional collectors, 5 herbal practitioners) were interviewedaccompanied by field observation and voucher specimen collection. Atotal of 44 plant species were in use against 33 ailments under 10 broaddisease categories. Trees were the most commonly utilized growth formand leaves were the most commonly used plant part. Forested habitatswere the major sources of medicinal plants. Five species were found tohave high use versatility (RI > 1), Emblica officinale L. being the mostversatile. Respiratory problems scored the highest F-ic value (0.56)involving the use of 30 % species recorded. Terminalia bellerica Roxb.,Sterculia villosa Roxb., Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. and Terminalia arjunaBedd. were being harvested commercially. Use by the community,particularly for subsistence consumption ensured sustainable harvesting,but commercial extraction of some species appeared unsustainable. Bufferzone-based commercial farming of medicinal plants with a commercialvalue could serve a dual purpose of assuring sustainable AlternativeIncome Generation (AIG) for local communities and conserving the naturalresources in protected areas.