MEDICINAL PLANT’s CONSERVATION IN AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS AND ITS IMPACT

India is one of the world's 12 mega diversity centers with 47000 plant species and is divided into twenty agro-eco zones (Prakash and Singh 2001). The increased pressure on forest and other vegetation areas for fodder, fuel wood and livelihood requirements has resulted in degradation of both agriculture and forest areas with associated loss of biodiversity of this highly fragile ecosystem. It is well recognized that 4/5th of the population earn their livelihood on subsistence agriculture and animal husbandry. Husain et al., 2002 studied the socio-economic condition of some areas of Uttaranchal and found that people of the area heavily depend on the forest resources. Further Husain and Raina, 2004 have noticed significant awareness among the farmers towards the conservation of the resources.

National Forest Policy of 1988 emphasizes the involvement of people in protection, regeneration and development of forest ecosystem by preventing further degradation of forest, rehabilitation of degraded forest areas and finding alternate source of timber, fuel wood and fodder. Increasing population has raised the demand for agriculture produce on one hand and reduced the size of land holding on the other. This has resulted in conversion of marginal lands into agricultural lands and encroachment of forestlands. If integrated efforts are not undertaken timely to arrest the degradation processes, this may further complicate the already serious ecological consequences.
On developing and adopting an integrated and participatory village agro–ecosystem approach to meet the diverse biomass needs of the communities and simultaneously to promote restoration of biodiversity on degraded lands.

This will require sustainable and integrated management of agricultural lands along with degraded forest and community lands keeping in view the resource requirements of the population. These efforts may result in reduction in land degradation; increase biomass resulting in higher sequestration of carbon and in–situ conservation of genetic diversity of endemic trees and medicinal plants. The added focus on improved livestock management and productivity is expected to increase the income generation activity of the farmers and at the same time reduce pressure on the forest resources.
Biodiversity includes all components of biological diversity of relevance to food and agriculture, including genetic crop and livestock resources. Agricultural and forest biodiversity provides food, income and materials for clothing, shelter and medicine. It also executes ecological services essential to human survival, such as nutrient cycling, pest and disease regulation and pollination.
Much has been written about the impacts on biodiversity from land use practices, but only limited work has been done on how foresters and farmers, the "custodians of biodiversity," manage their resources to sustain and enhance them. Through innovation and experiment, foresters and farmers have accumulated rich knowledge of managed biodiversity. Collaborative efforts among scientists, foresters and small farmers have been initiated to tap traditional’ knowledge and skills for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in agro-ecosystems.
Management of forest biodiversity has temporal and spatial attributes as well as socio-economic implications. This paper intended to share the experiences and ideas of the community working on biodiversity with the hope that the collected knowledge would be useful for international and national biodiversity programmes and policy.