National Training workshop

Application of Ethnobotany for Conservation and Community Development

A national training workshop entitled "Application of Ethnobotany to Conservation and Community Development" was organised from January 6-13, 1997, at the King Mahendra Trust for Natrure Conservation premises in Sauraha, Chitwan, by KMTNC in collaboration with ICIMOD and the Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University.

Twenty trainees from government and non-government organisations and educational institutions took part in the workshop. Resource persons for this workshop were from ICIMOD, KMTNC, Central Department of Botany/TU, WWF/UK, UNESCO, Herbs Production & Processing Company Limited and the Royal Botanical Garden, Godawari.

Topics such as ethnobotanical inventory, plant taxonomy, ecological study and its application to conservation, aspects of sociology and anthropology in relation to ethnobotany, documentation of indigenous knowledge and sustainable use of plant resources in community development was included.

To provide practical field training, participants were given project works on ethnobotanical inventory and documentation of indigenous knowledge, and qualitative and quantitative estimation of non-timber forest products in two different ethnic groups: Chepang and Tamang from Shaktikhor VDC of Chitwan District.

This gathering also decided to form the Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON). Hence, formally ESON was established on January 12th, 1997.

Applied Ethnobotany Workshop

Community- based Approaches to Conservation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Nepal

A National Workshop on Applied Ethnobotany entitled “Community-based Approaches to Conser-vation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Nepal” was held in Institute of Forestry, Pokhara from October 9-12, 2001, 2001. The workshop was jointly organized by Department of Plant Resources, HMG, Institute of Forestry, TU and WWF Nepal Program/People and Plants Project in collaboration with Ethnobotany Society of Nepal and Asia Network of Small Agricultural Bioresources. The objectives of the workshop were to examine new approaches to work with resource users, to discuss major issues and learn from good practices and approaches developed by researchers in Nepal.

About 40 participants from diverse background, including resource persons, researchers, government officials and local expert were present in the workshop. The workshop was divided into Inaugural session, open session/market day, plenary session and working group discussion.

Working group discussion was organised in the last day of the workshop. Discussions were held on seven specific agenda including Ethics and Benefit Sharing; Conservation and Health Care; Cultivation; Integration of NTFPs in CFUGs Operation Plan; Field  Manual for Community Based Management; Trade; and Databases and Documentation of Indigenous Knowledge.

National Training workshop

Ethnobotanical Research: Laboratory & Field Methods

The national training workshop on 'Ethnobotanical Research: Laboratory & Field Method' was held in Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University (CDB, TU), Kathmandu from December 24 - 28, 2001. The program was jointly organized by ESON and CDB, TU and sponsored by WWF Nepal/People & Plants Initiative and University Grants Commission.  There were seven technical sessions. Resource persons presented the papers on:

1. 'Nepalese Culture and Plants: in Context of Newar Community'. Prof. Dr. S.D. Joshi (CDB, TU)

2. 'Intro-duction to Ethnobotany: Review of Ethnobotanical Research in Nepal'. Dr. K.R. Rajbhandari (DPR)

3. 'Intellectual Property Rights for the Conservation of Indigenous Knowledge and Plant Resources'. Prof. R.P. Chaudhary (CDB, TU)

4. 'Ethnobotany: Basic Research Methods and Procedures' by Dr. N.K. Bhattarai (DPR).

5. ‘Identification of MAPs in the Field: Nomenclature, Adulteration, and Substitution in Market Samples of Nepal’. Dr. N.N. Tiwari (Ayurveda Campus)

6. Documentation of Ethnobotanical Information and Management of Botanical Database System’. Dr. K.K. Shrestha (CDB/TU)

7. ‘Nepalese Society and Culture’ by Dr. R. Kunwar, (CDSociology and Anthropology, T.U.)

8. ‘Assay of Antimicrobial and Antifungal Activity of Medicinal Plants’ Dr. R Taylor (Hollins University, USA)

9. Phytochemical Screening of Plants of Ethnobotanic Importance’. Prof. M. Manandhar, (CDChemistry, TU)

10. ‘Statistical Analysis of Ethnobotanical Data Using Computer Programs’. Dr. H.B. Shrestha from Central Department of Statistics, TU

Field trip was also organised to Royal Botanical Garden and National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, DPR, Godawari with the paper on ‘Ethnoecology, Participatory Assessments and Ecological Sampling for Sustainable Harvest of Plant Resources’. Prof. P.K. Jha  (CDB/TU). Chief, Dr. M.K. Adhikari of the National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, DPR, Godawari. also demonstrated and explained about the department and the facilities available for the researchers.