MAPs-Net (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Network) Nepal

It has been estimated that the Himalayan region harbors about 8000 species of medicinal and aromatic plants, supporting the livelihood of about 600 million people living in the area. The medicinal plants of the Himalayas are a major source of income for communities in the region; they provide basic healthcare for millions of citizens and possess immense cultural value. This resource base in terms of the plants themselves and the knowledge of their use is being eroded at an alarming rate. Ensuring a sustainable future for this resource is a national imperative.

Information on Medicinal and aromatic plants are scattered and not easily available in public domain. Networking among the different stakeholders (institutions, experts, researchers, traders, farmers, and policy makers) is seriously lacking. In this context, it has been realized to develop a consortium or forum for the national networking of medicinal and aromatic plants in Nepal. To fulfill this need MAPs-Net Nepal has been planned and developed. The main purpose is to compile information on different issues of MAPs in the database in its own website and make the data accessible to all interested stakeholders.

In the first phase 36 potential medicinal and aromatic plants has been selected for database.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – and based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues.    

 <more about ICIMOD>

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Programme in Asia (MAPPA)

Devolution Project

MAPPA devolution project applies a holistic approach to the MAP sub-sector so as to address the different aspects in the sector; it also concentrates on generating, applying and sharing knowledge & information between countries for mutual benefit and sustainable development. The MAPPA Network developed under the concept of a  “network without a boundary” and work as an extensive network of government, non-government and community-based institutions, private sector and research organizations in different parts of South Asia.

<more ..........>

Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON) is a government registered, action oriented, non-political, non-religious, non-profit making, and non governmental organization, committed to safeguard traditional knowledge regarding plant use, conservation and sustainable utilization through the co-ordination, promotion, and research activities.                                <more about ESON>

ESON Publications

BOOKS

Ethnobotany for Conservation and Community Development - KK Shrestha, PK Jha, P Shengji, A Rastogi, S Rajbhandary, M Joshi, 1998.

Ethnobotany of Nepal - K.R. Rajbhandari. 2001.

Herbal Drugs and Pharmacognosy: Monographs on Commercially Important Medicinal Plants of Nepal - S. Rajbhandary and S. Ranjitkar. 2006.

NEWSLETTERS

ESON Newsletters, Issue 1 to VII

ESON Projects

Development of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Network     (MAPs-Net) Nepal      <more.........>

Community-based conservation and sustainable utilization of potential medicinal plants in Rasuwa, Nepal Himalaya - 2                        <more.........>

Community-based conservation and sustainable utilization of potential medicinal plants in Rasuwa, Nepal Himalaya                             <more.........>

Plant Biodiversity Inventory, Identification of Hotspots and Conservation Strategies for Threatened Species and Habitats in Kanchanjunga-Singalila Ridge, Eastern Nepal                                            <more.........>

 Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON)
107 Guchha Marg,
New Road, 6th Floor
Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: 016213406
Email:
info@eson.org.np
Web:
http://www.eson.org.np/