Model Educational Programme
(MEP)
 


 MEP-Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions
(MEP-FRLHT)
 
 

Introduction || Aims & Objectives || Project Team || Work Progress
 
 
TITLE Developing a MEP for medicinal plant conservation education of local communities
SHORT TITLE MEP - FRLHT
SITE The Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, #74/2, Jarakbande Kaval, Attur Post, Via Yelahanka, Bangalore – 560 064

Telephone: 28568000,28568004
Fax: 258567926
DURATION 2 years (July 2005 to June 2007)
 

Introduction:
 
The Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) was founded, as an independent, non-governmental society in October 1991 with the basic objective to revitalize India’s waning health traditions and to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of Indian Medical Heritage by designing and implementing innovative program, on a size and scale that will have societal impact. Its three thrust areas are:
  1. Conserving natural resources used by Indian Systems of Medicine
  2. Demonstrating contemporary relevance of theory and practice of Indian Systems of Medicine.
  3. Revitalization of social processes (institutional, oral and commercial) for transmission of traditional knowledge of health care for its wider use and application.
FRLHT over the past over thirteen years has spearheaded successful implementation of the following major projects:
  • A pioneering DANIDA aided medicinal plant conservation project under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), Government of India under which a network of 35 in situ and 18 ex situ community supported conservation sites has been established in the southern Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in collaboration with State Forest Departments, NGOs, Research Institutes and local communities. These in situ conservation sites have been so selected as to be representative of the vegetation types and altitudinal range and to capture the maximum inter and intra-specific diversity of medicinal plants of these states. These sites have also been intensively explored as to their floristic diversity and management plans prepared for long-term conservation of these sites. Setting up of community herbal gardens and home herbal gardens was also facilitated under this project. Various educational and awareness activities to build capacity of forest managers and communities in medicinal plant conservation were also taken up.
     
  • MoEF’s UNDP funded medicinal plants conservation project in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra under which a network of 20 in situ community supported conservation sites has been established in partnership with State Forest Departments, NGOs, Research Institutes and local communities.
     
  • FRLHT is presently implementing the MoEF’s, Centre of Excellence project on medicinal plants under which national herbarium of medicinal plants (about 25,000 accessions already made) and repository of raw drugs (collections pertaining to 260 species already made) used in the Indian systems of medicine is being set up. A unique thematic ethno-medicinal garden at FRLHT campus is also being developed under which nine themes have already been laid out and 580 medicinal plant species brought in the garden. A comprehensive database on various aspects related to medicinal plants is also under preparation.
In addition to the above projects, FRLHT is also implementing three small projects funded by National Medicinal Plants Board under which a medicinal plants newsletter is being published, a medicinal plants policy study is being conducted and a home herbal garden programme being implemented in Bangalore.

FRLHT has a team of dedicated senior foresters, plant taxonomists, trainers, ayurvedic doctors, computer professionals, traditional physicians, community workers and young researchers to design and implement projects. Institutional support in the form of library, database, laboratory, basic equipment etc. is also available.

The present project proposal forms a part of the FRLHT’s mandate expertise for which the expertise is already exists. This project aims to create awareness about conservation imperatives of medicinal plants in particular and biodiversity in general amongst the local communities through a specially designed education module. Major target groups for this education programme will include the folk health practitioners, members of the village forest committees, local gatherers and women’s self help groups as they are the main users of the local plant resources. Educating this group about conservation needs and the role they can play to conserve our medicinal plant diversity is likely to have a far-reaching positive ‘social’ impact. This education module will also target students, to develop a future cadre of conservation conscious citizens. This module, developed in collaboration with subject matter specialists and the representative of target groups, will be delivered in vernacular for effective and efficient communication. The programme will draw strength from the FRLHT’s on-campus medicinal plants garden – named Ethno Medicinal Garden (EMG) – that will be further strengthened under this programme.
 
 

Need for this work
 
Different educational and awareness events like training programmes, workshops, nature camps, garden visits, self help programs, demonstrations, field interactions, and meetings with experts etc. related to conservation of medicinal plants have been organized by various agencies over the years for different target groups like folk medicinal practitioners, folk healers, women self help groups, school children, and traders. Whereas these educational programmes have definitely contributed towards sensitizing the communities about the conservation status of medicinal plants, these efforts have largely remained one-time activities. Neither any linkages with the botanical gardens could be established nor could these educational activities be organized on sustained basis due mainly to their ad-hoc nature.

End of the event feedback as collected by FRLHT after the events organized by it, brings out a strong need for organizing such educational events on a sustained basis. An idea for such need can also be had from the good response even these ad-hoc programmes have received. Moreover, interactions in the field with different communities by our in-house teams during field visits also confirm the need for initiating a well-structured educational programme on sustained basis.

FRLHT, on the strength of its on-campus educational Ethno Medicinal Garden established over the past few years and its experience and capacity to organize community awareness events intends to initiate an institutional educational programme related to conservation of medicinal plants on a sustained basis. The present project proposal will enable it to formulate an appropriate educational module catering to the needs of the communities across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It will also enhance capacities of the efforts to this effect being made by other groups and agencies.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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