6 research outputs found
Traditional wisdom of conserving biodiversity through sacred groves: Ethnobotanical treasure in Garhwal Himalayas
No full text587-593The present study was conducted to record the ethnomedicinal plants and their uses in sacred groves of Rudraprayag
district in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand. Field surveys were conducted to identify sacred groves and information was
collected from local folks using structured questionnaires. Three sacred groves, namely 1) Banjyani, 2) Jakh devta, and 3)
Satoli were identified in the region. The survey revealed 31 medicinal plant species representing 26 families and 29 genera.
These plant species belong to diverse families and most dominant families in the groves were Lamiaceae, Moraceae,
Ranunculaceae and Rosaceae. The medicinal plants used for different ailment in the sacred groves were dominated by herbs,
followed by shrubs and trees. To treat different ailments, leaves were used in maximum number of ailments (33.33%),
followed by bark (16.67%), root (12.50%), fruit (12.50%), whole plant (10.42%), flowers (6.25%), rhizome (4.17%) and
bulb (2.09%). In identified sacred groves plants were used for different medicinal purposes i.e., cough, diarrhea, leprosy,
leucorrhoea, jaundice, bronchitis, digestive issues and to improve appetite. The study confirms the dependence of local
people on sacred groves for their health care. However, presence of threatened plants highlights the importance of
sustainable utilization of medicinal plant resources available in the groves
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF SAHASTRADHARA, DISTRICT DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND (WITH ETHENOBOTANICAL NOTES)
Get PDFThe Himalaya with gushing rivers, alpine meadows, majestic snow claded peaks, enhancing lakes and a rich diverse flora and fauna is rightly described as the " abode of God\u27. Garhwal Himalaya provides enormous benefits to the human being in the form of shelter, food, water, medicine, fuel and industrial products and fodder. Further it has the potential for providing many more benefits still unknown. The plants protect topsoil, ensure the quality of the water and provide food etc, for all other living beings of the biosphere. Biological extinction has been a natural phenomenon in the geological past however man\u27s interference has speeded extinction at a faster rate. Human beings are involved in destroying the vegetation at an alarming rate resulting in the loss of biodiversity of the biosphere. Himalayan resources are being depleted and converted in to ash each day through biotic pressure coupled with undisciplined exploitation, damage and destructio
Structure, Composition and Dominance � Diversity Relations in Three Forest Types of a Part of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Central Himalaya, India
Get PDFPlant diversity assessment was carried out on the basis of species richness, tree crown cover and dominance-diversity pattern in different forests of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS), Central Himalaya, India during 2006-2009. The maximum tree species richness (10 spp.) was observed in Rhododendron arboreum Sm. dominated mixed forest and minimum in Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus. forest (8 spp.). Maximum tree density (170 trees/ha) and high importance value index (89.68) was found in Q. semecarpifolia Sm. forest. Mixed Rhododendron arboreum Sm. forest showed high tree diversity (H=0.96), while shrub were found highest in Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus forest (H=0.62) and herb diversity in Q. semecarpifolia Sm.forest (H=0.73) respectively Maximum tree crown cover (82%) was observed in Rhododendron arboreum Sm. dominated mixed forest while minimum tree crown cover (58%) was observed in Q. semecarpifolia Sm. forest. In general random distribution pattern (A/F ratio) was observed in all three types of forest. Alterations of land use pattern and population pressure are found to be main cause of increase in resources exploitation and that ultimately decreases species richness and diversity. Agro-forestry, alternate use of sites for resources and providing a recovery period to the forests are some of the strategies suggested for forest conservation, management and sustainable utilization of resources by the local people
Diversity and distribution of microlichens in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalaya, India
Get PDFThe paper reports the occurrence of 404 species of microlichens belonging to 105 genera and 39 families known so far, from the state of Arunachal Pradesh, a part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Twelve species, namely Arthopyrenia saxicola, Arthothelium subbessale, Diorygma macgregorii, D. pachygraphum, Graphis nuda, G. oligospora, G. paraserpens, G. renschiana, Herpothallon japonicum, Megalospora atrorubricans, Porina tijucana and Rhabdodiscus crassus, are new distributional records for India. Astrothelium meghalayense (Makhija & Patw.) Pushpi Singh & Kr. P. Singh and Astrothelium subnitidiusculum (Makhija & Patw.) Pushpi Singh & Kr. P. Singh are proposed as new combinations and 66 species marked by an asterisk (*) are new distributional records for the state
Traditional wisdom of conserving biodiversity through sacred groves: Ethnobotanical treasure in Garhwal Himalayas
Get PDFThe present study was conducted to record the ethnomedicinal plants and their uses in sacred groves of Rudraprayag district in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand. Field surveys were conducted to identify sacred groves and information was collected from local folks using structured questionnaires. Three sacred groves, namely 1) Banjyani, 2) Jakh devta, and 3) Satoli were identified in the region. The survey revealed 31 medicinal plant species representing 26 families and 29 genera. These plant species belong to diverse families and most dominant families in the groves were Lamiaceae, Moraceae, Ranunculaceae and Rosaceae. The medicinal plants used for different ailment in the sacred groves were dominated by herbs, followed by shrubs and trees. To treat different ailments, leaves were used in maximum number of ailments (33.33%), followed by bark (16.67%), root (12.50%), fruit (12.50%), whole plant (10.42%), flowers (6.25%), rhizome (4.17%) and bulb (2.09%). In identified sacred groves plants were used for different medicinal purposes i.e., cough, diarrhea, leprosy, leucorrhoea, jaundice, bronchitis, digestive issues and to improve appetite. The study confirms the dependence of local people on sacred groves for their health care. However, presence of threatened plants highlights the importance of sustainable utilization of medicinal plant resources available in the groves.
Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities.METHODS: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs.FINDINGS: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4-40·7) to 50·3% (50·0-50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1-46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5-29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2-89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664-711) of the 1830 (1797-1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6-80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6-59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017.INTERPRETATION: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation.FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
