Some of these exports are associated with traditional medicine. However, India's comparative advantage in producing materials for export has not, as yet, been exploited to the full. During our conversation, Dr Karki emphasised the fact that with the exception of a limited number of plant species, the production base relies mainly on materials harvested from the wild. Current practices are unsustainable and many studies have shown rapid depletion of the natural resource base. This problem is further compounded by the inequitable nature of the harvesting and marketing of the plants, thereby perpetuating impoverishment for those charged with stewarding and gathering the resource.
Evidence points to a limited number of people profiting in dramatic disproportion to their inputs.
Nonetheless, India and Pakistan are known to be storehouses of biological diversity. They need to focus on sustaining the resource base of medicinal plants. Efforts to relieve pressure on wild plants through cultivation have made a good start but have a long way to go. This is a complex issue by virtue of the sheer numbers of plant species and the need for sustainable propagation, suitable agronomic practices, the selection of superior genotypes and linking production to people. The situation, I was informed would need to be looked at from the point of view of the resource base, the use of medicinal plants at the local level, marketing channels, exports, the domestic drug production sector and co-ordination efforts as well as the dissipation of informative material.