Archive | 2019
Establishing in situ gene bank of Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth ex Kurtz in Western Nepal with a focus on conservation and sustainability
Abstract
Raulvofia serpentina or common name ‘Serpentine’ is a medicinal plant belonging to the Apocyanaceae family and is an endangered plant. It is indigenous to the forest of South East Asia (Nepal, India, East Pakistan, Bhutan) including Burma, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Malaysia and Indonesia.1–5 In Nepal, its distribution ranges from East to West up to an altitude of 900m above the sea level. This genus comprises of two species, among them Raulvofia serpentine is one of them.2 This Raulvofia serpentina species is included in the endangered list by International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Critical by Conservation Assessment and Management Plant (CAMP), Nepal conservation List as Kha (Banned for export outside the country without processing), CITES included in Conservation List II. The Nepal Forest Act 1993, Forest Regulation 1995 and Amendment 2001 have banned the export of the Serpentine without processing. It is included in the national priority list for cultivation by the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Department of plant Resources, Kathmandu, Nepal (DPR 2012). Among several species, the genetic invasion has already been faced by Rauvolfia serpentina in Nepal. The large scale unsustainable over-harvesting of Rauvolfia has threatened its continuous survival in wild and genetic diversity has been threatened. This medicinal plant has been listed as protected plant in Nepal. Forest Act 1993 and CITES 1975 Appendix II has provided the legal protection from over-harvesting; however, extraction of this resource from the forest still continues. On the other hand, there is lack of enough scientific information on the accessions, genetic diversity and breeding system of ‘Serpentine’ in Nepal. Implementation of study to locate and assess diversity, explore the conservation ways and sustainable utilisation measures are apriority that require immediate actions in Nepal. The current research is one of the novel concepts in Nepal which integrate forest gene bank approach to secure the longterm conservation of globally significant biodiversity i.e., Rauvolfia serpentina of the western Terai region of Nepal with the goal of its sustainable development. Two broad approaches of conservation, viz., in situ and ex situ have already been shown as effective ways to conserve the global biodiversity. There are different types of conservation modalities at different levels, such as from gene to landscape levels that have been developed to further strengthen the conservation initiatives. The general conservation strategies for forest genetic resources are basically similar to those one that applies to crop species and consist of consecutive phases. The existing forest resources and their genetic variation is a starting point for conservation activities. After the priority species have been identified, their genetic diversity needs to be assessed so that the conservation activities and possible germplasm collection are focused on suitable areas. As an active conservation measure, locally isolated gene pools of critically endangered species could be combined into new ex situ and in situ conservation stands, or into the so-called ‘Forest gene banks’ in which large ranges of gene sources are purposely put together.6–15