New Delhi, Feb. 13: Rare medicinal plants on the verge of extinction and protected under the Wildlife Act continue to be exported with impunity.
Union environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh wants a moratorium on their export, claiming that this is the only way India’s national biodiversity can be saved. Mr Ramesh, speaking exclusively to this paper, admitted: "Annually, Rs 800 crores worth of rare medicinal plants are being exported in raw form. These plants then get re-imported back into the country as medicines which are sold at much higher prices."
"A five-year moratorium should be placed on the export of all raw materials in order to save these plants from extinction," the minister said.
Heading the list of rare plants is rauvolfia serpentina or sarpagandha (Indian snakeroot) and gloriosa superba (fire lily or flame lily).
Environmental activists are not willing to buy Mr Ramesh’s explanation, especially since the environment ministry notified on October 26, 2009 that 190 plants no longer fell under the provisions of the Biodiversity Act of 2002. These include a whole range of aromatic plants, spices, including black pepper, turmeric, garlic and chillies, and plantation crops like coconut and coffee, as well as cardamom, tamarind, neem and garlic.
This notification allows the commerce ministry to export all these food items without seeking prior permission from the environment ministry. "A distinction must be made between exports and the use of these commodities as biological resources, which falls under the purview of Section 30 of the Biodiversity Act," ministry sources clarified.
All-India Kisan Sabha general secretary Vijoo Krishnan strongly condemned the clandestine manner in which 190 plants were dropped from the protection of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. "The move seriously compromised India’s sovereign rights over its biological resources, especially since it was executed without consultations with the state governments," Mr Krishnan said.
National Biodiversity Authority chairman P.L. Gautam maintained that the notification applies only in situations where plants are traded as commodities. "Permission would be necessary if plants are used for other purposes, including research," Mr Gautam said.
Other activists believe the environment and forests ministry has made no provision to prevent a foreign company from exploiting such biological resources for research purposes after it leaves India. Interestingly, even Bt brinjal has been included in the list of unprotected vegetables.
Mr Ramesh maintains that as minister of state for commerce in 2007 he had sent a proposal to impose a five-year ban on export of raw materials but the proposal had been shot down by commerce minister Kamal Nath.
Kerala State Biodiversity Board chairman V. Shankar Vijayan has admitted that the state government was not consulted on this issue. "I didn’t know about this notification," said Mr Vijayan.
Rashme Sehgal