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Diverted Wealth: The Trade in Himalayan Herbs
Medicinal plants make up the largest economic resource being tapped across the Himalayan region, but mountain peasants get to see only a tiny fraction of the profits. It is a historically secretive trade and little is known about who collects, who trades, who profits and whether there is overharvesting. Clearly, though, the economic future seems to lie not in timber, but in "minor forest products", including herbs.
In early January, while inaugurating a private herb processing and oil extraction factory at Jawabhari near Nepalganj in the western Tarai, Nepal's Minister of State for Forests and Soil Conservation Sir Mani Dhakal had this to say: