Community participation was ensured at all levels of project implementation. In this project, community was given freedom to utilize the medicinal plants for their day to day problems. Medicinal preparations were provided to people at subsidized rate. The herbal garden seeds and seeds for cultivation were given at reduced cost. The supply of medicines and seeds at reduced price has motivated large number of beneficiaries to utilize medicinal plants for their problems.
Paliyar tribal communities located in the Varusanadu hills of Theni district are involved in project activities. Their rich medicinal plants knowledge was also documented.
Capacity - Building Component
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques were used for collection and documentation of ITK. PRA helped to establish good rapport with people and it helped people to share their rich indigenous knowledge without any hesitation. Awareness campaigns on ?Biodiversity conservation and sustainable medicinal plants utilization? had clearly informed the people about the need for conservation and revitalization of local health traditions. These campaigns were helpful in educating the people about ill effects of bio-diversity erosion.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The medicinal plants if conserved in a place, there is greater possibly for regenerating them in their Natural Habitat
A Medicinal Plants based small processing industry have been constructed for production of simple medicines. Now, we are producing 20 simple medicines for curing day to day problems
Farmers have started cultivating medicinal plants in the lands near foot hills instead of other crops like Groundnut, Sorghum, Cumbu where wild animals problems is acute.
Gender Focus
The project beneficiaries viz., villagers, traditional healers, farmers, self help group members, rural youths and NGO extension workers are effectively involved in planning, implementing and evaluating the project.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The project increased awareness on the conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. The people/villagers have curiosity in seeing in various medicinal plants conserved in the park. The regular publication of the project activities, articles on medicinal plants in newspaper and distribution of leaflet containing information on medicinal plants park has created real awareness about medicinal plants conservation and utilization of local health traditions.
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
The project received co-financing from the NGO (project implementing agency) through Donations and Loans and the community. The NGO has its own lands and agriculture fields. The income received from them are also used in this project. The NGO has contributed Rs. 1,86,544.60 (13.45% of the total project cost)
Community has given co-financing in terms of kind but not in cash
Linkages gef projects
There were links between our medicinal plants park project and the overall GEF. GEF places importance for the Conservation indigenous bio-diversity. Through this project, with the support of Mr.P.S. Sodhi, National Co-ordinator, UNDP-GEF-SGP, New Delhi, we have established rapport with MAPPA and OXFAM for strengthening our bio-diversity conservation initiatives.
Policy Influence
Traditional healers are not getting due recognition from the Government for practising traditional healing. During our traditional conference, the inherent problems existing have been analysed and it has been proposed a Network of Traditional healers for projecting their efforts. The establishment of this Network and the further contacts with Government may influence the Government policy to recognise the genuine traditional healers in practising without any difficulty.
Planning gef grant
Yes there is a greater possibility for upscaling this project in medium sized GEF project. This project has been successfully implemented in only one district (Theni) of western ghats. Western ghats is spread to the following 8 districts of Tamilnadu viz., Coimbatore, Nilgris, Dindigul, Madurai, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu with abundant scope for Bio-diversity conservation. If 25 NGOs are brought under a Network, the upscaled project can be successfully implemented.
Policy Impact
Yes there is an policy impact as the other visitors visited the plants park and were inspired by the project and they have decided to do the project in their respective villages as well which is an indirect impact o the government.
Replication of project activities
Yes, this project is suitable for replication in other regions of India and other countries. But location specific suitable modification should be carried out in the project activities. For this, a preliminary base line survey can be conducted by the project proposing organisation, before replicating this project activities.
Based on the experiences gained in our Medicinal Plants Park project, we would like to expand our project activities to address the following gaps/deficiencies identified in our project.
Project sustainability
Yes,The construction of small processing industry has strengthened the project activity, as the raw materials produced in the project are value added and sold to villages at subsidised rate which is helpful in sustaining the project activity.
As tribals are having rich medicinal plants knowledge, documentation of their knowledge among many tribal settlements will bring a sound indigenous knowledge, which needs greater focus
Planning non gef grant
yes, As many NGOs who have visited our medicinal plants park and seen our project activities, have expressed their willingness to collaborate and co-operate with us in the process of medicinal plants conservation through Networking of NGOs, because of the plants park we have made contact with various other Departments and will be scaled by the Government of India as well.
Project Results
The project has directly benefited 250 households comprising of farmers, agricultural labourers and fishing families. It has also generated wage employment and reduced the burden on women who are the ones who collect fuel wood and fodder. A Fodder development workshop was arranged in which fodder requirements of the whole village were determined and two Fodder Committees ? one for Purchase and the other for the fuel and fodder development activities were formed. Fodder grass is being cultivated in 32 acres of private land and 18 acres land of common land is being used for fodder and fuel wood cultivation. 15,000 plants of salt tolerant varieties of plants with other uses forage trees, shrubs and fuelwood species such as Pilu, Karanj and Su-Babul were planted in a nursery and about 2500 Pilu saplings for gap filling next year. About 2160 saplings were planted on the common plot on which only Profosis existed. 1200 bags of organic manure were applied in the fodder plots and 390kgs of seeds of different plants including grass species were sown. 400 metres of an old government constructed bund was repaired for the tidal regulators and an extra 15 metres constructed. A large number of villagers including women attended the Gram Sabha meeting where important decisions regarding the activities to be undertaken were made.
