Page 147 - Traditional Medicine Systems of BIMSTEC Member States – 2023 Report

While few studies and documentation on selected species have been done, a

great proportion of medicinal plants remained unexplored and extensively documented
offering inadequate information and statistics on their diversity, density and distribution.

The majority of the floral taxa in Bhutan perhaps fall under conservation-dependent,
data deficient and not evaluated, offering insufficient information to assign proper

conservation status. However, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species featured 417 species of Flora, 41 birds, 37 Mammals, 2 Butterflies, 15 Amphibian

and Reptiles in Appendix-I and Appendix-II as protected species that are currently found
in Bhutan.

To maintain healthy populations of the medicinal resource and to minimise severe
genetic loss, it has now become more urgent than ever to promote and conserve the

last remaining species through multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral approaches. The
resource mapping initiated by the Traditional Medicine Centre is one such initiative to

develop an inventory of Medicinal Resources of Bhutan for sustainable management,
monitoring and assessment. Thus far, it is conducted in three Districts prioritising high-

altitude medicinal plants.

3. Objective of the high-altitude medicinal plant survey
and mapping

• Document and assess the diversity, density and distribution pattern of the

high-altitude medicinal plants.
• Record morphological structures of the high-altitude medicinal plants.

• Collet specimen and develop herbariums.

4. Criteria

• All the medicinal species acknowledged by the Bhutanese Traditional Medicine
despite their Family, current usage, varied species, habitat and elevation were

included.
• Elevation range and habitat, species diversity and density, distribution and

richness, slope gradient and slope aspect, vegetation and dominant species,
and geographical area were also considered as some of the main factors for

quadrat/plot identification.

Bhutan

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