Why in News?
Farmers in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, have adopted a sustainable cultivation model for the endangered medicinal herb Kutki (Picrorhiza kurroa), reducing pressure on wild populations while improving rural livelihoods.
What is Kutki?
- A high-value Himalayan medicinal herb found at 2,700 to 4,500 m altitude.
- Native to Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan.
- Widely used in Ayurveda for liver and digestive ailments.
Why is it Endangered?
- Overharvesting by uprooting the entire plant.
- Habitat degradation and rising commercial demand.
- Declining natural populations.
Sustainable Cultivation Model
- Developed by the Himalayan Research Group (HRG) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
- Farmers harvest only the stolons (horizontal stems), leaving the mother plant intact.
- This enables repeated harvesting, conserves the species, and provides a steady source of income.
- The programme is supported by DST’s Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development (SEED) Division and expanded under the Department of Biotechnology’s Himalayan Bioresource Mission (2022).
Conservation Status
- IUCN Red List: Endangered
- CITES: Appendix II (international trade regulated through permits)
Prelims Value Added
- CITES (1973; in force from 1975) regulates international trade in endangered species.
- Secretariat: Geneva, Switzerland.
- Appendix I: Commercial trade generally prohibited.
- Appendix II: Regulated trade.
- Appendix III: Protected by at least one country seeking international cooperation.
[2022] With reference to “Gucchi” sometimes mentioned in the news, consider the following statements:
1. It is a fungus.
2. It grows in some Himalayan Forest areas.
3. It is commercially cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of north-eastern India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] 1 only
[B] 3 only
[C] 1 and 2
[D] 2 and 3