GMPB- Gujarat Medicinal Plants Board

natural resources. No.2-18020/6/200/-M. P. Cell dated 04/06/2001 suggested to establish such a board at state level. In compliance to this instructions received from Government of India, State Government created Gujarat Medicinal Plants Board having head quarter at Gandhinagar vide Gov. Resolution no. SCD-102001-GOI-41-Chh, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, dated 29th May, 2002 under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare having Director, Indian System of medicines and homeopathy as Member Secretary of Board. With the time and in view of the scope of medicinal plants in public health particularly in rural areas, the board was made independent under the Chief Executive Officer, having the powers of head of department, vide Gov. NMPB/102006/CS/Chh, dated 28th December, 2007. Since then the post of Chief Executive Officer, which was of the level of Conservator of Forest in the beginning was upgraded to the level of Chief Conservator of Forests and then to the level of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. Presently the Chief Executive Officer is of the rank of Additional Principal Chief Conservative of Forest. Gujarat Medicinal Plants Board (GMPB) provides for promotional activities like resource documentation in-situ conservation, research and development, ex-situ conservation of rare and endangered species, support to Joint Forest Management Committees for value addition, warehousing, capacity building and training of primary collectors and forest dwellers in good collection and sustainable and harvesting practices etc. In view of the increasing demands of herbal products, it is necessary that the primary production of medicinal plants is augmented and the entire process of collection, processing, storage, trading and marketing is made more efficient. Very often the objectives of biodiversity conservation do not allow commercial harvesting of Medicinal Plants. Day by day more and more areas getting covered by some kind of legal provisions aiming at biodiversity or wildlife conservation. There are 26 Protected Areas have been declared in the state(4 National Park & 22 Sanctuaries). Thus with the ongoing efforts of biodiversity and wildlife conservation, the natural habitat for medicinal plants may expand but the actual commercial harvesting of medicinal plants from such areas would get shrunk. Cultivation of medicinal plants over non-conservation area such as private land, community land, and waste land will only solve problem of availability of raw material to meet the market demand in future.