Profiling, monitoring and conserving caterpillar fungus in the Himalayan region using anchored hybrid enrichment markers

Abstract

The collection of caterpillar fungus accounts for 50–70% of the household income of thousands of Himalayan communities and has an estimated market value of $5–11 billion across Asia. However, Himalayan collectors are at multiple economic disadvantages compared with collectors on the Tibetan Plateau because their product is not legally recognized. Using a customized hybrid-enrichment probe set and market-grade caterpillar fungus (with samples up to 30 years old) from 94 production zones across Asia, we uncovered clear geography-based signatures of historical dispersal and significant isolation-by-distance among caterpillar fungus hosts. This high-throughput approach can readily distinguish samples from major production zones with definitive geographical resolution, especially for samples from the Himalayan region that form monophyletic clades in our analysis. Based on these results, we propose a two-step procedure to help local communities authenticate their produce and improve this multi-national trade-route without creating opportunities for illegal exports and other forms of economic exploitation. We argue that policymakers and conservation practitioners must encourage the fair trade of caterpillar fungus in addition to sustainable harvesting to support a trans-boundary conservation effort that is much needed for this natural commodity in the Himalayan region.

A systematic survey of online trade in the caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis

“…The increased demand and price in global markets make it an important income source for rural communities (Pant et al, 2017). In some rural communities of the Himalayas, the species acts as a financial safety net (Shrestha & Bawa, 2014; Yadav et al, 2019; Karki et al, 2020), providing 50–70% of household income (Wang et al, 2022) whilst also reducing income inequality by as much as 38% (Shrestha et al, 2019). Furthermore, it is one of the most important contributors to household economy amongst the > 60 non-timber forest products (NTFPs) that are harvested in the Himalayas (Shrestha & Bawa, 2014).…”

“…Despite its socio-economic significance, there is limited knowledge of the caterpillar fungus trade, with much of what is known being based on interactions with local harvesters and key stakeholders (Shrestha & Bawa, 2013; Thapa et al, 2014; Hopping et al, 2018; Shrestha et al, 2019; Yadav et al, 2019) and analysis of available production data (Winkler, 2009; Wang et al, 2022). Although this information could provide site-specific trade information, overall trade statistics are poorly known and there has been little attention to the development of conservation strategies or policy for this trade.…”