Unlocking Uncultivated Food for Mountain Livelihood: Case from Hindu Kush Himalayas

Abstract

Throughout the Hindu Kush Himalayas, uncultivated plants provide a green social and cultural security to millions of people supporting their livelihood. Review on evaluating the multifunctional role of uncultivated plants in perspective of livelihood support finds that plants add diversity to local food systems, reinforce local culture and contribute diversity to farming systems, and finally are important for household food and nutrition security, social security, income generation and health care. Further, this paper clarifies that local people maintain and conserve diversity for the sake of use. The wise conservation and use of uncultivated plants are essential elements for increasing food security, eliminating poverty, and maintaining the environment. However, the value and potential of uncultivated plants for food and nutrition security, household level health care, income generation opportunity are not yet realized. Fast changing climate and early projections on its impacts suggest that such programmes must increasingly consider the sustenance of ecosystem that promotes uncultivated plants as basis for the welfare of millions.

Diversity and use of wild and non-cultivated edible plants in the Western Himalaya

“…It is estimated that at least a billion people use WNEPs in their diet [ 30 ]. Millions of people in the Himalayan region depend on WNEPs for their daily food and vegetable requirements as well as for fresh fruit and medicines [ 30 – 33 ]. Our study documented 99 WNEP species currently used in various forms by the local people in the Kailash Sacred Landscape area in far west Nepal.…”

“…The true status of WNEPs, their contribution to livelihoods and the interrelationship with other species in the region has yet to be studied systematically [ 33 , 36 , 44 ]. Recent and past studies remain inadequate as they have focussed more on compiling lists of species and less on analysing their contribution to nutrition and food security [ 40 , 42 ].…”

“…Recent and past studies remain inadequate as they have focussed more on compiling lists of species and less on analysing their contribution to nutrition and food security [ 40 , 42 ]. Despite their important contribution to nutrition, WNEPs have also received little attention in government food and nutrition programmes in the region [ 2 , 33 , 44 ].…”

“…Changes in agricultural practices towards increased monocropping, use of herbicides and pesticides and increased mechanisation and changes in forestry practices towards more managed regimes and plantation may all play a role. At the same time, some WNEP species are becoming more heavily exploited as urbanised populations become motivated to eat local products and farmers collect plants for sale in urban markets rather than personal consumption [ 15 , 33 , 44 , 47 , 74 , 77 – 80 ]. Species with high use value are subjected to higher extraction, which may be unsustainable.…”

“…Control of overexploitation and illegal harvesting will be essential to ensure sustainable management. A coordinated effort is needed from all sectors to develop and implement in situ conservation, domestication and other conservation and management strategies for long-term management of WNEP species [ 1 – 5 , 13 , 19 , 31 , 33 ]. Furthermore, WNEPs can be promoted through the large-scale cultivation by integrating them into agricultural systems and making markets profitable for the benefit of the people [ 59 , 60 ] With the participation of local people and a wide range of other stakeholders, it will be possible to craft more holistic and culturally appropriate strategies for utilisation and management of WNEPs in the Western Himalayas [ 67 ].…”