Chasing Chinese Caterpillar Fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) Harvesters in the Himalayas: Harvesting Practice and Its Conservation Implications in Western Nepal

Society and Natural Resources

Volumn 27, Issue 12, 2014, Pages 1242-1256

  Shrestha, Uttam Babu ^a   Shrestha, Sujata ^b   Ghimire, Shivaraj ^c   Nepali, Kamal ^c   Shrestha, Bharat Babu ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON   (United States)

^c TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY   (Nepal)

Author keywords

biodiversity conservation; harvesting; medicinal fungus; Nepal

Indexed keywords

BIODIVERSITY; FUNGUS; HARVESTING; MEDICINE; PERCEPTION; SUSTAINABILITY;

NEPAL;

FUNGI;

EID: 85027958910     PISSN: 08941920     EISSN: 15210723     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2014.928394     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. Belcher , B. , and K. Schreckenberg . 2007 . Commercialization of non-timber forest products: A reality check . Dev. Policy Rev. 25 : 355 – 377 .
2. Brooks , J. S. , K. A. Waylen , and M. B. Mulder . 2012 . How national context, project design, and local community characteristics influence success in community-based conservation projects . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sciences USA 109 : 21265 – 21270 .
3. Cannon , P. F. , N. L. Hywel-Jones , N. Maczey , L. Norbu , T. Samdup , and P. Lhendup . 2009 . Steps towards sustainable harvest of Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Bhutan . Biodivers. Conserv. 18 : 2263 – 2281 .
4. Central Bureau of Statistics . 2011 . Preliminary results of 2011 population census . Kathmandu , Nepal : Central Bureau of Statistics (in Nepali) .
5. Cleaver , P. D., J. C. Holliday, and M. L. Powers. 2011. Method for growing Cordyceps sinensis on a substrate. U.S. Patent no. US 8008060B2 USA.
6. Devkota , S. 2006 . Yarsagumba [Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.)Sacc.]; Traditional utilization in Dolpa district, western Nepal . Our Nature 4 : 48 – 52 .
7. Devkota , S. 2010 . Ophicordyceps sinensis (Yarsagumba) from Nepal Himalaya: Status, threats and management strategies . In Cordyceps resources and environment , ed. Zhang Ping Hao-wei , 91 – 108 . Xining , China : Grassland Supervision Center by the Ministry of Agriculture, People's Republic of China .
8. District Forest Office-Dolpa . 2010 . An introduction of Yarsagumba collection and management in Dolpa . Dunai , Dolpa , Nepal : District Forest Office (in Nepali) .
9. Ghimire , S. K. , D. McKey , and Y. Aumeeruddy- Thomas . 2005 . Conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants: Harvesting patterns and ecology of two threatened species, Nardostachys grandiflora DC. and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora (Pennell) Hong . Biol. Conserv. 124 : 463 – 475 .
10. Government of Bhutan . 2002 . Biodiversity action plan for Bhutan 2002. Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan, Thimphu.
11. Government of Nepal . 2011 . Summary data on medicinal plants trade and distribution in 2011 . Kathmandu , Nepal : Department of Forest, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal (in Nepali) .
12. Guo , J. , X. Liu , and K. Kanari . 2012 . Towards sustainable livelihoods from wild medicinal resources: Economic aspects of harvesting and trading the Chinese caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis and Southern Schisandra Schisandra sphenanthera in China's Upper Yangtze Ecoregion . Traffic Bull. 24 : 16 – 24 .
13. His Majesty's Government of Nepal . 1993 . Forest act 1993 . Kathmandu , Nepal : Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (in Nepali) .
14. His Majesty's Government of Nepal . 1995 . Forest regulation 1995 . Kathmandu , Nepal : Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (in Nepali) .
15. Holliday , J. , and M. Cleaver . 2008 . Medicinal value of the caterpillar fungi species of the genus Cordyceps (Fr.) link (Ascomycetes), A review . Int. J. Med. Mushrooms 10 : 219 – 234 .
16. Li , Y. , X. L. Wang , L. Jiao , Y. Jiang , H. Li , S. P. Jiang , N. Lhosumtseiring , S. Z. Fu , C. H. Dong , Y. Zhan , and Y. J. Yao . 2011 . A survey of the geographic distribution of Ophiocordyceps sinensis . J. Microbiol. 49 : 913 – 919 .
17. Ma , Y. X. 2010 . Ophiocordyceps sinensis resource and its management in China . In Cordyceps resources and environment , ed. Zhang Ping Hao-wei , 3 – 6 . Xining , China : Grassland Supervision Center by the Ministry of Agriculture, People's Republic of China .
18. Olsen , C. S. 2005 . Trade and conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants: Nardostachys grandiflora DC. and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora (Pennell) Hong . Biol. Conserv. 125 : 505 – 514 .
19. Olsen , C. S. , and H. O. Larsen . 2003 . Alpine medicinal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies . Geogr. J. 169 : 243 – 254 .
20. Ostrom , E. 1999 . Revisiting the commons: Local lessons, global challenges . Science 284 : 278 – 282 .
21. Ostrom , E. 2007 . A diagnostic approach for going beyond panaceas . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sciences USA 104 : 15181 – 15187 .
22. Pegler , D. N. , Y. J. Yao , and Y. Li . 1994 . The Chinese “caterpillar fungus.” Mycologist 8 : 3 – 5 .
23. Shahi , D. B. 2012 . Mugali sold cordyceps worth 400 million rupees. Kantipur National Daily (in Nepali). http://www.ekantipur.com/nep/2069/4/20/full-story/352338.html (accessed 4 August 2012)
24. Shrestha , B. , W. Zhang , Y. Zhang , and X. Liu . 2010 . What is the Chinese caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Ophiocordycipitaceae)? Mycology 1 : 228 – 236 .
25. Shrestha , U. B. 2012 . Asian medicine: a fungus in decline . Nature 482 : 35 .
26. Shrestha , U. B. , and K. S. Bawa . 2013 . Trade, harvest, and conservation of Caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) in the Himalayas . Biol. Conserv. 159 : 514 – 520 .
27. Shrivastava , V. K.2010. Trade chain analysis of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and Tricholoma matusutake in Bhutan. In Proceedings of the biennial meeting of the Scandinavian Society of Forest Economics, ed. F. Helles and P. S. Nielsen, 396–416. Gilleleje, Denmark: Scandinavian Society of Forest Economics.
28. Singh , N. , R. Pathak , A. S. Kathait , D. Rautela , and A. Dubey . 2010 . Collection of Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc. in the interior villages of Chamoli district in Garhwal Himalaya (Uttarakhand) and its social impacts . J. Am. Sci. 6 : 5 – 9 .
29. Stewart , M. O. 2009 . Exploring the rush for ‘Himalayan Gold’ Tibetan Yartsa gunbu harvesting in northwest Yunnan and consideration for Management . In Contemporary visions in Tibetan studies, Proceedings of the First International Seminar of Young Tibetologists , ed., 69 – 91 . Bangkok , Thailand : Serindia Publications .
30. Stone , R. 2008 . Last stand for the body snatcher of the Himalayas? Science 322 : 1182 .
31. Tsim , K. W. K. , and P. L. Shao . 2005 . Cordyceps sinensis—A traditional Chinese medicine known as winter-worm summer-grass . Asia-Pacific Biotech News 9 : 1160 – 1164 .
32. Varghese , A. , and T. Ticktin . 2008 . Regional variation in non-timber forest product harvest strategies, trade, and ecological impacts: The case of Black Dammar (Canarium strictum Roxb.) use and conservation in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, India . Ecol. Society 13 : 11 . http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art11
33. Weckerle , C. S. , Y. Yongping , F. K. Huber , and Q. Li . 2010 . People, money, and protected areas: The collection of the caterpillar mushroom Ophiocordyceps sinensis in the Baima Xueshan nature reserve, southwest China . Biol. Conserv. 19 : 2685 – 2698 .
34. Winkler , D. 2009 . Caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) production and sustainability on the Tibetan plateau and in the Himalayas . Asian Medicine 5 : 291 – 316 .
35. Wong , Y. Y. , A. Moon , R. Duffin , A. Barthet-Barateig , H. A. Meijer , M. J. Clemens , and C. H. De Moor . 2010 . Cordycepin inhibits protein synthesis, and cell adhesion through effects on signal transduction . J. Biol. Chem. 285 : 2610 – 2621 .
36. Xuan , C. 2012 . How long can the caterpillar fungus craze last? China Dialogue . http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/5143-How-long-can-the-caterpillar-fungus-craze-last- (accessed 24 December 2012).
37. Zhang , Y. , E. Li , C. Wang , Y. Li ., and X. Liu . 2012 . Ophiocordyceps sinensis, the flagship fungus of China: Terminology, life strategy and ecology . Mycology 3 : 2 – 10 .
38. Zhou , X. W. , Z. H. Gong , Y. Su , J. Lin , and K. Tang . 2009 . Cordyceps fungi: Natural products, pharmacological functions and developmental products . J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 61 : 279 – 291 .