Workshop on Himalayan Medicinal Plants
This workshop took place last December in Kathmandu and involved scientists, conservationists, and government officials, as well as representatives of other institutions from Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China. One of the conclusions of the workshop was that, to be successful, any initiative to conserve and promote medicinal plants should be linked with the livelihood of local people. Thus, Dr. Chandra P. Gurung, Country Representative of the WWF Nepal Programme, commented: "There should be a connection between efforts on conservation of medicinal plants and livelihood to ensure success in the conservation and promotion of the plants." Also emphasized was the need for regional cooperation in the processing of medicinal plants in the country, and the need to conserve the traditional knowledge of the Amchis. The important role that local communities play in medicinal plant conservation was stressed by Dr Alan Hamilton, and Dr Yildiz Aumeeruddy-Thomas remarked that trade in medicinal plants is expanding at a spectacular rate, making it still more important to preserve the existing traditional medical system.

New Video
TREE SKIN: methods for studying people's use of bark
(26 min, PAL)
Camera, Script & Direction: Tony Cunningham
Editing: Nic Zimmermann & Pippa Hetherington
This latest video will soon be available. It deals with a topic central to the people/plant interface, and one of great ecological concern.
Billions of people use bark: cork oak bark for fishing floats and wine bottle corks, leather shoes tanned with wattle bark extract, bark for spices, anti-malaria tablets from Cinchona bark, fibre for making mats or low-cost housing, cloth, and even high quality paper. Worldwide, however, forestry training and methods have concentrated on timber production, rather than on studies of non-timber forest products such as bark. Bark is like a tree's skin, protecting plants from injury and attack by insects, fungi or fire, and is as essential to the life of the tree - and to timber production - as skin is to any mammal. In studying bark, we need to go more than skin deep - and not only "see the wood for the trees" - but the bark as well. Despite bark's multiple values, methods of studying bark use and production are poorly known and rarely taught. This video is an introduction to methods of studying bark use, emphasizing practical field methods which blend forestry and ethnobotany, to link sustainable harvest and people's livelihoods.

News from Kew
Hew Prendergast is leaving in mid-February to take up the post of Superintendant of Ashdown Forest, a famous area of heathland and commons in Sussex, UK. The People and Plants team wish him well in his new job, and thank him for his support of our work.

Photo Pages
There is a new section on the website. This highlights selected field projects and meetings involving the People and Plants team and their colleagues. The aim is to present a kind of visual diary of such events, with photographs and brief notes explaining the key points or concepts.

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Urgent Feedback Request
We still need your feedback about our programme. Please look at the simple questionnaire, which may also be reached via the 'Feedback' button. Then either copy the form and send it in by post, or answer as many questions as you can by email to Martin Walters. This will help us gauge the practical value of our products and adapt our outputs, as well as judge the effectiveness of our methods of distribution. We are all most grateful for your help.

The newsletter, reflecting the activities of People and Plants, is compiled by:
Martin Walters
People & Plants Editor and Web-manager