Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 13 (ANI): In a unique initiative, the Research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has initiated a program of reintroduction of rare and endangered plant species to their old natural habitat. Initially, the program has taken up 14 such plant species which are in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered or critically endangered or in the list of threatened plant species of the State Biodiversity Board and later on, it will be extended to more such species.

Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Conservator of Forest (Research), said, 'Earlier, such conservation programs were for faunal species only, and it is for the first time that such an initiative is being taken for plant species as well.'

He further added that most of these plants were of important medicinal value, and hence, they were overharvested from the wild, resulting in their depleted state.

The 14 species selected for this ambitious project include Himalayan Gentian, Red Crane Orchid, White Himalayan Lily, Golden Himalayan Spike, Doon Cheese Wood, Kunaon Fan Palm, Indian Spikenard, Patwa, and Himalayan Arnebia. Over the years, the research wing has mastered and developed propagation techniques of these species at their high-altitude centres and prepared new plants with seeds, rhizomes and bulbs of these threatened species. Their old natural habitats were identified and mapped. After that, suitable groundwork was carried out, and the reintroduction process began with the onset of the monsoon.

Chaturvedi added that the success of this program will open up venues for more such initiatives in other parts of the country as well. The first phase of the plantation is likely to be completed in July, and after that, these habitats will be continuously monitored and evaluated, with more such endangered species added in the next phase. (ANI)