In a significant step to conserve the rich natural wealth of Jammu and Kashmir as well as to hand over the rights of forests and their produce to the original dwellers, the J&K administrative led by the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the policy for sustainable collection and utilisation of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP). The new policy, according to an official spokesperson, will ensure sustainable collection and utilization of NTFP, including medicinal plants while providing livelihood support to the people who have been residing in and around forests for several decades. The policy will promote sustainable extraction, value addition and development of market linkages and bring the forest dwellers at par with the rest of the country when it comes to their rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Forest Policy 2011. The government has said that the new policy will lead to dispensing of the existing practice of auction of non-timber forest products, which curtailed the rights of the forest dwellers like Gujjars and Bakerwals, who are the poorest of the poor in Jammu and Kashmir. They will now be legally allowed to collect resources from the wild on a sustainable basis so that they can share the benefits equitably amongst themselves. “It will result in enhancement of income of the local communities,value addition of these products besides Forest Department will also extend support for market linkages,” an official spokesperson said. Kashmir’s mountains are a treasure trove of rare herbal plants which are not found elsewhere in the world. According to one research, more than 1500 medicinal plants have been found in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, some of which are facing the threat of extinction. Besides having a great medicinal value with some of these plants being researched for their anti-inflammatory qualities that are ultimately linked to cancer treatment, Kashmir’s great natural wealth in the mountains has also great mystical qualities. Jogi Padshah, a rare flower which is exclusive to the Himalayas, is kept by people in their homes to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. However, over the past several years, these plants have become prey to traders involved in medicinal herb smuggling as well as some mountain lovers who vandalise the ecosystem of forests during their treks. The rolling out of the new policy is an important step which will help in conservation and preservation of Kashmir’s natural wealth.