Back to news

Towards improved management of Yarsagumba in Api Nampa Conservation Area

2 mins Read

70% Complete

Yarsagumba (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), a highly prized Himalayan herb, is commonly known as caterpillar fungus and grows naturally in the northern alpine grasslands of Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Tibetan plateau of China within the altitude of 3,000 to 5,000 m. Recognized for its medicinal value, Yarsagumba trade has become one of the major income sources for mountain communities in these countries. This has led to over-harvesting and related environmental degradation in its habitat.

Within the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL), Yarsagumba plays an important role as a source of livelihood for remote mountain communities. It has also led to social conflicts, especially in relation to access and management of resources. The pilot area Api Nampa Conservation Area (ANCA) is one of the main Yarsagumba collection areas of Nepal. ANCA has been highly affected by the social and ecological changes due to Yarsagumba collection over the last years. Therefore, the government institutions as well as the communities have shown a great interest to work on national policies as well as on the local level management plans to reduce the negative impacts of Yarsagumba collection and trade.

The Kailash team together with the local committees and communities of ANCA organized two trips to the main Yarsagumba collection sites within ANCA – to Byash Village Development Committee (VDC) along the Mahakali River in June 2014 and to Ghusa VDC along the Chamelya River in June 2015 – to assess the situation and local management of the sites, raise awareness and identify relevant stakeholders, and discuss with them about possible solutions. These findings were shared and discussed with stakeholders on district level at the Yarsagumba stakeholder dialogue in May 2015 to agree on a way forward towards a better management of Yarsagumba in ANCA.

Some immediate results are noted here:

  1. Commitment of the ANCA management council and committees to develop a Yarsagumba Management Plan for ANCA, which provides guidelines for management of the sites. Following aspects were discussed and needs to be further followed up for implementation: camp management, entrance fee and usage of fees, limitation of collection areas, limitation of collection period, and limitation of collectors per site.
  2. Clarification of responsibilities: The VDC conservation committees will play the lead role on local level to raise awareness about the negative impacts of collection of Yarsagumba and to ensure implementation of activities towards improved management.
  3. Immediate actions – Ghusa VDC
  • Waste management: It was decided the committee members will take charge in different collection sites of Lolu region and conduct a week-long cleaning campaign of the campsites. After this, the waste will have to be managed by respective tents and shop/hotel owners for proper disposal.
  • Firewood: It was agreed that the people would use only dry/older trees from further down of the main campsite.
  • Meetings: Committees to meet along with ANCA officials after the collection season and three months in advance of every collection season to discuss issues and take decisions.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related Contents

Continue exploring this topic

5 May 2017 News
Strengthening Engagement with the Private Sector for Sustainable Mountain Development

For ICIMOD, engagement and partnerships with private sector entities are a means to support its vision and mission for sustainable ...

A more efficient brick sector through collaboration and mitigation actions

At the second Policy and Advocacy Network Asia (PAN) meeting on 20 and 21 June 2019, ICIMOD provided government representatives ...

Trash on Everest. This #WorldEnvironmentDay, it’s time to clean up our act

Read in Chinese   Three actions to #BeatPlasticPollution this World Environment Day Nowhere, it seems, is ...

23 Sep 2015 News
Kathmandu University MS Glaciology students present research proposals

Eight students from Kathmandu University were invited to ICIMOD 21 August 2015 to present their research proposals to a panel ...

21 Jan 2020 News
Balancing hydropower development and freshwater ecosystem conservation in Nepal

Freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, streams, springs, and wetlands provide various direct and indirect services. They are a critical ...

12 Jun 2017 News
Godavari Knowledge Park Virtual Tour Application Launched

The Godavari Knowledge Park virtual tour has been designed to share knowledge demonstrated at the park with a large mass ...

14 Aug 2017 Climate change
Living in the Shadow of Climate Change

These days, readers frequently come across headlines spelling of the approaching doom and gloom of climate change. In South Asia, ...

25 May 2015 News
Grave situation in Sindhuli as recovery begins

On 19 and 20 May, a team from ICIMOD visited four northern VDCs of Sindhuli District - Baseshwor, Bhimeshwor, Jalkanya, ...