From: Piet van der Poel <pipoel@...>
Subject: Re: [Bhutan-eForest] Cordyceps,, yaks and our alpine pasture
To: Bhutan-eForest@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2009, 12:06 AM

Unfortunately I never made it across Garula, and have only seen the Cordyceps around Singphel. I assume that you may be able to find Cordyceps where the host plant of the caterpillar is found, which could be close to glaciers but more often will be lower down in the valley and on the slopes. As for alterntives for Cordyceps, I have heard that the Chinese produced the mycellium of Cordyceps artificially (probably for the world class runners, known as "Ma's army"). However I assume that most producers of traditional medicine prefer the real thing. Yes ther glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. However, theyare unlikely to cause the floods in Bumdeling, although they may contribute a bit to it on warm summer days. Most of the floods between 2001 and 2004 were due to huge landslides and subsequent debris flows in the catchment of the Baregang Chhu (North of Longkhar). (I am amazed I remember these names, my memory must not be that bad). Purna, maybe you should consider to become a yak herder to maintain the "nice culture" ,but from the times I was out with the Singphel yakherders I can promise you that you would often long back for your comfortable place in Vienna, Thimphu or some other civilized place. Community based tourism is in principle a good thing but unless the circumstances have changed not an option for the Khoma or Bumdeling yak herding area because the area north of the militairy checkpoints is still off-limits for foreign tourists I assume, and since it is already difficult to get tourists to visit Chorten Kora. We may need to wait a while with this idea. I once suggested to move the Rodungla trail via Khoma, restore the cane bridge that used to exist in Khomathang? and continue via a high pass, Pankhar and Bumdeling to Chorten Kora. Probably a more feasible option for community based tourism.   So long Piet van der Poel, soil conservationist/natural resources manager China --- On Fri, 4/24/09, Phuntsho Namgyel <phuntshonamgyel2001@...> wrote: From: Phuntsho Namgyel <phuntshonamgyel2001@...> Subject: Re: [Bhutan-eForest] Cordyceps,, yaks and our alpine pasture To: Bhutan-eForest@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 9:20 PM Dear Purna,   Thank you for the posting.   I envy you at your accomplishment of the trek you undertook from Lhuntsi to Trashiyantsi over the high mountain passes. The high Himalayan mountain passes indeed present themselves as experiences close to heaven. I love mountain trekking. I continue to relish the memories of my own many treks over our high rocky mountains, glaciers, morraines, lakes and alpine pastures. I hope an opportunity will arise for me one day to make that trip you undertook.   Now coming over to one of the subjects you touched, Cordyceps, I want to discuss it further. I have heard this before that now the yak herders have become very rich from the sale of Cordyceps that they will buy up properties in the lower valleys, and they will give up their primary livelihood of yak hearding. I feel that this is not a fair comment.   Firstly, by implication, it is that we do not like the idea of our rural people coming out of the poverty trap. It is the right of every Bhutanese to aspire to get rich, and buy properties anywhere in the country.    Secondly, what is the point of saying that we are rich in biodiversity if when it brings people economic benefit, we immediately voice concern, and want to lock it up.    Thirdly, I have discussed earlier that historically, the economic shelf life of a high value natural product from the wild is short mainly due to domestication and substitution, for example, rubber is now obtained from large scale rubber plantations (domestication), and natural chewing gum has been replaced by petroleum gel (substitution). The extractors of these natural resources lost their sources of cash income, and these resources in the wild are not extracted anymore. There is therefore no guarantee that Cordyceps will continue to fetch attractive price for a long time.   Just the other day, I was with a prominent Cordyceps exporter during a social occassion. He said that in the two years Cordyceps business he was in, he suffered a 50% loss on his total investment, and that he is not participating in the business this year. He said that due to the current global financial crisis that the international demand may not be strong, and price received may not be attractive at all. The price last year was much less than the year before which greatly disappointed the collectors. The  'gold rush' by people to the high alpine areas may be much diminished this year, and if the price fetched this year is worse, there would certainly be less collectors next year.   In the natural resource management, particularly for non-timber forest products, it is important to heed to an old saying, 'Make Hay While the Sun Shines'.   Our concern for sustainability particularly of plant products is going little overboard. Ishall be glad to discuss it in a separate posting.   I must stop here for today.   Kind regards   Phuntsho Namgyel                       From: purna chhetri <purnab_2000@...> To: Bhutan-eForest@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 2:33:27 PM Subject: [Bhutan-eForest] Cordyceps,, yaks and our alpine pasture Dear Collogues I may be wrong but i would like to bring few things regarding the Cordyceps, legaligation and its lucrative trade for last few years. On this issue, i have already informed this forum that in Autumn 2007, we made a trip from Khoma ( Lhutse) to Bumdeling ( Yangtse) via Garula appr.5300 mals pass. On this journey, i have made some interesting observation, the following were some of them. 1. The Cordyceps sinensis grows very close to glaciers...it may be required glacier influeced temperature and humity for its optimum growth and survival.   2. both host ( insect) and fungi are important for its sustainabilty   3. Alarming but happening ..the glacier is melting at alarmingly high rate ( you could see moranes) scractes left behind by melting ice. To mee the flooding in Bumdeling valley was the result of the massive loss of ice on those mountain tops ( above shingphel areas) 4. At the social front there are tri--( three) interests group at the collection level itself ( the people with legal rights that is the residents of the alpine pastures..basically the yak herders, downstreams community ( they also wants to have the right to collect) and the poachers across the borders). Seemingly, it would be nice to see the conflict resolved at the beginning itself. 5. My suspision..and i asked the people to confirm my claims..that the people who have the legal rights to collect Cordyceps are also yak herders. with the enough cash flow in thier hands means..they yaks will not be a lucrative ventures for them and slowly they would desend down to settle in urban areas. I thin this is already happening..so what happens to the nice yak culture in our alpine ?   6. A suggestion: it would deem appropriate to start a community based tourism based on the cash earned from Cordyceps.. and also taking our yaks to elevated market commomdities ( the organic yak meat and produces). To me yaks are the most organic domesticated animals because they grazed on the alpine pasures of numerous herbs of medicinal values. These areas are not at al polulted with chemicals neither with exotic grasses. Therefore there is a great prospect on selling yak  produces even at international with organic logo.   That is all for today   Best regards,   Purna B.Chhetri Research Fellow Inst.of Silviculture BOKU, Vienna Austria.