Locals are watching prized herbs disappear — and it's throwing nature off balance.
In Nepal's Myagdi district, once-abundant herbs are getting harder to find. These plants — like yarsagumba, satuwa, allo, and sugandhawal — have been used for medicine and traded for income for generations. Now? They're vanishing fast.
What's happening?
As the Kathmandu Post reported, harvests are way down. Allo, for example, dropped from 5,500 kilograms in 2020–21 to none so far this year. Sugandhawal fell from 1,100 kg to just 45 kg.
One big reason: traditional grazing has all but stopped. In the past, livestock helped manage invasive weeds just by being out in the pastures. Now that fewer people raise animals, those weeds are spreading fast and pushing out the herbs that communities rely on.
"Since people have stopped taking livestock to the highland pastures, weeds that animals used to graze on have spread unchecked," said Bhakta Purja from the Ramche Community Forest Users Committee. "The once-abundant allo plant is now difficult to find."
Why does it matter?
This isn't just about plants. It's about people.
As herb production drops, incomes take a hit. Jobs tied to harvesting and processing disappear. Government revenue from collection permits has been cut nearly in half, from Rs 377,410 (over $2,720) to Rs 191,800 (over $1,380).
Forest officer and herbal researcher Chandramani Sapkota put it plainly: "We are beginning to see ecological imbalances."
Without grazing, weeds take over. That's led to a steep decline in 208 native herb species tracked in the area, according to the Kathmandu Post. Add in unpredictable rainfall, poor harvesting methods, and younger generations leaving for work elsewhere, and the picture gets worse.
"But with mobile animal sheds gone and highland farmlands left fallow, the ecological balance has been disturbed. Now, unnecessary plants are spreading more than the ones we actually need," Sapkota said.
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This isn't a lost cause. Some fixes are straightforward.
Bringing livestock back into highland pastures would help restore balance. Grazing keeps fast-growing weeds in check and clears the way for medicinal herbs to grow. "With proper conservation and management, we can revive herb production," said Binay Bahadur Adhikari from the Division Forest Office.
More support for herb collectors — and training on how to process plants properly — could make this work more stable and profitable again.
Open grazing isn't just an old tradition — it's smart ecology. Animals trample or eat fast-growing weeds, giving medicinal plants space to grow.
And protecting native plants helps more than forests. It helps food systems, incomes, and public health. More support for herb collectors and better training in how to process herbs could make the work more stable and profitable, too.
Restoring balance to native habitats protects more than plants — it protects people, food, and public health.
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