Commiphora Wightii) Trade
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RESEARCH REPOSITORY This is the author’s final version of the work, as accepted for publication following peer review but without the publisher’s layout or pagination. The definitive version is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.04.040 Cunningham, A.B., Brinckmann, J.A., Kulloli, R.N. and Schippmann, U. (2018) Rising trade, declining stocks: The global gugul (Commiphora wightii) trade. Journal of Ethnopharmacology http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/40905/ Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier B.V. It is posted here for your personal use. No further distribution is permitted. Author’s Accepted Manuscript Rising trade, declining stocks: The global gugul (Commiphora wightii) trade A.B. Cunningham, J.A. Brinckmann, R.N. Kulloli, U. Schippmann www.elsevier.com/locate/jep PII: S0378-8741(17)34489-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.04.040 Reference: JEP11335 To appear in: Journal of Ethnopharmacology Received date: 22 December 2017 Revised date: 23 April 2018 Accepted date: 27 April 2018 Cite this article as: A.B. Cunningham, J.A. Brinckmann, R.N. Kulloli and U. Schippmann, Rising trade, declining stocks: The global gugul (Commiphora wightii) trade, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.04.040 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Rising trade, declining stocks: the global gugul (Commiphora wightii) trade A.B. Cunninghama,b*, J.A. Brinckmannc, R. N. Kullolid, U. Schippmanne aSchool of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, King Edward Avenue, Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa; and b School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South St., Murdoch WA 6150, Australia cTraditional Medicinals, 4515 Ross Road, Sebastopol, California 95472, USA d Botanical Survey of India, Arid Zone Regional Circle (AZRC), Jodhpur, Rajasthan-342014, India eBundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN), Konstantinstr. 110, Bonn 53179, Germany *Corresponding author. [email protected] (A.B. Cunningham) ABSTRACT Ethnopharmacological relevance: Commiphora wightii is exploited in India and Pakistan for an oleo-resin (gum guggul) traditionally used in Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medical systems. Processed C. wightii oleo-resin products are exported from India to 42 countries, including re-export to Pakistan, for anti-inflammatory use and as an anti-inflammatory and an anti-obesity treatment considered to lower cholesterol and lipid levels. The C. wightii export trade has particular relevance to the European Union because Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom are importing countries. Demand and prices for C. wightii oleo-resin are increasing and wild stocks of C. wightii are in decline. The overexploitation of C. wightii after tapping for its commercially valuable oleo-resin is not a new problem, however, but one that has existed for over 50 years. Lopping and chopping trees to extract C. wightii oleo-resin has had a devastating impact on C. wightii populations since the 1960’s. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to review the sustainability of the global trade in C. wightii oleo-resin. This included reviewing studies on resin tapping methods and the impacts of wild harvest on C. wightii populations in India and Pakistan. Materials and Methods: Firstly, we reviewed studies on impacts of C. wightii oleo-resin harvest and on the policy responses taken in relation to harvest and trade in C. wightii oleo-resin. Secondly, we reviewed studies on C. wightii cultivation. Thirdly, global trade data for C. wightii were analyzed. Results and Conclusions: Destructive harvest to obtain the gum is the major threat facing this species. C. wightii populations are also fragmented by habitat loss through clearing for farming. Cutting and lopping in order to extract the medicinal gum are a major threat to C. wightii populations, as is poor recruitment due to grazing by livestock. As a result of over-exploitation, C. wightii oleo-resin production has declined in India. In Gujarat, a key production area, the decline over a 50-year period has been from 30 tonnes in 1963, to 2.42 tonnes in 1999 to 1.6 tonnes in 2013. Consequently, large quantities of C. wightii oleo-resin (around 505 tonnes/year) are imported into India from Pakistan. An estimated 193 tonnes/year of crude gum equivalent is exported from India in the form of processed products. With remaining populations in decline due to commercial exploitation for international trade, a range of policy options (such as CITES Appendix II listing) and practical conservation actions (such as cultivation) need to be considered. Abbreviations: AYUSH, Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy; CAMP, Conservation Assessment and Management Plan process; CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species; CR, Critically Endangered; DD, Data Deficient; EU, European Union; E, Endangered; GRIN, Germplasm Resources Information Network; HS, Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System; INR, Indian rupees; ITC, Indian Trade Classification; IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature; MT, metric tonnes; USDA, United States Department of Agriculture; VU, vulnerable. Keywords: Commiphora wightii, oleo-resin, guggul, harvesting impacts, CITES 1.0 Introduction Commiphora wightii (Burseraceae) is a multi-branched shrub growing to 2 - 3 m high with the papery bark typical of many Commiphora species. Commercial exploitation of the gum currently 1 takes place in Pakistan, mainly in Baluchistan and Sind, (Williams & Ahmad, 1999) but also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan (Sher, et al., 2014) and in Gujarat and Rajasthan, India (Dixit & Rao, 2000; Kulloli & Kumar, 2013). Most gum harvest is from the wild, both for export and use in the Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani systems of medicine (Chaudhary, 2012). In India, C. wightii oleo-resin (widely known as gum guggul or guggulu) is also used as incense in meditation and purification rituals, in perfumery, calico-printing, dyeing silk and cotton and as firewood (Reddy, et al., 2012). C. wightii oleo-resin is also reported in use as a substitute for African myrrh (C. africana) and as an adulterant of true myrrh (C. myrrha) (Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, n.d.). Although new compounds continue to be found in C. wightii oleo-resins (Meselhy, 2003), the main commercial interest is in guggulsterones. These contain active ingredients used to treat arthritis, cancer and to reduce cholesterol and obesity (Antonio, et al., 1999; González-Castejón & Rodríguez- Casado, 2011; Sharma, et al., 2009). The main active ingredients are Z-guggulsterone and E- guggulsterone (González-Castejón & Rodríguez-Casado, 2011). Overexploitation of C. wightii and tree death after intensive tapping for its commercially valuable oleo-resin is a challenge that has persisted for over 50 years. Tapping, lopping and chopping trees to extract C. wightii oleo-resin has had a devastating impact on C. wightii populations since the 1960’s. Atal et al. (1975), for example, recorded that a “large number of plants of C. mukul (= C. wightii) were present some 10 to 15 years ago in Rajasthan, but the number has come down considerably, largely due to the faulty techniques of tapping employed by the local inhabitants” (Atal, et al., 1975). Similarly, in Gujarat, the local Forest Department collected 30 tons of gum-resin in 1963, but in 1999 only 2.42 tons were collected (Dixit & Rao, 2000). Observations by many researchers, including by Atal et al. (1975), Dixit and Rao (2000), Soni (2010), Soni and Swarnkar (2006) indicate declining C. wightii stocks. In India in 2002, C. wightii was classified as ‘Lower risk and conservation dependent (LRcd)’ [GES (Gujarat Ecological Society), MSU (Maharaja Sayajirao University) and GUIDE (Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology), 2002] cited in (Rajendrakumar, 2013). Commiphora wightii populations are considered to have declined to less than 50% of their original size, leaving isolated sub-populations (Parmar, 2003). More recently, a conservation threat assessment by Reddy et al. (2012) suggested that this species is threatened across all of Rajasthan and Gujarat and should be considered endangered (Reddy, et al., 2012). The Government of India now includes C. wightii under their Rare, Endangered, Threatened (RET) category of species (Samantaray, et al., 2011) and in Rajasthan there is a ban on tapping of C. wightii trees (Samanta & Mandal, 2014). It is not surprising, therefore, that in March 2015, the Government of India expressed concerns about difficulties the Ayurvedic medicine industry is experiencing procuring C. wightii (Naik, 2015). Internationally, although initially considered Data Deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List, it has recently been changed to Critically Endangered (CE) (Ved, et al., 2015). With demand and prices for gum guggul increasing and wild stocks of C. wightii in decline, the aim of this study was to review the extent of international trade in C. wightii oleo-resins, current conservation measures and the evidence for criteria for inclusion on CITES Appendix II based on Art. IV 2(a) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). 2.0 Materials and methods Firstly, to get clarity on the trade assessment, we accessed all available published information on the taxonomy and trade names for C. wightii. Secondly, trade data for C. wightii was analysed using a range of sources. Trade from Gujarat (2008- 2013) was from Yogi et al. (2014). International trade data was derived from the Govt. of India Department of Commerce EXPORT IMPORT DATA BANK (Version 7.2 – TRADESTAT) and the India- based Zauba import-export trade database, which relies on actual shipment documents (Zauba Technologies & Data Services Pvt.