Chhattisgarh Forest Department / NWFP Certification

Address by Dr. R.B. S. Rawat, Chief Executive Officer, National Medicinal Plants Board, Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Dr. Rawat mentioned that there had been volumes of literature available on certification and especially certification of timber products but there was very little on the certification of non-wood forest produce. He responded to the concerns expressed by Dr. Chakravarty by stating that the need for forest certification was for those countries wherever we were taking out forest timber from forest areas. He also stated that there was a possibility to go for certification of non-wood forest produce without necessarily going for certification of timber.

Secondly, he stated that certification was necessary for non-wood based products, and demanded following preconditions:

Products coming from forest sources have to be ascertained for having grown organically
Should have sustainable basis origin.
Domestic market should be there for the product. However, after catering to the domestic markets, we must also focus on the international markets as well.
Social aspects of certification should not be ignored and we should pay respect to the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues.

Dr. Rawat stated that during the workshop, the participants may give their deliberations and should try to discuss various facets of aspects such as:

What to certify?
Why to certify?
How to certify?
Who should be designated in the state or country to undertake certification without ignoring the international protocol?

Address by Mr. R.K. Agrawal, Natural Remedies, Bangalore

Representing the manufacturer's (industrial) group, Mr. R.K. Agrawal focused on the basic question of the need for certification and whether certification is needed at all and why? As an expert on medicinal plants, he preferred to focus on the medicinal plants rather than speak on other non-wood forest produce.

He began with his observations on the medicinal plants and their uses. He said that when we talk of medicinal plants, we need to know why we need medicinal plants and where these medicinal plants are being used and how are these plants used to treat various ailments. He explained that medicinal plants are used to keep the body healthy in the normal course. The Indian System of Medicine focuses on keeping the body healthy rather than curing the diseases. Falling sick is not a natural process of the body. It is only the unnatural activities, which make an individual sick and diseased.

The second concept Mr. Agrawal focused on is that when we fall sick, how do we cure that disease? He mentioned that when we work in this important segment, we have to consider three primary necessities listed below, which are important from the medical as well as industrial view points.

Efficacy	-	It should be certain that the plant would definitely work in curing the targeted ailment.
Safety	-	Safety is an important factor. It should be made certain that the plant product or the drug thus derived from the herb does not leave any side effect and that it does not lead to a new disease while curing an old one.
Consistency	-	The product which is being given uniformly to all the patients, under similar dosage and conditions should have predetermined, predictable consequences.