'Not since an asteroid smacked earth 65 million years ago have animal and plant species died out so fast. We have no idea what we are losing.'

--Dr. E.O. Wilson. Harvard University.

Source of Healing.
All cultures from ancient times have used plants as a source of medicine. Today, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 80% of the world's peoples depend on traditional medicine and plant extracts for their primary health care needs. In Tibetan medicine, the value of medical herbs has long been understood and good use made of the hundreds of plant species that grow wild across the Himalayas.

Unexplored Resources.
The active ingredients in many modern medicines originate from plants. For instance, the effective compound found in common aspirin, acetyl salicylic acid, comes from willow bark. However, so far only a few hundred wild species have served to provide western medicines against cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Thousands of other species, whose biochemistry is yet unstudied, provide a huge reservoir of new and potentially effective substances. 

Essential Bio-diversity.
Large pharmaceutical companies are now showing a great interest in medicinal plants and are researching their effectiveness. However, in the Himalayas as well as elsewhere, over-harvesting is becoming a serious problem. Poor local villagers are paid to collect medicinal plants for export. Wholesale collection is common, leaving few remaining plants to set seed and produce viable populations. Over 7000 species of vascular plants are found in Nepal: 252 are endemic and over 600 are medicinal. Over 150 of these medicinal plants grow in Tengboche and they are under threat, growing at high altitude in a vulnerable mountain ecosystem.

Missing Medicines.
The decline in species has contributed to the scarcity of essential plants utilized in Tibetan medicine. Most medicines are a compound of at least three or four plants, and some are made from over 130 different ingredients. As bio-diversity is threatened, so too is the effectiveness of traditional medicine, and the plant knowledge on which it is based. Some important medicines are now missing from the Tibetan pharmacy due to a lack of ingredients. In addition, medicines made in a polluted environment are not as potent. Aware of this problem, Tengboche Rinpoche has recently helped establish a medicinal herb plantation and tree nursery on monastery land just below Tengboche. This project is supported by the Sacred Land Eco-Center and shop.


'Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and beautiful, which it is. Many people in the past also saw nature as inexhaustible, which we now know is the case only if we take care of it.

--H.H. The Dalai Lama.