Lei Jufang: Establish a Tibetan medicinal resource conservation area centered on Tibet.

　　On March 2, Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairperson of Tibet Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd., suggested in an interview with a reporter from the China Securities Journal that a Tibetan medicine resource conservation zone centered on Tibet should be established and designated as a key project under the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan for ecological protection and restoration.

　　Tibetan medicine is the leading force among China’s ethnic medicines. The complex and unique natural conditions of the snowy plateau have nurtured an abundant treasure trove of Tibetan medicinal resources, encompassing not only herbal medicines, animal-derived medicines, and mineral-based medicines, but also a diverse range of plant medicines spanning cold, temperate, and tropical climates. Surveys indicate that Tibet boasts 2,436 species of Tibetan medicinal resources, including 2,172 plant species, 214 animal species, and 50 mineral species. Because most Tibetan medicinal herbs grow in special geographical environments characterized by high altitudes, frigid temperatures, oxygen deficiency, extreme day-night temperature fluctuations, and intense sunlight, Tibetan medicines exhibit remarkable resilience to cold and drought, employ unique reproductive strategies, and demonstrate highly efficient photosynthetic accumulation—features that give them significantly superior medicinal efficacy compared to substitutes or similar species grown in lower-altitude regions. Moreover, due to minimal exposure to industrial pollution, Tibetan medicinal resources thrive in a pristine, low-pollution environment, making them truly “green” medicines.

　　However, due to the unique characteristics of the plateau climate and the unregulated exploitation of medicinal resources on the plateau, the sustainable development of Tibet’s Tibetan medicine industry has been hampered. Today, the number of Tibetan medicine production enterprises in Tibet has grown to over 20. In recent years, an increasing number of enterprises have engaged in exploitative resource extraction, leading to phenomena such as “prioritizing finished-product manufacturing over sourcing medicinal materials, emphasizing development over conservation, and engaging in indiscriminate and excessive harvesting.” As a result, Tibet’s natural medicinal resources are becoming increasingly depleted, trapping Tibetan medicinal materials in a vicious cycle: the more expensive they become, the more aggressively they are mined; the more they are mined, the scarcer they become; and the scarcer they become, the more expensive they get. For example, the actual harvest volume of Tibetan Artemisia is now less than 40% of the actual demand. The reserves of resources such as snow lotus, Rhodiola rosea, and Picrorhiza kurroa have plummeted sharply, and in some local areas, these resources are even nearing extinction. It is now urgently necessary to launch rescue efforts and implement protective development measures for these precious resources.

　　Lei Jufang proposed four specific measures: First, implement in-situ conservation by establishing a core protection zone for Tibetan medicinal resources in Nanyigou, Linzhi, Tibet. Second, carry out ex-situ conservation through wild cultivation and artificial propagation, protecting rare and endangered Tibetan medicinal species as well as key large-scale medicinal plants in areas such as Linzhi, Ali, Shannan, and Chayu in Tibet. Third, advance ex-vitro conservation efforts by establishing a germplasm bank and a gene bank for Tibetan medicinal materials, preserving seeds, tissues, organs, DNA, and other organs or tissues of endangered or endemic Tibetan medicinal resources, and conducting research on germplasm resources and wild cultivation based on these collections. Fourth, building upon the conservation of Tibetan medicinal resources, promote their comprehensive development and utilization, thereby driving low-carbon economic development in Linzhi, Tibet, and creating an industrial park that integrates resource industries, natural product and health-care product manufacturing and processing industries, and eco-friendly leisure tourism—forming a three-in-one industrial cluster.

　　Reporting Media: China Securities Journal - CS.com

　　Report link: http://www.cs.com.cn/xwzx/hg/201603/t20160303_4915357.html