Findings from 2016 fieldwork conducted in Dumrikharka, Nepal and Tutung, Nepal are
compared to existing literature to describe the political ecology of medicinal plants in rural
Nepal. Prior to the advent of biomedicine, rural communities in Nepal relied on
phytochemically active compounds in medicinal plants as their primary source of medicine;
however, ethnobotanical practices have shifted over time due to economic, environmental, and
sociocultural stimuli.
Anthropogenic climate change threatens individual plant species and ecosystem
biodiversity. Globalized markets unabated by weak conservation programs place increasing
demands on medicinal plants. As indigenous plants become overharvested and more difficult to
access, Nepalis incorporate non-indigenous plants into the local pharmacopeia. Novel use of
non-indigenous plants illustrates both the dynamic, resilient nature of traditional medicine
systems and a loss of biodiversity.