Economy

Rare fungus faces extinction

By Daniel Chinoy (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-15 07:05

WHAT IS CATERPILLAR FUNGUS?:
BEIJING — Although classified as a mushroom, caterpillar fungus — or dongchongxiacao, which literally means “winter insect, summer grass” — is a parasite that attacks moth larvae. It slowly grows inside them until it kills and mummifies them, eventually producing a fruiting body that releases spores that infect other caterpillars. The fungus is harvested in May and early June, just before the spores are released. If consumed, it is said to boost stamina and sexual performance, as well as strengthening the immune system, lungs and kidneys. It is most commonly ground into a powder, dissolved with boiling water and served like tea.

Caterpillar fungus only grows at high altitudes on the Tibetan plateau in an area that stretches from Nepal, through northern Sichuan province and into Qinghai province. However, warming temperatures and over-harvesting have caused populations to fall by nearly 90 percent in some areas, say experts.

As a result, it is one of the most valuable medicinal products on the market today. One jin –roughly equal to 500 grams — sells for up to 80,000 yuan ($12,000), with some experts claiming prices can top 100,000 yuan. The largest markets for the fungus tend to be in South China and around Shanghai.

The Sichuan provincial government is also working closely with environmental NGOs like the WWF, TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature on a series of pilot projects designed to develop improved regulations and sustainable harvesting practices that can be replicated elsewhere.

The WWF is also attempting to create a "sustainable harvest" label similar to the fair trade label for coffee to use with plants gathered in an environmentally sound way.

In Qinghai, authorities have ordered that caterpillar fungus only be harvested from the same areas every other year, while in 2003 the Tibet autonomous region established a national protected area for caterpillar fungus and placed a restriction on its harvesting.

Such efforts face serious obstacles, however, including poor coordination between numerous government agencies involved in the regulation of the TCM supply chain, said Xu at the WWF. This results in contradictory laws and regulations, muddled responsibilities and poor enforcement of the laws that do exist, he said.

Moreover, the areas where medicinal plants are harvested are usually hard to reach, making enforcement of environmental regulations difficult and costly. "The government is beginning to focus on this more seriously," said Guo. "The challenge is that most areas with medicinal herbs are poor, remote and hard to regulate."

For their part, some traditional Chinese medicine doctors now prescribe

Dongchongxiacao, a rare fungus

substitutes for rare or endangered species, said Mark Yang, an assistant professor at the Beijing University of TCM and a doctor at the school's clinic. "Demand for herbs has grown so much over the last 20 years. How to develop the industry and how to keep a good relationship with the environment is a big question," he said.

"About 3,000 years ago, this was not an issue, but now we are dealing with challenges around us that we never had before," said Lixin Huang at the American College of TCM. "If we still use the same old way of practicing medicine without acknowledging that we have a responsibility for nature, then soon we're going to wipe out a lot of plant and animal species."

But for Ma Youcai, there is simply too much money to be made to not harvest the caterpillar fungus.

Next year, he will have saved enough to buy his family a computer, which he plans to use to follow the news and learn more about the world outside his village. He also hopes it will improve his caterpillar fungus sales, since he will be able to look up prices and gather more information about the market online.

"If we didn't look for the fungus, we would be much poorer. It makes our lives much better," he said.

(China Daily 04/15/2010 page1)

More cover stories