Accolades for Preservation and Sustainable Development
A very special part of the State of Chhattisgarh, Bastar , the tribal area comprises of 3 districts - Bastar, Kanker and Dantewada. All these 3 districts comes under Bastar Division with the divisional head quarter at Jagdalpur, which is the district head quarter of Bastar district.
Bastar is a heavily forested region with the total forest area being 7112 sq km which is more than 75 % of the total area of the district .Of the total population more than 70 % are tribals
like Gonds, Abhuj Maria, Darda Maria, Bison Horn Maria , Munia Doria , Dhruva, Bhatra ,Halba etc. It is tribal area where ethnic culture has been preserved as if in a showcase with forests of Sal , Teak , Sheesam ,Bija etc., and idyllic environment of mountains and waterfalls. Some important stops for interested traveler have been often enlisted as Chitrakot and Tiratgarh (both are water falls), Kotamsar and Kailash caves, Kanger Valley National Park etc. Indravati National Park, known for tigers and wild buffaloes is situated at a distance of 200 Kms, west of Jagdalpur, the Kurschel Valley, with its gigantics trees, situated at 40 Kms. north west of Narainpur and . There are two wild life sanctuaries Bhairamgarh and Pamed which are in antewada district.

The mahua tree has a special importance for the tribes of Bastar. Each and every part of the mahua tree is used for consumption: the leaves as a vegetable, the fruit to produce a cooking
medium, and the flowers for the mahua. The tree is considered sacred and it is never cut down, even when diseased. A rich treasure trove for exquisite plants with curative properties, certain plants & herbs that have been marked for their medicinal and ecological properties and marked for preservation include Gajharra; Kuchla; Maidalakdi; Nirmali; Dahipalas; Garud; Hadjodi; Khirni; Manjur Godi and others. At the inaugural function of the second World Ayurveda Congress at the University of Pune, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said, “In a scenario where the world was turning to plant-based system of medicine, India’s rich tradition needed to be tapped and packaged more effectively for the global market. “China occupies 27 per cent share of the global market due to its effective packaging of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), whereas India’s share is only 2 per cent,” he added. Ramadoss said the Health ministry would set up Medicinal Plant Boards in 10 zones countrywide, which would provide supportto local farmers. Three of these have already been planned - Chhattisgarh being one of them followed by Kerala and Uttaranchal.

The Minister also stressed the need to improve the export of medicinal plants as finished roducts. “Currently, 90 per cent of our medicinal plant exports are in the raw material form. This
process needs to be reversed, wherein 90 per cent of the exports will be finished products,” he said. Present at the occasion of the Chhattisgarh Foundation Day Celebrations even the President of India, lauded the work done by Chhattisgarh in the field of bio-diesel, “Bio-diesel is a field which can change the condition of the state and the country,” Kalam said Jatropha cultivators of Sunderkera village in Raipur district, 25 km from here. The Jatropha plant is used to make bio-diesel.
He emphasized that the Chhattisgarh bio-diesel authority could guide others on increasing production of bio-diesel. Sharing his experience in Jatropha cultivation, Kalam said the plant’s seeds in other places contained about 25 percent oil, the seeds in Chhattisgarh had 35 percent oil content, which could be increased further. He also suggested to farmers that they grow amboo and Amla along with Jatropha to earn a larger income. He also advised the state overnment to start small extraction plants of 100-litre capacity for bio-diesel so that the rural
economy could take advantage of the bio-fuel.As Chhattisgarh becomes prime focus for environmental development, it also becomes the torch bearer for showing the way on ecological balance.