Environmental products can contribute to livelihoods through support of current consumption and provision of an economic safety net. But what is their role in lifting households out of poverty? Here we investigate the absolute and relative economic importance of commercial medicinal plants, including the high-value Chinese caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), to rural livelihoods in the high mountains of Nepal. We assess their role in providing a household-level pathway out of poverty. Data are derived from a structured household survey (n = 72) conducted in Jumla District and covering a 9-year period (2006–2015), supplemented with key informant interviews. We found that income from selling wild-collected medicinal plant products constituted an average of 58% of the total annual household income and 78% of cash income. Medicinal plant income increased in the observation period—even though medicinal plant income per collection day decreased, income at the community level doubled. We argue that medicinal plant commercialization is a rare opportunity to increase locally derived and controlled incomes with a range of positive outcomes, such as supporting livelihood strategies and mitigating the negative effects of outmigration.

中文翻译：

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商业药用植物采集正在改变喜马拉雅山的高海拔生计

环境产品可以通过支持当前消费和提供经济安全网来促进生计。但他们在使家庭摆脱贫困方面扮演什么角色？在这里，我们调查了商业药用植物，包括高价值的虫草 (Ophiocordyceps sinensis)，对尼泊尔高山农村生计的绝对和相对经济重要性。我们评估了他们在提供家庭层面脱贫途径方面的作用。数据来自在 Jumla 区进行的结构化住户调查（n = 72），涵盖 9 年期间（2006-2015 年），并辅以关键知情人访谈。我们发现，销售野生采集的药用植物产品的收入平均占家庭年总收入的 58% 和现金收入的 78%。观察期内药用植物收入增加——尽管每个采集日的药用植物收入减少，但社区层面的收入却翻了一番。我们认为，药用植物商业化是一个难得的机会，可以增加本地来源和控制的收入，并带来一系列积极成果，例如支持生计战略和减轻外迁的负面影响。