Nepal is amending the guidelines to streamline the harvest and trade in yarsagumba, one of the world’s most expensive herbs, following concerns over over-harvesting and emerging environmental and social threats.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment has prepared a draft directory and put it on its website seeking comments from the stakeholders concerned.

Yarsagumba, whose scientific name is Ophiocordyceps sinensis, is a small parasitic fungus that grows within a variety of caterpillars in the Himalayan region. It kills the caterpillar and emerges from the dead body as a thin stem.

Yarsagumba is prized in a number of countries, particularly in China, for its purported aphrodisiac and healing properties.

“The primary purpose of the new guidelines is to assist those actively engaged in harvest and trade situations and monitor them properly,” said Badri Raj Dhungana, spokesperson for the Ministry of Forest and Environment.

“We have given 10 days' time to submit suggestions. After the deadline expires, we will incorporate suitable suggestions in the directory and send it to the Law and Finance ministries for their approval before tabling the draft at the Cabinet.”

The government plans to implement the new guidelines from the next season.

The fungus grows at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 metres and is harvested between May and June, right before the monsoon starts.

Tens of thousands of Nepali villagers flock to the Himalayan foothills in 12 mountain districts in Nepal's Mid- and Far West to collect the fungus. They travel for days to the highlands and live there for up to two months in tents.

The draft guidelines have proposed allowing only 30 days in a year for a person to harvest yarsa in any month from mid-April to mid-June.

The collectors should be above 16 years of age, according to the proposed instructions. One person will be issued a collection permit once a year.

According to the draft guidelines, a camp will be set up in the highlands in coordination with the local government, local administration, security personnel, health agency and consumer committee for proper management and security.

The camp will provide drinking water, manage the garbage and provide primary health services and security.

The yarsa pickers will be barred from setting up tents other than in areas designated by the national park authorities.

People will be barred from using plastic of less than 40 microns. They will not be allowed to light fires or dig pits. People will be barred from playing music and movies in the areas.

The yarsa quota will be fixed.

“The objective of the new guidelines is also to analyse the data and assist with the sources of origin, particularly for trade,” said Dhungana.

Amid the rush to collect the prized yarsagumba, undesirable incidents occur. Every year, disputes erupt between locals and Nepalis from other districts who enter the camp to collect the fungus. In 2012, one such dispute escalated into the murder of seven people.

Many collectors also die from exposure to harsh climatic conditions.

“Yarsa is associated with a long tradition, and there is a need for proper guidelines to assess not only their values but also assist people with safety and security in the highlands,” said Dhungana.

Several reports have shown that caterpillar fungus populations have been declining at an alarming rate each passing year due to over-harvesting.

On October 31, 2019, the fungus was included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an international organisation working in the field of nature conservation.

The IUCN has put yarsa in a vulnerable category because of excessive harvesting.

The world environment body said caterpillar fungus populations have declined by at least 30 percent over the past 15 years due to over-harvesting.

Besides Nepal, the fungus is found in northern India, Bhutan and the Tibetan plateau of China.

The IUCN said that implementing a sustainable harvest programme was needed both for the caterpillar fungus and for the long-term economic health of the communities that depend on it for income.

The major threat is the largely unregulated large-scale and increasing harvest of the fungus throughout its range fuelled by high demand and increasingly high prices.

Besides over-collection by humans, there are numerous other minor threats.

Since the legalisation of yarsa trade in Nepal in 2001, trade volume has increased consistently, reaching a peak of 2,442.4 kg in 2009 and subsequently declining to 1,170.8 kg in 2011.

Every summer when the snow melts and the grass begins to sprout, tens of thousands of people begin their seasonal journey to high-altitude pastures in search of the valuable fungus, braving the cold weather and altitude sickness.

Roving groups of people, which include men, women and children, set up camps and spend months combing alpine ranges above 3,500 metres inch-by-inch for the caterpillar fungus. This cycle runs for almost a month before the monsoon arrives in mid-July.

Locals compare the seasonal activity to a "gold harvest", as thousands of people from the mountains make nearly 60 percent of their annual income by selling the collected fungus.

Until 2001, collecting yarsa was illegal. The government lifted the ban after the fungus started to become an income source for mountain communities, but imposed a royalty of Rs20,000 per kg.

The royalty was increased to Rs30,000 per kg. The fee depends on the category of the collector—local, neighbour and other districts.

Demand for yarsa reportedly started to soar after the 1993 World Athletics Championship, during which Chinese athletes had set new world records.

It was presumed that Chinese athletes were consuming yarsagumba as a tonic, which enhanced their performance, according to a Nepal Rastra Bank research report.

The ensuing high demand for the fungus meant that its price went from just about $5 a kilo in 1992 to $1,400 in 2002. In 2012, a kilo was worth $100,000 in China and Hong Kong, the major markets for the fungus, according to data from the central bank.

In 2016, the herb was sold for as much as $130,000 a kilo in Singapore.

Nepal Rastra Bank estimates that Nepal raised about $50 million in 2016 from the sale of the fungus, which is estimated to have a global production of between 83 and 183 tonnes, worth between $5 billion and $11 billion annually.

During the heyday, Nepal exported more than 3 tonnes of yarsa and was the world's second largest producer after China.

The trade, however, has been declining. In the last fiscal year, 683 kg of yarsa worth Rs443.19 million was exported, mainly to Cambodia, China, the United States, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.

A yarsa collector can earn about Rs103,000 a year, which is a lot more money than what they would make from other economic activities.

A family earns about Rs277,000 annually, which amounts to 56 percent of its total yearly income, according to the central bank’s research report.