Urges citizens to choose cultivated mushrooms & protect biodiversity
PANAJI
Taking serious note of the widespread use and overharvesting of wild edible mushrooms, known locally as Roen Alami, the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) has said that the “unethical approach” of traditional pluckers is damaging sensitive wild habitats and harming biodiversity.
The GSBB has urged people not to encourage the eating of these wild mushrooms. Instead, it has asked people to choose cultivated mushrooms like button and oyster mushrooms, which are easily available in local markets.
The Board has also asked those who pluck and sell Roen Alami by the roadside to leave at least 50 per cent of young mushrooms on the termite mounds to help conserve them. “For thousands of years on ethical principles forest dwellers conserved wild mushroom species and never thought of marketing on a large scale. But in recent times people started exploiting mushrooms posing a threat to nature,” the Board said.
The Board noted that the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 protects natural wild mushroom species inside wildlife sanctuaries. However, people still secretly enter forests and pluck them. “Scientists are researching mushroom species for new drugs/ pharmaceuticals but, if wild species are destroyed then nothing will be left for scientific research,” GSBB said.
The Board has asked people to stop plucking and selling very small mushrooms. It has also told owners of private forests to protect and conserve Roen Alami species. These include types known as khut or khutyaliolami, toshaliolami, sonyaliolami and chonchyaliolami.
“People must not over exploit non marketed smaller species of termitomyces locally known as Shiti, Shitololami found at the end of monsoon,” the Board said, warning people about poisonous lookalike mushrooms that are also sold by the roadside during the wild mushroom season.
The Western Ghats are home to 35-40 species of Termitomyces mushrooms, which are grown by termites. But over the years, experts say Goa has already lost 14 Termitomyces species due to overharvesting.
