Musa nagalandiana

The species is facing serious threat to its existence owing to rapid deforestation and habitat degradation, driven by urbanisation (Dey et al. 2014). This risk is exacerbated by its highly restricted distribution and occurrence outside a protected area, as well as its absence from ex situ conservation (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019, BGCI 2019). Within a 5 km radius of the collection site, nearly 10% of tree cover has been lost between 2001–2018 with forestry activities a dominant driver (GFW 2019). Satellite imagery dating back to 2007 also evidences considerable agricultural and urban development in the immediate vicinity of the collection site, along the banks of the Doyang, over the last decade. Shifting cultivation is cited as the predominant reason for decrease in forest cover in Zunheboto State (Department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of Nagaland 2019), although this is thought to have been mitigated to some extent by the work of village development boards in Nagaland to modify jhum cultivation practices (Chatterjee 2008).

The genus Musa is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) which aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use (FAO 2009). The species is not known from any protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019) and it is not known to be conserved ex situ elsewhere (Ruas et al. 2017, BGCI 2019, Genesys Global Portal on Plant Genetic Resources 2019). As such, gathering of wild germplasm material for ex situ conservation from extant wild plants is a conservation priority.