Musa thomsonii

In areas of northeast India, deforestation and degradation of forest habitat is ongoing (Chatterjee 2008). Major drivers of land use change across the native range are shifting cultivation (jhum), encroachment for grazing and timber extraction, and an increase in commercial agricultural plantations (Chatterjee 2008). In Yunnan, biodiversity is threatened by fragmentation and loss of habitat due to logging, agro-industrial crop cultivation and pollution of soil and water (Yang et al. 2004). Although the species has been documented from forest habitats, the specific impact of deforestation on members of the Musa genus is somewhat difficult to quantify: while clear-felling or land conversion is likely to be detrimental to the species, wild bananas spring up in transient, often man-made, habitats and thus may benefit from human disturbance to some extent (Simmonds 1962). Limited information is available with respect to the wild distribution and habitat requirements of this species. Further research into these areas, together with assessment of the threats in action, is recommended.

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). Five botanical gardens are listed as sites of ex situ conservation for this species (BGCI 2020) and it has recently been observed growing at the Botanical Survey of India Garden at Gangtok, Sikkim (R. Gogoi pers. comm. 2021), but there are no known germplasm accessions (Ruas et al. 2017, Genesys Global Portal on Plant Genetic Resources 2020). As such, gathering of wild germplasm material for ex situ conservation from extant wild plants is highly recommended. Thomson's Banana has not been collected from any protected areas, although it may occur within the Narpuh Reserve Forest in Meghalaya, where some passive conservation may be practised (Joe et al. 2013, Goswami et al. 2016, Forest and Environment Department 2020, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020).