Published as an outcome of the 7th Annual Traditional Medicine Conference held in Gelephu in 2006 and the Annual Health Conference of 2006 and produced with the support of the European Union as part of the EU/RGOB Medicinal Plants Phase II Project.

Aid for Trade came to prominence just over a decade ago at the launch of the World Trade Organization's Doha Round. With its focus on helping least developed countries and economies escape the poverty trap, it aims to strengthen their capabilities to meet market demand and to reduce supply-side constraints such as a lack of trade infrastructure. In accordance with that objective, this report lays out an applied framework for prioritizing potential trade-related interventions and investments according to the expected strength of their combined economic impacts. Along the way, and for the first time, the economic geography of northeastern South Asia has been comprehensively mapped. Computer-driven modeling provides a dynamic portrayal of the economic geography that is a resource for decision makers (and investors). By bringing to light new avenues yielding very high economic benefits for investment and reforms, the framework can give guidance for undertaking trade improvements under Aid for Trade on pilot projects within a national setting, between neighbors or spread to partners further afield. In all cases, the endeavor is the same: expressed in the metaphor of hard investment, it is to build bridges to export markets so that people in the economic periphery have a better opportunity to take poverty off their own maps.

An in-depth treatment of cutting-edge work being done internationally to develop new techniques in crop nutritional quality improvement Phytonutritional Improvement of Crops explores recent advances in biotechnological methods for the nutritional enrichment of food crops. Featuring contributions from an international group of experts in the field, it provides cutting-edge information on techniques of immense importance to academic, professional and commercial operations. World population is now estimated to be 7.5 billion people, with an annual growth rate of nearly 1.5%. Clearly, the need to enhance not only the quantity of food produced but its quality has never been greater, especially among less developed nations. Genetic manipulation offers the best prospect for achieving that goal. As many fruit crops provide proven health benefits, research efforts need to be focused on improving the nutritional qualities of fruits and vegetables through increased synthesis of lycopene and beta carotene, anthocyanins and some phenolics known to be strong antioxidants. Despite tremendous growth in the area occurring over the past several decades, the work has only just begun. This book represents an effort to address the urgent need to promote those efforts and to mobilise the tools of biotechnical and genetic engineering of the major food crops. Topics covered include: New applications of RNA-interference and virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) for nutritional genomics in crop plants Biotechnological techniques for enhancing carotenoid in crops and their implications for both human health and sustainable development Progress being made in the enrichment and metabolic profiling of diverse carotenoids in a range of fruit crops, including tomatoes, sweet potatoes and tropical fruits Biotechnologies for boosting the phytonutritional values of key crops, including grapes and sweet potatoes Recent progress in the development of transgenic rice engineered to massively accumulate flavonoids in-seed Phytonutritional Improvement of Crops is an important text/reference that belongs in all universities and research establishments where agriculture, horticulture, biological sciences, and food science and technology are studied, taught and applied.

This book continues as volume 2 of a multi-compendium on Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants. It covers edible fruits/seeds used fresh or processed, as vegetables, spices, stimulants, pulses, edible oils and beverages. It encompasses species from the following families: Clusiaceae, Combretaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Dilleniaceae, Ebenaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Ericaceae and Fabaceae. This work will be of significant interest to scientists, researchers, medical practitioners, pharmacologists, ethnobotanists, horticulturists, food nutritionists, agriculturists, botanists, herbalogists, conservationists, teachers, lecturers, students and the general public. Topics covered include: taxonomy (botanical name and synonyms); common English and vernacular names; origin and distribution; agro-ecological requirements; edible plant part and uses; botany; nutritive and medicinal/pharmacological properties, medicinal uses and current research findings; non-edible uses; and selected/cited references.