People living in natural environments are indispensable to wild resources. The indigenous community depends completely on natural resources to maintain their necessities like food, fuel, fodder and medicine [1] - [3] . These people do not have access or have limited access to modern facilities like good hospitals, trained doctors, and medicine so they partly or fully depend on traditional medicinal practices [4] [5] . The incessant use of wild plants and the relay of this knowledge from generation to generation gave people a thorough impression of plant resources in the local environment [1] . All these indigenous communities are therefore a store house of information regarding the valuable species and may have priorities for use and management of the resources [6] [7] . Peoples in the protected areas also depend on the available resources to fulfill their needs. Thus, living near nature reserves often allowed them to use the natural resources from protected areas in a sustainable manner, and it is now widely accepted that local knowledge and priorities should be incorporated into management strategies for nature reserves [1] [6] [8] .

Local-knowledge based management strategies ensure a focus on the species and vegetation types that are most valuable to local societies. Perception of the local communities can be utilized for the benefits and costs of protected areas [9] ; vegetation change [1] ; conservation status of animals and plants [10] ; use, trade and conservation of medicinal plants [10] [11] and setting conservation priorities [12] . Furthermore, an incorporation of local priorities gives management strategies a better chance for success, because people are more likely to obey regulations influenced by themselves than those forced on societies from outside [1] [10] . Such research can contribute to an approach by characterizing patterns of plant use and management and investigating how these relate to plant’s decline or conservation priorities.

The current study prioritizes the perception of the local people towards the conservation of Dactylorhiza ha- tagirea (D. Don) Soó, locally known as Panchaule. This plant species is native to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Tibet distributed from an altitudinal range between 2500 and 5000 m above sea level (asl) in open grassy slope and alpine meadows [13] - [15] characterized by palmately lobed tuber (usually 3 - 5 lobed) and lilac to purplish coloured flower (Figure 1).

It has been identified as a threatened species in Nepal and listed in CITES Appendix II [16] . The plant was assessed by Convention Assessment Management Plan (CAMP) workshop in 2001 and has been assigned under vulnerable status [17] . D. hatagirea is an important medicinal plant species prioritized by government for research and management. Government of Nepal (GoN) under its Forest act (1993) and Forest Regulation (1995), has banned collection, trade, transport and use of Dactylorhiza hatagirea [17] . Although GoN has banned the collection and trading of D. hatagirea and recently imposed fine of NRs 1000 for every kg, however these types of ban and restriction have not been effective in the conservation of species and the reduction of the collection amount [17] [18] .

D. hatagirea is one of the highly valued medicinal orchids extensively used in Ayurveda. The tubers of this species yield high quality “Salep” which is extensively used for its aphrodisiac properties and sexual stimulant in traditional medicines in different parts of Himalayas [19] - [21] . Apart from this, the tuber is used as farinaceous food and nerve tonic [22] [23] . The paste is also considered nutritive and is used in treating weaknesses in children and women [2] [21] . Root powder is also applied on cuts and wounds to stop bleeding [19] [22] - [24] . Thus high medicinal value of D. hatagirea has resulted into illegal trading practice. The threats on the plants not only resulted due to its medicinal properties but various natural forces exaggerate to its decline.

The natural factors that mainly cause the decline of D. hatagirea comprises of small population size (0.17 - 4.2 individuals/m²) [2] [13] [25] [26] , strong geographical isolation and harsh environmental conditions [27] . The population of D. hatagirea is in declining [2] [13] [25] that not only resulted due to anthropogenic activities [2] but also because they are naturally very rare [28] and shows high habitat specificity [29] [30] .

In this paper the results are prepared from a study aimed at examining the conservational priorities for Dactylorhiza hatagirea. Single plant species is chosen because identification of the most valuable and threatened species (or types of species) and vegetation types can provide a focus for future management strategies that will allow a more sustainable use of plant resources and a better conservation of ecosystems.

All the respondents of the study area regarded the surrounding areas as the source of their livelihood needs such as fuel wood, fodder, non-timber forest products (NTFPs), timber and aesthetic values. Besides meeting biomass needs, a sizeable proportion of the respondents also admitted to their economic dependence on surrounding area.

The result from current study shows that all the informants perceive knowledge regarding the availability and use of D. hatagirea in the study area. Quoting peoples’ knowledge, popular press has reported the presence of D. hatagirea in Manaslu Conservation Area [2] and its uses as aphrodisiac and medicine [19] [23] [24] . The present study has attempted to highlight the use of D. hatagirea being practiced for many generations by the local people and the unfortunate failure of management authorities to capitalize on such tradition to achieve conservation goals in MCAP. It has often been recorded that such a situation arises mainly due to ignorance of the human needs and aspirations in the initial planning of protected areas, often leading to the conflicts between indigenous people and managers which is common in majority of protected areas in third world countries [35] .

Although lack of significance in Chi-square tests between demographic variables and responses indicates that results are uniform among local people irrespective of origin, age, sex and education level, but it was found that male the key informant in understanding the availability of orchids in the area. Citing the perception of the respondents, the abundance of D. hatagirea in Nepal [2] [27] and various protected areas of India is declining [13] [25] [28] [30] . The local inhabitant of Samagaun has more idea regarding the abundance of this threatened orchid in the natural habitat. This result was supported by [36] and [37] which state that local inhabitant have more

knowledge on the abundance of available plants species in their locality. Anthropological studies suggest that age and gender determine intra-cultural variations in traditional knowledge and perception of plant species. Among the people of the Himalayas [3] [38] and in other part of the world [10] [39] found that older generation possess more detailed knowledge of medicinal plants than the younger ones [40] . Variances in the knowledge and perception between men and women have been partly explained as a consequence of the sexual division of labor in traditional societies [39] . Following insights from previous research showing that in traditional societies, gender is a key factor influencing division of labor [40] [41] . The positive attitude of educated respondents towards the status of the species in the area might generally because of awareness. Education thus, increases the respondent’s awareness of conservation matters and many studies have found positive association between education and conservation attitudes [42] . High level of education is likely to raise a respondent’s expectation of the management hence more likely to increase negative perception if these expectations are not met.

In addition to stimulating local participation, the involvement of local people in conservation can be a valuable source of knowledge. Here we compared the local perceptions of species declines. Over grazing, over harvesting and lack of awareness is perceived to be the main cause of decline by the inhabitants. Similarly, some other scientific studies revealed that frequent extraction and increase grazing pressure were mainly responsible for decline of D. hatagirea in Central Himalaya [2] [13] [21] . One of the most important causes of loss of plant diversity is habitat fragmentation cause by grazing [13] [30] [40] . Transhumance pastoralism and the increase livestock in the Himalaya have negative impact due to grazing [41] . Similar threat has been experienced in the study area it was found that the livestock were graze in area where there is potential of D. hatagirea to be present. From the questionnaire survey it was found that the agro-pastoralists in the study area practice transhumance for which during summer, the livestock are grazed in the sub-alpine to alpine area. Moreover, overgrazing and trampling by the livestock results to destroy the aerial parts [28] [40] . Grazing and periodic movement of livestock in the study area has resulted in the destruction of the habitat which further results in decline of population density of D. hatagirea. From the conservation point of view, lack of awareness, over grazing of the livestock, transhumance pastoralism collectively accounts for the decrease in availability in the area.

There are various conservation measures proposed by the local people to prevent decline and to promote long term sustainability of the resources. People proposed: i. Control over discriminate grazing, ii. Raise awareness programme among the local inhabitant, iii. Sustainable harvesting and iv. Development of local capacity in understanding the life cycle of the plants.

The control over discriminant grazing as suggested by the local inhabitants would be obligatory in order of long term sustainability of targeted species. Although the protected area of Nepal has prohibited the grazing of livestock in the core area but due to lack of proper implementation, even the core area are highly grazed [2] . Lack of awareness as perceived by the informants as a major cause of decline of D. hatagirea in the study area has arises mainly because during the initiation of protected areas, the local were either ignored or their views were not properly responded. Maximizing benefits to local communities often creates an incentive for conservation of species and results in equal benefit of the both [8] . The effort to expand the protected areas has sometimes misguided and sometime dismisses the whole concept of sustainable use [43] . The sustainable harvesting of the species for long term conservation and its proper implementation thus, acts as a major strategy in conservation [2] [27] . Finally, there is an opportunity of local institution for the development of local capacity in proper understanding the plant. Emergence of such institutions is facilitated by the perceived knowledge about the resource and the impacts of harvesting along with socio-cultural incentives for changing peoples’ perceptions [44] . Therefore, cooperation between local institutions, state agencies, researchers, and other stakeholders is necessary for the long-term management of D. hatagirea.

In conclusion, local community was well aware about the declining rate of D. hatagirea. For the conservation and protection of this species, various dimensions of study including ecology, biology, social, cultural and economic should be carried out in order to get a promising outcome. Therefore, government policy related to sustainable management of all plant species must be implemented taking into account the need of the communities. It is advised to pay a greater attention in building a strong governance institution, including raising awareness among the local community and further investigating this species for better management practices.

We highly acknowledge Mr. Prakash Bhattarai for providing partial financial support through Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation (Project ID 11881-1) to carry out this project. The work would not have been accomplished without the generous help from staff of Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP) and local communities who shared their valuable knowledge and information during the field work. Sincere thanks goes to staff and students of Buddha Secondary School, Phillim (Sirdibas) and the members of Samagaun Youth Club. We owe thanks to faculties of Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University for the help which we received after the field survey and their valuable guidance are highly appreciated. Our sincere thanks also goes to Santosh Rana for his help to retrieve the map of study area. The encouragement, inspiration and guidance that we received during the work are thankfully acknowledged.

Bikram Pandey,Arbindra Timilsina,Binita Pandey,Chhabi Lal Thapa,Kamal Bahadur Nepali,Pradeep Neupane,Resham Thapa,Sunil Kumar Gaire,Mohan Siwakoti, (2016) Peoples’ Perception and Conservation of Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soó in Manaslu Conservation Area, Central Nepal. American Journal of Plant Sciences,07,1662-1672. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2016.712157