Medicinal PlantConservation

MEDICINAL

PLANT

SPECIALIST

GROUP

Volume 15

Newsletter of the Medicinal Plant Specialist Groupof the IUCN Species Survival Commission

Chaired by Danna J. Leaman

May 2012

Chair’s note .......................................................................................................................................... 2

Taxon file

Conservation of the Palo Santo tree, Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb, in the South AmericaChaco Region - Tomás Waller, Mariano Barros, Juan Draque & Patricio Micucci ............................. 4

Manejo Integral de poblaciones silvestres y cultivo agroecológico de Hombre grande (Quassiaamara) en el Caribe de Costa Rica, América Central - Rafael Ángel Ocampo Sánchez ....................... 9

Regional file

Chilean medicinal plants - Gloria Montenegro & Sharon Rodríguez ................................................. 15

Focus on Medicinal Plants in Madagascar - Julie Le Bigot ................................................................. 25

Medicinal Plants utilisation and conservation in the Small Island States of the SW Indian Ocean with particular emphasis on Mauritius - Ameenah Gurib-Fakim ............................................................... 29

Conservation assessment and management planning of medicinal plants in Tanzania - R.L. Mahunnah, S. Augustino, J.N. Otieno & J. Elia...................................................................................................... 35Community based conservation of ethno-medicinal plants by tribal people of Orissa state, India - Saujanendra Swain & Nihar Parida .................................................................................................... 41Estado de la conservación de las plantas TRAMIL incluidas en la Farmacopea Vegetal Caribeña - Sonia Lagos, Xinia Robles & Rafael Ángel Ocampo Sánchez ............................................................. 46FairWild in the South Caucasus - Heiko Schindler & Bryony Morgan ............................................... 52

Notices

World Health Organization Consultation on Conservation Guidelines for Medicinal Plants - Danna J. Leaman ................................................................................................................................. 57Notices of publication - Helle O. Larsen ............................................................................................. 59

Page May 20122

Danna J. Leamann

In late March of this year I participated in the 2nd meeting of all the chairs of IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) specialist groups, held in Abu Dhabi with support of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Con-servation Fund. Like the 1st Chair’s Meeting (Al Ain, 2008), this gathering brought together special-ist group chairs and Red List Authorities with SSC staff, SSC focal-points within the IUCN secretariat programmes, and representatives of other IUCN commissions. The meeting provided opportuni-ties to report on MPSG’s activities and successes, learn from experiences of other specialist groups, explore ideas for collaboration with the IUCN pro-grammes and other commissions, and to articulate some future goals that will contribute to the IUCN Species Strategic Plan for the next quadrennium (2013-2016). The meeting was timed to promote preparation for and participation of SSC members in the upcoming 5th IUCN World Conservation Congress, 6-15 September, Jeju, Republic of South Korea. A summary of useful information presented at the meeting a publication containing all of the SSC specialist group summary reports is avail-able in the new “members area” of the recently re-structured and more accessible SSC pages on the IUCN website: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/who_we_are/about_the_spe-cies_survival_commission_/ssc_members__area_/

Achievements and ongoing activities

Implementation of the FairWild Standard

In the previous volume of Medicinal Plant Con-servation, Wolfgang Kathe described the process through which the International Standard for Sus-tainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromat-ic Plants (ISSC-MAP) became a part of the com-prehensive FairWild Standard and the formation of the FairWild Foundation to oversee its further development and implementation [MPC Volume 14, pp 14-17; www.FairWild.org]. As of Decem-

ber 2011, approximately 30 species of terrestrial plants were being wild-harvested under FairWild certification, involving 7 companies, and resulting in 10 finished products on the market containing FairWild-certified ingredients.

MPSG retains a strong interest, on behalf of IUCN, in supporting the FairWild Standard, and indeed many members of MPSG continue to be involved in its management and implementation: for exam-ple, five members of MPSG are currently FairWild Foundation trustees. However, our formal role has become more closely focused on providing advice and solutions for key technical challenges. These include:

• elaboration of a risk/resilience analysis tool applied as a first step in the FairWild certifica-tion process, enabling the requirements of the standard to be applied more or less rigorously to species at higher or lower risk of unsustain-able wild harvest;

• adaptation of FairWild Standard and imple-mentation tools, particularly risk/resilience analysis and resource assessment guidance, as guidance for undertaking non-detriment find-ings required by the Convention on Internation-al Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) for perennial plant species listed on CITES appendices I and II;

• refinements of resource assessment guidance to address the different needs of low risk/high resilience species compared with high risk/low resilience species; and

• initial steps to expand the risk/resilience anal-ysis tool and resource assessment methodology to address sustainable wild collection of fungi and lichens in collaboration with the SSC lichen and fungi specialist groups and the Sustainable Use Specialist Group.

Revised global “Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants”

Many MPSG members have been involved either in developing the initial 1993 “Guidelines” or in the revision process ongoing since 2003, or both. Re-cent progress towards a final text agreed amongst the four author organizations (WHO, IUCN, WWF, and TRAFFIC) is reported in this volume of MPC [pp. 57-58].

Chair’s Note

May 2012Page 3

Red List Assessments

Last summer the European Commission published the European Red List of Vascular Plants (BILZ ET AL. 2011) which includes approximately 100 spe-cies of medicinal plants, primarily species listed in the EU Habitats Directive and / or the Bern Con-vention. During that assessment, coordinated by Melanie Bilz, a member of the IUCN Red List unit staff based in Cambridge, UK, a large number of individuals with expert knowledge of the spatial distribution, population sizes, and likely conser-vation threats affecting plant species in Europe participated in preparing and reviewing the Red List assessments. A new project began in Decem-ber 2011 – also with EC funding – to assess the Red List status of 300 additional medicinal plant species native to Europe. This assessment, to be completed in 2014, will result in the first compre-hensive assessment of a regional medicinal flora, and provides an opportunity for MPSG members with knowledge of the European medicinal flora to contribute to and review Red List assessments. The geographic range of this assessment extends from Iceland in the west to the Urals in the east, and from Franz Josef Land in the north to the Ca-nary Islands in the south.

Future goals

Securing Useful Wild Plants

Understanding the current status and trends in con-servation status of medicinal plants, both globally and regionally, is an information gap that limits our ability to facilitate and undertake conservation action for these species. Useful plants (including crop wild relatives, medicinal plants, and trees) are identified as a priority for Red List assessments in the upcoming IUCN quadrennium (2013-2016). MPSG is working with the Crop Wild Relatives Specialist Group and the Global Tree Specialist Group to develop and find funding for a global project focusing on these species important to hu-man survival. The project as currently proposed has the following main components:

• assessing the conservation status of at least 1,500 medicinal plant species drawn from glo-bal, regional, and national priorities, and build-ing capacity throughout the MPSG membership for Red List assessment;

• identifying conservation gaps, focusing par-ticularly on existing protected areas and iden-tifying important areas for medicinal plant con-servation;

• assessing the vulnerability of medicinal plants to climate change, and contributing to the devel-opment of climate change vulnerability indica-tors for plants;

• developing an integrated (in situ and ex situ) conservation strategy for medicinal plants, with a focus on sustainable use; and

• increasing the profile of medicinal plant con-servation needs and actions.

Promoting involvement of MPSG members in the development and implementation of this project will be a priority for MPSG in the coming IUCN quandrennium. Results of this project will support and improve our continuing contributions to broad global initiatives and policies, including:

• supporting progress on conservation and sus-tainable use targets under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), particularly the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation;

• reporting on a global indicator of biodiversity used for food and medicine [see MPC Volume 14, pp. 24-29]; and

• supporting sustainable wild collection of me-dicinal plants through the FairWild Standard.

Many thanks to Helle Overgaard Larsen for her dedicated efforts as editor of this newsletter, and to all of the authors for their contributions to this volume.

ReferencesBILZ, M., KELL, S.P., MAXTED, N. & LANSDOWN, R.V.

(2011): European Red List of Vascular Plants. – Pub-lications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/redlist and http://www.iucn-redlist.org/europe

Page May 20124

Norman R. Farnsworth died in 2011

The renowned pharmacognosist and medicinal plant researcher died at 81 on Sep-tember 10, 2011.

The MPSG owes a particular debt of gratitude to Professor Farnsworth for his con-tribution to our Global Checklist of Medicinal Plants. In 2008, during a meeting of the Canadian Natural Health Products Research Society in Toronto, I described to Professor Farnsworth the challenge we face to answer questions such as “How many species of medicinal plants are there?” and “How many of those species are threatened with extinction?” A few weeks later, Professor Farnsworth sent a base list of more than 20,000 species with documented medicinal uses derived from the NAPrAlert (Natural Products Alert) Database he created in 1975. This list, together with the MAPROW database created by former MPSG Chair Uwe Schippmann, was an important contribution to our Global Checklist of Medicinal Plants, which now includes more than 28,000 species of plants with well-documented medicinal uses. Danna J. Leamann

Conservation of the Palo Santo tree, Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb, in the South American Chaco RegionTomás Waller, Mariano Barros, Juan Draque

& Patricio Micucci

IntroductionBulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb (Zygophyl-laceae), locally known as Palo Santo (holy tree), is a large endemic tree of what is known as the Gran Chaco region of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and, marginally, Brazil (FIGURE 1). Mature individuals reach a height of 8 to 20 m and 30 to 70 cm in di-ameter, and exhibit a high-density aromatic wood (1,280 kg/m3).

The species inhabits the semi-arid sectors of the Gran Chaco, where annual rainfall varies from 600 to 900 mm, sharing the area with other typical lo-cal hardwoods (ZERBATTO ET AL. 2009). The Palo Santo can be found mixed in the forest throughout 25 million hectares, but it only achieves adequate

FIGuRe 1. Distribution range of Bulnesia sarmientoi in the Gran Chaco with locality records from the Mis-souri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) Data Base.

settlement conditions in more sparsely distributed soil-specific plant communities. These communi-ties in Paraguay cover about 3.7 million ha (UNA-GTZ 1991) and in Argentina about 2.5 million ha (FB 2010). In these areas average trunk standing volumes range from 0.7 to 3.3 m3/ha (MUTARELLI 1979, GIMÉNEZ ET AL. 2007a); however, at localized spots old trees dominate the forest in relatively dense patches known as palosantales. In very spe-cific sites trunk timber volumes can reach up to ten fold the regional average, i.e. 30 m3/ha (ZERBATTO

Taxon file

May 2012Page 5

FIGuRe 2. The Palo Santo, Bulnesia sarmientoi, tree can reach a height of 20 m and a trunk diameter of 70 cm.

ET AL. 2009).

The species exhibits slow growth and has the abil-ity to regenerate vegetatively; it has been estimated that trees reach 45 cm basal diameter at 100 years of age (GIMÉNEZ ET AL. 2007b, FIGURE 2).

The Palo Santo has historically been exploited be-cause of the pleasantly-smelling essential oil that is widely used in the perfume and soap industry. Commercialisation of Palo Santo timber was un-til recently very limited; as of 2002, however, high demand, mainly from China, has been a driver for large-scale exploitation in Argentina and Paraguay. As a result of increasing concerns regarding the sustainability of Palo Santo trade the species was listed in CITES-Appendix II at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (Doha, Qatar).

Local usesThe common name, Palo Santo (holy tree), says it all about what local people feel for this spe-cies, which has a very unique place in the culture throughout the Gran Chaco region. It has tradi-tionally been employed for domestic purposes: the burning of its wood is used as an insect repel-lent and its long-lasting wood is harvested for the production of posts to build cattle fences or for manufacturing handicrafts. The species is highly valued as a medicinal plant for the many healing powers attributed to infusions brewed from of its

bark, crust or leaves. It is locally used as a blood cleanser, sudorific (induces perspiration), diuretic, to heal gastric pain, syphilis, leprosy, gout, rheu-matism, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbago and skin wounds and diseases; moreover, to relieve stress and depression, control blood pressure, and pre-vent atherosclerosis and colds (MERELES & PÉREZ DE MOLAS 2008, CITES 2010, JANZEN 2010).

essential oil tradeB. sarmientoi extracts have been used for decades by different industries, mainly as a fixative in per-fumes. Residual sawdust, a by-product of the tim-ber industry, is treated with solvents to produce ‘Palo Santo’ resin, which is used to manufacture varnish and dark paints. Mixed with pyrethrum it is used to make mosquito repellent coils. The essen-tial oil, also known as ‘lignum vitae oil’, ‘guaiac oil’, ‘guayacol’, ‘guajol’, or ‘guayaco’, has been used to perfume luxury soaps by masking the un-pleasant smell of synthetic components and as an excipient in the manufacturing of cosmetics. It is most widely used in the perfume industry because of its mild and pleasant Rose (and Violet) fra-grance. Its ethyl acetate is used as a natural fixative in aromatic compositions (DI LELLA & RIQUE 1955, MERELES & PÉREZ DE MOLAS 2008, CITES 2010, JANZEN 2010, HARBORNE & BAXTER 2011).

The oil of Palo Santo is highly valued in aroma-therapy to which the following advantages are at-tributed: mood uplifting, helpful for meditation and rest, improvement of mental clarity, calming, relaxing, stress and tension reduction. It is applied through aroma lamps, light bulb rings, massage and mist spray (SCHILLER & SCHILLER 2008). However, this industry treats it as ‘Guaiac oil’ in broad sense, grouping in this category other Zygophyllaceae species from the Genus Guaiacum. B. sarmientoi oil is characterized by containing a high propor-tion of Bulnesol (>45%) and Guaiol (>31%). It is pale yellow, waxy in consistence (solid) at room temperature and with a strong warm woody aroma. The wood/oil yield is reported to be around 3.5 - 4% in weight (JACOBS 1990, ALPACA 2010, JANZEN 2010). It is obtained by simple steam distillation of wood chips. According to JANZEN (2010) wood scraps and logs are shredded into small chips the size of beans. These woodchips are loaded into autoclave stainless steel distillation stills. Steam

Page May 20126

is passed through the layers of chips, which is af-terwards cooled in condensers and separated in Florentine vase units.

Argentina started the distillation of Palo Santo essential oil in the beginning of the last century, but extraction stopped completely by the 1970s (ZERBATTO ET AL. 2009). In the beginning, Paraguay exported the entire logs to Europe for oil distilla-tion, but after World War II this was carried out locally (JANZEN 2010). Paraguay currently sup-plies most of the international demand of Guaiac oil (MERELES & PÉREZ DE MOLAS 2008) and during the last decade the country exported 130-180 tons of essential oil per year, equivalent to an annual harvest of up to about 5,000 tons of timber. Main destination countries for the last three years were, in order of importance, France, Germany, United States, India, Spain, United Kingdom, Korea, the Netherlands and Switzerland. According to Para-guayan producers, most of the wood used in the distillation of Guaiac oil is the byproduct of tim-ber extraction or land clearing activities, such as branches, fallen or useless trees, sawmill leftover boards and sawdust. This information still needs to be corroborated (JANZEN 2010, WALLER & PUCCIO 2010).

Timber tradeTimber primary production (in tons of logs) of B. sarmientoi in Argentina and Paraguay soared from less than 500 tons in 2000 to 35,000 tons annually in the last years, considering both countries togeth-er. Argentina seems to be the main producer, with more than 20,000 tons of timber harvested each year. Most of the timber is destined to the interna-tional market as logs or sawn wood. Export records from Argentina diminished sharply in 2008 in the context of a global economic crisis (FB 2010), however, local authorities expect that trade will reach, or even exceed, 2008s harvest levels by the end of 2011. Trade statistics available from Para-guay are dubious and probably under-represent ac-tual trade volumes due to inconsistencies in report-ing schemes (FB 2010). The recent inclusion of the Palo Santo in CITES-Appendix II is expected to improve trade control and reporting in both coun-tries.

Timber exports from Argentina (pooled data from 2006-2008) and Paraguay (pooled data from 2000-

2004) have mainly been destined to China: 94% and 89% of each country’s exported volume, re-spectively. According to traders, wood is used for handcrafting top-quality furniture and for apart-ment floorings. Main products exported by Argen-tina (pooled data from 2006-2008) and Paraguay (pooled data from 2000-2006) were trunks in dif-ferent stages of processing (debarked logs, cylin-ders and posts), representing 87% and 67% of all products exported by each country, respectively. Secondarily, both countries traded sawn wood (mainly tables for flooring): 13% and 33% of to-tal exports, respectively (FIGURE 3). Since 2008 internal provincial regulations in Argentina have limited the sale of raw wood (logs), favouring the production of sawn wood to foster local labour (FB 2010).

Dynamic of Palo Santo timber harvest inArgentinaArgentina is currently the main supplier of B. sarmientoi timber for the international market. The species occurs in three different provinces: Chaco, Formosa and Salta. Based on MORELLO (1968) we estimate the area of occupation to about 8.3 million hectares, and its ecological optimum (sensu MORE-LLO 1968) to 1.7 million hectares.

FIGuRe 3. Bulnesia sarmientoi debarked logs being transported to a sawmill (above); sawn wood finished for flooring ready to export (bottom). Photo: T. Waller.

May 2012Page 7

Formosa and Salta have been the main sources of Palo Santo timber; Formosa has accounted for 74% of all exports (data pooled for all years, Figure 4). The proportion of Palo Santo of total timber ex-ports increased from 0% in 2000 to about 9% in 2007 (FB 2010).

The two provinces allow harvest and transport of timber under a weak enforcement system, mostly based on quotas, minimum log diameter restric-tions, extraction permits and transport certificates. Main constrains identified are the result of low levels of in situ control of the harvest and of tim-ber transportation. Different taxes and rules with regard to wood processing levels have indirectly fostered smuggling activities between provincial jurisdictions. Adulteration of transport permits and false declaration of origin are usual practices – in fact, logs are known to rarely proceed from de-clared harvest sites (FB 2010).

A recent study highlights the mining nature of the selective B. sarmientoi logging at the local or plot level (ZERBATTO ET AL. 2009). Accordingly, most size classes of Palo Santo trees were harvested in six sites evaluated. The volume of wood extracted was, on average, 41% of the original standing vol-ume, with 85% of extraction corresponding to trees larger than 30 cm in diameter (as required by the industry). The timber volume extracted was equal to or higher than the volume of timber remaining in the forest. An analysis of the health condition of standing B. sarmientoi trees suggests that when large trees persist in the forest these are cracked, hollow or have crooked logs, and would therefore be discarded by the industry. Large trees are thus not conserved because of forest management. Fi-nally, it was observed that the amount of felled logs abandoned in the forest, plus the volume of the thick branches of felled trees, is twice the vol-ume of timber effectively removed by the industry (ZERBATTO ET AL. 2009, FIGURE 3).

Trade in similar speciesBulnesia arborea from Northern South America and other Zygophyllacea species of the Genus Guaiacum from Central America and the Carib-bean used to be marketed under similar commer-cial names (“Lignum Vitae” or “Guaiac”) as B. sarmientoi. All Guaiacum species are listed in CITES but this is not the case for B. arborea (CITES

2000, 2002, 2010). Overall recorded trade in Guai-acum timber and extracts accounted for about 345 tons in 29 years, and mostly involved Mexico as the exporter and Germany as the importer and re-exporter (CITES Trade Database). There is no clear indication that timber and essential oil trade in Palo Santo have augmented as a result of the increased CITES-derivated controls over Guaiacum species. In fact, current timber trade in Palo Santo is due to the increase in the demand from China since 2002, while trade in its essential oil dates back to the be-ginning of the century. On the other hand, essential oil trade from Guaiacum species and B. arborea has not been properly documented. It seems that Germany was a major importer of chips and wood pulp of Guaiacum that could be attributed to this industry (CITES 2000, CITES Trade Database), however, according to CITES statistics direct trade in Guaiacum essential oil for the last two decades seems negligible (i.e. 386 kg). B. arborea should be included in Appendix II for look-alike reasons and identification material either for essential oil and timber must be developed.

Habitat trendsDeforestation has increased dramatically over the last 15 years throughout the Chaco region in Ar-gentina and Paraguay. In Argentina the deforesta-tion rate is about 1.3% per year (UMSEF 2006), but mostly occurring out, or in the periphery, of the distribution range of Palo Santo. Up to 2008 de-forestation has affected less than 5% of the original Palo Santo distribution area, mostly in the province of Salta (FIGURE 4). The situation in Paraguay is no better, deforestation over the last 5 years has reached unprecedented levels for the region. Trends in Bolivia are much better: about 95% of its Chaco region is still under forest cover.

At one hand, deforestation is expected to increase along the Palo Santo range area due to livestock rearing projects, but on the other hand, new legisla-tion in Argentina and Paraguay seeks to foster the progressive settlement of land management plans to ensure forest persistence. In this scenery, the long-term conservation of B. sarmientoi in these countries will depend on land use planning and regulation and the proper management of the re-maining Chaco forests (FB 2010).

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FIGuRe 4. Deforestation (black areas) throughout the Palo Santo distribution range (stripped area) in North-ern Argentina (FB, 2010).

Closing remarksArgentina is currently the major exporter of B. sarmientoi timber, while Paraguay is the main pro-ducer of essential oil for the international perfumes industry.

Under the observed pattern of extractive and selec-tive use of Palo Santo in Argentina, conditions for sustainability at the regional level are not yet en-sured for this species, and much less at plot scale. It is worth mentioning that Argentina is currently undertaking a major effort to establish provincial management plans aimed to protect the most im-portant forest regions. As a result of this process large tracts of woods are expected to persist and to be managed for sustainable use.

Timber trade statistics in Paraguay are not reliable to assess the magnitude of the harvest. Additional-ly, Palo Santo inventory information is very scarce. Producers argue that essential oil trade is not a threatening factor for the B. sarmientoi, but for this to be confirmed it will be necessary to clearly demonstrate that wood used in oil distillation is by-products of other activities (i.e. saw-mill debris, abandoned logs, land clearing).

We hope that the recent inclusion of Palo Santo in CITES-Appendix II will contribute to monitor in-ternational trade and to foster internal management schemes both in Argentina and Paraguay to warrant the sustainable utilization of this precious species.

AcknowledgementsWe would like to express our acknowledgments to the Governments of Germany, Switzerland and

The Netherlands for supporting our research, par-ticularly, to Hajo Schimtz-Kretschmer (DE), Jonas Luthy (CH), Mathias Loertscher (CH) and Stephan Verbunt (NE). Emilio Buongermini gathered infor-mation related to Paraguay; Juan Draque and Mari-ano Barros carried out field-work in the provinces of Formosa and Salta, Argentina; Marcelo Zerbatto and Walter Degano designed field inventory activi-ties. An anonymous reviewer provided useful com-ments that helped us to improve this publication.

ReferencesALPACA. (2010): Al Pa Ca S.A. Guaiac Wood Oil, Bul-

nesia sarmientoi, technical specifications. – Unpub-lished data sheet. Paraguay.

CITES. (2000): 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES. Proposal 11.62. Transfer of Guaia-cum sanctum from Appendix II to Appendix I. – Avail-able at: www.cites.org/eng/cop/11/prop/62.pdf.

CITES. (2002): 12th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES. Proposal 12.54. Inclusion of Guaia-cum spp. in Appendix II in accordance with Article II, paragraph 2(b). Available at: www.cites.org/eng/cop/12/prop/E12-P54.pdf.

CITES. (2010): 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES. Proposal 15.42. Inclusion of Bul-nesia sarmientoi in CITES-Appendix II. Available at: www.cites.org/eng/cop/15/prop/E-15-Prop-42.pdf.

DGCRNMA. (2006): Exportación de Palo Santo. Años 2000-2006. – Informe inédito de la Dirección Gen-eral de Control de los Recursos Naturales y el Medio Ambiente de la Contraloría General de la República (CGR) del Paraguay. 20pp.

DI LELLA, E. & RIQUE, T. (1955): El palo santo: su in-dustrialización. Publicación Técnica N° 20. – Admin-istración Nacional de Bosques.

FB. (2010): Palo Santo Bulnesia sarmientoi in Argen-tina – Timber trade and sustainability. Information document prepared for the 15th Meeting of the Con-ference of the Parties to CITES, 13 to 25 Mach 2010, Doha, Qatar. – Fundación Biodiversidad – Argentina. Available at: www.biodiv.org.ar/images/stories/pdfs/Palo-Santo-Bidodiv-en.pdf)

GIMÉNEZ, A.M., HERNÁNDEZ, P., GEREZ, R. & SPA-GARINO, C. (2007b): Anatomía de leño y anillos de crecimiento de Palo Santo (Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorez ex. Griseb Zygophyllaceae). – Rev. de Cs. Forestales Quebracho, 14:23-35. Santiago del Estero.

GIMÉNEZ, A.M., HERNÁNDEZ, P., GEREZ, R. & RÍOS, N.A. (2007a): Diversidad vegetal en siete unidades demostrativas del Chaco semiárido argentino. – Mad-era y Bosques (México), 13(1):61-78.

HARBORNE J.B. & BAXTER, H. (2001): Chemical Dic-

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tionary of Economic Plants. – John Wiley and Sons Ltd. West Sussex, England.

JACOBS, H. (1990): Vegetationsanalytische und struk-turelle Untersuchungen einer regengrunen Trocken-waldvegetation im östlichen Bereich des zentralen Chacos unter Berucksichtigung des Einflusses der Viehweide. – Diplomarbeit der Forstlichen Fakultät der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. 113 p.

JANZEN, H.K. (2010) Guaiac wood oil, Paraguay and CITES. Paper presented at the International Confer-ence “North African and Mediterranean Essential Oils and Aromas: 2010 Tales and Realities of our Industry – a new decade of challenges and opportunities”. 26 - 30 Sept. 2010, Marrakech. – International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades, London.

MERELES, F. & PÉREZ DE MOLAS, L. (2008): Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb (Zygophyllaceae): estu-dio de base para su inclusión en el Apéndice II de la Convención CITES. – WWF. Asunción, Paraguay.

MORELLO, J. (1968): La vegetación de la República Argentina. Las grandes unidades de vegetación y am-biente del chaco argentino. Primera parte: objetivos y metodología. – INTA, Serie Fitogeográfica 8:125pp.

MUTARELLI, E. J. (1979): Riqueza de los bosques es-pontáneos. – In: COZZO, D. (Ed.), Arboles fore-stales, maderas y silvicultura de la Argentina, Enciclo-pedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería, Segunda Edición, Tomo II, Fascículo 16-1. Editorial ACME. Buenos Aires. pp 18-33.

SCHILLER, C. & SCHILLER, D. (2008): The Aromath-erapy Encyclopedia: A concise guide to over 385 plant oils. – Basic Health Publications, Inc. 235pp.

UNA–GTZ. (1991): Vegetación y uso de la tierra de la region occidental del Paraguay. – Universidad Na-cional de Asunción and Misión Forestal Alemana, San Lorenzo. Paraguay.

WALLER, T. & PUCCIO, G. (2010): Informe de la Fun-dación Biodiversidad sobre la Misión a Paraguay. Asunción, 1 al 4 de noviembre de 2010. – Fundación Biodiversidad – Argentina, Buenos Aires.

ZERBATTO, M., DEGANO, W.A., BARROS, M., DRAQUE, J., ALVARENGA, E. & WALLER, T. (2009): Situación de la especie Palo Santo (Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb) en la provincia de Formosa: estudio de si-tios de extracción en los Departamentos Matacos y Bermejo. – Estudio de Base para la Fundación Bio-diversidad con el apoyo de la Oficina Federal para la Protección de la Naturaleza – Alemania. Provincia de Formosa.

Tomás Waller • Mariano Barros • Juan Draque • Patricio Micucci • Fundación Biodiversidad Ar-gentina • Juncal 754, 7th Floor, Apt. 60 • Buenos Aires • Argentina • email: biodiversidad@fibertel.com.ar

Manejo Integral de poblaciones silves-tres y cultivo agroecológico de Hombre grande (Quassia amara) en el Caribe de

Costa Rica, América CentralRafael Ángel Ocampo Sánchez

IntroducciónLa madera del arbusto tropical conocido en Costa Rica como Hombre Grande, en inglés se conoce como Surinam quassia (Quassia amara), es una importante planta medicinal nativa del Trópico Húmedo de América Tropical (FIGURA 1, 2). Con-stituye una materia prima que, por más de 150 años, ha sido objeto de comercio en América Lati-na, en dos direcciones: localmente, para abastecer el mercado regional, caracterizado por volúmenes pequeños; e internacionalmente para Europa y Es-tados Unidos de América, en mayores volúmenes (OCAMPO 1999).

FIGuRA 1. Quassia amara L. (Simaroubace-ae). Photo: Autor.

Las Buenas Prácticas de Cosecha de Poblaciones Silvestres constituyen una forma de contribuir con la conservación de la especie. Por esta razón la em-presa Bougainvillea (Box 1) ha adoptado las nor-mas creadas por el Centro Agronómico de Investi-gación y Enseñanza (CATIE) para su aplicación, bajo la supervisión técnica de un Técnico Forestal. De igual forma se han dado acciones de domesti-cación de la especie, por parte del Jardín Agr-oecológico de Plantas Medicinales Bougainvillea en condiciones de cultivo agroecológico en el Car-ibe de Costa Rica.

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Como fortaleza de las acciones de manejo y con-servación de la especie, es importante señalar que Q. amara tiene la capacidad de rebrotar posteri-ormente a su cosecha; por esta razón, solamente estamos aprovechando el producto de cosecha, sin poner en peligro el recurso natural. Además, para completar un buen manejo del recurso natural debemos aplicar acciones en la cosecha silvestre que respeten árboles productores de semilla. En este sentido, VILLALOBOS (1997) hace referencia a dejar 60 árboles mayores de 6 cm de diámetro por ha, con el propósito de aplicar una práctica de cosecha silvestre bajo un Plan de Manejo. Pero el mayor problema, que se podría relacionar con la desaparición de la Q. amara silvestre, es el cambio de uso del bosque húmedo tropical, para su trans

FIGuRA 2. Hojas de Quassia amara. Photo: Autor.

formación a otros sistemas de producción agrícola y ganadera.

Bajo esta realidad latinoamericana de desaparición de los bosques tropicales húmedos, hábitat de Q. amara, que esta poniendo la especie en peligro de extinción y, en otra dirección, el aumento de la demanda local e internacional de la madera de Q. amara, es urgente establecer sistemas de produc-ción agroecológicas. Esto para lograr abastecer la demanda y contribuir con la conservación de la especie y su variabilidad genética, de las pocas poblaciones silvestres establecidas dentro del Sis-tema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación en Costa Rica. Precisamente la presión ejercida por el mer-cado internacional hacia las poblaciones silvestres conlleva que para el año de 1999 la materia prima exportada ya no corresponde a la especie de Q. am-ara, en su lugar se incorporan otras especies de la Familia Simaroubaceae (OCAMPO & MORA 2012).

La investigación va en la dirección de analizar y comparar el abastecimiento de materia prima del arbusto de Q. amara, en relación con el suministro de madera proveniente de poblaciones silvestres, bajo un Plan de Manejo, en la Reserva Indígena de Kekoldi, Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica, y de poblaciones silvestres en Costa Rica. Estos últimas se estima a nivel nacional en 40 ton como cosecha potencial para su comercio justo y el aprovechami-ento de madera producida bajo un sistema produc-tivo agroecológico, en asocio con el árbol mader-able, denominado laurel (Cordia alliodora), en el Jardín Agroecológico de Plantas Medicinales Bou-gainvillea, en la Comunidad rural de la Esperanza, Matina, Limón, Costa Rica. Se analiza una estrate-gia de aprovechamiento de materia prima por un período de 8 años, proveniente de ambos sistemas de producción.

Características químicas de la materia primaLa industria requiere una materia prima que re-sponda a normas de calidad, referido a la autenti-cidad taxonómica de la especie y al contenido del amaroide cuasina, lactona intensamente amarga. También contiene neocuasinas y alcaloides del tipo de la catin-6-ona.

Los radios medulares son de solo una o dos células en el sentido de la anchura pero de hasta 30 célu-las en sentido longitudinal (TREASE & EVANS 1988, CÁCERES 2006).

La materia prima de la Q. amara esta constituido por la corteza y la madera, ambos de coloración blanco-crema, con sabor amargo. El contenido de cuasinoides en la madera proveniente de pobla-ciones silvestres esta entre un rango de 0.28-0.20% que corresponde a diámetros de 4.5 cm a hasta de 1.5 cm., respectivamente.

La madera (xilema) tiene una humedad de 40%; mientras la corteza contiene, en promedio, 60% (VILLALOBOS et al. 1996) si la madera proviene de poblaciones silvestres; mientras que en el material proveniente de rebrotes de iguales poblaciones, el contenido de humedad promedio de la madera más la corteza es de 49.3% (GUZMÁN 2000).

Estas características de contenidos de humedad constituyen aportes para lograr la industrialización de la madera de la Q. amara como extracto estand-arizado, empleado como saborizante en la industria

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FIGuRA 3. Quassia amara cultivación. Photo: Autor.

alimentaria, biopesticida, uso veterinario y fitofár-maco. Además de su aprovechamiento como planta ornamental por sus atractivas flores rojas, visitadas por aves e insectos.

uso tradicional e industrialEn Costa Rica, al igual que en otros países latinoa-mericanos y de Europa, hay varios usos etnomédi-cos de Q. amara.

En Costa Rica, se usa tradicionalmente la infusión de la corteza y madera partida en trozos como tónico amargo, estimulante del apetito, febrífugo y en forma de enemas. También se usa como an-tihelmíntico contra oxiuros, contra las afecciones gástricas, para purificar la sangre, contra la fiebre y los parásitos intestinales.

En Guatemala se usa la infusión, el polvo y la tin-tura de la madera, el polvo y la decocción de la raíz y en homeopatía. El vino amargo se usa para combatir la nausea y mejorar la digestión.

En Honduras se toma la corteza hervida para el do-lor de estomago, diabetes, fortificar la sangre, mal de orin, diarrea y migraña. También se utiliza la corteza cocinada para lavados de heridas.

En Colombia se usa madera en maceración en agua fría o infusión y es reconocido como uno de los mejores tónicos amargos empleados contra la atonía de los órganos digestivos.

En Argentina y Bolivia, la madera del palo amargo, macerada en alcohol se emplea en forma externa para el control de piojos.

En Europa se preparan vinos amargos, por mace-ración de una pequeña cantidad de madera, para

combatir nauseas. En Italia se usa contra los piojos.

Además del uso etnomédico ya mencionado, en Costa Rica se utiliza la madera en el uso veteri-nario para desparasitar animales. En Nicaragua las hojas y madera se emplean en forma externa para el control de garrapatas.

En Costa Rica se ha desarrollado un fitofármaco a partir de la madera y corteza autorizado por el Ministerio de Salud.

Q. amara - producto no maderable del bosqueCosta Rica, es un país de solamente 51,000 km2, de los cuales un 40% corresponde a cobertura arbórea. De esta cobertura, un 30% está bajo diversas cat-egorías de protección por parte del Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, lo que conduce a la existencia de un 10%, de área potencial para el aprovechamiento de poblaciones silvestres de Q. amara. Los estudios de distribución de Q. amara en Costa Rica (VILLA-LOBOS 1996) confirman poblaciones dispersas y de tamaño reducido, en bosques de baja altitud (0-500 metros sobre el nivel del mar), en ambas regiones costeras del Caribe y Pacífica. No existen estudios técnicos que identifiquen, de manera sistemática, el volumen de materia prima proveniente de pobla-ciones silvestres dentro del territorio nacional.

De acuerdo con la ejecución de un Plan de Aprove-chamiento Sostenible, planificado en la Reserva Indígena de Kekoldi (MARMILLOD ET AL. 1995), la capacidad productiva de 125 ha es de 12 ton, con un corte promedio anual de 1,800 kg y una rotación de 6 años. Es importante aclarar que no toda el área de 125 ha es productiva comercialmente, además que debido a ser plantaciones silvestres, no es ac-onsejable dar rendimientos por hectárea. De acuer-do con este estudio a nivel nacional se estima un volumen aprovechable de 40 ton, lo que representa una cosecha anual de 6.6 ton, igual situación se da en este caso, no es viable dar rendimientos por ha.

Posterior a la cosecha de la población selecciona-da, la Q. amara tiene la capacidad de rebrotar. Por esta razón se analiza el escenario de aprovechami-ento de rebrotes procedentes de poblaciones silves-tres, en donde la situación de rendimiento es más compleja, debido a que su crecimiento depende de factores de luminosidad de forma natural. Sobre este manejo, existe poca investigación, que aporte elementos para su rendimiento.

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A manera de estudio de caso se hace referencia a una primera investigación, realizada en Talamanca (GUZMÁN 2000), en donde de acuerdo con las ta-sas de rebrote de la especie, de 134 g/tallo/año, que responde a una zona productiva de alta luminosi-dad. Es importante señalar que al aplicar el Plan de Aprovechamiento, el rendimiento por individuo no se repite en el futuro, debido a lo heterogéneo del dosel superior, ya que la respuesta va a ser muy es-pecifica, determinada por las condiciones de sitio, además, es importante señalar que no existe aún referencia sobre los contenidos de cuasinoides en la madera. Esta situación es diferente cuando se trata de la primera cosecha de poblaciones silvestres, en las cuales la primera cosecha produce volúmenes entre 9-16 kilos por individuo, ya que responde a un crecimiento silvestre que ha consumido mucho tiempo.

Cultivo agroecologicoLas características ecológicas de poblaciones sil-vestres de Q. amara, de una distribución restring-ida en el sotobosque y con una alta respuesta de producción de biomasa por efecto de la luminosi-dad (MARMILLOD ET AL. 1995, VILLALOBOS 1995, LEIGUE 1997, GUZMÁN 2000), contribuyen a bus-car alternativas para su manejo agroecologico, con el propósito de aumentar la producción de materia prima.

Por esta razón el Jardín Agroecologico de Plan-tas Medicinales Bougainvillea inició acciones de manejo de Q. amara a partir del año 2000, planteándose el establecimiento de 100,000 plantas en un período de 10 años, con el apoyo financiero del Proyecto O.E.A./A.I.C.D “Desarrollo de Tec-nología de Cultivo de Plantas Medicinales y Pro-ducción de Fitoterápicos”. El proyecto avanza con el establecimiento de 62,000 individuos dentro de un modelo Agroecológico de producción.

Para el año 2012 se ha establecido el cultivo agr-oecológico y se cuenta con la producción de mad-era y hojas para abastecer la industrialización de la Q. amara, transformada en extractos estandari-zados. En la actualidad, la empresa Bougainvillea esta en capacidad de producir un volumen de 20 ton de madera deshidratada, por año, para su indus-trialización. De igual forma existen iniciativas de cultivo asociado a cultivos agrícolas por parte de pequeños agricultores que aumentan el volumen.

Estas producciones no contemplan la producción de poblaciones silvestres.

estrategia de aprovechamiento de madera de Q. amara

Dos estrategias están definidas:

1. Aprovechamiento de poblaciones silves-tres, bajo un plan de manejo.

2. Aprovechamiento de poblaciones culti-vadas bajo buenas prácticas agrícolas.

El aprovechamiento en ambos casos va a estar bajo supervisión técnica de la Empresa Bougainvillea S.A. Es importante señalar que las proyecciones establecidas parten de un proceso de investigación en progreso y diagnósticos preliminares que, con el transcurso del tiempo, van a aportar elementos técnicos para su ajuste

La investigación en progreso es importante, para su análisis, pues este es el caso de un arbusto que provee madera como materia prima, además de ser objeto de extractivismo de los bosques. Para las consideraciones del estudio de proyección parti-mos de que la empresa Bougainvillea – Extractos Vegetales, va a procesar esta especie para el mer-cado; principalmente como biopesticida.

Abastecimiento de Q. amara cultivado en un sis-tema agroecologico y de poblaciones silvestresLa empresa Bougainvillea, S.A. ha implementado acciones de domesticación de Q. amara desde 1986. Por esta razón cuenta en el Jardín Agroecológico con una población aproximada de 2,000 arbustos que, para el año 2004, estarán aportando más de 8,000 semillas para su multiplicación. Al presente se cuenta con una cosecha estimada de 2 millones de semillas anual.

El CUADRO no. 1 muestra la población estimada de siembra acumulada, a partir del año 2001 y hasta 2006. Además estima la producción anual de mate-ria prima, seis años después de la siembra, en kilos de material seco, por un período de 5 años (2007 – 2012).

Condiciones ecológicas y Sistema de siembraLa empresa ha implementado el cultivo orgánico, utilizando semilla sexual, bajo un sistema de pro-ducción agroecológica en el Caribe de Costa Rica, con una precipitación de 4,000 mm, una temperat-

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CuADRO 1. Fecha de siembra de Quassia amara y primera cosecha estimada. Período 2001 – 2012.

Año de siembra1

No. acu-mulado de

plantas

Año de cosecha2

Producción anual, kg

de material seco3

1 (2001) 8,000 2007 5,2802 (2002) 10,000 2008 6,6003 (2003) 10,000 2009 6,6004 (2004) 10,000 2010 6,6005 (2005) 12,000 2011 7,9206 (2006) 12,000 2012 7,920

1 Siembra Octubre – Diciembre2 Referido a un período de 6 años3 Calculado para una producción de 1.1 kilos/planta y un rendimiento de 60%

ura media de 28 C, y una humedad relativa de 90%. Además se cuenta con material sembrado por me-dio de acodos y se investigan métodos de reproduc-ción por estaca. El propósito de los dispositivos de investigación es aumentar el rendimiento por árbol

Producción de primera cosecha de cultivo agr-oecológicoPara realizar las estimaciones de producción por año, previamente se contó con un dispositivo de investigación establecido en 1998 en donde se ob-tuvieron los siguientes resultados: la primera co-secha se ejecuta a los 6 años, para un volumen pro-medio estimado de 1.1 kilo fresco por arbusto, con un diámetro mayor a 2.5 cm., a una altura sobre la superficie del suelo de 0.30 m., y un contenido de cuasina no menor a 0.20 %.

CuADRO no. 2. Estimación de rebrote de Quassia amara cultivada. Período 2009 – 2014.

Año No. de plan-tas

Rebrote año Masa de material seco, kg

2001 8,000 2009 6,7202002 10,000 2010 8,4002003 10,000 2011 8,4002004 10,000 2012 8,4002005 12,000 2013 10,0802006 12,000 2014 10,080

Cosecha de rebrotesLa Q. amara, tiene la capacidad de rebrotar, cuan-do se realiza la cosecha de la madera. Por esta

CuADRO no. 3. Aprovechamiento de madera de Quassia amara silvestre, bajo Plan de Manejo, Costa Rica.

Año Cosecha, kg fresco1

Volumen, kg seco2

2009 7,000 4,2002010 7,000 4,2002011 7,000 4,2002012 7,000 4,2002013 3,400 2,0002014 3,400 2,000

razón, posterior a partir de la primera cosecha, se inicia el rebrote que se permite desarrollar por un período de dos años (determinado por la empresa), en dondeestá lista la planta para volver a cosechar. Se estima, basado en observaciones previas, que las cosechas de rebrotes se pueden realizar cada dos años, a partir de la primera cosecha, a nivel de la base, con un rendimiento de 1.3 kg de mate-rial fresco por individuo-rebrote (OCAMPO & DÍAZ 2006). No se cuenta con datos de investigación que demuestren la vida útil de la plantación, aunque en forma silvestre es perenne.

El CUADRO no. 2 muestra la producción de la pob-lación por un período de 6 años (2007 – 2012), que corresponde a una población de 62,000 individuos en un área estimada de 14 ha.

Cosecha sustentable de madera de poblaciones sil-vestresComo se mencionó en párrafos anteriores, la pro-ductividad de poblaciones silvestres es estimada. También es importante señalar que para ejecutar la primera cosecha de poblaciones silvestres, el rendimiento es alto (9 – 16 kilos por árbol), como consecuencia de mayor período de crecimiento. El período de cosecha silvestre, a nivel de empresa, es estimado para un lapso de tiempo de únicamente 5 años (2009 – 2014) (CUADRO no. 3).

A partir del año 2013, se considera un menor volu-men de aprovechamiento, estimado en 2 ton, por ser rebrote con menor rendimiento. A partir de la primera cosecha (2009 – 2014), se va a incentivar el manejo de las poblaciones silvestres y el enriquec-imiento del área para aumentar el rendimiento y su rentabilidad. Es importante señalar, que a partir del año 2012, la empresa únicamente está procesando un 20% de material silvestre y, a partir del 2013, solamente un 10.0%.

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Aprovechamiento integral de materia prima pro-cedente de cultivo y poblaciones silvestres.Durante el primer año de producción, en el 2007, la planta será abastecida con 5,280 kilos de material secos procedente de cultivo. El CUADRO No. 4 hace referencia a los volúmenes de materia seca por un período de 8 años (2007 – 2014) y su procedencia para una industrialización total de 132,840 kilos, en un período de 8 años.

La materia prima está constituida por corteza y madera con un promedio de humedad entre 12-18%.

CuADRO no. 4. Abastecimiento estimado de madera seca de Hombre grande. Período 2007 – 2014.

Año Cultivado Silvestre Masa de material seco, kg

2007 5,280 0 5,2802008 6,600 0 6,6002009 6,600 +

6,7204,200 17,520

2010 6,600 + 8,400

4,200 19,200

2011 7,920 + 8,400

4,200 20,520

2012 7,920 + 8,400

4,200 20,520

2013 7,920 + 10,080

2,000 20,000

2014 7,920 + 20,080

2,000 20,000

Totales 108,840 20,800 129,640

DiscusiónEs evidente que para el aprovechamiento de la madera de Q. amara, existen herramientas impor-tantes para lograr un aprovechamiento integral de las poblaciones silvestres y cultivadas, sin poner en peligro la especie dentro del medio ambiente y con-tar con volúmenes adecuados en la fase de industri-alización de la madera de Q. amara, manteniendo factores de calidad. De igual forma, es evidente que el suministro exclusivo de materia prima de poblaciones silvestres, al menos en Costa Rica, no satisface el desarrollo industrial de una pequeña empresa basado exclusivamente en poblaciones silvestres de Q. amara. Por esta razón el lograr un

manejo integral constituye la forma adecuada para enfrentar una demanda creciente en el futuro.

Esta iniciativa desarrollada con un importante pro-ducto no maderable del bossque, propio del bosque tropical húmedo, que ha sido explotado de pobla-ciones silvestres, demuestra que es factible desarr-ollar herramientas técnicas para contribuir a la con-servación y desarrollo de la biodiversidad nativa. Es importante señalar que se cuenta con herramien-tas técnicas básicas para lograr un manejo sustent-able, pero ello implica el considerar la realización de investigaciones para lograr mejores resultados hacia el futuro.

AgradecimientoAl Proyecto Desarrollo de Tecnología de Cultivo de Plantas Medicinales y Producción de Fitoterápi-cos O.E.A. (AICD), por el aporte financiero para establecer el modelo agroecologico para el cultivo del arbusto de Q. amara en el Jardín Agroecolog-ico Bougainvillea, Matina, Costa Rica, al Centro de Investigación y enseñanza (CATIE) en Turri-alba, Costa Rica, por la iniciativa de investigación de la Quassia amara como producto no maderable del bosque (PNMB), dentro del Proyecto de Con-servación y Desarrollo.(OLAFO), al CIPRONA, U,C.R. y al Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBIO) dentro de la iniciativa del Proyecto IN-BIO/BID/Fomin, que la empresa Bougainvillea fue participé.

Referencias CÁCERES, A. (ed.). (2006): Propuesta de Monografías

Farmacopeicas de 10 plantas medicinales Centroa-mericanas. – Proyecto OEA/AICD/USAC-089/05. Guatemala. 88p.

GUZMÁN, V. (2000): Evaluación del crecimiento de Hombre Grande (Quassia amara) como respuesta a la poda en “Baja Talamanca”, Limón, Costa Rica. Tesis de grado. – Universidad Nacional, Escuela de Cien-cias Ambientales, Heredia. 89p.

LEIGUE, L. (1997): Elementos ecológicos para la silvi-cultura de Quassia amara en Talamanca. Costa Rica. Tesis Mag. Sc. – CATIE, Turrialba. 93p.

MARMILLOD, D., CHANG, Y., BEDOYA, R. (1995): Plan de aprovechamiento sostenible de Quassia amara en la Reserva Indígena de Kékoldi. In: Ocampo, R. (ed.), Potencial de Quassia amara como insecticida natural. Serie técnica, informe técnico 267. – CATIE, Turri-alba. pp. 68-90.

OCAMPO, R. (1999): Situación de comercio de plan-tas medicinales en América Latina In: Memorias XII

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Seminario Nacional de Plantas Medicinales. Petén, Guatemala. pp. 127-132.

OCAMPO, R. & DÍAZ, R. (2006): Cultivo, conservación e industrialización del Hombre Grande (Quassia ama-ra). – Litografía e Imprenta LIL, San José. 70p.

OCAMPO, R. & MORA, G. (2012): Ethnomedicine of Quassia and related plants in tropical America. In: RAI, M., ACHARYA, D., RÍOS, J.L. (eds.), Ethnomedic-inal plants, revitalization of traditional knowledge of herbs. – Science Publishers, Enfield, New Hampshire. pp. 301-332.

TREASE, G. & EVANS, W. (1988): Tratado de Farmacog-nosia 12 ed. – Editorial Interamericana México, D.F.

VILLALOBOS, R. (1995): Distribución de Quassia ama-ra en Costa Rica y su relación con los contenidos de cuasina y neocuasina (insecticidas naturales) en sus tejidos. Tesis Mag. Sc. – CATIE, Turrialba. 174p.

VILLALOBOS, R., MARMILLOD, D., OCAMPO, R., MORA, G., ROJAS, G. (1997): Variations in the Quassin and Neoquassin content in Quassia amara (Simaroubaceae) in Costa Rica: ecological and man-agement implications. In: GILBERTI, G., CRAKER, L., LORENZ, M., MATHÉ, A., GIULIETTI, A. (eds.), II WOCMAP Congress Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Part 3: Agricultural Production, Post Harvest Tech-niques, Biotechnology. International Society for Hor-ticultural Science, Leuven.

Rafael Ángel Ocampo Sánchez • Jardín Agr-oecológico de Plantas Medicinales Bougainvillea • Santo Domingo, Heredia, Costa Rica • e-mail: bougainvillea@ice.co.cr

Chilean medicinal plantsGloria Montenegro & Sharon Rodríguez

IntroductionCentral Chile represents one of the biodiversity hotspots on earth, with high plant diversity and en-demism, and increasing human population density (CINCOTTA ET AL. 2000). A total of 5,082 species have been described for continental Chile (ARROYO & CAVIERES 1997), and around half of these are found in the Mediterranean climate area of central

Chile, in a surface of 155,000 km2, accounting for 20 percent of the total country. This flora has a high degree of endemism with 2,630 species, reaching 51,8% of the total number of species (MARTICORE-NA 1990). Central Chile has also supported a long history of human occupation and has a relatively high density of population. In fact, 80% of the country’s population is distributed in this area thus and the high demand for land to develop cities and agriculture has caused a significant reduction in the area occupied by native wild vegetation (ARROYO & CAVIERES 1997). Furthermore, the survival ofsome species, particularly endemic species and those of restricted distribution, is threatened by indiscriminate extraction for medicinal and aro-matic uses (MONTENEGRO 2000, MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2003)

In Chile, there is a vast traditional knowledge on medicinal plants, a fundamental resource of prima-ry health care for a great part of the population in indigenous and rural zones, as well as an important source of income for these sectors. Besides wild harvesting a source of plant material is through cultivation. As quality requirements are becom-ing more and more stringent, standardization for pure products, extracts or crude drugs is of crucial importance. In Chile a few exotic and introduced species of medicinal and aromatic plants are under cultivation. Examples are: Matricaria chamomilla, Hypericum perforatum, Rosa eglanteria sin. Rosa rubiginosa, Calendula officinalis, and Rosmari-nus officinalis. Favorable growing conditions and public-private investments in research has enabled increases in the national supply of plant material and production for export.

Threats to Chilean medicinal plantsWild harvesting of plant material from natural hab-itats of the medicinal species in central Chile is a very popular tradition and practice, and there is con-cern due to the great amount of biomass collected every year; especially regarding plants classified as vulnerable (SQUEO ET AL. 2010). Concerns of me-dicinal plant trade reach to policy makers and local people, mainly because of the lack of knowledge regarding in situ regeneration and the conservation status of species that are intensively harvested. A few case studies focusing on species biology have been done (MONTENEGRO ET AL. 1979, 2001, 2003,

Regional file

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WILCKENS 2005, MONTENEGRO 2006, FISCHER ET AL. 2010) to establish models of plant regeneration based on morphology, seasonality and the position of renewal buds, suggesting the right way to har-vest a given species in a sustainable way.

Natural fires have not played an important role in plant species evolution of the Chilean matorral (ARMESTO & GUTIERREZ 1978, MUÑOZ & FUENTES 1989, MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2004). But anthropogen-ic fires affect thousands of hectares, especially the matorral, every year in central Chile (CONAF 2010). Native species’ seeds generally cannot tolerate tem-peratures above 100 degrees Celsius and the soil seed bank is reported reduced (MUÑOZ & FUENTES 1989, GOMEZ-GONZALEZ & CAVIERES 2009). An example is Helenium aromaticum, an important medicinal plant growing on the herbaceous strata of the matorral, whose seedlings do not emerge after application of intense fire on soil samples (GOMEZ-GONZALES ET AL. 2011). H. aromaticum appears today as one of the most vulnerable annual species due to severe fires and heavy commercial harvesting during the vegetative growth period.

In the arid zones of the country charcoal produc-tion from woody shrubs is one of the main threats to native vegetation (ESTEVEZ ET AL. 2010). The main species used for charcoal production in the

Chilean Mediterranean arid and semiarid zone are: Balsamocarpon brevifolium, Adesmia hystrix, Fa-biana imbricata, Acacia caven, Peumus boldus, Quillaja saponaria, Porlieria chilensis and Schi-nus polygamus.

A history of studies of medicinal plants in ChileThe high floral diversity of Chile incorporates a great number of species with healing properties. The curative attributes of some plants have been historically transmitted by indigenous populations through many generations, mainly orally and with great development in the 19th century. The diver-sity of the Chilean flora made possible the natural growth of more than a thousand species of medici-nal plants, forming diverse pharmacological vari-eties of astringent, diuretic, analgesic, antipyretic and soothing, among others attributes, identified by the doctors then. Native plants like cachanla-gua (Centaurium cachanlahuen), paico (Chenopo-dium ambrosioides), quinchamalí (Quinchamalium chilense), viravira (Gnaphalium viravira) and cin-namon tree (Drymis winteri) are some of the best-known by their therapeutic uses during the Colo-nial Period in Chile (CRUZ-COKE 1995).

CRUZ-COKE (1995) is one of the first authors to compile information on medicinal plant species used in Chile. He details the investigations of Fa-

FIGuRe 1. Boldo - Peamus boldus. Photo: G. Montenegro.

May 2012Page 17

ther Luis Feuilleé, published in 1714, who indicated medicinal uses of plants of Peru and Chile; he pro-vides information on the social and medical work of Doctor Adolfo Murillo, mainly the publication of the Chilean Pharmacopoeia in 1886; and he in-forms of Guajardo’s work in the year 1890, which described chemical characteristics of some Chilean medicinal plants. GUSINDE (1936) published works related to the traditional uses of medicinal plants by the southern indigenous tribes of the country.

In the early twentieth century, plants in their natu-ral state were already part of medical studies. Sup-ported by the constant development of chemistry it was possible to investigate the active ingredients of medicinal plants. Scientific publications from the second half of last century strengthened medicinal herbs through the study of the chemical components that give value to medicinal plants, diversifying the medical practices (PACHECO ET AL. 1977, MONTES & WILKOMIRSKY 1987, MUÑOZ ET AL. 2001).

Recently, HOFFMAN ET AL. (2003) identified and de-scribed medicinal plants commonly used in Chile through ethnobotanical information about the tra-ditional medicinal uses of more than 60 species of Chilean plants. LOOSER & RODRÍGUEZ (2004) described the medicinal attributes of the Chilean pteridophytes based on an unpublished manuscript of the naturalist Walterio Looser. The authors do clarify, however, that in relation to Chilean medici-nal plants “many points that have to be clarified still remain”.

MONTENEGRO ET AL. (2009) in their work “Secret of our plants and other species: how to use them for the benefit of the people”, made a contribution to the rescue and preservation of the cultural patri-mony of Chile, putting together antecedents related to the multiple uses of the plants (medicinal, cos-metic, and domestic uses, among others) that form part of the traditions and traditional knowledge of our country. In a similar trend MONTENEGRO (2000) and MONTENEGRO ET AL. (2010) rescue the value of those native plants used selectively by honeybees (Apis mellifera) for collection of nectar yielding honey with medicinal properties (MONTENEGRO 2007). Lastly, it is worth mentioning the significant contribution made by a group of experts called by the Department of Health who carried out an em-pirical land registry of the medicinal plants, regis-tering 460 different species (PROTEGE 2009).

Chemical properties of native plantsThere is an ancient knowledge regarding the iden-tification, harvesting and medicinal use of Chilean native plants and their chemical principles (active ingredients) that are used in fields like medicine, perfumery, cosmetics, eating industry, industrial and agricultural use. Results of scientific inves-tigations ratify the efficacy of the majority of the medicinal plants used by native towns on specific illnesses, like skin and urinary infections or hy-pertensive crisis, as well as for their antioxidant, antirheumatic or diuretic properties (RUZ 2011).

The Chilean flora has shown to be a good resource of biologically active compounds, such as antibac-terials, antifungals, and antioxidants (MONTENE-GRO 2000, 2006, VOGEL 2000, MUÑOZ ET AL. 2001, MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2001, 2003, 2005, FISCHER ET AL. 2007, 2010, VOGEL ET AL. 2010). Because of the high degree of endemism, primarily from Chile’s central regions (ARROYO & CAVIERES 1997), it is reasonable to propose that products with unique and particular bioactive properties are likely to be found. Examples are chemical compounds present in honey and propolis, which are closely associated with the botanical origin that they have (ÁVILA ET AL. 1993, MONTENEGRO 2000, MUÑOZ ET AL. 2001, 2007, MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2008, 2009, 2010).

Research on determining levels of antimicrobial activity (HEDERRA 2011), on the antioxidant, an-timicrobial and antihypertensive activity levels of native plants and on the identification of types of responsible compounds for this activity through the combination of bioassays with chemical analy-sis has been extensively developed (MONTENEGRO 2000, SIMONSEN ET AL. 2006, MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2008, 2009, 2010).

Extraordinary medicinal and cosmetic properties have been identified in murta or murtilla (Ugni molinae), a southern native Chilean fruit that his-torically has been part of the diet of native towns (INIA 2005). It has a high content of poliphenols, terpenes and tannins, compounds that make murta a very attractive element for the dermatological industry, given its regenerative tissue and healing qualities, besides multiple uses already applied in the national agro food industry.

Chilean medicinal plants and their useOnly a few species of Chilean medicinal plants are

Page May 201218

widely available in natural populations, with no need of management for protection. Many of the plants that are part of Chile’s national herbarium are in a state of vulnerability associated mainly with informal indiscriminate harvesting.

The increase in demand for natural products (es-pecially plants), nationally and internationally, has positive effects in promoting the conservation of natural plant populations with commercial poten-tial. For this reason it is useful to characterize the conservation state of native Chilean plants with medicinal potential. TABLE 1 was constructed with that purpose; it shows native and endemic species in Chile, their taxonomic identification, growth form, and state of conservation.

Chilean medicinal plant tradeMedicinal plants are traded in fairs and local mar-kets by fruit pickers and herbalists. The products are hand-packed and characterized by irregular qual-ity. Data from 2007 show the entrance of medicinal herbs in Chilean homes, with an average growth in the consumption of around 20% (PROCHILE 2007). This has encouraged the development of compa-nies and research institutions to use plant products and plant selection in areas of food, cosmetics anddrugs, focusing mainly on folk medicine (EVENSON

& WESTPHAL 1995, GUZMÁN ET AL. 2004). Still the yearly per capita consumption of purchased me dicinal plant based material is low compared with-Europe.

There is in Chile a recent approach to the global market for medicinal plants (POLANCO 2011). Fig-ures from the last decade (FIA 2008) indicated an increase of almost 60% in exports of medicinal herbs. Shortcomings identified in relation to trade are associated with safety and efficiency records, standardization, and clinical knowledge, among others (LOBOS 2011, MARLES 2011, POLANCO 2011).

The industrialization of the medicinal herb prod-ucts has great potentials but entrance to the de-manding markets of Europe and USA is challeng-ing and requires elaboration and implementation of supportive regulations. The recognition of the Chilean Department of Health of 52 herbs as ‘tra-ditional medicine herbs’ is a measure that, besides recognizing officially the curative properties of the plants, implies a greater control in their sale and

distribution.

The main species exported from Chile are rosa mosqueta (Rosa aff. rubiginosa) and oregano (Ori-ganum vulgare), with a considerable increase in the production of chamomile and boldo. Rosa mos-queta and hazelnut seed oils occupy an important place in the national and international cosmetic dustry, with Chile the major producer and export-er of rosa mosqueta oil in the world, mainly to France, Germany and Japan. Also, the exports of plants extracts have considerably increased, among them, processed extracts of quillay, hiperico, va-nilla and parsley, and also a growing production and export of peppermint essential oils (FIA 2008).

Sustainable harvest: regeneration models in plants used for medicinal purposesResearch on conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants is being developed at the Catholic University as part of the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG); the studies seek to strike a balance between exploitation and conser-vation of natural plant resources in collaboration with people who collect and sell medicinal plants, with a focus on explaining the impact of local practices on the conservation of intensively har-vested species (MONTENEGRO 1994, 2005). So far data on species threatened by overexploitation has been collected: areas of exploitation, the amount of biomass gathered, the frequency of collection, and methods of plant harvesting. The biology of these species has been studied to develop morpho-logical models of regeneration based on position and location on types of branches of renewal buds. Based on monitoring of experimental plots growth dynamics have been studied to calculate rates of regeneration after harvesting (MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2003).

Sustainable medicinal plant management strategies based on regeneration models have been developed by MONTENEGRO ET AL. (2007). The quantification of the increment rates of the number of leaves, fo-liar area and length of the stems provides informa-tion on the seasonal dynamics of vegetation growth (MONTENEGRO ET AL. 1979, 1982, MONTENEGRO 1987). Species-specific growth measurements, in combination with the information about the availa- bility of the resources, then allow determination ofsustainable use rates and use types (cutting of trees,

May 2012Page 19

TABLe 1. Identification, description and conservation status of major Chilean plants. Scientific name Common name

Gro

wth

fo

rmC

ons.

stat

us

Acacia caven Espino, Aromo T, SAcaena alpina Cepacaballo, Cadillo PAcaena splendens Cadillo, abrojo, amores

secosP

Acantholippia deserticola Rica-rica, Kore SAdesmia emarginata Paramela, Paramilla PAloysa salvifolia Cedrón del monte/Chil-

ean lemon beebrush, Lemon verbena

S V

Araucaria araucana Araucaria, pehuén, Piñonero

T V

Argemone hunnemannii Cardo santo AArgemone subfusiformis Cardo blanco A, BAristolochia chilensis Oreja de zorro, Hierba

de la Virgen María, Birthwort, Pipevine, Dutchman’s pipe

P

Aristotelia chilensis Maqui TAzara mycrophylla Chin-chin, Roblecillo SAzorella compacta Llareta S VBerberis empetrifolia Uva de la cordillera,

Palo amarillo, BarberryS

Bomarea salsilla Salsilla, Zarcilla, Copihuito

S

Buddleja globosa Matico, Pañil S VCalceolaria arachnoidea Capachito morado PCalceolaria thyrsiflora Capachito, Hierba

dulceP

Centaurium cachanla-huen

Cachanlahue, Cachen, Kachan-l-awen

A V

Cestrum parqui Palqui, Parqui, Hedi-ondilla

S

Cheilanthes glauca Doradilla PCissus striata Voqui colorado SColletia spinosa Crucero, Yaqui, Cunco SColliguaja odorifera Colliguay, Coliguay,

LechónS

Convulvulus arvensis Correhuela, Correvuela PCoriaria ruscifolia Deu, Huique, Matara-

tonesS

Corynabutilon viride Huella SCorynabutilon vitifolium Huella T, SCryptocarya alba Peumo TCuscuta chilensis Cabello de ángel ADiscaria serratifolia Chacay, Espino blanco SDrimys winteri Canelo, Fuñe, Boighe,

BoiqueT

Elytropus chilensis Quilmay, Poroto del campo

S

Scientific name Common name

Gro

wth

fo

rmC

ons.

stat

us

Ephedra chilensis Pingo-pingo, Trans-montana, Solupe, Sea grape

S

Equisetum bogotense Yerba del platero, Limpia plata, Hierba de la plata, Canutillo

P

Escallonia illinita Barraco, Corontillo, Ñipa

S

Escallonia pulverulenta Madroño, Corontillo, Siete camisas

S

Escallonia revoluta Lun TEscallonia rubra Siete camisas colorado,

Ñipa, Yang-yangS

Escallonia virgata Mata negra, Meki SEucryphia cordifolia Ulmo, muermo TFabiana imbricata Pichi, Peta, Romero SFrancoa appendiculata Llaupangue, Vara de

mármolP

Fuchsia magellanica Chilco, Chilca, Palo blanco

S

Gaultheria mucronata Chaura SGeranium core-core Geranium core-core PGeum quellyon Hierba del clavo, Hal-

lanteP

Gevuina avellana Avellano, Gevuín TGnaphalium viravira Viravira, Hierba de la

vida, Hierba de la diucaP

Gunnera tinctoria Nalca, Pangue SHaplopappus baylahuen Baylahuén SHaplopappus foliosus Cuerno de cabra SHaplopappus multifolius Bailahuén, Cacho de

cabraS

Helenium aromaticum Manzanilla del cerro P VKageneckia oblonga Bollén TLampaya medicinalis Lampaya SLatua pubiflora Palo muerto, Palo de

brujos, LatuéS

Laurelia sempervirens Laurel, Trihue TLinum chamissonis Ñancolahuén, Reta-

millaP

Lithrea caústica Litre TLobelia tupa Tabaco del diablo,

Tupa, TrupaS

Lomatia dentata Piñol, Avellanillo, Palo negro

T

Lomatia ferruginea Fuinque, Palmilla TLomatia hirsuta Radal, Raral, Nogal

silvestreT E

Page May 201220

TABLe 1. Continued - Chilean plants.

Scientific name Common name

Gro

wth

form

Con

s. st

atus

Lophosoria quadripinnata Ampe, Palmilla, Pesebre

F

Luma apiculata Arrayán, Palo colorado TLuma chequen Chequén, Arrayán

blancoS

Margyricarpus pinnatus Hierba de la perilla SMaytenus boaria Maitén TMitraria coccinea Botellita, Vochi-vochi SMuehlenbeckia hastulata Quilo, Voqui negro,

MollecaS

Mulinum spinosum Hierba negra, Palo negro, Hierba de la culebra

S

Myrceugenia exsucca Pitrilla, Pitra, Patagua TMyrceugenia planipes Picha, Pitra, Patagua de

ValdiviaT

Nothofagus obliqua Roble TOenothera stricta Flor de San José, Don

Diego de la noche amarillo, Evening primrose

P

Passiflora pinnatistípula Granadilla, Flora de la pasión, Pasionaria

C

Peumus boldus Boldo TPodanthus mitiqui Mitique, Palo negro SPuya berteroniana Chagual, Puya, Cardón PPuya chilensis Chagual, Puya, Cardón PQuillaja saponaria Quillay TQuinchamalium chilense Quinchamalí PRetanilla trinervia Tevo, Tebo SSchinus molle Pimiento, falso pi-

mientoT

Schinus latifolius Molle, Lilén TSenecio fistulosus Hualtata PSolanum crispum Natre, Natri, Hierba del

chabalongo, Common nightshade

S

Sphacele salviae Salvia blanca, Lahuén-lahuén

S

Stachys albicaulis Toronjilcillo, Hierba de Santa María

P

Stellaria arvalis Quilloi-quilloi PTriptilion spinosum Siempreviva PTristerix corymbosus Quintral SUgni molinae Murta blanca, Murta,

Tautau, MurtillaT

Weinmannia trichosperma Tineo, Palo santo T1 P: perennial herb, A: annual herb, T: tree, S: shrub2 E: endangered, V: vulnerable

grazing and harvest for human medicinal use) by the community (MONTENEGRO 1986, 1987, ÁVILA-ET AL. 1988), as well as the efficiency in the use of the available resources.

The massive extraction of certain plant species for medicinal use, by either folk medicine or for export purposes requires the evaluation of the conserva-tion status of medicinal plants. Causes of overex-ploitation, their potentiality and the specific rates of regeneration after harvest must be identified (SIMONETTI & MONTENEGRO 1996). This requires involvement of local communities in the recovery of the traditional knowledge about species-specific utilization activities (TIMMERMANN & MONTENE-GRO 1997). It is important to emphasize the local responsibility in the conservation of the biological diversity, promoting programs of sustainable pro-duction, cultivation and protection.

The study of the mechanisms of species regenera-tion used in folk medicine, specifically the loca-tion and activity of the renewal buds, their growth dynamics and the way and time that they sprout allows for determination of patterns of regenera-tion (MONTENEGRO ET AL. 2003). Also, the abil-ity of a species to recover from extraction can be established, correlating the regeneration rate with the frequency and amount of material removed. Through an analysis of productivity per season, the rate of productivity per plant with the rate of remov-al by harvesters can be compared. Comparing the extraction and regeneration of plants at individual sites currently used by growers with the ones used in the past and projecting the data to be applied at community level, it is possible to evaluate whether the population of a given species is maintaining or decreasing as result of resource extraction. Some results show that regeneration is possible when the harvest is done allowing the renewal buds to re-main untouched in the plant (BOX 1).

The knowledge about the cycles of life of the spe-cies helps using products of economic interest in the biologically most appropriate periods. For ex-ample, in the case of extract pieces of bark of Quil-laja saponaria, a saponin-rich species, exploiting individuals during their biological inactivity, i.e. in autumn and part of winter would be a good idea. So when growth resumes the extracted bark can be re-generated. Another example is the use of the leaves of Peumus boldus Mol., that are rich in boldina. Its

May 2012Page 21

FIGuRe 2. Medicinal plant vendor. Photo: G. Montenegro. leaves grow from September to December, their extraction during the inactive time is advisable from a management point of view because the old leaves have larger amounts of the active compound and because extraction of leaves during the grow-ing season reduces the photosynthetic activity, thereby affecting the formation of new organs. Thus, the knowledge about the life cycle of species helps to quantify, with some accuracy, the pattern of biomass productivity throughout the growing season, enabling determination of the rate of accu-mulation of dry matter at different times (MON-TENEGRO ET AL. 1988).

Many species can tolerate the removal of a certain amount of biomass and can regenerate from renew-al buds or other meristematic tissues. Regeneration models that promote extraction procedures, con-sistent with a sustainable use of natural resources, have been elaborated for these specific cases (MON-TENEGRO ET AL. 2003, BOX 2).

Other models of regeneration from specific parts of the plant can be added to the previous models, such as a regeneration pattern of the bark from lat-eral meristems (vascular cambium and phellogen) located on the periphery of the trunk. These meris-tems are capable of regenerating the bark removed when part of them has been allowed to remain in place. Another example is a model related to the woody species used for their leaves: the extracted

biomass can be regenerated if renewal buds located in apical or axillary places are kept in place.

Apart from all the procedures used to promote sustainable use of the natural plant resources, the reproduction through seed germination, vegeta-tive propagation and/or tissue culture will provide a powerful tool to recover degraded areas and to conserve endangered species helping to preserve the fragile plant biodiversity of our planet.

Regulatory frameworkIn Latin America and the Caribbean Islands coun-tries medicinal plants are protected under regula-tions of CITES. About 30 countries of the region, including Chile, have become signatory of the Convention. The permits and certificates of origin are issued by the SAG (Agricultural and Livestock Service of Chile). In Chile, the Ministry of Health has generated and incorporated changes in the leg-islation to ensure the rational use of medicines de-rived from medicinal plants and natural products (PARADA 2011).

Existing regulations regarding medicinal plants in Chile are associated (i) to the stage of production-extraction of plant species oriented to the sustain able use of plants or plant structures such as leaves

BOX 2. Regeneration models for different types of plants

Regeneration model 1 represents perennial her-baceous species that develop underground stems where the reserve of renewal buds is found

Regeneration model 2 represents the perennial herbaceous species that develop a bank of buds in the crown located at ground level

Regeneration model 3 is linked to cushion plants that have a reserve of protected buds at ground level or underground, which help to regenerate their biomass if the woody structure that protects them is not destroyed

Regeneration model 4 represents the woody spe-cies that have between the trunk and the root, a lignified tuber (lignotuber) which generates buds from vascular cambium when the aerial part has suffered a serious environmental impact

Regeneration model 5 represents annual plants that have a reserve of renewal buds in the seeds.

Page May 201222

and fruits, specifically the exploitation of quillay, from which mainly its bark is extracted; boldo (Peumus boldus) for the removal of its leaves, and shrubs and native trees in general; and (ii) to the processing of medicinal herbs for therapeutic use, to obtain and register a pharmaceutical product with medicinal properties. However, there is no legisla-tion for the conservation of native germplasm of medicinal plants that are exploited indiscriminately (FIA 2001). It is necessary to regulate access to ge-netic resources in Chile to prevent leakage of ma-terial and protect traditional knowledge (MANZUR 2004).

The “Global Strategy for Plant Conservation” (GSPC) in Latin America intends to be established as a conceptual guideline for the conservation of plants from the experience developed by the Latin-American Network of Botany and also considers the constant loss of species diversity of the world. The work published by CHACÓN ET AL. (2011) is a fundamental element to guide the decisions of management that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of the vegetable species.

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MONTENEGRO, G., RODRÍGUEZ, S., VÍO, S., GÓMEZ, M., PIZARRO, R., MUJICA, A.M. & ORTEGA, X. (2010): Investigación científica y tecnológica en pro-ductos apícolas. – LOM Ediciones. 243 pp.

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Gloria Montenegro • Departamento de Ciencias Vegetales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile • Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile • 3Fondecyt N° 1110808 • email: gmonten@uc.cl • Sharon Rodríguez • Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile • email: slrodrig@uc.cl

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Focus on Medicinal Plants in Madagascar

Julie Le Bigot

This work is part of the pilot project “Madagas-car: people, plants, remedies” by the association AVERTEM (Association of Valorization of Eth-nopharmacology in tropical and Mediterranean regions, www.avertem.fr). The multidisciplinary team of AVERTEM operates since 2009 in three villages around the coastal rainforest of Tampolo, a protected area located on the east coast of the is-land (Analanjirofo - clove tree’s forest - region). The three objectives of the association are the knowledge and valorization of the use of medicinal plants, the return of information gathered from lo-cal people to improve primary health care and the preservation of local biodiversity.

IntroductionConsidered a “hot spot”, the island of Madagas-car is exceptional for its biological diversity. The floristic inventory, which is not yet completed, amounts today to 12,000 to 13,000 vascular plants species. This flora is also remarkable for its very high endemism which is around 90% (GSPM 2011). Madagascar is one of the world priorities in terms of biodiversity conservation.

Medicine and medicinal plants in MadagascarBiodiversity in Madagascar represents a consider-able genetic diversity, still poorly understood, and which has long been used by local populations in particular for therapeutic purposes. Despite the introduction of conventional medicine, the use of so-called traditional medicine and herbal remedies is still largely present. WHO (2009) has estimated that about 70% of the people in Madagascar use this form of medicine. Several reasons may explain this figure: first of all this medicine is ancestral and part of the Malagasy cultural practices and herit-age; secondly, the use of medicinal plants allows for inexpensive treatments in a country where con-ventional medication is costly (in 2005 85% of the Malagasy people lived on less than 2 USD per day (www.statistiques-mondiales.); and finally, tradi-tional medicine is easily accessible and provides a rapid response in a country where health facilities are sometimes very far from villages, some basic

health centres (Centres de Santé de Base, CSB, mostly practising allopathic medicine) being lo-cated at several hours’ walk.

Medicinal plants can be used in different ways: by self-medication at home in the family circle or in consultation with a traditional practitioner (called mpitsabo, mpanaody or nentin-drazana, depending on the types of practices they exercise and the com-ponents they use to treat). Medicinal plants do not, however, constitute the only therapeutic contribu-tion of traditional practitioners. Medicinal plants, or raokandro (literally meaning “action of collect-ing plants every day”), carry also a meaning and a therapeutic efficacy, both biological and symbolic, that can evolve according to their packaging, their use and the substances to which they are associ-ated. The herb-remedy can be perceived as the “ve-hicle of representations, the receptacle of symbols” (BENOIST 1995:53). Traditional medicine also uses animal (including insect) and mineral material.

In recent years, the Malagasy Ministry of Health has wished to restructure the traditional practices in order to improve them. As part of this plan, a serv-ice of Pharmacopoeia and Traditional Medicine (Service de la Pharmacopée et de la Médecine Tra-ditionnelle, SPMT) was created. A Malagasy phar-macopoeia including hundreds of species has then been initiated; so far the first of four volumes have been completed. The pharmacopoeia is intended to be distributed to CBS in order to facilitate the implementation of what is called integrative medi-cine, in other words, “the official recognition of traditional medicine and its integration with west-ern medicine“ (MACFARLANE & ALPERS 2010).

In 2007 the National Association of traditional practitioners was created; it was commissioned by the Ministry of Health to issue diplomas to tradi-tional practitioners recognized as “efficient” and considered legitimate, and to deny access to this official title to traditional practitioners considered “charlatans”.

We can also observe in Madagascar the develop-ment of Improved Traditional Drugs (Remèdes Traditionels Améliorés, RTA) which notably allow optimizing component proportions to prevent tox-icity. These RTA are in the form of cream, soap, herbal tea, balm, syrup or essential oil. Currently the Ministry of Health and its Traditional Medicine

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Department are considering the introduction of low cost RTA in the CSB to improve primary health care. The Malagasy Institute for Applied Research (Institut malgache de recherche appliquée, IMRA) and Homeopharma are the two largest manufactur-ers of RTA in Madagascar. In addition, many small structures practice also this business.

When used locally, the use of medicinal plants does not appear to pose a threat to the sustainability of the resource since the collecting is found to be rela-tively low. The results of the first investigations on this matter by trainees from AVERTEM show that the plants are gathered mainly in the outskirts of the village and not in the forest.

It still could be considered to provide collectors with basic tips to optimize practices (such as not taking all the leaves from the same plant or not tak-ing all the bark from the same tree, etc). In addi-tion, laboratory studies could be initiated and gen-eralized to give traditional practice a sustainable orientation. A case was reported to us about a plant in Madagascar whose roots were usually used as a medicine. However laboratory studies have shown that the leaves contain the same active ingredients as the roots. Thus, the use of underground parts, detrimental to the survival of the specimen was substituted by the leafy parts.

In view of all these elements it can be recognized that the practice of collecting medicinal plants in Madagascar shows to a certain degree signs of sus-tainability.

Our data does not permit at present to determine to what extent the use of plants at the national level threatens the resources. IMRA and Homeopharma grow crops, but they also collect plants from the wild. Do they have wild plant supply networks? What is the proportion of cultivated plants com-pared to what is obtained from the wild? All these questions remained unanswered for now. Malagasy medicinal plants are also widely exported as they represent a quality raw material for pharmaceutical industries, including in Europe and North America.

The export of Medicinal plants from Madagas-carData from the National Institute of Statistics of Madagascar (Institut national de la statistique de Madagascar, http://www.instat.mg/) tell us that

over 900 tons of plants were exported in 2010, gen-erating foreign exchange earnings of nearly 7.980 million Ariary (one euro equals about 2800 Ari-ary). This export industry is based on 50 species, of which 33 are from the forest (REPUBLIC OF MADA-GASCAR 1995, FIGURE 1). Cinnamomum camphora (in Malagasy ‘the good plant’), Catharanthus ro-seus, Centella asiatica, Aphloia theaeformis and Drosera madagascariensis are among the species sought after for their active ingredients. Another species, Prunus africana, is causing great concern. This African medicinal tree, over-exploited for its bark, is listed on Appendix 2 of CITES. Pending the results of a study which has just started, its ex-port quota is currently zero.

FIGuRe 1. Harvest of Catharanthus roseus roots in south Madagascar. Photo: Author.

Most medicinal plants are exported from Madagas-car in raw form, but the island also has aromatic plant resources. The two non-indigenous species Ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata) and clove (Syzy-gium aromaticum) make up almost the entirety of essential oil exports, both in quantity and value. These two introduced species are being planted on a large-scale. Madagascan endemics such as Cin-namosma fragrans (mandravasarotra, literally meaning “plant that overcomes the most serious ailments”), Helichrysum gymnocephalum and Ravensara aromatica are also much sought after by exporters. The latter species has numerous prop-erties (broncho-pulmonary, anti-infective, etc.) and all its parts are aromatic (its vernacular name ha-zomanitra means “aromatic tree”).Although the cultivation of medicinal plants is developing, most are still widely collected in the

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wild. In 1995, out of the 223 most exported species only 29 were cultivated and 43 were grown at the National Centre for the implementation of pharma-ceutical research (Centre national d’application des recherches pharmaceutiques, CNARP) (REPUBLIC OF MADAGASCAR 1995). Our recent enquiries with Malagasy academics have confirmed that this prac-tice of collecting in the wild is still largely wide-spread.

The use of medicinal plants is regulated by a 1987 interministerial order. Article 3 states that the col-lecting of wild plants for commercial purposes requires the granting of an “operating regulation document”. In principle, the harvest of more than two individual plants, whether for commercial, sci-entific or other purposes, requires the issue of an authorization from the Ministry of Water and For-ests (Ministère des Eaux et Forêts). In fact, most small collectors and roadside sellers do not comply with this legislation.

The collecting frequency and the amount collected reach, at times, levels of overexploitation. The case of P. africana mentioned above is not unique.

The widespread cultivation of medicinal plants as well as the setting up of quotas and a stricter con-trol of the amount of material collected and export-ed could partly solve the overexploitation problem.

The habitat destruction, in particular in the for-est environment that undeniably hosts most of the biodiversity in Madagascar, is another important threat to the sustainability of the medicinal plant resources.

Conservation policies in MadagascarSince the second half of the 19th century, policy makers have endeavoured to put policies in place to conserve Malagasy forests (MONTAGNE & RAM-AMONJISOA, 2006). However, 150 years later the forest degradation is still taking place, or has even worsened. The lack of human and financial re-sources mobilized for the sector is one of the argu-ments put forward to justify this failure. Estimates for the assessment of current forest cover vary but range generally between 8 and 10 million hectares.

The causes of deforestation and overexploitation of natural resources are mainly anthropogenic. Ex-amples are the slash and burn cultivation, or tavy, used to produce food crops; in some areas, the use

of charcoal for domestic purposes and wood for building material; mostly illegal logging of high quality timber (e.g., Dalbergia spp., Stephanoste-gia capuronii and Faucherea glutinosa); and the introduction of cash crops and industrial crops leading to the destruction of woodlands, for exam-ple in the case of Sisal (Agave sisalana), a fiber crop grown in the south of the country. Mining and cyclones reaching the east coast of the island are other causes of forest destruction, and invasive al-ien species harmful to the fragile island ecosystems are of concern.

In 1990, an Environmental Charter was enacted (Law No. 90-033 of 21 October 1990) that “clearly recognize the links between environmental pro-tection and economic development” (MONTAGNE & RAMAMONJISOA 2006:15). In 1991 a National Environmental Action Plan was launched (Plan National d’Action Environnemental, PNAE, and as part of this the National Agency for Protected Area Management (Agence nationale de gestion des aires protégées, ANGAP) was created. This is known today as Madagascar National Parks, to which the State has entrusted the management of most protected areas. Up to that time, the State was the sole manager throughout the country. In 2003 the President of the Republic of Madagascar com-mitted to triple over five years the size of protected areas in his country. The objective of 6 million hec-tares has not yet been reached; currently 5 million hectares are under some sort of protection status.

In 1997 Madagascar adopted a new forest policy (Nouvelle Politique Forestière, NPF, decree No. 97-1200 of 2 October 1997) considered “a real modernization of the environmental sector” (MON-TAGNE & RAMAMONJISOA 2006: 9). In line with the principle of decentralization, regions can have structures responsible for environmental manage-ment, for example Environment and Forest Re-gional Offices. In recognition of the contribution of wild environmental resources to people’s liveli-hoods, but in opposition to the advice from interna-tional conservation NGOs, a conservation program has been established in consultation with people living in and around protected areas. This shift from coercive conservation policies based on bans and limitations of rights to community based con-servation is considered in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and in particular

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its Article 8j recognizing the efficient role of local practices and knowledge in biodiversity conserva-tion. It is a form of regulation combining institu-tional and customary laws.

Specifically, the conservation programs take place as contract-management under the laws 96-025 and 97-017, respectively NPF (Nouvelle Politique Forestière) and Gelose Act of 1997 (Secure Local Management – Gestion locale sécurisée) outside protected areas. The first contracts to the benefit of grassroots communities were signed in 2000. As-sisted by environmental mediators, communities must establish a sustainable management plan and according to the law Gelose they are “entitled to certain benefits in the marketing and promotion of renewable resources and their by-products”.

To implement the law Gelose, projects have been set up by CIRAD (Centre de coopération interna-tionale en recherche agronomique pour le dével-oppement) and its partners to support local com-munities’ value-addition to timber and non-timber forest products: construction wood, charcoal, Raf-fia palm (Raphia spp.) and essential oils. (For more information see www.cogesformada.org and www.gesforcom.eu). In the rural district of Didy (Ala-otra mangoro Region) production and marketing of the essential oil from R. aromatica, the aromatic tree mentioned above, was established. A simpli-fied management and working plan was developed to put in place a judicious exploitation of R. aro-matica. In addition, a series of technical trainings were provided: teaching of climbing techniques to prevent cutting down trees to collect material; pri-or identification of chemotypes to ensure the qual-ity of the oil produced; and better control of the distillation process of the essential oil contained in leaves. This collaboration has made it possible to sustainably manage the resource while at the same time enhance the economic value of R. aromatica by producing good quality oil. Further value-added may be possible through certification. The positive results cannot be generalized to all management transfers but Montagne and Ramamonjisoa note that “contracts contribute significantly to improve the environment” (MONTAGNE & RAMAMONJISOA 2006: 21). Continued assessments such as that con-ducted by RESOLVE (2005), are expected to accu-rately identify the adjustments needed to improve management transfer and multiply successes.

A public policy can only be respected if it is mean-ingful to the people. In this regard, an interesting point came out of an interview with the director of a school of natural resource management from a village in the region of Analanjirofo. In Mada-gascar, the idea of endless and abundant natural resources is quite widespread, especially among coastal communities in the east. The Malagasy proverb “Tsy mety lany raha ramboarinjagnahary “ meaning “What God has created is never depleted” illustrates this perception. This way of thinking im-plies that a resource taken from the wild does not need to be replaced. However, the local coordina-tor of AVERTEM in Madagascar has very recently observed interesting and encouraging initiatives. Awareness of the depletion of natural resources is beginning to emerge and people are starting plan-tations, including of medicinal plants.

ConclusionIn Madagascar, the conservation of medicinal plants is important for at least three spheres: health, environmental and economic. More financial and human resources could be released to complete the floristic inventory of Madagascar and the in-situ and ex-situ conservation of threatened species de-serves to be continued and accelerated. Meanwhile, research on rural development could be further de-veloped to improve the socio-economic measures to fight against poverty. It is regrettable that public policies, particularly in the environmental field, are not always fully implemented and are at times slow to materialize. But that being said, it is im-portant to remember that Madagascar is currently undergoing a deep crisis. Political and economic problems are causing concern and in this context environmental problems and the challenges they represent are not seen as priorities.

To finish, the approach developed by MÉRAL & REQUIER-DESJARDINS (2006) represent a possible solution. They suggest to dwell on “the relevance of a more patrimonial vision in which preservation is seen as the need to protect a legacy bequeathed by past generations to transmit to the future ones as part of their well-being and identity“ (MÉRAL & DESJARDINS 2006). Being then a strong element of identity, conservation of resources could be per-ceived as essential.

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ReferencesBENOIST, J. (1995): La plante-médicament, entre ses

usages et ses témoins. – Ecologie humaine VIII(2) : 53-61.

GSPM. (2011): Liste rouge des plantes vasculaires endémiques de Madagascar. – IUCN SSC Madagas-car Plant Specialist Group.

MACFARLANE, J. & ALPERS, M. (2010): National Poli-cy for an Integrated Health System and Local Imple-mentation: the Case of Papua New Guinea and the Nasioi. – Human Organization 69(4): 387-398.

MERAL, P. & REQUIER-DESJARDINS, D. (2006) : La gestion durable de l’environnement à Madagascar : enjeux, opportunités et contraintes. – Économie rurale 294-295: 4-8. Available at: http://economierurale.re-vues.org/index891.html.

MINISTERE DES EAUX ET FORETS. (1997): Décret n° 97-2000 portant adoption de la Politique forestière Malagasy du 2 octobre 1997. – Antananarivo, Jour-nal officiel de la République de Madagascar, p. 2324-2348.

MONTAGNE, P. & RAMAMONJISOA, B. (2006) : Poli-tiques forestières à Madagascar entre répression et autonomie des acteurs. – Économie rurale 294-295: 9-26. Available at : http://economierurale.revues.org/index894.html

RESOLVE. (2005): Evaluation et perspectives des trans-ferts de gestion des ressources naturelles dans le cadre du Programme Environnemental 3. – Antananarivo, Rapport final de synthèse, 55p.

REPUBLIQUE DE MADAGASCAR. (1987): Arrêté In-terministériel n°2915/87 portant conduite de l’exploitation des produits accessoires des forêts du 7 septembre 1987. – Journal officiel de la République de Madagascar, p. 2092-2098.

REPUBLIQUE DE MADAGASCAR. (1995): Madagascar: rapport de pays pour la conférence technique interna-tionale de la FAO sur les ressources phytogénétiques (Leipzig,1996).

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Julie Le Bigot • AVERTEM, Faculté des sciences pharmaceutiques et biologiques, Département de botanique • 3, rue du professeur Laguesse, 59000 Lille, France • email: julie.le.bigot@hotmail.fr

Medicinal Plants utilisation and conservation in the Small Island States of the SW Indian Ocean -

with particular emphasis on Mauritius

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

IntroductionPlants are known to be primary sources of all medi-cines in the world and continue to provide man-kind with new remedies. More than 80% of the world’s population in the world still depend on traditional medicine for their primary health care (WHO 1992). Natural products and their deriva-tives represent more than 50% of all drugs in clini-cal use in the world (CRAGG & NEWMAN 2000). Higher plants contribute no less than 25% of the total. Other drugs are derived from animals and microorganisms. Therefore the possibilities for de-veloping new drugs from forest resources should feature in any calculation of their true worth. All the 119 plant-derived drugs used worldwide come from fewer than 90 out of the 250,000 plant species that have been identified (DE SMET 1997) The po-tential for discovering more new chemical entities is there.

The flora of the South West Indian Ocean belongs to one of the global hotspots. To this date only two internationally recognised medicinal plants have emerged from this part of the world – the Mada-gascan Catharanthus roseus and Centella asiatica. Yet the potential for the discovery of new entities as well as standardised extracts is enormous.

This paper presents the general situation of the medicinal plant resources and their regulation in the Small Islands States of the South-West Indian Ocean with particular emphasis on Mauritius.

Flora of the Small Island States of the Indian OceanThe flora of the Comoros Islands, which are geo-graphically close to the African continent, tends to show greater affinity to that of the continent, whereas the floras of the Seychelles and the Mas-carenes (Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues) are highly specialised and rich in endemics.

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Flora of the ComorosThe entire flora of the Comoros archipelago is es-timated to contain some 2.000 species and a close examination reveals a high degree of endemism. Taxa from the Comoros illustrating the affinity to the African flora are for example Alangium salvii-folium ssp. salviifolium, Tabernaemontana coffe-oides, Saba comoriensis, Combretum coccineum, Cycas comoriensis, Phyllanthus comoriensis, Nux-ia congesta, Tambourissa sp., Norhonia sp., Pep-eromia sp., Piper sp., Mimusops comoriensis, and Weinmannia bojeriana.

ADJANOHOUN ET AL. (1982) identified 120 medici-nal plants, out of which 2 were endemic to the Co-moros: Tambourissa leptophylla and Helichrysum sp.

FIGuRe 1. Native forest loss in Mauritius (1773-1997).

Flora of the Mascarenes [Mauritius, Rodrigues (Mru) and Reunion (Fr.)]The Mascarene Islands are made up of three islands, which have never been connected to the continental mainland. The elements making up the indigenous flora have been introduced to the islands via ma-rine currents, trade and cyclonic winds, jet streams and marine and terrestrial birds during emigration. CADET (1977) presented the phytogeographical analysis of the Mascarene Islands and reported that 70% of the phanerogams come from Madagascar and the African continent, 8% are of oriental ori-gin, 12% are of indopacific origin or cosmopolitan, while the remaining 10% are endemics. Phytogeo-graphically, the Mascarenes can be considered an

entity (ADJANOHOUN ET AL. 1983a, GUEHO 1988).

Mauritius has 7 phanerogames, which are endemic, while Reunion Island has 5 and Rodrigues has 3. With respect to the endemic species, Mauritius has around 300 or 60-65% of the indigenous flo-ra, while Rodrigues has around 50 or 55% of its flora. There are 671 species of indigenous flower-ing plants recorded in Mauritius of which 311 are endemic (Mauritius has 8 endemic plant genera) and 150 are endemic to the Mascarene Archipela-go. Seventy-seven of these indigenous species are classified as extinct. Of the extant flowering plants about 35% are classified as threatened as per the IUCN criteria (BACHRAZ & TEZOO 1997). Recent classifications have revealed the following: 141 species are Critically endangered, 55 are Endan-gered, and 98 are Vulnerable. This recent estimate shows that at least 95 of the 141 Critically Endan-gered species have less than 50 known adults in the wild (FLORENS 2007). FIGURE 1 shows the histori-cal development in forest cover on Mauritius.

Recent studies of lower plants have shown there to be about 207 taxa consisting of 89 genera of moss-es and 59 genera of hepatics (TIXIER and GUEHO 1997). There are about 200 species, subspecies and varieties of pteridophytes of which 13 species are endemic and 40 are extinct. Among the interesting indigenous species in Mauritius we find the fol-lowing: Diospyros tesselaria, Cassine orientale, Foetidia mauritiana, Stadmania oppositifolia, Ter-minalia bentzoe, Protium obtusifolium, Eugenia fasciculate, Erythroxylum sideroxyloides, Scutia myrtina amongst others.

Rodrigues (Mru.) indigenous flora is also char-acterised by a high degree of endemism. Accord-ing to STRAHM (1989), the island has 36-38 taxa of endemic flowering plants but many of the in-digenous species have now become extremely rare and are on the verge of extinction. Among them are Zanthoxylum paniculatum, Gouania legua-tii, Dombeya acutangula, Hibiscus liliiflorus and Antirhea bifurcata, which have all been reduced to only a few individuals. Among the species, which have been surveyed recently, and considered to be more or less extinct are: Abrotanella rhynhocarpa, Euphorbia daphnoides, Peperomia hirta, Syzygium balfourii amongst others.

Reunion Island (Fr.) is the youngest of the is-

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lands of the Mascarenes. The island is entirely volcanic and still has an active volcano claimed to be 500,000 years old. The island is well placed to receive wind-borne seeds and has been colonised partly by exotic plant materials. Nonetheless, the island is still blessed with some interesting indige-nous species like Foetidia mauritiana, Securinega durissima, Cossigna pinnata, Cassine orientale amongst others.

Flora of the SeychellesThe Seychelles archipelago located to the North East of Madagascar and discovered in the 17th century, encompass some forty islands and granitic islets. The flora is a model in itself because of its high degree of specialisation and its rich diversity of highly endemic species. It has a few taxonomic curiosities, for example Lodoicea maldivica which is a unique endemic palm tree with a unique and unusual shape growing in the Valley of May and Praslin. It is the largest seed in the plant kingdom and takes 7 years to ripen and germinate. The tree itself takes 25 years to reach the adult stage and to produce flowers and seeds. The granitic island presents a real floristic refuge. The rocks and boul-ders making up these islands are among the oldest on this planet (650 millions years). The insularity of the surroundings is ancient and the flora and primi-tive vegetation have evolved in an isolated manner over hundreds of millions of years. The level of en-demism has been brought to the fore by the variety and diversity in the flora and fauna. The more im-portant endemic plant species include Aphloia thei-formis ssp. madagascariensis, Begonia seychel-lensis, Campnosperma seychellarum, Canthium seychellarum, Curculigo seychellensis, Diospyros seychellarum, Erythroxylum sechellarum, Gynura sechellensis, Mimusops seychellarum, Tarenna sechellensis amongst others. Another floristic cu-riosity is Medusagyne oppositifolia – the only rep-resentative of the Medusagynaceae family, which had previously been reported extinct (ADJANOHOUN ET AL. 1983b). In the course of their survey AD-JANOHOUN ET AL. (1983b) identified 76 plants out of which 7 are indigenous/endemic to the Seychelles.

Status of medicinal plants utilisation in the Mas-carenesThe use of Medicinal plants is still relatively com-mon and growing. In 1983, ADJANOHOUN ET AL.

(1983a) identified 102 plants out of which 8 were indigenous to the Mascarene region (MAURITIUS & RODRIGUES). During a survey carried out between 1990-1994 (GURIB-FAKIM ET AL. 1995-1997), it was found that reliable information is obtained mostly from persons aged 55 to 70 years, suggest-ing a gradual erosion of the traditional knowledge. Nonetheless, over 600 plants used medicinally were collected and documented in the course of the study. More than 12% of the plants for which use was documented are endemic to the South West In-dian Ocean.

It is also worth pointing out that local inhabitants collect most of the medicinal plants from the for-ests and that they often are unable to correctly iden-tify them. Whilst forest collection is not legal, it is difficult for the authorities to control the collection of plants. Many of the used plants are becoming extremely rare and whilst efforts are being made towards their safeguard, for some plants it may be too little too late. There is always the underlying fear that several species may become critically en-dangered due to over-collection.

It is interesting to note that whilst the Mauritian population is made up of immigrants who have brought along with them their medicinal plants when they landed in Mauritius almost 200 years ago, quite a few endemic plants also form part of the local pharmacopoeia. Among these are: Termi-nalia bentzoe ssp. bentzoe, Psiadia arguta, Chas-salia coriacea, Antirhea borbonica, Faujasiopsis flexuosa, Carissa xylopicron, Cassine orientale, Crinum mauritianum amongst others.

Threats to the propagation of local biodiversityWith human settlements, many plants have been introduced intentionally as food crops, ornamen-tals, forest species and as medicines from many parts of the world. Others have been introduced in-advertently to the country and have become weeds. Some had been introduced to control imported pests, only to become pests themselves, e.g, Ligus-trum robustum var walkerii. The latter was intro-duced to outcompete the Thorny Bramble (Rubus alceifolius) in forest plantation. Several of the in-troduced exotic plants, such as Chinese Guava (Psidium cattleianum) and Poivre marron (Schinus terebinthifolius) have become naturalised in the na-tive forests. Over the years, they have displaced the

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Table 1. Status of medicinal plant utilisation in Mauritius.

Botanical names Family name Common name Cons. status1 use, trade2

Carissa xylopicron Apocynaceae Bois de ronde EN 1Ochrosia borbonica Apocynaceae Bois de lait EN 1Acanthophoenix Rubra Arecaceae Palmiste piquant EN 2

5Sarcostemma viminale Asclepiadaceae Liane calé EN 2 Tylophora coriaceae “ Ipeca du pays EN 2Psiadia arguta Asteraceae Baume du l’Ile Plate EN 2Senecio lamarkianus “ Bois chevre EN 1Ehretia petiolaris Boraginaceae Bois de pipe VU 1Canarium paniculatum Burseraceae Bois colophane VU 1Protium obtusifolium “ Bois colophane batard EN 1Cassine orientale Celastraceae Bois d’olive VU 1Grangeria borbonica Chrysobala-naceae Bois buis VU 1Harungana madagascariensis Clusiaceae Bois harangue LC 3Terminalia bentzoe Combretaceae Bois benjoin EN 3Ipomoea pescaprae Comvolvulaceae Liane batatran LC 1Agauria salicifolia Ericaceae Bois cabri VU 1Erythroxylum laurifolium Erythroxylaceae Bois ronde EN 3Antidesma madagascariensis Euphorbiaceae Bois queue de rate VU 4Phyllanthus lanceolata “ Bois dilo VU 1Phyllanthus phyllyreifolius “ Bois dilo VU 1Aphloia theiformis Flacourtiaceae Bois fandamane EN, EW(R) 1Foetidia rodriguesensis Lecythidaceae Bois puant EN 1Lomatophyllum lomatophylloides Liliaceae Ananas marron EN(R) 1Bakerella hoyifolia Loranthaceae Bois fier CR(M) 1Badula balfouriana Myrsinaceae Bois papaye EN(R) 1Jumellea fragrans Orchidaceae Faham CR(M) 1Gouania leguatii Rhamnaceae CR(R) 1Antirhea bifurcata Rubiaceae Bois goudron EN 1Mussaenda arcuata “ Liane cacapoule VU 1Ramosmania heterophylla “ Café marron CR 1Zanthoxylum paniculatum Rutaceae Patte poule piquant CR 1Zanthoxylum heterophyllum Rutaceae Bois catafaille EN(M),

EW(R)1

Allophyllus cobbe Sapindaceae Bois de reinnette VU 1Clerodendrum laciniatum Verbenaceae Bois cabri VU(R) 1Clerodendrum heterophyllum Verbenaceae Bois cabri EN 1

1LC - Least concern, VU - Vulnerable, EN - Endangered, CR - Critically endangered21: Sold at local market, 2: Collected, 3: Bark sold, 4: Entire plant sold

native plants from their habitat through intense competition.

Among the other serious offenders in the Mauritian and Rodriguan forests are: Ardisia crenata, Cin-namomum verum, Hiptage benghalensis, Lantana

camara, Psidium cattleianum, Rubus alceifolia, Li-gustrum robustum, Spathodea campanulata, Syzy-gium jambos. Among the other potential invasives are Cinnamomum verum, Schinus terebinthifolius, Casuarina equisetifolia, Litsea glutonosa, Sola-

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num mauritianum, Ulex europaeus (KUEFFER ET AL. 2004).

The regeneration of native species is compromised by exotic seed predators such as rats and monkeys etc.. These factors impoverish the indigenous veg-etation both genetically and in numbers and the net result is that many species are threatened with ex-tinction.

This has prompted the Mauritian Government to take measures towards the protection of its native genetic resources through the creation of a number of protected areas. With funds from the Environ- ment Investment Programme, the World Bank funded the establishment of the first National Park in Mauritius along with the setting up of institu- tions like the National Parks and Conservation Services.

existing legislation and frameworkMauritius is signatory to 18 international treaties and conventions on the environment and was the first signatory country of the 1992 Rio Conventionon Biodiversity. In addition, there are four national laws of relevance to terrestrial biodiversity conser-vation:

The Environment Protection Act (EPA) (1999 and 2002): This Act established the Ministry of Envi-ronment as the body responsible for overall co-ordination of environmental management. Under the EPA, five ministries are assigned the role of enforcement for implementation of environmental policies. The Act covers all aspects relating to EIA procedures.

Through the implementation and enforcement of the EPA, operators now have to resort to getting their EIA certificates prior to property develop-ment. This has resulted in some biodiversity-rich areas being protected through the non-award of de-velopment permits.

The Forest and Reserves Act (1983 amended in 2003): This is the principal legislation governing the management of forests resources; it established the power to declare national forests, nature re-serve, mountain reserves, river reserves and road reserves. Sixteen nature reserves have been select-ed for the purpose of maintaining vegetation cover and the provision of ecosystem services. Two of these nature reserves now form part of the National

Park and 4 are in Rodrigues. The Forest and Re-serves Act provides protection for designated areas of state land but is inadequate to safeguard against loss of privately owned areas with rich biodiver-sity, as penalties are too weak to be an adequate deterrent.

Nonetheless, the Forest and Reserves Act has been instrumental in the setting up of the Conservation Management Areas (CMAs). The CMAs provide a safe haven for rare, endemic plants, such as Termi-nalia bentzoe and Zanthoxylum sp., amongst oth-ers. The CMAs are regularly weeded of invasive plants and this makes the environment particularly suitable for slow growing endemics. Collection is now regulated and this action has led to the safe-guard of many of the threatened medicinal plants on the brink of extinction.

In Rodrigues Island, where similar CMAs have been established, rare endemic plants, such as Ra-mosmania rodriguesensis (Rubiaceae), have been re-introduced after propagation by in vitro tech-nique at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew (UK).

The Wildlife and National Parks Act (1993): This is the principal legislation for the protection of flo-ra and fauna, with the Wildlife Regulations of 1998 giving effect to the CITES Convention in Mauri-tian law. The National Parks and Reserves Regula-tions made in 1996 lay down the rules regarding activities on reserved land. The Act and its regu-lations are currently being revised to make them fully compliant with the provisions of CITES. The opportunity is also being taken to increase the le-gal protection of native biodiversity at the national level.

Whilst the Act makes provision for flora and fauna, there are some short-comings for the plants listed. To this date only rare endemic orchids figure in the list. It means that while one endemic medicinal orchid is listed – Jumellea sp., other rare endemic plants can be exported without problems. A revi-sion of the plant list is planned, where other plants will be added so as to limit collection and export where needed.

The Plant Act (1976): This Act has been revised recently to the Plant Protection Bill. A Black List of the worst invasive weeds to be prevented entry into Mauritius has been proposed to help protect native biodiversity. Import of plant species, especially

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horticultural species, has been scrutinised so as to avoid the inadvertent introduction of new invasive plant species.

Conservation and protection measuresVarious documents lay down the policy regarding conservation of terrestrial biodiversity:

• The White Paper for a National Conservation Strategy (NCS) (1985). The NCS defines the major objectives for the conservation of natural resources but has been outdated and superseded by Mauritius’ commitments under the CBD and the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP). The NEAP contains a programme on terrestrial biodiversity with a strategic goal to ‘ensure that native Mauritian biodiversity survives, flourishes and retains its genetic diversity and potential for evolutionary development’.

• In the field of genetic diversity, priorities have been given to:

- Avoid extinction of endangered and threat-ened species of flora and fauna by providing sound planning for on-site preservation in pro-tected areas as well as off-site protection such as in botanical gardens.- Preserve as wide a genetic diversity as pos-sible of many varieties of plants and animals- Preserve as many habitats as possible- Maintain the existing nature reserves and cre-ate new ones- Encourage cooperation with international bodies in the furtherance of biosphere reserves. Among these international organisations are: Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (UK), Per-egrine Fund (USA), World Wide Fund for Na-ture (WWF), and Kew Gardens.

ConclusionSmall Islands States like those of the South West Indian Ocean are blessed with unique vegetation. At the global scale, the flora of the South West In-dian Ocean constitutes one of the planet’s hotspot. Many unique specimens of plants are found within and will benefit Science and Medicine as they can potentially provide important leads for the devel-opment of new medicine or standardised extracts. This unique flora remains highly vulnerable not only to habitat destruction but also to the threat

that invasive plants present. The respective govern-ments have been alerted to the conservation actions along with the appropriate policies that need to be put in place so as to safeguard this genetic resource.

ReferencesADJANOHOUN, E.J., AKE ASSI J., ALI AHMED, L., EYME

J., GUINKO, J., KAYONGA, A., KEITA, A. & LEBRAS, M. (1982): Contributions aux etudes ethnobotaniques et floristiques aux Comores. – ACCT, Paris, France.

ADJANOHOUN, E.J., AKE ASSI J., EYME J., GASSITA, J.N., GOUDOT, E., GUEHO, J., IP, F.S.L., JACKARIA, D., KALACHAND, S.K.K., KEITA, A., KOUDOGBO, B., LANDEAU, D., OWADALLY, A.W. & SOOPRAM-ANIEN, A. (1983a): Médecine traditionelle et phar-macopée. Contribution aux études ethnobotaniques et floristiques à Maurice (Iles Maurice et Rodrigues). – Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Techniques. 214pp.

ADJANOHOUN, E.J., ABEL, A., AKE ASSI J., BROWN, D., CHETTY, K.S., CHONG-SENG, L., EYME, J., FRIEDMANN, F., GASSITA, J.N., GOUDOTE, E.N., GOVINDEN, P., KEITA, A., KOUDOGBO, B., LAI SAM, G., LANDREAU, D., LIONNET, G. & SOOPRAMAN-IEN, A. (1983b): Contributions aux etudes ethnobota-niques et floristiques aux Seychelles. – ACCT, Paris, France.

BACHRAZ, V. & TEZOO, V. (1997): A review of ex-situ conservation activities in Mauritius. In: MUNGROO & BACHRAZ (eds.), Proceedings of the workshop on restoration of highly degraded and threatened native forests in Mauritius. – National Parks and Conserva-tion Services. pp. 12-19.

CADET, T. (1977): La végétation de l’Ile dela Réunion: Etude phyto-écologique et phytosociologique: Thèse de Doctorat-ès-Sciences. – Université Aix Marseille III.

CRAGG, G.M. & NEWMAN, D.J. (2000): Antineoplastic agents from Natural sources: achievements and future directions. – Expert Opinion on the Investigation of Drugs 9: 2783-2797.

DE SMET, P.A.G.M. (1997): The role of plant-derived drugs and herbal medicine in health care. Drugs, 54: 801-840.

FLORENS, V. (2007): Indian Ocean Island Plant Special-ist Group. Species 47: 16-17.

GUEHO, J. (1988): La végétation de l’île Maurice. – Edition de l’Ocean Indien, Mauritius 57pp.

GURIB-FAKIM, A., GUEHO, J., SEWRAJ, M.D. & DUL-LOO, M.E. (1994): Plantes medicinales de l’ile Rod-rigues. – Edition de l’Ocean Indien, Mauritius 580pp.

GURIB-FAKIM, A., GUEHO, J. & BISSOONDOYAL, M.D. (1995-97): Plantes Medicinales de Maurice (Tomes 1, 2, 3). – Edition de l’Ocean Indien, Mauritius.

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KUEFFER, C., VOS, P., LAVERGNE, C. & MAURE-MOOTOO, J. (2004): FAO Report – Forestry Depart-ment. Forest & Biosecurity Working Papers. Case studies on the status of invasive woody plant species in the Western Indian Ocean. Working Paper FBS/4-1E. – FAO, Rome Italy.

STRAHM, W. (1989): Plant Red Data Book for Rod-rigues. WWF/ IUCN. – Koeltz Scientific Books, West Germany.

TIXIER, P. & GUEHO, J. (1997): Introduction to Mauri-tian Bryology a check list of mosses and liverworts. – Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, Reduit, Mauritius.

WHO. (1992): Analysis of questionnaires on tradition-al medicine. – World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim • Centre for Phytotherapy Research, 7th Floor, Cybertower 2, Ebene, Mauri-tius • email: afakim@cephyr-recherche.com

Conservation assessment and management planning of medicinal

plants in TanzaniaR.L.A. Mahunnah, S. Augustino, J.N. Otieno

& J. Elia

BackgroundPlants are the major ingredients of medicines in most medical traditions. The total number of plants used worldwide may be around 40,000-50,000, representing roughly one-in-six to one-in-ten of all plant species. This represents by far the biggest hu-man use of individually targeted species (HAMIL-TON 2005).

Africa is endowed with a rich biodiversity and the African flora is estimated to have 40,000 plant spe-cies (MAHUNNAH 2002), with over 35,000 species in the East Africa region. In Tanzania, about 1,200 plant species, out of the total flora of 12,667 spe-cies, are used in traditional medicines (MAHUN-NAH 1991, MAHUNNAH & MSHIU 1991, URT 1998). Medicinal and aromatic plants are key components of biodiversity, vital for ensuring primary health care and livelihoods of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Africa in particular. Tanzania, like most African countries, has a high utility of traditional medicine in primary health care, most

of which is plant-based (MAHUNNAH ET AL. 2003). However, various factors, including limited access to information, knowledge, technology and capi-tal, compromise the ability of the people to derive maximum benefits from these resources.

An estimated 80% of the population in Tanzania depend on traditional, often plant based, medicine for health care (WHO 2002); use of medicinal plants is found in both rural and urban areas (GESSLER ET AL. 1995a, AUGUSTINO & GILLAH 2005). Depend-ence is often found linked with economic and cul-tural factors so that traditional medicine is mostly used for, and also preferred for, holistic treatments (GESSLER ET AL. 1995b, OBERLÄNDER & ELVERDAN 2000). Attention on medicinal plant dependence is increasing in urban Tanzania (URT 2005) and the need is likely to increase (FOSU 1989), possibly due to the belief that plant remedies are free from unde-sirable side effects; this trend is increasing (GOOD & KIMANI 1980).

Medicinal plants can be symbolically significant, being held in high cultural esteem. The concept of the ‘medicinal plant’ carries charismatic resonance across many societies, with the potential to be a universal symbol for nature conservation. A poten-tial problem of actively promoting integration of traditional and modern health care in Tanzania is that the medicinal plant resource is feared threat-ened in the wild (WHO 2001). Causes are argued to be commercial collection for livelihood security (CUNNINGHAM 1997) and selective intensive use of species for health treatment.

Threats to Tanzanian medicinal plantsThe majority of Tanzanians still depend on biologi-cal resources and the limited opportunities for so-cio-economic development continuously put pres-sure on these (PADOCH & VAYDA 1983). Tanzanian medicinal plants are mainly derived from the wild, and population increase, pastoralist migration, en-ergy requirements and policy neglect are leading to their overuse and destruction of their habitat (URT 1998). The use of plants for medicine leads to se-lective consumption of specific plant species and their disappearance may go unnoticed in otherwise relatively intact natural habitats, with consequences for the integrity and functions of ecosystems. For example, recent claims on plant properties by Rev. Ambilikile Mwasapila of Samunge in Loliondo in

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Tanzania created an increased demand for Carissa spinarum (Mugaringa), that subsequently became threatened by overexploitation. According to in-formation provided by local communities a similar trend can be observed for species such as Rubia cordifolia, Pavetta crassipes and Crassocepha-lum manii in the Lake Victoria basin. The threat to plants is increased when plants are marketed in urban areas in addition to the rural consumption. Nine medicinal plant species are reported to be of general conservation concern in Tanzania (MAR-SHALL 1998).

Medicinal plants are also harvested for other non medicinal uses. Species such as Bombax rhodog-naphalon, Milicia excelsa, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Ocotea usambarensis, Pterocarpus angolensis, P. tinctorius, P. rotundifolius are heavily harvested for timber, most of which is used for construction, furniture and production of coffins in town centres. Additional pressure is the result of indiscriminate tree cutting for charcoal production.

The demand for medicinal plants both for local and international markets is on the rise (BOX 1). For example, Prunus Africana (used by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture a drug for treating pros-tate cancer) is threatened all over Africa by debark-ing. A total of between 3,200 to 4,900 tons of its bark are exported annually from African countries to Europe and USA (CITES 1997).

Local trade of medicinal plants is known to occur but information on amounts traded and income generated by the local population is very limit-ed, while data on export do not exist (MARSHALL 1998). STANGELAND ET AL. (2008) noted that while many ethnobotanical studies are available, few have focused on harvesting regimes, sustainability of harvesting, trade and pharmacological studies. Therefore, in order for Tanzania to sustain the sen-sible utilization of medicinal plants, conservation has to be kept as a central research focus.

Medicinal Plants Conservation Assessment and management planning initiativesThe extensive national, regional and international trade in traditional medicinal plants emphasizes the global need for the conservation of medicinal plants and the revitalization of the native health tra- ditions of local communities (GELDENHYUS 2005).

BOX 1. Medicinal plant species increasingly marketed locally in Tanzania and internationally

Adansonia digitata, Afzelia quanzensis, Aloe lateritia, A. secundiflora, A. volkensii, Artemisia affra, Mondia whitei, Myrsine africana, Piper capensis,, Rauvolfia vometoria, Steganotoenia araliacea, Osyris lanceolata, Balanites ae-gyptiaca, Prunus africana, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, Zanha africana, Warburgia salutaris and W. Stulhmanii.

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) provides a framework to halt the current and continuing loss of plant diversity. An East Africa Regional Project on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation” was implemented in East Africa to advance the imple-mentation of the GSPC in the East African Region, by establishing a baseline for further investment in biodiversity informatics as key to biodiversity con-servation and sustainable development in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania (NMK 2007). A major activi-ty in the process was to conduct a Conservation As-sessment and Management Planning (CAMP) workshop in each country.

The national CAMP workshop was organized in mid July 2010 with the support of BGCI/JRS East Africa regional project at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences with representatives from 12 institutions in Tanzania and 2 from Ken-ya. The aim of the workshop was to determine the conservation status of medicinal plants used in tra-ditional medicine in Tanzania, based on priorities derived from traditional knowledge. The purpose was to develop appropriate conservation strategies and guidelines for sustainable use. The workshop addressed natural resource status assessments for priority actions as one of the strategies to solve the medicinal plants conservation challenges that include: approaches for conservation of medicinal plant species and their genetic diversity; develop-ment of sustainable harvest systems for wild me-dicinal plants; and achievement of environmental-ly-friendly cultivation of medicinal plants.

Prioritization of medicinal plants for conserva-tionIn realization of the threats facing medicinal plants in Tanzania, the general protocol for CAMP was used for prioritising species for ex-situ conserva-tion, first using ethnobotanical parameters. Ethno-

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botanical practices were scored as 1 or 0 according to whether extraction was considered to have a se-vere effect on plant diversity or not. The total score for each species was added to the value – index (importance of species based on Red List status) and the legislation-index (adequacy of legislation provisions). The Value-index includes the sum of all the scores associated with Red List status, key-stone species, sustainability of use and cultural/spiritual value. The Legislation-index allows the researcher to evaluate the importance of the spe-cies in relation to whether it is adequately protected under the legal provisions (BOX 2). A high index value indicates the need to protect a species; a low index value may be used to rank the species low for conservation but does not necessarily disquali-fy recommending a species for conservation meas-ures. A high rating for one criterion, such as the Red List status or Sustainability of use, was consid-ered sufficient to list a species for protection under the National Forests Act. The analysis resulted in only 74 priority medicinal plants for possible com-mercialization. The list of species and the proposed conservation strategies are presented in TABLE 1.

Medicinal Plants Conservation Challenges

Policy and legal frameworksThe Tanzania government’s political commitment to promoting traditional medicine is clearly spelled out in the Tanzanian Health Policy of 1996 and the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Policy and Act of 2000 and 2002, respectively; both recog-nize the role of traditional health practices in the country’s health care system (URT 2000, 2002). However, little effort has been done to address con-servation of medicinal plant resources. There has been poor reinforcement of the existing policy and legal frameworks to conserve and ensure the future sustainable use of the potential medicinal plants. Support and emphasis on promoting cultivation of potential identified medicinal plants in the coun-try, both in-situ and ex-situ, have also been poor. The national forest policy has for a long time been biased towards safeguarding tradable timber plant species. There is a strong need to harmonize vari-ous sectorial policies and legal frameworks that in-fluence the utilization and conservation of medici-nal biodiversity in Tanzania

Institutions

There is a lack of protection of medicinal plant and traditional medical knowledge. E.g., in Tanzania cultivation and/or domestication of medicinal wild varieties is constrained by the perception embed-ded in culture, attitudes and awareness that domes-tication stoops the medicinal potency compared to wild plants. To some, planting of wild varieties is not a priority even if knowledge on propagation ex-ists. Further, commercialization of medicinal plants has been projected as a sustainable means of pov-erty alleviation, with additional value in terms of biodiversity and conservation purposes. This is still a challenge in Tanzania since there is no regulation and monitoring for medicinal plants and products sold in the local markets. Especially in relation to supply sources and harvesting methods to ensure sustainable use of the resources.

ResearchResearch and training activities for the conser-vation of medicinal plants have not received ad-equate support and attention in Tanzania. Various researchers, including RUKANGIRA (2001), have re-ported rare successful experiences and approaches on conservation of African medicinal plants. Fur-thermore, in relation to medicinal plant conserva tion in Tanzania several aspects are still unknown, including:

(i) the documentation of all major medicinal

plants,(ii) documentation for the medicinal plants that have been lost and those that remain in the wild, (iii) knowledge on how gender issues are prop-erly taken into consideration while planning for conserving the resources, (iv) incorporation of local and traditional knowl-edge into propagation, sustainable use and con-servation of medicinal plants, (v) identification of cultural practices and beliefs that are supportive of the conservation and sus-tainable use of medicinal plants, and (vi) knowledge on effective agro-ecological methods for enhancing propagation and cultiva-tion of specific medicinal plants.

The latter two as proposed by CUNNINGHAM (1997) to ensure sustainable primary health care services in Africa.

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TABLe 1. Tanzania priority medicinal plants matrix for immediate conservation.

Species Traded Justification RecommendationsAcacia xanthophloea No Narrow distribution Use in agro- forestry systems, amenityAdansonia digitata Locally Regeneration poor,

growth slowInclude in dryland plantations

Aerangis flabellifolia No Ecosystem fragile In-situ conservation of supporting treesAfzelia quanzensis Yes Overexploited Legislation, in- & ex-situ conservationAlbizia anthelmintica No Potential demand Use in agroforestryAloe lateritia Locally Overexploitation Legislation, in- & ex-situ conservation Aloe secundiflora Locally Overexploitation Education of farmersAloe volkensii Locally Overexploitation Legislation, in- & ex-situ conservationArtemisia affra Locally Overexploitation, limited

ecological rangeLarge commercial plantations

Balanites aegyptiaca Yes Overexploitation Emphasize planting in home gardensBegonia oxyloba No (no

need)Horticultural use, limited ecological range

Consider as bio-indicator of climate change in forests

Berberis holstii No Habitat specificity In-situ conservationBombax rhodognaphalon Yes1 Overexploited In-situ conservationBrachylaena huillensis (hutch-insii)

No Overexploited National legislation

Breonadia salicina No Habitat specificity National legislation requiredBrucea antidysenterica No Rare National legislation requiredCassia abbreviata No Diverse uses Promote ex-situ cultivationCatha edulis Yes Overexploited Legislation, stricter in-situ conservationClausena anisata Habitat specificity Legislation, in-situ conservationCommiphora swynnertonii Disjunct distribution Estimate market valueCordia ovalis Multiple uses, habitat

specificity In-situ conservation

Crinum papillosum No Narrow distribution Domestication, sustainable harvestingCrinum kirkii No Limited distribution DomesticationCroton dichogamus No Multiple uses DomesticationCucumis profetarum Multiple uses Milicia excelsa Yes1 Overexploited Domestication, legislation enforcement Dalbergia melanoxylon Yes High demand In- & ex-situ conservationDeinbollia borbonica No Harvest: uprooting Use biotechnology in propagationEntada abyssinica No Increasingly scarce Sensitization: plant in home gardensEntada stuhlmannii No High demand Ex-situ conservation Erythrina abbyssinica No High demand, harvest:

uprootingEmphasis on on farm planting

Hydnora abbyssinica Possibly host specific (Acacia xanthophloea)

Hydnora africana No Host specific Kigelia africana No Harvest: debarking DomesticationMillettia puguensis No Limited distribution,

habitat lossTry planting in other ecological regions

Monanthotaxis trichocarpa No High demand Effort to collect more dataMondia whitei Yes High demand Myrsine africana Locally High demand Emphasize ex-situ conservationOcotea usambarensis Yes High demand1 Enforce policy

May 2012Page 39

TABLe 1. Continued, Tanzania priority medicinal plants matrix for immediate conservation

Species Traded Justification RecommendationsOsyris lanceolata Yes High demand Commercial plantations, harvest banPericopsis angolensis No High demand Piper capensis Locally High demand Sensitize, ex-situ conservationPolyalthia stuhlmanii No Multiple treatments In-situ conservationPrunus africana Yes

(bark)High demand, multiple uses

On farm & in-situ conservation, enforce policy

Pseudospondias microcarpa No Less distribution In-situ and ex-situ conservationPterocarpus angolensis Yes1 High demand In- & ex-situ conservation, law enforcementPterocarpus tinctorius Yes1 High demand In- & ex-situ conservation, law enforcementPterocarpus rotundifolius Yes1 Multiple uses In-situ and ex-situ conservation Myrsine melanophloes (Rapa-nea melanophloeos)

No Available in low densities

Rauvolfia vometoria Yes High demand, multiple uses

On-farm, in-situ conservation, policy enforce-ment

Rhamnus prinoides No Multiple treatments, uses Rhamnus staddo No Available in low densities DomesticationRitchiea capparoides No Available in low densities On farm plantingRubia cordifolia No Climber dependent on

high canopy vegetationDomestication

Sansevieria bagamoyensis No Endemic to coastal areas Shirakiopsis ellipticum (Syn:Sapium ellipticum)

No High demand, mode of harvesting

Sclerocarya birrea ssp. caffra Yes Multiple uses (wine sold) Large scale domestication Scutia myrtina No Available in low densities Steganotoenia araliacea Locally Rare DomesticationStephanostema sternocarpum No Endemic to coastal areas Need national legislation Tamarindus indica Yes Multiple uses (fruits) On-farm conservationTarenna littoralis No Restricted distribution To be prioritized for diversity assessmentTephrosia vogelii No Demand: pesticidal effect Incorporated in agroforestry schemesToddaliopsis sansibarensis No Limited distribution Trichilia emetica Yes Multiple uses (seeds sold) Potential: medicines, oil for soap and cosmeticsVangueria infausta Yes Multiple uses (fruits sold) Ex-situ may solve competition with wild fruc-

tivorousVepris glomerata Root used in medicine Education on sustainable harvestingWarburgia stulhmanii Yes Restricted distribution Domestication, national legislation and policyWarburgia salutaris Yes Restricted distribution CultivationXimenia caffra Yes Multiple uses Discourage the use for fuelXylopia arenaria No Coastal endemic Trial in different ecological regionsZanha golungensis No Key stone species, multi-

ple uses

Zanha africana Locally Multiple uses Zanthoxylum chalybeum Locally High demand, over-ex-

ploited in localityDomestication

Community involvement/IK holdersThere is little involvement of community/indig-enous knowledge holders in collaboration with research institutions and other stakeholders to con-

serve the potential identified medicinal plants in Tanzania. There are no guidelines that take into ac-count the Intellectual Property Rights, Access and Benefit Sharing issues, and this constrains the free sharing of biological information required for de-

Page May 201240

veloping sustainable use of medicinal plants; fears of bio-piracy especially limits the involvement of traditional medical practitioners in conservation initiatives.

Advocacy and awarenessIn Tanzania, little effort seems to have been di-rected towards increasing the awareness and ad-vocacy on sustainable use of medicinal plants to the public, policy-makers, researchers, traditional health practitioners and end users through mass media, tailored radio/television programmes, flyers and other educational materials. Another challenge has been for the two national health care systems to find a way to complement rather then compete with each other.

As for national strategies and policies, various studies (MILLEDGE & KAALE 2004) have pointed out that the majority of local communities and even government employees involved in trade of flora from coastal forests are not aware of the exis-ing legal instruments. For example, the Forest Act No. 14 of 2002 provides regulations on the trade of flora and fauna: Part VI provides details on permits and licenses, Part VII provides details on trade in forest products, while Part XI provides details on offences and penalties. The Plant Protection Act No. 13 of 1997 provides the basis for regulation of plants and plant protection substances and the protection of the natural environment against plant protection substances. Concerted efforts are there-fore required to raise community awareness on le-gal instruments related to sustainable forest man-agement and trade in flora, including the medicinal plants, for poverty eradication and improvement of community livelihoods.

ConclusionThe present article presents the medicinal plant conservation assessment and management plan-ning initiatives in Tanzania. Seventy-two prior-ity medicinal plants for possible commercializa-tion and the conservation strategies are identified. The medicinal plants conservation challenges are discussed; these include policy, legal and institu-tional frameworks, capacity building, community involvement, research, climate change, and educa-tional and awareness gaps with regard to conser-vation strategies and sustainable use of medicinal plants in Tanzania. The prioritized medicinal plant

species of Tanzania, especially those which are al-ready under threat, require conservation measures to ensure their future sustainability.

ReferencesAUGUSTINO, S. & GILLAH, P.R. (2005): Medicinal plants

in urban districts of Tanzania: plants, gender roles and sustainable use. – International Forestry Review 7: 44-58.

CITES. (1997): Newsletter for the African region. Re-port from the plants committee, Article 9.

CUNNINGHAM, A.B. (1997): An Africa-wide overview of medicinal plant harvesting, conservation and health care. – In: BODEKER, G., BHAT, K.K.S, BURLEY, J., & VANTOMME, P. (Eds.): Medicinal plants for forest con-servation and heath care. Non-Wood Forest Products 11. FAO, Rome, Italy. pp. 116-129.

FOSU, G.B. (1989): Access to health care in urban areas of developing societies. – Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 30: 398-411.

GOOD, C.M. & KIMANI, V. N. (1980): Urban traditional medicine: A Nairobi case study. – East African Medi-cal Journal 57: 301-316.

GELDENHUYS, C.J. (2005): Sustainable harvesting methods for medicinal plants: a research and develop-ment framework. – Paper for Methodology Workshop on Medicinal plants and Traditional medicine, 5-7 De-cember, 2005. IDRC/ESARO, Nairobi, Kenya.

GESSLER, M.C., MSUYA, D.E., NKUNYA, M.H.H., SCHAR, A., HEINRICH, M. & TANNER, M. (1995a): Traditional healers in Tanzania: the perception of ma-laria and its causes – Journal of Ethnopharmacology 48:119-130.

GESSLER, M.C., MSUYA, D.E., NKUNYA, M.H.H., SCHAR, A., HEINRICH, M. & TANNER, M. (1995b): Traditional healers in Tanzania: the treatment of ma-laria with plant remedies. – Journal of Ethnopharma-cology 48: 131-144.

HAMILTON, A.C. (2005): The Ecohealth approach, with a special focus on medicinal plants. Paper presented at the Methodology workshop on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, 5-7 December 2005. IDRC/ESARO, Nairobi, Kenya.

HAMILTON, A.C. (2004): Medicinal plants, conserva-tion and livelihoods. – Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 1477-1517.

MAHUNNAH, R.L.A., UISO, F.C., MOSHI, M.J., MBWAMBO, Z.H., KAPINGU, M.C. (2006): The wealth of medicinal plants of eastern Tanzania. – In: MITAWA G.M. ET AL. (Eds.), Plant genetic resources and bio-technology in Tanzania; Part II: Policy, conservation and utilization. Peramiho Printing Press. pp 543 - 553.

MAHUNNAH, R.L.A. (2002): Ethnobotany and conser-vation of medicinal plants in Africa: the way forward

May 2012Page 41

in the next decade. – In: ADENIJI, K.O. (ed.), 2001 - 2010: OAU decade For African traditional medicine. OAU/STRC, Lagos. pp. 70-80.

MAHUNNAH, R.L.A. (1991): Utilization and conserva-tion status of medicinal plants in Tanzania. – In: SHAO, F.M., MAGINGO, F.S.S., MINJAS, A.N., BITANYI, H.F. & MAHUNNAH, R.L.A. (Eds.), Proceedings of the workshop on plant genetic resources and biotechnol-ogy held at Arusha, Tanzania, January 16-20, 1990. Benedict Publications Ndanda, Peramiho, Tanzania. pp. 280-289.

MAHUNNAH, R.L.A. & MSHIU, E.N. (1991): Ethno-botany and conservation of medicinal plants. – In: MSHIGENI, K.E., NKUNYA, M.H.H., FUPI, V., MA-HUNNAH, R.L.A. & MSHIU, E.N. (Eds.), Proceedings of an international conference of experts from devel-oping countries on traditional medicinal plants. Dar es Salaam University Press, Tanzania. pp. 83-86.

MARSHALL, N.T. (1998): Searching for a cure: con-servation of medicinal wildlife resources in East and Southern Africa. – TRAFFIC-International, Cam-bridge, UK.

MILLEDGE, S.A.H. & KAALE, B.K. (2004): Bridging the gap: linking timber trade with infrastructure de-velopment and poverty eradication efforts in southern Tanzania. – TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

NMK (2007): The East African project on the global strategy for plant conservation funded by the JRS Bio-diversity Foundation.

OBERLÄNDER, L. & ELVERDAN, B. (2000): Malaria in the United Republic of Tanzania: cultural considera-tions and health-seeking behaviour. – Bulletin of the World Health Organization 78: 1352–1357.

PADOCH, C. & VAYDA, A.P. (1983): Patterns of re-source use and human settlement in tropical forests. – Tropical rain forest ecosystems, structure and func-tions 1: 301-313.

RUKANGIRA, E. (2001): The African herbal industry: constraints and challenges. – In: Proceedings of the natural products and cosmeceutcals 2001 conference. Erboristeria, Domani. pp 179-184.

STANGELAND, T., TABUTI, J.R.S. & LYE, K.A. (2008): The influence of light and temperature on the ger-mination of two Ugandan medicinal trees. – African Journal of Ecology, 46: 565-571.

URT (2002) The traditional and alternative medicines Act, 2002. – The Government Printer, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

URT (2000) The national traditional and birth attend-ants implementation policy guidelines. – Ministry of Health, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

URT (1998): Tanzania country study on biological bio-diversity. UNEP, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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R.L.A. Mahunnah & J.N. Otieno • Muhimbili Uni-vesity College of Health and Allied Sciences, Insti-tute of Traditional Medicine • P.O.Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

S. Augustino • Sokoine University of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Department of Wood Utilization • P.O.Box 3014, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania • email: sanhe-mati@yahoo.com

J. Elia • National Herbarium of Tanzania, Tropi-cal Pesticides Research Institute • P.O. Box 3024, Arusha, Tanzania

Community based conservation of ethno-medicinal plants by tribal

people of Orissa state, India.Saujanendra Swain & Nihar Parida

An ex-situ ethno-medicinal garden named Biju Patnaik Medicinal Plants Garden and Research Centre is established in 5 ha land donated by the government of Orissa; it is located in Jeypore city of Koraput district, Orissa state, India. This Gar-den consists of nine tribal gardens devoted to nine major tribal groups of the region: Bhatra, Bhumia, Bonda, Gadaba, Gond, Kandha, Koya, Paroja and Saora. Each tribal garden is being planted, main-tained and managed by the traditional healthcare practitioners and traditional birth attendants of the respective tribal communities. A total of 347 me-dicinal plants used in the traditional healthcare sys-tems of the nine tribes of the region are conserved in this garden (109 trees, 91 shrubs, 39 climbers, 102 herbs and 6 others - orchids, grasses, ferns etc). The garden serves as a repository of genetic stock of the undivided Koraput district and as a living gene bank for the tribal people; it has immense util-ity for the present and future generations.

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FIGuRe 1. Distribution of dominant tribes in Jeypore tract of Orissa, India.

IntroductionIn every ethnic group a culturally patterned tradi-tional health care system exists. In rural commu-nities health care is the first and foremost line of defense and the WHO has recognized the contribu-tion of traditional health care in tribal communi-ties. It is very essential to have a proper documen-tation and conservation both in-situ & ex-situ of medicinal plants and to know their potential for the improvement of health and hygiene through an eco friendly system (AMBASTA 1986).

Despite the increasing use of medicinal plants in primary health care in addition to allopathic drugs, their future is being threatened in relation to their conservation, sustainable use and benefit shar-ing. Several important species are in danger of extinction due to growing trade demands for new plant-based therapeutic products and biopharma-ceuticals. Such concerns have stimulated action in chronicling and conserving medicinal plants and sharing of benefits with the indigenous tribes as a token of acknowledgment for their contribution to the final product (JAIN 1971).

In this context the undivided Koraput district of Orissa state merits special mention as it is known for its richness of medicinal flora and as it is a treas-ure of useful plant resources. Tribal communities living in this region have been conserving and uti-lizing these resources, including medicinal plants. Gradual depletion of the forest cover in the area is slowly eroding the indigenous/traditional knowl-edge associated with the medicinal plants (CHAUD-HURI ET AL. 1985). It is estimated that more than

1,200 medicinal plant species are available in the forests of this area. Some of the endemic medicinal plant species available are used for curing common diseases like fever, cold, pyorrhea, gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases, malarial fever, etc. But certain plant species with specific traits are used for setting fractured bones, curing asthma, jaun-dice, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. And many specific plant species have anti-helminthes, anti-inflamma-tory and anti-fertility properties for curing several diseases (BOX 1). The tribal populations residing in the region have their own local physicians/healers who have outstanding knowledge on the plant spe-cies used for traditional healing. They have been in the practice of preserving a rich heritage of in-formation on medicinal plants and their manage-ment. They have both the know-how and do-how for preparing the medicine and its application. This local healing system is a part of the Indian tradi-tional medicinal system. The tribal populations are poor but their endowment of bioresources is rich. Very little research has been done so far on the vast medicinal plant resources in the Koraput region, particularly in the areas of conservation, sustain-ability, value addition and equitable sharing of ben-efits from the medicinal plant heritage.

BOX 1. Medicinal plants commonly used among tribal people in Orissa, India.

Fever Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook. f. and Thoms

Cold Ocimum sanctum L.

Pyorrhoea Jatropha gossypifolia L.

Gastrointestinal disorder Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr.

Skin diseases Azadirachta indica A. Juss

Malaria fever Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.

Fracturedbones Cissus quandraangula L

Asthma Justicia adhatoda L.

Jaundice Lawsonia inermis L.

Rheumatoid arthritis Paederia foetida L.

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The ethno-medicinal gardenRealizing this M.S. Swaminathan Research Foun-dation, Chennai, India established a Research and Development Centre in Jeypore city of Koraput district in Orissa state, primarily to undertake in-tensive and integrated studies on medicinal and aromatic plants, their conservation, sustainable and value-added use, and equitable sharing of benefits. The center has been dedicated to the various tribal communities, residing in the area, and more spe-cifically to the nine predominant tribes who have been custodians of the plant genetic resources since time immemorial. The centre has been working with the different tribal communities residing in the region to document their traditional knowledge on medicinal and other useful plants since 1997-98, to protect and safeguard the traditional knowl-edge for potential future benefit sharing.

Area and peopleKoraput district is situated in the South-eastern re-gion of Orissa and is located between 170 50’and 200 3’north latitude, and 81027’ and 840 1’ east longitudes (FIGURE 1). Administratively, the old Koraput district is now divided into 4 districts namely Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Rayagada. The total geographical area of the dis-trict is 0.84 million ha. The different areas in this zone are situated at altitudes of 150-1,000 meters above sea level. A major portion of the tribal habi-tat is hilly and forested; the hill slopes are highly eroded and of low fertility, they are over-grazed and represent the symbol of poverty. The district is home to a large number of different tribal com-munities: approximately 29 tribes forming 54.30% of the total population of the district.

The traditional health care practitionersMost of the tribal villages have their own tradition-al health care practitioners (THPs) who are known as Disari in the local language. Women work as tra-ditional birth attendants (TBAs) called Gurumayi. They have specialized knowledge on childbirth and related herbal medicines. Each and every com-munity/tribe has their own Desari and Gurumayi.

Genesis of the ethno-medicinal GardenDuring the year 2006, a study was carried out by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation to map the distribution of tribes in the Koraput. Twenty-

TABLe 1. The nine tribes, their population and the number of medicinal plants used by them.

Tribe Population (2001 census)

District No. of medici-nal plants used

Bhatra 375,845 Nawarangpur 81Bhumia 103,537 Koraput 69Bonda 9,378 Malkangiri 55Gadaba 782,104 Koraput 83Gond 72,982 Nawarangpur 67Kandha 1,395,643 Koraput &

Rayagada124

Koya 122,535 Malkangiri 48Paroja 317,301 Koraput 74Saora 473,233 Rayagada 599 tribes 3,652,558 4 districts 660

nine different tribal groups were found in the area, out of the total 62 in Orissa state. Their population varies from 10,000 to 0.4 million. Out of the total 29 tribes 9 tribes were selected for further detailed study on their plant used for primary healthcare. The THPs and TBAs of the tribes were contacted, and their traditional knowledge on use of medicinal plants for primary healthcare was systematically documented. Information on 660 ethno-medicinal plant species was documented. It was observed that nearly 50% of the plants are common to all nine tribes, but that the same plant may be used to treat different diseases. During the survey 87 ethno-me-dicinal plants were found to be endangered as they are harvested from the wild in unsustainable ways. Nearly 10% of the medicinal species reported to be used are not found in the wild or they are on the verge of extinction. Details of the nine tribes and the number of medicinal plants used by them are presented in TABLE 1. TABLE 2 presents the 12 most commonly used medicinal plants.

After analyzing the facts and figures from the above survey, it was decided to establish a tribe-wise traditional healers association to address the issues onorganized traditional healthcare prac-tice, conservation and use of medicinal plant, and monitoring of the medicinal plant biodiversity. Till to date associations were established for the nine tribes by involving around 764 THPs and TBAs. Just after the formation of association, a process was carried out to prioritize the ethno-medicinal plants that need immediate attention for ex situ

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conservation in consultation with the members of the association.

Nine tribal ethno-medicinal conservation gardensWith the generous support of 5 ha of land from the Government of Orissa, the ex-situ conservation garden was established at Jeypore city of Koraput district in April 2007. The garden was named after the former Chief Minister of Orissa. The garden was established for ex-situ genetic conservation of ethno-medicinal plants used by major tribes of this region under a project mode with the finan-cial support from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The Garden was devoted to the above mentioned nine major tribal groups of the region and the actual garden is located in nine acres (1 acre is 4047 m2) of land. One acre of land was allocated to each of the tribes for conservation and cultivation of plants they use for their primary health care needs (FIGURE 2). The THPs and TBAs from each of the tribes collected ethno-medicinal plants from their respective areas and planted them in their garden.

Each of the nine tribal ethno-medicinal plant gar-dens is being maintained by the THPs and TBAs of the respective community. Each garden has more than 50-60 plant species, representing herbs, shrubs, creepers/climbers and trees used in the pri-mary healthcare practice of the tribe. The gardens are rounded in shape and the plants are planted without any order so it looks like a forest. The en-tire garden has nine circles for nine tribes. Each garden has a big signboard with a photo of the tribe and demographic and cultural information a=bout the tribe. Each plant species has a label depicting the local name of the plant, the botanical name, family, habit, parts used, and diseases for which the plant is used. At the centre of these nine gar-dens there is a traditional tribal hut with thatched roof that serves as a meeting place for the THPs and TBAs. The management of the garden was car-ried out by female and male healthcare practition-ers democratically selected from the communities. Every month the nominated members from the tra-ditional healers association (from each of the nine tribal communities) monitor the health of garden and add new plants to the garden.

Ethno-medicinal plant diversityApart from the above 9 ethno-medicinal plant gar

TABLe 2. Tvelwe medicinal plants commonly used by tribal people in Orissa state, India.Local name

Botanical Name Family

Bhuin-Nimba

Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) wall.ex.Nees

Acanthaceae

Brudha-daraka

Argyreia nervosa (Burn.f.)Boj

Convolvulaceae

Brahmi Bacopa monnieri (L.)penn.

Scrophulariaceae

Thalakudi Centella asiatica (L.)Urban

Apiaceae

Rukuna –Hatapocha

Coleus ambonicus Lour. Lamiaceae

Basanga Justicia adhatoda L. AcanthaceaePatragaja Kalanchoe pinnata

(Lam.) PersCrassulaceae

Podina Mentha spicata L. LabiataeTulasi Occimum sanctum L. LamiaceaePasaruni Peaderia foetida L. RubiaceaePipali Piper longum PiperaceaeGuluchi Tinospora cordifolia

(Wild) Hook.f.& TomsMenispermaceae

dens, the garden also has one RET (rare, endan-gered, threatened) ethno-medicinal plant garden having 24 RET ethno-medicinal plant species ofthe region. Additionally, a model of a Home Herb-al Garden and a Women’s Medicinal Plant Garden representing the plant species used in the tradition-al system of women healthcare were established in-side the garden. One Spice garden was established to conserve the wild and cultivated spices of the region. One Introduced Plants Garden of the region was developed to demonstrate the plants that have been introduced in the region. One Forest Food Garden with plants yielding food for the tribal peo-ple, including wild edible tubers, has been devel-oped inside the garden. One artificial sacred groove was established, where plants used by the tribes for religious purposes were planted and conserved.

A few portions of the garden are devoted to propa-gation of ethno-medicinal plants in great demand through establishment of two large shade-net hous-es and three ultraviolet stabilized poly houses. This caters to the needs of tribal people for ethno-me-dicinal plants. Demonstrations on cultivation of 24 commercially exploited medicinal plants were laid down inside the garden. Continuous training and

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FIGuRe 2. The tribal ethno-medicinal gardens. Photo: S. Swain.

capacity building programs on conservation and use of ethno-medicinal plants were conducted for the tribal youths, THPs, TBAs and volunteers.

Three booklets and two posters were developed, both in English and local language, to create aware-ness on conservation of ethno-medicinal plants. The garden also organizes campaigns on herbal remedies against malaria through preparation and administration of herbal formulation to the tribal people. The garden facilitates information sharing on ethno-medicinal plants between different tribal groups through periodic exchange visits, meetings and informal discussions.

ConclusionBroadly Biju Patnaik Medicinal Plants Garden and Research Centre is a conservation centre which pro-vides a living gene bank for the tribal families and gives them a sense of ownership. A participatory knowledge management system is slowly evolving which fosters genetic, trade and legal literacy. The center has the mandate of helping the nine tribal communities to protect their intellectual property rights under the provisions of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act and the Biodiversity Act (2002). It is envisioned that this initiative will help to convert plant resources into economic wealth on an ecologically sustainable basis, and to overcome the prevailing dichotomy of the poverty of the people and the prosperity of Nature thereby leading to an era of biohappiness.

AcknowledgementThe paper is being dedicated to the tribal people of Koraput district for their selfless sharing of tra-

ditional healthcare knowledge & conservation of the rare genetic base of ethno-medicinal plants for centuries. The authors are thankful to the Depart-ment of Biotechnology (Government of India) for supporting the conservation activities of the tribal people. Thanks to the Government of Orissa state for their concern towards conservation of the won-derful tribal treasures of medicinal plants and as-sociated traditional knowledge. We pay out deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Ajay Parida, Executive Director & Dr. K.U. K . Nampoothiri, Director of MSSRF for his periodic motivation & guidance.

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Publications and information, Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi.

CHAUDHURI, H.N. Rai, PAL, D.C. & TARAFDAR, C.R. (1985): Less known uses of some plants from the trib-al areas of Orissa. –Bull. Bot. Surv. India 17: 132-136.

JAIN, S.K. (1971): Some magico-religious beliefs about plants among Adibasis of Orissa. – Adibasi, 12:39-40.

Additional literature ANONYMOUS (1948-76): Wealth of India. Raw Materi-

als 11. – CSIR, New Delhi. BRAHMAM, M. & DUTTA, P.K. (1981): Ethnobotanical

studies in Orissa. In: JAIN, S.K. (ed.), Glimpses of In-dian ethnobotany. – Oxford and IBH publishing Co., New Delhi. pp. 232-244.

BRAHMAM, M. & SAXENA, H.O. (1990): Ethnobotany of Gandhamardan hills – some noteworthy folk-me-dicinal uses. – Ethnobotany 2: 71-79.

DAS, P.K. & KANT, R. (1998): Ethnobotanical studies of the tribal belt of Koraput (Orissa). Bull. medicoeth-no. – Bot. Res. 9(3&4):123-128.

DAS, P.K. & MISHRA, M.K. (1987): Some medicinal plants used by the tribal of Deomali and adjacent ar-

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eas of Koraput District, Orissa. – Indian J.For. 10(4): 301-303.

GIRACH, R.D. ET AL. (1998): Medico ethnobotany of Sundargarh, Orissa. – India. Phar. Biology 36(1):20.

SATAPATHY, K.B. & PANDA, P.C. (1992): Medicinal uses of some plants among the tribals of Sundargarh Disrict, Orissa. – J. Econ. Tax. Bot. Addl. Ser. 10: 241-249.

SAXENA, H.O. & BRAHMAM, M. (1996): The flora of Orissa (4 Vols.).

SAXENA, H.O. and DUTTA, P.K. (1975). Studies on the ethnobotany of Orissa. – Bull. Bot. v. India, 17(1-4): 124-131.

Saujanendra Swain & Nihar Parida • M. S. Swa-minathan Resaerch Foundation • Regional Centre: Phulbad, Umuri P.O, Jeypore -764 002, Koraput District, Odisha state, India • e-mail: saujanen-dra@rediffmail.com

estado de la conservación de las plantas TRAMIL incluidas en la Farmacopea Vegetal CaribeñaSonia Lagos, Xinia Robles & Rafael Ángel

Ocampo Sánchez

AntecedentesAnte la responsabilidad que representa la extinción y uso sostenible de los recursos naturales, muchas personas y organizaciones han integrado sus esfu-erzos a nivel mundial en la promulgación de políti-cas y directrices, dirigidas hacia la conservación de la fauna y la flora.

Es precisamente bajo el amparo de la Unión Mun-dial para la Naturaleza (UICN), una de las organ-izaciones que mayores esfuerzos ha realizado en este sentido, que se elaboró el tratado internacional o convención denominado CITES en 1973, el cual involucra aproximadamente 132 países del mundo que están dispuestos a asumir el compromiso de regular un uso inadecuado. Los países de Cen-troamérica y el Caribe también han firmado esta convención, demostrando su interés por asumir el compromiso y cumplirlo.

Se han creado varios instrumentos de apoyo a este convenio, establecido para alcanzar objetivos es-pecíficos a nivel global y abarcando distintas áreas.

En el caso de la conservación de las plantas me-dicinales, es a partir de 1985 que diversas organ-izaciones (OMS, UICN, WWF) se están refiriendo al tema, y que han formulado e impulsado distintas estrategias y acciones conjuntas para determinar cuál es el estado de estas plantas. Estos lineamien-tos están plasmados en el documento “Directrices sobre conservación de plantas medicinales” (OMS, UICN, WWF 1993). Uno de los resultados con-cretos es la recientemente creada Comisión para la Conservación de las Plantas Medicinales (1994). Esta ha sido una iniciativa de la UICN, apoyada por investigadores vinculados con distintas etapas del proceso de conservación y desarrollo de las plantas medicinales en el mundo.

La conservación desde la óptica de un análisis integradoA pesar del gran interés demostrado a nivel inter-nacional e interinstitucional, se ha especulado mu-cho con respecto a las plantas medicinales y con razón, ya que su utilización es antigua y es parte de una dinámica cultural compleja por la relación existente entre las plantas medicinales y el ser hu-mano.

El análisis sobre el estado de la conservación, no solo debe abordarse desde la óptica biológica sino que debe incorporarse el enfoque cultural, para ser más consecuente con la realidad y para entender la dinámica en que están inmersas las plantas medici-nales.

Los esfuerzos técnicos para determinar el estado de la conservación de los recursos naturales se han dirigido especialmente hacia los recursos nativos de una región, área, paisaje o continente. Esta sit-uación es razonable, en tanto que, cuando los re-cursos naturales silvestres son objeto de comercio indiscriminado están en peligro de extinción.

En el caso de la conservación de las plantas me-dicinales existe un elemento muy importante, que está vinculado con la “cultura de las plantas medic-inales”. Hay un interés particular del ser humano de llevar consigo los recursos naturales (tomar una parte de la planta y luego establecerla en un nuevo ambiente) de importancia para su salud. Por esta razón plantas de origen africano como la Momor-dica charantia, poseen una distribución muy am-plia en el Caribe y Centroamérica. En este sentido el origen de los recursos naturales posee un peso

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fundamental para la definición del estado de la con-servación.

El uso y aprovechamiento de las plantas medici-nales, constituye no solo un sincretismo cultural (al involucrar diversos grupos humanos), sino que ha promovido el intercambio de recursos naturales útiles entre las regiones del mundo. Es por este motivo que en América existen diversas plantas medicinales de uso popular que tienen diferentes orígenes; caso contrario sucede con las orquídeas (Orchidaceae) que generalmente son nativas y por lo tanto las acciones de conservación deben ajus-tarse a esta condición.

La presencia de plantas medicinales en Centro-américa y el Caribe es la conjugación de diversos orígenes geográficos del mundo. Hierbas como el zacate de limón (Cymbopogon citratus) o el árbol de limón (Citrus aurantifolia) son recursos exóticos de amplia distribución y uso en la región. Precisamente, las plantas medicinales que se en-cuentran en la Farmacopea Caribeña (GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU 1996) son una excelente representación de esta situación.

El acercamiento a la Farmacopea Caribeña, para determinar el estado de la conservación de sus plan-tas, debe involucrar criterios diferentes de los ya definidos para los recursos en su estado natural, de-ben ampliarse con el propósito de lograr establecer una realidad más consecuente con la dinámica del aprovechamiento y uso de las plantas medicinales.

Para elaborar este documento partimos con el obje-tivo de analizar el estado actual de conservación de las plantas medicinales que están en la Farmacopea Caribeña. Para definir la vulnerabilidad se requirió aplicar una serie de criterios tanto biológicos como culturales, con el propósito de esclarecer con una base objetiva el cambio, no tan evidente en algunos casos, en la abundancia de las plantas medicinales.

Esperamos que este análisis conlleve a definir nue-vas estrategias que contribuyan a la permanencia y uso sostenible de estas especies en beneficio de la salud popular de la comunidad Caribeña, en par-ticular, y del mundo en general.

Ante la disyuntiva de la conservaciónCuando se toca el tema de la conservación de los recursos naturales y la preocupación por su esta-do, aparece la disyuntiva sobre el papel que juega

CITES y las acciones que promueven las organiza-ciones interesadas en esta problemática. Veamos en detalle algunos elementos que inducen al cues-tionamiento planteado.

El Convenio sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies Amenazadas de la Fauna y la Flora Sil-vestres (CITES), es una iniciativa que funciona con base en sus cuatro apéndices. Establece diferentes restricciones de comercio para las especies inscri-tas en sus Apéndices y permite el comercio sola-mente cuando una autoridad gubernamental com-petente emite una autorización conforme al modelo de permiso del Apéndice IV.

CITES es una herramienta clara en cuanto a las cat-egorías definidas, tiene un mandato internacional y enfatiza en las plantas silvestres que son objeto de comercio. En la práctica el problema sigue siendo la capacidad técnica establecida en los países, para discernir cuáles recursos son objeto de comercio y, en algunos casos, cuáles son los criterios que deben aplicarse para saber si un recurso entra o no en de-terminada categoría.

Por ejemplo, la palma areca o múltiple (Chrysa-lidocarpus lutescens) es una palma ornamental originaria de la Isla de Madagascar. Esta es la pal-ma de mayor comercio en el mundo y por ende su distribución geográfica se ha ampliado. El prob-lema con esta especie radica en que las autoridades de CITES de Costa Rica, solicitan un trámite para la exportación de esta palma que ha sido introduc-ida y cultivada en el país. Este trámite no es nec-esario en estas condiciones; lo es en su país de origen donde la especie silvestre está en peligro de extinción y el comercio debe regularse.

Otro ejemplo lo constituye la rana venenosa (Den-drobates pumila y D. auratus), de la cual no se tienen estudios detallados sobre su comportami-ento en algunos de los países centroamericanos (ambas investigadas actualmente por su actividad farmacológica), y sin embargo no se restringe su exportación. En este caso es evidente que si los países cuentan con el recurso silvestre, están en la obligación de tener la información técnica adecua-da que respalde la toma de decisiones en cuanto al uso sostenible y comercial de la especie, así como de la categoría a la que se debe asignar y los crite-rios por los cuales se asignó.

Estos ejemplos nos indican que existe un dilema

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relacionado con el estado de las especies que son exóticas de una región y la aplicación de los Apén-dices de CITES, así como ausencia de conocimien-to científico sobre la dinámica de poblaciones que son objeto de comercio y que su extracción con-tinua podría conducir a la desaparición dentro su ambiente natural.

Criterios científicos como garantía de objetivi-dadHasta ahora, distintos criterios se han utilizado para definir cuándo una especie (independientemente del aprovechamiento o interés comercial) está o no en peligro de extinción.

Probablemente, la UICN ha sido la organización que por más tiempo ha estado vinculada con el tema, y por esto su madurez al plantear la necesidad de ser objetivos en el proceso de clasificación. Re-cientemente esta organización acaba de establecer una serie de categorías, que constituyen el método más acertado para brindar insumos para la toma de decisiones en cuanto a los recursos naturales se re-fiere. Estas categorías representan el marco teórico global de una situación hipotética, que aunque im-portante desde la óptica científica debe analizarse considerando la capacidad real de la región bioge-ográfica del Caribe y Centroamérica.

Las categorías de CITES representan un marco teórico global de una situación hipotética, que aunque importante desde la óptica científica, de-ben analizarse tomando en consideración la base existente, la capacidad real y las características biogeográficas y culturales a las que corresponde el sitio.

Además es importante señalar que por la misma riqueza en biodiversidad, de las regiones tropi-cales, se hace casi imposible documentarla to-talmente. Solo en Centroamérica (sin incluir el Caribe), se han reportado aproximadamente mil especies medicinales. Esta situación es muy difer-ente en regiones templadas, no solo con respecto a la biodiversidad sino también en cuanto a las con-diciones socioeconómicas, de capacidad técnica y tecnológica.

Es precisamente con criterios uniformes y cientí-ficamente fundamentados, que se pueden agilizar acciones de conservación y desarrollo con aquellas especies de interés sociocultural en el ámbito re-

gional del Caribe y Centroamérica. La aplicación de estos criterios retroalimenta los apéndices de CITES y conlleva a establecer las listas rojas no por país (límites políticos) sino por regiones bio-geográficas, respetando situaciones de endemismo propias de áreas específicas.

A la luz de esta realidad, diversos organismos inter-nacionales están promoviendo acciones de domes-ticación de plantas medicinales, como un esfuerzo orientado hacia la conservación y aprovechamiento de las especies. Por esta razón es de suma impor-tancia ser consecuentes con la realidad y la necesi-dad de conservar nuestros recursos naturales, así como contar con criterios aplicables y adaptados a nuestras condiciones.

Para evaluar el estado de la conservación de las plantas medicinales de la Farmacopea Caribeña se establecieron criterios para realizar un análisis ob-jetivo, consecuente con la realidad y, finalmente, poder clasificar las plantas medicinales en las cat-egorías adecuadas.

Criterios para su determinaciónExiste en la actualidad una gran preocupación por la conservación y aprovechamiento de las plantas medicinales. Esta situación no solamente se refleja en el ámbito propiamente ambientalista (en época reciente se circunscribía exclusivamente a este ámbito) sino que ha alcanzado a personas de otras disciplinas que anteriormente no se sentían involu-cradas de alguna manera con el desarrollo de los recursos naturales; se ha reconocido que la conser-vación de la biodiversidad es de interés común de toda la humanidad.

Es precisamente el CITES que dio la voz de alerta, al regular el comercio ilegal de las especies ame-nazadas en diferentes grados. A partir de este momento, y cada vez con mayor vehemencia, se escuchan más intervenciones sobre la necesidad de determinar el estado de la conservación de los recursos naturales.

Hay que recordar que CITES nace como una re-spuesta, con enfoque conservacionista, hacia un problema de uso inadecuado como lo es el com-ercio ilegal de recursos naturales (principalmente fauna), producto de las acciones de extractivismo. Conforme a transcurrido el tiempo se han incor-porado grandes grupos taxonómicos vegetales, por

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ejemplo Cycadales y Orchidaceae, y recientemente la categoría de plantas medicinales. Esta última, no responde a un grupo biológico-taxonómico, sino a una categoría de uso que representa una cantidad apreciable de especies, familias, estructuras, ambi-entes, orígenes e intereses (conservacionistas, pro-ductivos y políticos).

Los grupos de presión también han aumentado, no solamente en cantidad sino en diversidad cultural y de enfoques, y van desde investigadores, cientí-ficos, profesionales, empresarios hasta el público en general.

Estas circunstancias nos brindan elementos impor-tantes para tener un enfoque holístico que conlleve a la identificación de soluciones, acordes con el equilibrio deseado entre la conservación de los re-cursos naturales y su explotación racional en ben-eficio de los países productores, que son los dueños de los recursos con actividad terapéutica.

La definición sobre el estado de la conservación es más compleja que una simple consulta a un profe-sional experto en un tema específico. Este análisis debe abordarse desde la perspectiva interdiscipli-naria. Por esta razón, y con el propósito de analizar cuál es el estado de la conservación de las plantas de la “Farmacopea Vegetal Caribeña”, se deter-minaron algunos criterios que responden la reali-dad actual en materia de conservación y desarrollo de las plantas medicinales (BOX 1). El orden de los criterios no corresponde a ningún nivel de prioriza-ción, cada uno cumple una función y el resultado de la suma de criterios es el indicador del estado de la conservación.

Criterios para evaluar el estado de la conser-vación de las plantas medicinales incluidas en la Farmacopea Vegetal Caribeña.

1. Identificación taxonómica

Este criterio de identificación taxonómica debe ser prioritario, por que para clasificar el recurso y darle el seguimiento adecuado debe tenerse definido cuál es el nombre científico y las sinonimias que le cor-responden. A pesar de su importancia, la situación al respecto aún debe mejorarse en la región.

Muchas plantas carecen de información taxonómi-ca fidedigna, tal es el caso de las especies del gén-ero Smilax cuya información es hasta el momento bastante confusa e incierta. Las especies silvestres

BOX 1. estado de conservación de las especies de la Farmacopea Caribeña

1. estructura morfológica – biológica

eSTRuCTuRA PORCeNTAJeHierbas 46Arbol 28Arbustos 18Liana 7Palmas 1

2. OrigenDe las plantas que están en la Farmacopea Caribeña 60% son especies nativas de América, el 40% restante son plantas introducidas al Caribe desde otros continentes del mundo.

3. Otras categorías de usoAunque el total de plantas es utilizado como recurso ter-apeútico, es importante señalar que 77% de las plantas tienen otros usos.

4. Estado del recursoSe ha mencionado que cuando se hace referencia al estado de la conservación de los recursos naturales se hace ref-erencia a plantas silvestres. Por esta razón al analizar el estado del recurso se observa que 50% son plantas que se cultivan con diferentes niveles e intensidades. Sólo 37% son plantas silvestres, que de acuerdo con el órgano co-sechado y la intensidad de uso, así como el estado biológi-co de la planta, podría presentar indicios de vulnerabilidad. El 13% de las plantas es una mezcla de un estado incipiente de cultivo con poblaciones silvestres.

5. Grado de amenazaAl hacer el análisis final para determinar el grado de ame-naza que tienen estas plantas se encontró que 84% no tienen amenazas, 13% son vulnerables y 3% no cuenta con datos suficientes para ubicarlas en una determinada cat-egoría. Los datos detallados de cada una de las especies que se consideraron para el análisis se puede obtener de los autores.

que se encuentran en los bosques se están comer-cializando a nivel local e internacional y el pro ducto que se cosecha es la raíz. Este conjunto de criterios hacen que la planta se considere como vulnerable y se ubique en la categoría II de CITES; sin embargo el problema es definir cuál o cuáles son las especies vulnerables.

2. Categorías de uso y germoplasmaCuando se hace referencia a la biodiversidad veg-etal útil, es claro que muchas especies poseen diferentes usos para los humanos. Las plantas se

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han categorizado de acuerdo con estos usos. La in-clusión de alguna especie dentro de una categoría de especial importancia para la sociedad, le brinda a la planta mayor seguridad en su conservación. Por ejemplo, la okra (Abelmonchus esculentus) además de ser medicinal es alimenticia (hortaliza). Esta situación ha inducido a los especialistas en mejoramiento genético a crear bancos de germo-plasma a partir de colectas de material silvestre y a impulsar acciones para su conservación.

En general la existencia de bancos de germoplasma representa un mecanismo para la conservación ex situ de la especie. Es importante señalar que las plantas medicinales son para los investigadores en mejoramiento genético, especies no convencion-ales (o sea especies que no han entrado a la cadena de comercialización “oficial” de mejoramiento, producción y comercialización). Bajo la categoría de no convencionales también se incluyen las plan-tas nativas de los trópicos y subtrópicos, por esta razón una planta que es nativa es, en consecuencia, vulnerable.

Recientemente, se ha empezado a considerar la con-servación in situ como una alternativa viable para conservar los recursos naturales en su medio am-biente. El CATIE está realizando investigaciones con dos importantes especies medicinales, Quasia amara y Smilax chiriquensis en Tamalanca, Costa Rica. Bougainvillea SA (empresa costarricense, véase el artículo sobre Quassia amara en este volú-men) está realizando actividades de conservación y desarrollo con Dracontium gigas y Arrabaidea chica, en ambos casos se está promoviendo la con-servación in situ (bancos de germoplasma).

3. Origen y distribución geográficaEl origen es una condición propia de cada especie, género o familia. Responde a características am-bientales generales o específicas. Una nueva espe-cie puede sobrevivir si compite en un plano igual o de ventaja con las poblaciones con que convive, o bien por encontrarse en un ambiente favorable o aislado (este aislamiento puede ser ecológico, ge-ográfico o genético) o porque tiene la protección del ser humano.

En este contexto, el endemismo constituye el fac-tor limitante para la conservación de una especie o género en su ambiente natural dentro de un país, región o isla. Conforme la distribución biogeográ-

fica de un recurso natural se amplíe, en principio se disminuye el riesgo de entrar en las diversas cat-egorías de amenaza o conservación.

El endemismo se considera como sinónimo de au-tóctono, indígena (FONT 1977) y nativo. Como antónimos se mencionan exótico e introducido.

Por ejemplo, el árbol Peltogyne purpurea Pittier (nazareno), utilizado para aserrío, es nativo de Cos-ta Rica y Panamá. En Costa Rica se distribuye únicamente en la vertiente Pacífica. Por su limita-da distribución, lo valioso de la madera y su conse-cuente sobreexplotación es una especie amnazada.

Contrariamente tenemos el ejemplo del árbol Si-marouba glauca (aceituno), de uso medicinal y para aserrío. Posee una distribución amplia en América Tropical y subtropical. Todavía no está amenazada.

Es evidente que el origen y la distribución de una especie están vinculados estrechamente con su conservación. A mayor distribución biogeográfica menor vulnerabilidad.

4. Estructura morfológica - biológicaSon las formas biológicas, denominadas en térmi-nos vulgares como árbol, arbusto, hierba, liana y palma. De estas formas de vida se utilizan y comer-cializan diversos órganos (hojas, flores, raíz, corte-za, etc.) que conducen en mayor o menor grado a la vulnerabilidad de una especie. Por ejemplo, el aprovechamiento de tubérculos de poblaciones sil-vestres de Dracontium pone en mayor peligro la especie que el aprovechamiento de sus hojas.

En general la tendencia que se manifiesta con re-specto al concepto de especies medicinales es que son principalmente plantas arvenses. Igualmente, diversas publicaciones se refieren a la categoría de plantas medicinales como “hierbas medicinales”.

Es evidente que la mayoría de las plantas introduci-das a América son hierbas de porte pequeño. Cuan-do se realizan investigaciones etnofarmacológicas con grupos nativos en América, nos damos cuenta que se amplía la gama de recursos y también de estructuras. Así, se puede encontrar árboles, arbus-tos, lianas y palmas, además de hierbas.

El tipo de estructura morfológica – biológica posee un peso importante en la determinación del estado de la conservación, relacionado con los aspectos

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biológicos de cada especie (abundancia, ciclo de vida, volumen de semilla, etc).

5. PropagaciónEl factor de propagación es un elemento básico en la conservación y cultivo de las plantas, y los recursos naturales con actividad terapéutica no constituyen la excepción. Esta característica da lu-gar para evaluar y seleccionar el mejor método de propagación.

En este sentido, es importante señalar que las plan-tas medicinales que se establecen en huertos y jar-dines se han propagado con métodos empíricos y que son acciones anteriores al desarrollo de inves-tigaciones sobre domesticación.

La facilidad de reproducción así como poder utili-zar diversos métodos de propagación, representan para la especie una forma de garantizar su conser-vación.

6. Estado del recursoEste indicador es básico para determinar el grado de amenaza de una especie y está vinculado di-rectamente con el origen biogeográfico.

En el caso de los recursos naturales medicinales no es tan fácil determinar este indicador como lo es con el maíz (Zea mays), por su trayectoria histórica cultural en América. Con respecto al estado de las plantas medicinales la información es escasa. Como ejemplo se puede citar la ipecacuana (Psyco-tria ipecacuanha), que es posiblemente la especie medicinal más importante en América Central por su comercio internacional y sin embargo aún no existe claridad sobre su estado, a pesar de acciones dispersas de cultivo en países centroamericanos y a su presencia silvestre en áreas boscosas.

Según LEÓN (1968), esta situación se debe a que del estado silvestre al cultivado (proceso de domes-ticación) existen tres etapas básicas, que conducen al manejo de poblaciones de plantas:

a. Selección de materiales silvestres: se inició en el neolítico con la aparición de la agricultura, pero en los pueblos indígenas actuales estableci-dos en el trópico se desarrolla una actividad im-portante de selección.

b. Agricultura incipiente: el hombre establece en el campo semillas que recoge del bosque y las mantiene por propagación vegetativa o sexual.

c. Agricultura avanzada: caracterizada por tec-nologías que impulsan su desarrollo y modern-ización.

Recientemente el CATIE inició investigaciones sobre recursos de la biodiversidad vegetal útil, in-cluyendo las plantas medicinales. Estas investiga-ciones están orientadas hacia el manejo de pobla-ciones silvestres en el sistema bosque.

De esta manera es común que especies medicinales de origen exótico sean objeto de cultivo comercial en su región de origen, y en Centroamérica y el Caribe se cultiven en jardines con propósitos or-namentales como sucede con Zingiber purpureum, otras se encuentran espontáneas en sitios ruderales (orillas de caminos) como sucede con Plantago major.

De igual forma ocurre con especies nativas, que debido al interés se toman del medio natural y se establecen en medios disturbados como huertos; en este caso lo que existe es “protección a la especie” o sea nos ubicamos en la etapa de selección de ma-teriales silvestres.

Por estas razones la categoría cultivada y silvestre en algunos casos no es tan transparente.

Los resultados de la aplicación de los criterios planteados anteriormente a las plantas incluidas en la Farmacopea Caribeña se encuentran en el Box 1.

Literatura citadaFONT Q, P. (1977): Diccionario de botánica. – Editorial

Labor, Barcelona.GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU, L. (ed.). (1996): Farmacopea

vegetal caribeña. – TRAMIL, Santo Domingo. 360p.OMS/UICN/WWF. 1993. Directrices sobre conser-

vación de plantas medicinales. – UICN, Gland. 55p.

Sonia Lagos • PLATS, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras • email: slagos09@gmail.

com

BOX 2. TRAMIL TRAMIL es un programa de investigación aplicada a la medicina popular del Caribe. Su misión es validar científicamente los usos tradicionales de plantas medicinales para la atención primaria de salud. Sus investigaciones etnofarmacológicas se han extendido hacia prácticamente todos los territorios que tocan el mar Caribe, a través de la realización de encuestas utilizando una metodología uniforme. http://www.tramil.net/

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FairWild in the South CaucasusHeiko Schindler & Bryony Morgan

IntroductionThe Caucasus is a geopolitical region between Europe and Asia, well known for its diversity in cultures, languages and a high diversity of fauna and flora. The South Caucasus comprises Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as parts of Turkey and Iran, and is also called Transcaucasia. North Caucasus or Ciscaucasia, comprises the Russian Republics north of the Great Caucasus mountain range as well as some regions of Georgia and Az-erbaijan.

Despite their great wealth, the fragile ecosystems of the Caucasus are threatened by over-exploitation of their natural resources. The main threats include over-grazing of the alpine meadows, poaching and logging as well as the construction of pipe-lines, roads, dams and urbanisation. The wild plant resources are especially threatened by non-sustainable harvesting methods. Driving the over-exploitation are the prevailing economic, political and institutional settings, which mostly affect ru-ral populations. The main resource users of wild plants, collectors from villages and small towns, often have only little economic alternative but to exploit natural resources above their regeneration capacity. To date, none of the countries of the Cau-casus have managed to realize the socio- economic potential of a sustainable use of biodiversity prod-ucts.

There is a lack of comprehension, by both the pri-vate sector and the responsible government insti-tutions, that the economic use of biodiversity can pose a threat to nature, especially in and around protected areas. The uncontrolled pressure on the natural resources of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia is especially high and accelerates the de-struction of the economic base of large parts of the rural population. The combination of poverty, high levels of energy and raw material consumption, rapid economic growth and a neoliberal economic policy combined with corruption aggravate these negative effects.

The facilitation of sustainable but economically viable use of plant diversity is one element of a

strategy for the protection of biodiversity in the South Caucasus. The economic use of wild plant resources has been practiced for centuries, but de-structive harvest practices were historically com-mon. The economic benefits of collecting wild plant resources are often small, and the collection activities are seen as seasonal work for old people. The low esteem and small economic benefits from wild collection activities encourages rapid destruc-tive harvesting practices.

Sustainable use of wild plant diversityThrough its Caucasus Initiative, the German Fed-eral Ministry for Economic Cooperation and De-velopment (BMZ) is actively supporting the South Caucasus region with a wide range of activities, partly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ, former GTZ). From 2008 until 2016, GIZ is implementing a project on “Sustainable management of the bio-diversity, South Caucasus”, which has developed activities in various sectors such as hunting and forestry, but also monitoring of biodiversity and sustainable use of wild plant diversity (GTZ 2011). From March 2010 to May 2011 the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) was assigned by GIZ to im-plement a project on facilitating value chains from sustainably collected wild plant resources in Geor-gia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. IMO is one of the first and most experienced international bodies for the inspection, certification and quality assurance of sustainably produced products and has been ac-tive in the field of organic certification world-wide for more than 20 years. Today, IMO is a department of the Bio-Foundation, Switzerland and is based at Weinfelden, Switzerland.

Based on the criteria, principles and indicators of the FairWild Standard Version 2.0 (FAIRWILD 2010 a,b), IMO developed a series of activities in co-operation with collectors of wild plants, intermedi-ate traders, processors and exporters. The activities also involved consultants and local certification bodies, as well as the competent authorities of the three participating countries.

The FairWild Standard provides a management tool to put sustainable collection of plants harvest-ed from the wild into practice, and also to man-age the people - collectors, workers and others in-volved in the value chains. It introduces fair trade

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principles for products marketed with the FairWild brand and logo. It unifies the International Stand-ard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) Version 1.0 (IUCN & MPSG 2007), and the FairWild Standards Version 1 (MEINSHAUSEN ET AL. 2006). The purpose of the FairWild Standard is to “ensure the contin-ued use and long-term survival of wild species and populations in their habitats, while respecting the traditions and cultures, and supporting the liveli-hoods of all stakeholders, in particular collectors and workers” (FAIRWILD 2010a).

The IMO activities were targeted towards improv-ing the quality and sustainability of harvested wild plant products, and facilitating existing and new value chains for these products. Knowledge trans-fer was established through a series of trainings, workshops and seminars and through providing guidance manuals to the different target groups (FIGURE 1, 2).

FIGuRe 1. Workshop with collectors in Georgia. Photo: H. Schindler.

Project implementationIn its initial phase, the project identified the rele-vant stakeholders in the wild collection sector of the three countries. Members of rural communities who depend on the income from wild collection were targeted, as well as the first or second buyers of wild collected plants - the collection companies. In its second phase, collectors and collection com-panies were helped to implement FairWild Prin-ciples. The quality and traceability systems of the production and processing steps were scrutinized for improvement. In parallel, IMO facilitated the process of finding buyers for the selected value chains.

During the whole project the concept of “training of trainers” was pursued by establishing a network of national experts, such as consultants and inspec-tors, with the requirements of FairWild. IMO was also assigned to facilitate the development of na-tional standards for wild collected plant products, and to liaise with participating governments.

The strategy of upgrading value chains through implementation of the FairWild Standard was determined by simultaneously implemented ap-proaches. One approach was to enhance the desir-ability of the final products through labelling cer-tified ingredients with the FairWild logo. Another approach was to upgrade the processes of collec-tion and manufacturing through the improvement of harvesting and processing practices, good man-agement and quality awareness.

Plants and value chains were carefully selected, taking into account the commitment of stakehold-ers to the project, the complexity of each value chain, its transparency, the accessibility of the col-lection region and market demand. Value chains of plants listed in TABLE 1 were selected for certifica-tion.

Project results The work with various stakeholders in the wild collection sector has shown that, although chal-lenging, implementation of the FairWild Standard in the South Caucasus was possible and also wel-comed. All participating collectors and companies received training in various issues such as sustain-able wild collection, the fair trade system, quality criteria for wild collected raw and processed plant material, and the FairWild certification system. Thirty-four companies dealing with wild collection in the Caucasus were trained in at least one of the afore mentioned aspects. Altogether 340 collectors from 17 collection companies were trained in sus-tainable wild collection.

Selected companies were inspected during the sec-ond half of 2010 and certification results are now available for all companies. As result, 12 out of 13 inspected companies could receive the FairWild Certificate for their harvest 2010, and 16 different wild collected plants species could be certified.

The support and development of value chains has resulted in the establishment of several relations

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TABLe 1. Origin and parts used of plants selected for certification.

Country of origin

Plant scientific name

Common name & plant part

Armenia Juglans regia Walnut, young fruit with pericarp

Picea orientalis Oriental spruce, tree cones

Pinus sylvestris Scotch pine cones, buds and needles

Pinus kochiana Pine cones, buds and needles

Rosa canina Rose, hipAzerbaijan Cornus mas Cornelian cherry,

fruitCrataegus pen-tagyna

Hawthorn, berries

Prunus cerasifera Cherry plum, fruitRubus fruticosus agg.

Blackberry, fruit

Urtica dioica Stinging nettle, leaf

Georgia Abies nordman-niana

Normann fir, seeds

Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut, Marroni

Humulus lupulus Hop, strobile Hypericum perfo-ratum

St. John’s Wort, herb

Mentha longifolia Horse Mint, leafOriganum vul-gare

Oregano, leaf and flower

Vaccinium arctos-taphylos

Caucasian bil-berry, fruit

between interested producers and importers from Europe. The programme as well as the participat-ing companies were presented to the visitors of Biofach (February 2010 and 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany) and to Ecology Fair (May 2011, Izmir, Turkey).

Regarding the sustainability of wild collection, experiences have shown that wild collected plants from the South Caucasus can be grouped into four different groups:

• Wild fruits/ nuts for human consumption (Core-lian Cherry, Wild Plum, Wild Apple and Pear, Bilberries, Walnut, Hazelnut etc)

• Medicinal / aromatic plants (MAP) for medi-

cine, teas and cosmetics (Thyme, Mint, Haw-thorn, Hypericum etc)

• Wild vegetables (Staphylea pinnata, Asparagus officinalis and other wild vegetables, mushrooms etc.)

• Wild plants for horticulture (Normann Fir seeds, Snowdrop bulbs etc)

Wild fruits and nuts from the first group are pro-duced annually and in large quantities, thus the likeliness of over-harvesting these resources is low. On the other hand, collectors do not value the re-sources very highly because of low prices paid per kg. Collectors also perceive wild fruits and nuts as ubiquitous. As a result of this perception, the dam-age to a single plant does not seem to matter since there are so many harvestable plants left, and care during the harvest is not a priority. The collector trainings focused on correct harvesting techniques, the quality of harvested goods, personal hygiene and appropriate processing activities such as cor-rect cleaning, drying and cutting.

FIGuRe 2. Children of Bilberry collectors in Georgia. Photo: H. Schindler.

Plants from the MAP group have a much wider scope of harvested plant parts (leaves, seed, fruit, roots or even the whole plant). Destructive harvest methods are common, such as ripping out perenni-al herbs and shrubs with their roots if only leaves or flowers are needed. Regeneration periods and max-imum harvestable quantities need to be well de-fined and the collection instructions need to be thoroughly implemented by collectors, since po-tentially many more mistakes can be made by col-lectors than in the fruit/nut group. Various MAP species or their close relatives are listed on Nation-al Red Lists. Thus, the risk of unsustainable collec-

May 2012Page 55

tion is much higher than for the wild fruit and nut group. The training activities focused on the cor-rect botanical identification of targeted plants as well as defining concrete criteria for sustainable wild collection, plus correct processing activities.

Wild vegetables are very traditional products of the South Caucasus, and collectors have long ex-perience with their collection. They are mainly harvested for home consumption and for national markets, thus there are few or no written quality standards available. In terms of risk of unsustain-able wild collection, the same conclusions as for the MAP group can be drawn. Since none of the se-lected value chains focused on wild vegetables for home consumption or national markets, no train-ings were developed specifically for this group. However, relevant issues were covered within the generic training material delivered.

Wild plants for horticultural use have a potentially very high risk of non-sustainable collection prac-tices because of the large extent of collection due to high prices and market demands. The collection and trade of some economically important geo-phytes are regulated through international agree-ments, e.g. Snowdrops are regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Quality criteria and risks in collection and processingOn the collector level, the mixing of wild collected plants with the same species harvested from gar-dens, fields or plantations has shown to be of high risk, especially for fruits and nuts which are often cultivated. The risk of contamination of cultivated species through pesticides, herbicides and other agro-chemical substances as well as contamina-tion through animal faeces and dust is comparably higher than in wild resources. Also a big risk at the collector level is harvesting the wrong plant. Close relatives of the targeted plant, or even toxic plants, can accidentally be harvested.

During processing and storage, the most common mistakes are insufficient and incorrect drying, cleaning and contamination (BOX 1). In the food industry, quality problems can occur through cross-contamination due to processing equipment which was not properly cleaned after processing other raw materials.

Feedback from participantsParticipating wild collection companies have stressed that the focus of activities needs to con-centrate more strongly on linkages to international markets. Producer companies often do not have the capacity or have not seen the possibility in the past to contact potential international buyer companies. The main barriers from the sellers’ side are igno-rance of how international markets work, and lack of knowledge or inflexibility in relation to quality requirements of the herbal industry.Potential buyer companies of importing countries said that prices for the raw materials have to match quality requirements; this is often a problem. Prob-lematic or even adverse export conditions poten-tially also impede the development of new business links; this pushes up the prices for traded commod-ities. Also, potential buyers were reluctant to get involved in new business activities in the Caucasus because they could not fully judge the reliability of potential suppliers in terms of constant quantities at the same quality level.

Collectors’ feedback was positive throughout. Many collectors were surprised but also pleased that somebody from “outside” was interested in their activities and economic situation. The train-ing reached not only the active collectors but also a young generation of potential future collectors. It is important to maintain active groups of collectors and to recruit new collectors to maintain a supply of high quality wild collected raw materials. Im-plementing the FairWild principles gives addition-al incentives for collectors if they are guaranteed good social and economic conditions.

Feedback on the fair trade component of the Fair-Wild Standard indicated that most of the partici-pants were confronted with the fair trade concept for the first time. Their opinion was that the Cau-casus region is not yet fully prepared for the imple-mentation of a fair trade certification system. It can be concluded that most participants did not fully understand the general concept of fair trade.

Participants recommended a step-wise approach to introducing the FairWild Standard in the South Caucasus, with the principal focus initially on the sustainable management of wild collected plants. Understanding and implementation of the social and fair trade aspects of the FairWild Standard

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BOX 1. Processing and storage challenges

Insufficient dryingMoisture content too high. The danger of microbiological contamination (aflatoxins, mould etc) increases.

Incorrect dryingSun-drying or too slow drying alters the colour and quality of, e.g., leaves or flowers. Too quick drying with artificial heat can adversively affect the product quality.

Incorrect cleaningProcessed products contain foreign bodies such as stones or other plants and plant parts.

ContaminationThrough pests such as mice and insects, either already dur-ing collection or during processing and storage.

StorageCrushing of stored materials due to inadequate packing or stacking.

could then be built more gradually.

The uptake of the FairWild Standard in national processes other than certification was targeted, but co-operation with the competent authorities of par-ticipating countries was difficult as interest and un-derstanding of the importance of the topic is low. Under the “Sustainable management of biodiver-sity in the South Caucasus” project, GIZ continues to work at the policy level in order to facilitate the introduction of regulatory guidance for sustainable use of natural resources.

Feedback from national experts has shown that a lot of knowledge can be provided by specialists from the Caucasus itself, especially regarding the management of wild plants. National experts are needed for the correct identification of the targeted plants, as well as confirmation of sustainable har-vest limits and monitoring activities. National ex-perts can also effectively contribute to improving the quality of raw and processed materials through giving input on processing efficiency.

RecommendationsIt is not an easy endeavour to raise low income economic activities using simple technologies to an advanced level. Considerable time is needed to change the understanding of quality and sustaina-bility both at the collector and processor levels, and more time is needed to implement changes. After

the experience of the first 15 months of implemen-tation, IMO strongly recommends continuing to work with the collectors and processing/exporting companies.

Further activities need to put a much stronger fo-cus on the marketing aspects for certified products, with activities in the following fields:

• A marketing study is needed to investigate the potential of wild collected products for different markets and industries, such as the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical indus-tries.

• Meetings should be organised where pro-ducers and processors from the countries of origin can meet their potential buyers from food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical compa-nies. The meetings should take place both in the countries of origin and the countries of import of wild collected plant products.

• Lead companies should be invited to par-ticipate in international trade fairs such as Biofach in Nurnberg, Germany and Anaheim Natural Products Expo West in the US. Also fairs with a more regional character such as the Ecologj fair in Izmir, Turkey can be of major importance.

• The responsible quality managers and deci-sion makers of Caucasian companies should be invited to visit the processing sites of po-tential buyers, in order to understand the re-quired traceability and quality criteria. Vice versa, potential buyers should be invited to visit the collection and processing sites of Caucasian companies.

• In order to achieve results in the long term, continuous FairWild certification needs to be facilitated by supporting lead companies with certification costs. Companies should also be supported to gain organic certifica-tion, in order to open up the organic market segment for them in addition to the access to the fair trade market segment provided by FairWild certification.

Future PerspectivesThe initial experiences of implementing the Fair-Wild Standard in the Caucasus demonstrated the

May 2012Page 57

FIGuRe 3. Bilberry collection areas. Photo: H. Schindler.

positive impact that such standards, and implemen-tation pathways including certification, can have. However, the importance of continued support and of linking activities such as certification into the broader context of sustainable development cannot be underestimated. IMO will continue to support FairWild certified companies by linking interest-ed parties with producer companies, and is aim-ing at continuation of the activities in the Cauca-sus. Projects of similar scope, however, can only be realized if external funding is provided, since at present most of the participating companies do not have the necessary financial capacities to sub-stantially invest into sustainable management prac-tices on their own. Most participating companies stressed that they are willing to improve the current management system if they could sell their produce to new markets and buyers, and if they would re-ceive a price premium.

ReferencesFAIRWILD. (2010a): FairWild Standard: Version 2.0. –

FairWild Foundation, Weinfelden, Switzerland. FAIRWILD. (2010b): FairWild Standard Version 2.0.,

Performance Indicators, FairWild Foundation, Swit-zerland.

GTZ (2011): BMZ Caucasus Initiative. GTZ homepage, accessed on 11.08.2011. URL http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/europa-kaukasus-zentralasien/2829.htm

IUCN & MPSG (2007): International standard for sus-tainable wild collection of medicinal and aromatic

plants (ISSC-MAP). Version 1.0. BfNSkripten 195, Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Bonn, Germany. 36pp.

MEINSHAUSEN, F., WINKLER, S., BÄCHI, R., STAUBLI, F. & DÜRBECK, K. (2006): FairWild Standards, Ver-sion 1 (11/2006). FairWild Foundation, Weinfelden, Switzerland.

Heiko Schindler • Institute for Marketecology (IMO) • Weststr. 51, CH - 8570 Weinfelden, Swit-zerland • email: hs@imo.ch • Switzerland www.imo.ch • Bryony Morgan • FairWild Foundation Secretariat c/o TRAFFIC International • 219a Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL • email: bryony.morgan@traffic.org

World Health Organization Con-sultation on Conservation Guide-lines for Medicinal Plants

Danna J. Leaman, with background notes provided by WHO

A years-long process to revise Guidelines on the Conservation of Medicinal Plants, first published by WHO, IUCN, and WWF in 1993, has taken a significant step towards completion with an expert consultation held in Toyama, Japan, 15-18 October, 2011. The consultation was organized by the WHO programme on Traditional Medicine, Department for Health System Governance and Service Deliv-ery and the Institute of Natural Medicine, Univer-sity of Toyama, and was hosted and financed by the Toyama Prefectural Government. Revised text was endorsed by IUCN, WWF, and TRAFFIC in 2008. However, a formal expert consultation was required for WHO’s endorsement of the final re-vised text.

The Guidelines revision process was last updated in this newsletter in the “Chair’s Note”, volume 13, 1 December 2007.

International actions to address concerns regarding unsustainable harvest of medicinal plants were ini-tiated by WHO, IUCN, and WWF in 1988 with

update

Page May 201258

FIGuRe 1. More than 60 experts made intensive discus-sions in Toyama, Japan, and reached the conclusion. Photo: K. Kanari.

the convening of the International Consultation on Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Outcomes of this consultation included the “Chiang Mai Declaration”, calling for action to “save the plants that save lives”, the proceedings of the meeting published in 1991, and the publication of the first edition of the Guidelines on the Conser-vation of Medicinal Plants in 1993.

Since their original publication, the Guidelines have provided an agenda for national level policy and action to increase knowledge and conservation of medicinal plants, including through actions to protect these resources in their natural habitats, to conserve their genetic diversity in botanic gardens and gene banks, and to bring commercially impor-tant and threatened species into cultivation. In May 2003, representatives of the original three partner institutions – WHO, IUCN and WWF – with the addition of a fourth partner, TRAFFIC – met in Oxford, in the United Kingdom, and agreed to up-date these Guidelines to incorporate more recent policies and approaches relevant to conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. The re-vised edition has been prepared with broad global consultation and responds to significant changes and advances that have occurred in conservation thinking over the past two decades. The updated Guidelines will take into account conservation commitments such as the Convention on Biologi-cal Diversity (CBD) and support health initiatives such as WHO’s Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005 and Medicines Strategy 2008-2013, the latter including access to and rational use of me-dicinal plants as two of its central objectives.

More than 60 invited experts participated in the

consultation, drawn from a broad range of insti-tutions and agencies involved in various research and policy activities concerning medicinal plants, including: university faculties of pharmacy, phar-macognosy, and traditional medicine; centres of research on traditional and complementary medi-cine, botany, and materia medica; government ministries of health and agriculture; other inter-governmental agencies (FAO); and the co-author organizations IUCN, WWF, and TRAFFIC. Many of the participating experts are members of WHO’s Advisory Panel on Traditional Medicine and WHO Collaborating Centres for Traditional Medicine. The Guidelines will now undergo further revisions based on the Toyama consultation, and will be re-leased following endorsement of the four co-author organizations. In May 2008, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on public health, innovation, and intel-lectual property (WHA.61.21). Traditional medi-cine is identified as a “quick-start” programme to implement this resolution within WHO’s Global Strategy and Plan of Action , aiming to support research and development and to promote stand-ard-setting for traditional medicine in developing countries. The revised Guidelines will support the efforts of WHO member countries and partners to conserve medicinal plants as an important re-source for human health.

FIGuRe 2. Dr. Andrew Rodrigues introduced the contributions of IuCN to the Guidelines in the expert consultation in Tokoyama, Japan. Photo: K. Kanari.

May 2012Page 59

Helle O. Larsen

The list includes publications from 2011 as well as older material not previously listed here.

ADNAN, M. & HOLSCHER, D. (2011): Medicinal plants in old-growth, degraded and re-growth forests of NW Pakistan. – Forest Ecology and Management 261 (11): 2105-2114.

AL-QURAN, S. (2011): Conservation of medicinal plants in Ajlun woodland/Jordan – Journal of Me-dicinal Plants Research 5 (24): 5857- 5862.

ALVES, R.R.N. & ROSA, I.M.L. (2005): Why study the use of animal products in traditional medicines?. - Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 1: 5.

AREMU, A.O., CHEESMAN, L., FINNIE, J.F. & VAN STADEN, J. (2011): Mondia whitei (Apocynaceae): A review of its biological activities, conservation strategies and economic potential. – South African Journal of Botany 77 (4): 960-971.

BANIYA, A. (2010): FairWild implementation in a high risk species (Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora). – WWF Nepal, Kathmandu. 18p.

BHUTYA, R.K. (2011): Ayurvedic medicinal plants of India, Vol. 2. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur. 298p.

BIRHANE, E., AYNEKULU, E., MEKURIA, W. & EN-DALE, D. (2011): Management, use and ecology of medicinal plants in the degraded dry lands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. – Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 5 (3): 309-318.

UDDIN, S.B. (sd): Medicinal plants of Bangladesh. Database. – http://www.mpbd.info/

BRENDLER, T., ELOFF, J.N., GURIB-FAKIM, A. & PHILLIPS, L.D. (eds.) (2010): African Herbal Phar-macopoeia. – Graphic Press, Mauritius. 289p.

BRINCKMANN, J. (2011): Reproducible Efficacy and Safety Depend on Reproducible Quality: Match-ing the Various Quality Standards that have been Established for Botanical Ingredients with their Intended Uses in Cosmetics, Dietary Supplements, Foods, and Medicines. – HerbalGram 91: 40-55.

BRUSCHI, P., MORGANTI, M., MANCINI, M. & SI-GNORINI, M.A. (2011): Traditional healers and laypeople: A qualitative and quantitative approach to local knowledge on medicinal plants in Muda (Mozambique) – Journal of Ethnopharmacology 138 (2): 543-563.

BUCHER, S.F., GHORBANI, A., LANGENBERGER, G., KÜPPERS, M., & SAUERBORN, J. (2011): Asparagus spp. in traditional Chinese medicine: wild collection and its sustainability. – TRAFFIC Bulletin 23 (2): 61-61.

BUTOLA, J. (2011): Post-cultivation evaluation of germplasm in Himalayan threatened medicinal herbs: Implication for ex-cultivation and conserva-tion. – National Academy Science Letters-India 34 (1-2): 49-58.

COMPTON, J. & ISHIHARA, A. (2005): PC15 Inf. 6. The use and trade of Agarwood in Japan. Prepared for the CITES secretariat. TRAFFIC. Available at: http://www.cites.org/common/com/PC/15/X-PC15-06-Inf.pdf.

CORDELL, G.F. (2011): Sustainable medicines and global health care. – Planta Medica 77 (11): 1129-1138.

DE ALBUQUERQUE, U.P., SOLDATI, G.T., SIEBER, S.S., RAMOS, M.A., DE SA, J.C. & DE SOUZA, L.C. (2011): The use of plants in the medical system of the Fulni-(o)over-cap people (NE Brazil): a perspec-tive on age and gender. Journal of Ethnopharmacol-ogy 133 (2): 866-873.

DHARANI, N., RUKUNGA, G., YENESEW, A., MBORA, A., MWAURA, L., DAWSON, I. & JAMNADASS, R. (2010): Common antimalarial trees and shrubs of East Africa. A description of species and a guide to cultivation and conservation through use. – ICRAF, Nairobi. 96 pp. Available at: http://www.worldagro-forestry.org/downloads/publications/PDFS/B16781.PDF.

DHARMADASA, R.M., HETTIARACHCHI, P.L. & PRE-MAKUMARA, G.A.S. (2011): Geographical distri-bution and conservation of a rare medicinal plant Munronia pinnata (Wall.) Theob. (Meliaceae) in Sri Lanka. – Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy 18 (1): 39-49.

DUKE, J.A. (ed.) (2009): Duke’s handbook of medici-nal plants of Latin America. – CRC Press, Boca Raton. 901p.

EL MANSOURI, L., ENNABILI, A. & BOUSTA, D. (2011): Socioeconomic interest and valorization of medicinal plants from the Rissani oasis (SE of Mo-rocco). – Boletin Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromaticas 10 (1): 30-45.

ENGELS, G. & BRINCKMANN, J. (2011): Bacopa. – HerbalGram 91: 1-4.

ENGELS, G. & BRINCKMANN, J. (2011): Dragon’s blood. – HerbalGram 92: 1-4.

ENGELS, G. & BRINCKMANN, J. (2011): Gupta kola. – HerbalGram 90: 1-4.

Notices of publication

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FIFANOU, V.G., OUSMANE, C., GAUTHIER, B. & BRICE, S. (2011): Traditional agroforestry systems and biodiversity conservation in Benin (West Af-rica). – Agroforestry Systems 82 (1): 1-13.

FIGUEIREDO, E., PAIVA, J., STEVART, T., OLIVEIRA, F. & SMITH, G.F. (2011): Annotated catalogue of the flowering plants of Sao Tome and Principe. – Both-alia 41 (1): 41-82.

FOSTER, S. (2011): A Brief History of Adulteration of Herbs, Spices, and Botanical Drugs. – Herbal-Gram92: 42-57.

GAIKWAD, J., WILSON, P.D. & RANGANATHAN, S. (2011): Ecological niche modeling of customary me-dicinal plant species used by Australian Aborigines to identify species-rich and culturally valuable areas for conservation. – Ecological Modelling 222 (18): 3437-3443.

GANDOLFO, E.S. & HANAZAKI, N. (2011): Ethnobot-any and urbanization: knowledge and use of rest-inga plants by the native community of Distrito do Campeche (Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil). –Acta Botanica Brasilica 25 (1): 168-177.

GILANI, S.A., FUJII, Y., KIKUCHI, A., SHINWARI, Z.K. & WATANABE, K.N. (2011): Ecological consequenc-es, genetic and chemical variations in fragmented populations of a medicinal plant, Justicia adhatoda and implications for its conservation. – Pakistan Journal of Botany 43: 29-37.

GRACE, O.M. (2011): Current perspectives on the economic botany of the genus Aloe L. (Xanthor-rhoeaceae). – South African Journal of Botany 77 (4): 980-987.

GUO, H.B., LIANG, Z.S. & ZHANG, Y.J. (2011): On-farm conservation of genetic diversity for endan-gered medicinal plants. – Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 5 (24): 5667-5670.

HAMEED, M., ASHRAF, M., AL-QURIANY, F., NAWAZ, T., AHMAD, M.S.A., YOUNIS, A. & NAZ, N. (2011): Medicinal flora of the Cholistan desert: a review. – Pakistan Journal of Botany 43: 39-50.

HARRIS, E.S.J., CAO, S.G., LITTLEFIELD, B.A., CRAY-CROFT, J.A., SCHOLTEN, R., KAPTCHUK, T., FU, Y.L., WANG, W.Q., LIU, Y., CHEN, H.B.A., ZHAO, Z.Z., CLARDY, J. WOOLF, A.D. & EISENBERG, D.M. (2011): Heavy metal and pesticide content in commonly prescribed individual raw Chinese herbal medicines. – Science of the Total Environment 409 (20): 4297-4305.

HAYASHI, H., HATTORI, S., INOUE, K., SARSENBAEV, K., ITO, M. & HONDA, G. (2003): Field survey of Glycyrrhiza plants in Central Asia (1). Characteri-zation of G. uralensis, G. glabra and the putative

intermediate collected in Kazakhstan. - Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin 26 (6): 867-871.

HOUEHANOU, T.D., ASSOGBADJO, A.E., KAKAI, R.G., HOUINATO, M. & SINSIN, B. (2011): Valuation of lo-cal preferred uses and traditional ecological knowl-edge in relation to three multipurpose tree species in Benin (West Africa). – Forest Policy and Economics 13 (7): 554-562.

JAIN, A., SUNDRIYAL, M., ROSHNIBALA, S., KOTOKY, R., KANJILAL, P.B., SINGH, H.B. & SUNDRIYAL, R.C. (2011): Dietary use and conservation concern of edible wetland plants at Indo-Burma Hotspot: a case study from Northeast India. – Journal of Ethno-biology and Ethnomedicine 7: 29.

JOSHI, K., JOSHI, R. & JOSHI, A.R. (2011): Indig-enous knowledge and uses of medicinal plants in Macchegaun, Nepal. – Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 10 (2): 281-286.

KHAN, N., AHMED, M., AHMED, A., SHAUKAT, S.S., WAHAB, M., AJAIB, M., SIDDIQUI, M.F. & NASIR, M. (2011): Important medicinal plants of Chitral Gol national park (CGNP) Pakistan. – Pakistan Journal of Botany 43 (2): 797-809.

KHAN, S.M., HARPER, D., PAGE, S. & AHMAD, H. (2011): Residual value analyses of the medicinal flora of the western Himalayas: the Naran valley, Pakistan. – Pakistan Journal of Botany 43: 97-104.

KINGSTON, D.G.I. (2011): Modern natural products drug discovery and its relevance to biodiversity conservation. – Journal of Natural Products 74 (3): 496-211.

KUMAR, G.P., KUMAR, R., CHAURASIA, O.P. & SINGH, S.B. (2011): Current status and potential prospects of medicinal plant sector in trans-Hima-layan Ladakh. – Journal of Medicinal Plants Re-search 5 (14): 2929-2940.

LEE, R., SHERE, N., BALICK, M. ET AL. (2010): Pohn-pei Primary Health Care Manual. Pohnpei Council of Traditional Leaders & New York Botanical Gar-den, New York. 178p.

LEONTI, M. (2011): The future is written: impact of scripts on the cognition, selection, knowledge and transmission of medicinal plant use and its implica-tions for ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology. – Journal of Ethnopharmacology 134 (3): 542-555.

LI, H.T., WANG, H., YANG, J.B. & LI, D.Z. (2011): Genetic diversity of the traditional Chinese medici-nal plant Ypsilandra thibetica (Melanthiaceae): ap-plications for conservation. – Biochemical Systemat-ics and Ecology 39 (4-6): 425-433.

LI, M., CAO, H., BUT, P.P.H. & SHAW, P.C. (2011): Identification of herbal medicinal materials using

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DNA barcodes. – Journal of Systematics and Evolu-tion 49 (3): 271-283.

LINDSTROM, A. (2011): The Paris Kitâb al-Diryâq - Book of Theriac: An Introduction to a Medieval Arabic Manuscript Describing a Classic Herbal For-mula. – HerbalGram 91: 56-67.

MAN, S.R. & SAMANT, S.S. (2011): Diversity, in-digenous uses and conservation status of medicinal plants in Manali wildlife sanctuary, North western Himalaya. – Indian Journal of Traditional Knowl-edge 10 (3): 439-459.

MATI, E. & DE BOER, H. (2011): Ethnobotany and trade of medicinal plants in the Qaysari Market, Kurdish Autonomous Region, Iraq. – Journal of Ethnopharmacology 133 (2): 490-510.

MCCORMACK, J.H., MAIER, K. & WALLENS, P.B. (2011): Bush medicine of the Bahamas: cross-cul-tural perspective from San Salvador Island, includ-ing pharmacology and oral histories. JHM Designs Publications, Virginia. 396p.

MILLER, J.S. (2011): The discovery of medicines from plants: a current biological perspective. – Economic Botany 65 (4): 396-407.

MOLARES, S. & LADIO, A. (2011): Mapuche percep-tions and conservation of Andean Nothofagus forests and their medicinal plants: a case study from a rural community in Patagonia, Argentina. – Biodiversity and Conservation 21 (4): 1079-1093.

MONTEIRO, J.M., NETO, E.M.F.L., ARAUJO, E.D., AMORIM, E.L.C. & ALBUQUERQUE, U.P. (2011): Bark regeneration and tannin content in Myracrod-ruon urundeuva Allemo after simulation of extrac-tive damages-implications to management. – Envi-ronmental Monitoring and Assessment 180 (1-4): 31-39.

NCUBE, B., FINNIE, J.F. & VAN STADEN, J. (2011): Seasonal variation in antimicrobial and phytochemi-cal properties of frequently used medicinal bulbous plants from South Africa. – South African Journal of Botany 77 (2): 387-396.

OK, K. & OKAN, T. (2011): A review of the cultural heritage of Anatolian civilizations for the purpose of nature conservation. – African Journal of Agricul-tural Research 6 (1): 89-96.

OLSEN, C.S. & HELLES, F. (2009): Market efficiency and benefit distribution in medicinal plant markets. Empirical evidence in South Asia. – International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management 5 (2): 53-62.

OLSEN, C.S. & LARSEN, H.O. (2003): Alpine medici-nal plant trade and Himalayan mountain livelihood strategies. – The Geographical Journal 169(3): 243-

254.PADMANABHAN, M. (2011): Institutions of agrobio-

diversity management in Kerala-gendered collec-tive action. – Society & Natural Resources 24 (2): 174-184.

PHILANDER, L.A. (2011): An ethnobotany of Western Cape Rasta bush medicine. – Journal of Ethnophar-macology. 138 (2): 578-594.

PHILANDER, L.E.A., MAKUNGA, N.P. & PLATTEN, S.J. (2011): Local medicinal plant knowledge in South Africa preserved by apartheid. – Human Ecol-ogy 39 (2): 203-216.

PIRONDO, A., COULLERI, J.P., KELLER, H.A. & FER-RUCCI, M.S. (2011): External factors influence the marketing of medicinal plants in an urban environ-ment: the case of creoles and indigenous vendors in Corrientes, Argentina. – Boletin Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromaticas 10 (6): 553-569.

PRADHAN, B.K. & BADOLA, H.K. (2011): Assess-ment of seedling emergence and vigour for quality planting material in thirteen populations of Swertia chirayita - a high value endangered medicinal herb,

using substrate combinations. – Zeitschrift fur Arznei- & Gewurzpflanzen 16 (1): 34-41.

QU, B.H., LI, W., CHEN, Y.Q. & LIU, J.S. (2011): Protection versus culture-driven exploitation of wild plant resources: the case on Changbai Mountain. – International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 18 (5): 404-411.

RAI, P.K. & LALRAMNGHINGLOVA, H. (2011): Threat-ened and less known ethnomedicinal plants of an Indo-Burma hotspot region: conservation implica-tions. – Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 178 (1-4): 53-62.

RANA, M.S. & SAMANT, S.S. (2011): Population biology of Lilium polyphyllum D. Don ex Royle-A critically endangered medicinal plant in a protected area of Northwestern Himalaya. – Journal for Nature Conservation 19 (3): 137-142.

RAY, R., GURURAJA, K.V. & RAMCHANDRA, T.V. (2011): Predictive distribution modeling for rare Himalayan medicinal plant Berberis aristata DC. – Journal of Environmental Biology 32 (6): 725-730.

RIEDL, P. (2011): Collection and cultivation of medicinal plants for homeopathy. – Zeitschrift fur Arznei- & Gewurzpflanzen 16 (2): 87-92.

RUKANGIRA, E. (2001): The African herbal industry. Constraints and challenges. – Prepared for presenta-tion at the Natural Products and Cosmeceutcals 2001 conference, . Published in Erboristeria Domani, Au-

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gust 2001. Available at: http://www.conserveafrica.org.uk/main/images/documents/herbal_industry.pdf.

SAXENA, S. (2005): Glycyrrhiza glabra. Medicine over the millenium. – Natural Product Radiance 4 (5): 358-367. Avauílable at: http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/8122/1/NPR%204(5)%20358-367.pdf.

SCHMELZER, G.H., ACHIGAN-DAKO, E.G. & BOSCH, C.H. (eds.) (2010): Medicinal plants of tropical Africa. Conclusions and recommendations based on PROTA 11(1) Medicinal plants. – PROTA Founda-tion, Nairobi. 148p. Avalable at: http://www.prota.co.ke/en/publications-a-resources/publications/doc_download/41-medicinal-plants.

SEID, M.A. & TSEGAY, B.A. (2011): Ethnobotanical survey of traditional medicinal plants in Tehuledere district, South Wollo, Ethiopia. – Journal of Medici-nal Plants Research 5 (26): 6233-6242.

SHAHEEN, H., KHAN, S.M., HARPER, D.M., ULLAH, Z. & QURESHI, R.A. (2011): Species diversity, com-munity structure, and distribution patterns in western Himalayan alpine pastures of Kashmir, Pakistan. – Mountain Research and Development 31 (2): 153-159.

SHER, H., ELYEMENI, M., KHAN, A.R. & SABIR, A. (2011): Assessment of local management practices on the population ecology of some medicinal plants in the coniferous forest of Northern Parts of Paki-stan. – Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 18 (2): 141-149.

SHER, H. & AL YEMENI, M. (2011): Economically and ecologically important plant communities in high altitude coniferous forest of Malam Jabba, Swat, Pakistan. – Saudi Journal of Biological Sci-ences 18 (1): 53-61.

CHEN, S. & LIN, Y. (eds.) (2010): A colored identifi-cation atlas of Chinese Materia Medica and plants as specified in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China. 2 volumes. – People’s Medical Publishing House, Beijing. 1236p.

SASLIS-LAGOUDAKIS, C.H., KLITGAARD, B.B., FOR-EST, F., FRANCIS, L., SAVOLAINEN V, WILLIAMSON, E.M. & HAWKINS, J.A. (2011): The use of phylog-eny to interpret cross-cultural patterns in plant use and guide medicinal plant discovery: an example from Pterocarpus (Leguminosae). PLoS ONE 6 (7): e22275.

SHINWARI, Z.K. & QAISER, M. (2011): Efforts on con-servation and sustainable use of medicinal plants of Pakistan. – Pakistan Journal of Botany 43: 5-10.

SHRESTHA, B.B., JHA, P.K. & KANDEL, D.R. (2011): Reproductive ecology and conservation prospects of

a threatened medicinal plant Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. in Nepal. – Tropical Ecology 52 (1): 91-101.

SILVA, F.D., RAMOS, M.A., HANAZAKI, N. & DE AL-BUQUERQUE, U.P. (2011): Dynamics of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in a rural community in the Brazilian semi-arid region. – Revista Brasilei-ra de Farmacognosia - Brazilian Journal of Pharma-cognosy 21 (3): 382-391.

SINGH, H., GAHLAN, P., DUTT, S., AHUJA, P.S. & KU-MAR, S. (2011): Why uproot Picrorhiza kurrooa, an endangered medicinal herb? – Current Science 100 (7): 1055-1059.

SLANE, V. (1986): Verna Slane’s St. Lucian herbal medicinal plants. – Available at: http://www.saint-lucianplants.com/downloads/vernaslaneherbaluses.doc.

STAFFORD, L. (2011): Ayurvastra: dyeing fabric with medicinal Ayurvedic plants. – HerbalGram 92: 16-18.

STANGELAND, T., TABUTI, J. & LYE, K.A. (2011): The framework tree species approach to conserve medicinal trees in Uganda. – Agroforestry Systems 82 (3): 275-284.

SWAI, R.E.A. (2003): Utilization and commercializa-tion of medicnal tree products in Tanzania. – SADC/ICRAF Agroforestry Research Programme, Tabora. Available at http://www.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/publications/PDFs/PP03081.PDF.

TRAFFIC. (2011): Beyond trials: an update on TRAF-FIC projects implementing FairWild. – TRAFFIC Bulletin 23 (2): 76-78.

TSHISIKHAWE, M.P., SIAGA, N.M. & BHAT, R.B. (2011): Population dynamics of Millettia stuhlman-nii Taub. in Ha-Makhuvha, Vhembe district of Lim-popo Province, South Africa. – Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 80: 127-132.

UNIYAL, A., UNIYAL, S.K., RAWAT, G.S. (2011): Com-mercial extraction of Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth. in the Western Himalaya. – Mountain Re-search and Development 31 (3): 201-208.

UPRETY, Y., ASSELIN, H., BOON, E.K., YADAV, S. & SHRESTHA, K.K. (2010): Indigenous use and bio-ef-ficacy of medicinal plants in Rasuwa district, Central Nepal. – Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedi-cine, 6: 3.

UPRETY, Y. & POUDEL, R.C. (2010): Medicinal plants of Nepal: an analysis of use, trade and conserva-tion aspects in the Rasuwa District. – LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken. 102p.

UPRETY, Y., POUDEL, R.C., ASSELIN, H., BOON, E.K. & SHRESTHA, K.K. (2011): Stakeholder perspectives

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on use, trade, and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa District of Central Nepal. – Journal of Mountain Science, 8: 75-86.

WECKERLE, C.S., CABRAS, S., CASTELLANOS, M.E. & LEONTI, M. (2011): Quantitative methods in eth-nobotany and ethnopharmacology: considering the overall flora-hypothesis testing for over- and under-used plant families with the Bayesian approach. – Journal of Ethnopharmacology 137 (1): 837-843.

YAMAMOTO, Y. & TANI, T. (2006): Brief survey of Glycyrrhiza plant resources in Xinjiang, China. –

Journal of Traditional Medicines 23: 27-35.ZHANG, J.T., XU, B., LI, M. (2011): Diversity of com-

munities dominated by Glycyrrhiza uralensis, an endangered medicinal plant species, along a precipi-tation gradient in China. – Botanical Studies 52 (4): 493-501.

ZHANG, J.T., XU, B. & LI, M. (2010): Genetic diver-sity of populations of an endangered medicinal plant species (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) in different environ-ments of North China. - Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 4 (9): 830-836.

The Medicinal Plant Specialist Group is chaired by Danna J. Leamann • 98 Russel Avenue • Ot-tawa, Ontario K1N 7X1 • Canada • Tel. +1/61/235-7213 • Fax +1/61/235-9622 • E-mail: djl@green-world.org.

Contributions for the next issue of Medicinal Plant Conservation are very welcome, please refer to format requirements on the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group homepage http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/about_ssc/specialist_groups/directory_specialist_groups/directory_sg_plants/ssc_medicinalplant_home/ssc_medicinalplant_newsletter/

Medicinal Plant Conservation is edited by Helle O. Larsen • University of Copenhagen • Rolighedsvej 23 • 1958 Frederiksberg C • Denmark • email: hol@life.ku.dk