SEARCHING FOR A CURE:
A TRAFFIC Species in Danger report
Nina T. Marshall June 1998 112pp
http://www.traffic.org/publications/pubs_tesa.html
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It has been estimated by the World Health Organization that 80% of the world's population relies on traditional medicine to meet their daily health requirements (Akerele, 1993). In Africa, reliance on such medicine is partly owing to the high cost of conventional medicine and the inaccessibility of modern health care facilities, but also because traditional medicine is often deemed a more appropriate method of treatment. Materials used in traditional medicine in east and southern Africa include plants and animals, and to a lesser extent minerals, and the vast majority of wildlife used originates from the wild. In many areas, demand exceeds supply and, as human populations rise, habitat diminishes, and human impacts on ecosystems increase, it can be expected that pressure on medicinal resources will increase.
In 1996, TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa initiated an 18-month review of the trade in wildlife medicinals in east and southern Africa and Madagascar, with the aim of identifying species most in need of conservation, management and/or research attention. This review also entailed collecting information about trade patterns, markets, source areas, and impacts of harvest. Relevant information was collected in 17 countries: Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
This survey revealed that use of wildlife medicinals for local traditional medicinal purposes constitutes the most significant portion of the trade in medicines in the east and southern African region, although international trade does occur and includes a number of species produced and exported on a commercial basis. Over 100 indigenous plant species were identified as conservation or management priorities on a national basis. These plant species ranged from the exported Afromontane tree Prunus africana, to the Sudanese succulent Aloe sinkatana, valued locally to treat ailments such as skin problems and fever. Plant species were selected as conservation priorities if they had parts that were harvested in a destructive manner, and if they were either slow-growing, traded in large volumes, sold for a high price, or regarded as being scarce. Approximately 100 animal species were documented as being used in traditional medicine, and although trade information was less readily available for fauna, species were nonetheless prioritized as information on conservation status, distribution and threats is more widely available for fauna than it is for flora. A total of 29 animal species were listed as priorities for either conservation, management, or research, including Dugong Dugong dugon, African Wild Ass Equus africanus, and African Rock Python Python sebae.
While this survey revealed reports of increased scarcity for many plants and animals valued as medicines, these reports pertained not only to well-known endangered species such as the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas and Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis, but also to species regarded as widespread and common. In some cases these reports were restricted to the local or national level, but nevertheless represent a possible trend that should be addressed while supplies are still sizable. The Baobab Adansonia digitata has been identified as becoming scarce in Sudan and Eritrea, yet this large and conspicuous tree has a wide distribution across Africa, and occurs in large numbers in parts of its range. That this tree is declining in parts of its range is a local-level priority, but it could also be a signal for neighbouring countries to examine resource use more closely to avert future declines.
Solutions to the problem of increasing pressure and scarcity of wildlife medicinals can be addressed on a species-specific basis, but other approaches are necessary as well. In particular:
* Efforts must be made to collaborate with traditional healers' associations to promote propagation of endangered plant species and sustainable harvest techniques. The fact that traditional medicine is crucial to the region's health care and is the dominant medical system in the region indicates that associations of traditional medicinal practitioners represent promising fora for education and awareness, and discussing and developing strategies to address the issue of declining medicinal resources.
* Demand for wildlife medicinals appears to be increasing and as it does so it will become necessary to increase the supply. Since the vast majority of wildlife medicinals are collected from the wild, where possible, efforts should be made to improve the status of threatened species through propagation or captive breeding, in order to supply the market with more medicinal materials, and to reduce the threat to populations remaining in the wild. For more common and widespread species, it is not practical to promote propagation and in these cases it would be more sensible to explore sustainable harvesting methods for target species. Key issues to be considered in this context are (i) how to promote the practice of sustainable harvesting methods, and (ii) how to address harvest methods when ownership rights require clarification. The options for establishing co-operatives aimed at sustainably harvesting wildlife medicinals could be examined, possibly modelled on community-based efforts already well-known in the region, such as Campfire. It will also be useful to assess the availability of medicinal by-products that are already produced as a result of, for example, ranching operations for the Ostrich and Nile Crocodile.
* Efforts to stabilize or protect the populations of some species through national legislation have in most cases been ineffective. Laws protecting animal species appear to be better known than those for plants, a feature which causes trade in animals to be covert in places. Plant laws were reported to be largely unknown by the majority of those interviewed for this study and, even where awareness existed, unregulated exploitation continued. In particular, this study has revealed that many individuals (and agencies) charged with regulation or implementation of legislation are unaware that medicinal products, and especially traditional medicinal products, are materials that should be subject to existing wildlife legislation and controls. Regulatory agencies should be made aware of the trade in wildlife medicinals, and its implications (such as declining populations and reduced medicinal security for the region as a whole), and their role in controlling it.
* There is still much that is not known about the wildlife medicinals trade and its impacts, and research will be required on many levels. Information on many species identified as being of medicinal value is lacking, particularly for plants. Data are deficient on status, and extent and impact of utilization, including for internationally traded plant species such as Harpagophytum spp., Rauvolfia confertiflora, Prunus africana, and Drosera madagascariensis and for some medicinal species used for non-medicinal purposes, such as Pterocarpus angolensis, Boswellia papyrifera and Acacia senegal. A botanical review of the priority plant species identified by this study is recommended, to ascertain relevant aspects of distribution, taxonomic uniqueness and chemical interest around the world and more surveys of the trade in animal medicinals are required in order to ascertain volumes traded and impact on populations. Reptiles, in particular tortoises and sea turtles, may be used in large quantities, but there is no information on species used, volumes traded, or the impact on the populations.
Failure to act to reverse the depletion, or stabilize the status, of wildlife medicinals in east and southern Africa will have not only a negative effect on the African environment, but also on the overall health status of the majority of people living in this region.
More at:
http://www.traffic.org/africa/executivesummary.html
A TRAFFIC Species in Danger report
Nina T. Marshall June 1998 112pp
http://www.traffic.org/publications/pubs_tesa.html
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It has been estimated by the World Health Organization that 80% of the world's population relies on traditional medicine to meet their daily health requirements (Akerele, 1993). In Africa, reliance on such medicine is partly owing to the high cost of conventional medicine and the inaccessibility of modern health care facilities, but also because traditional medicine is often deemed a more appropriate method of treatment. Materials used in traditional medicine in east and southern Africa include plants and animals, and to a lesser extent minerals, and the vast majority of wildlife used originates from the wild. In many areas, demand exceeds supply and, as human populations rise, habitat diminishes, and human impacts on ecosystems increase, it can be expected that pressure on medicinal resources will increase.
In 1996, TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa initiated an 18-month review of the trade in wildlife medicinals in east and southern Africa and Madagascar, with the aim of identifying species most in need of conservation, management and/or research attention. This review also entailed collecting information about trade patterns, markets, source areas, and impacts of harvest. Relevant information was collected in 17 countries: Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
This survey revealed that use of wildlife medicinals for local traditional medicinal purposes constitutes the most significant portion of the trade in medicines in the east and southern African region, although international trade does occur and includes a number of species produced and exported on a commercial basis. Over 100 indigenous plant species were identified as conservation or management priorities on a national basis. These plant species ranged from the exported Afromontane tree Prunus africana, to the Sudanese succulent Aloe sinkatana, valued locally to treat ailments such as skin problems and fever. Plant species were selected as conservation priorities if they had parts that were harvested in a destructive manner, and if they were either slow-growing, traded in large volumes, sold for a high price, or regarded as being scarce. Approximately 100 animal species were documented as being used in traditional medicine, and although trade information was less readily available for fauna, species were nonetheless prioritized as information on conservation status, distribution and threats is more widely available for fauna than it is for flora. A total of 29 animal species were listed as priorities for either conservation, management, or research, including Dugong Dugong dugon, African Wild Ass Equus africanus, and African Rock Python Python sebae.
While this survey revealed reports of increased scarcity for many plants and animals valued as medicines, these reports pertained not only to well-known endangered species such as the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas and Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis, but also to species regarded as widespread and common. In some cases these reports were restricted to the local or national level, but nevertheless represent a possible trend that should be addressed while supplies are still sizable. The Baobab Adansonia digitata has been identified as becoming scarce in Sudan and Eritrea, yet this large and conspicuous tree has a wide distribution across Africa, and occurs in large numbers in parts of its range. That this tree is declining in parts of its range is a local-level priority, but it could also be a signal for neighbouring countries to examine resource use more closely to avert future declines.
Solutions to the problem of increasing pressure and scarcity of wildlife medicinals can be addressed on a species-specific basis, but other approaches are necessary as well. In particular:
* Efforts must be made to collaborate with traditional healers' associations to promote propagation of endangered plant species and sustainable harvest techniques. The fact that traditional medicine is crucial to the region's health care and is the dominant medical system in the region indicates that associations of traditional medicinal practitioners represent promising fora for education and awareness, and discussing and developing strategies to address the issue of declining medicinal resources.
* Demand for wildlife medicinals appears to be increasing and as it does so it will become necessary to increase the supply. Since the vast majority of wildlife medicinals are collected from the wild, where possible, efforts should be made to improve the status of threatened species through propagation or captive breeding, in order to supply the market with more medicinal materials, and to reduce the threat to populations remaining in the wild. For more common and widespread species, it is not practical to promote propagation and in these cases it would be more sensible to explore sustainable harvesting methods for target species. Key issues to be considered in this context are (i) how to promote the practice of sustainable harvesting methods, and (ii) how to address harvest methods when ownership rights require clarification. The options for establishing co-operatives aimed at sustainably harvesting wildlife medicinals could be examined, possibly modelled on community-based efforts already well-known in the region, such as Campfire. It will also be useful to assess the availability of medicinal by-products that are already produced as a result of, for example, ranching operations for the Ostrich and Nile Crocodile.
* Efforts to stabilize or protect the populations of some species through national legislation have in most cases been ineffective. Laws protecting animal species appear to be better known than those for plants, a feature which causes trade in animals to be covert in places. Plant laws were reported to be largely unknown by the majority of those interviewed for this study and, even where awareness existed, unregulated exploitation continued. In particular, this study has revealed that many individuals (and agencies) charged with regulation or implementation of legislation are unaware that medicinal products, and especially traditional medicinal products, are materials that should be subject to existing wildlife legislation and controls. Regulatory agencies should be made aware of the trade in wildlife medicinals, and its implications (such as declining populations and reduced medicinal security for the region as a whole), and their role in controlling it.
* There is still much that is not known about the wildlife medicinals trade and its impacts, and research will be required on many levels. Information on many species identified as being of medicinal value is lacking, particularly for plants. Data are deficient on status, and extent and impact of utilization, including for internationally traded plant species such as Harpagophytum spp., Rauvolfia confertiflora, Prunus africana, and Drosera madagascariensis and for some medicinal species used for non-medicinal purposes, such as Pterocarpus angolensis, Boswellia papyrifera and Acacia senegal. A botanical review of the priority plant species identified by this study is recommended, to ascertain relevant aspects of distribution, taxonomic uniqueness and chemical interest around the world and more surveys of the trade in animal medicinals are required in order to ascertain volumes traded and impact on populations. Reptiles, in particular tortoises and sea turtles, may be used in large quantities, but there is no information on species used, volumes traded, or the impact on the populations.
Failure to act to reverse the depletion, or stabilize the status, of wildlife medicinals in east and southern Africa will have not only a negative effect on the African environment, but also on the overall health status of the majority of people living in this region.
More at:
http://www.traffic.org/africa/executivesummary.html
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