African Medicinal Plants

Fifty heads of state invited to London summit, which will aim to halt surging demand for elephant and rhino products David Cameron   will host the highest level global summit to date on combating the illegal   wildlife   trade in   London . The summit next February, to which 50 heads of state have been invited, aims to tackle the $19bn-a-year illegal trade in endangered   animals , such as elephants and rhinos, by delivering an unprecedented political commitment along with an action plan and the mobilisation of resources. The Prince of Wales and his son the Duke of Cambridge, who will both attend the summit, have previously highlighted the strong links between wildlife poaching, international criminal syndicates and terrorism and threats to national security. "We face one of the most serious threats to wildlife ever, and we must treat it as a battle – because it is precisely that,"   said Prince Charles in May . Elephant ivory and rhino horn are worth more...

UN expert urges Kenya to protect rights of indigenous people facing eviction 13 January 2014 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today urged the Kenyan Government to protect the rights of the Sengwer indigenous people who have lived in the Embobut Forest for centuries and are now facing eviction. “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly relocated from their lands or territories,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya. “No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement of fair and just compensation and, where possible, the option of return,” he added in a   news release . The Sengwer people, also known as the Cherangany indigenous people, have lived, hunted and gathered in the Embobut Forest area in Kenya’s Rift Valley for hundreds of years. Today, many of them still live in or near the Forest and continue to engage in cultural and subsi...

The Brunel International Scholarships The Brunel International Scholarship Programme is an annual award run by the Brunel International office that is open to all international students. Its goal is to provide financial support to exceptional students. Scholarship holders will go on to represent Brunel as ambassadors throughout their time at the University. The deadline for applying for the 2014/15 programme is 25 May 2014 and all applicants will be notified of the panel's decision by the middle of July . For 2014/15,  thanks to the generosity of Brunel’s alumni and supporters, we are pleased to be able to offer 37 awards, which will comprise a 15% discount on the cost of tuition fees . These awards are open to Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Research students who are classed as overseas for fee purposes. To see more about the Brunel Scholarships Fund, please visit the Development and Alumni Office pages “. This brings the total number of scholarship...

Gender inequalities in ownership and control of land in Africa Myths versus reality Over the past decade, stakeholders have made a variety of generalized claims concerning women’s landownership, both globally and in Africa. Typically, these claims include statements with single statistics, such as “women own less than 2 percent of the world’s land” or “women own approximately 15 percent of land in Africa south of the Sahara.” http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp01308.pdf Collection and marketing of high value medicinal and aromatic plants from district Swat, Pakist an In 2012, existing practices in collecting and trading high value minor crops (such as medicinal and aromatic plants) from District Swat, Pakistan, were analyzed. The focus of the study was on the collection pattern of medicinal plants as an economic activity within District Swat and the likely destinations of these products in national or international markets. Local collectors/farmers and dealers...

In 2012, existing practices in collecting and trading high value minor crops (such as medicinal and aromatic plants) from District Swat, Pakistan, were analyzed. The focus of the study was on the collection pattern of medicinal plants as an economic activity within District Swat and the likely destinations of these products in national or international markets. Local collectors/farmers and dealers were surveyed about their collection efforts, quantities collected, prices received, and resulting incomes. Herbal markets in major cities of Pakistan were surveyed for current market trends, domestic sources of supply, imports and exports of herbal material, price patterns, and market product-quality requirements. More at: http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/psspwp11.pdf

East African agriculture and climate change A comprehensive analysis Agriculture is essential to the economies of East African countries. Climate change, with its effects on temperature and precipitation, threatens this important economic activity. How to foster agricultural development and food security in East Africa as the effects of climate change become more serious is the subject of the study   East African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis . The authors develop several weather-based scenarios for how climate change might affect countries in the region between now and 2050. http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/rr181.pdf

Medicinal Crops of Africa The great biodiversity in the tropical forests, savannahs, and velds and unique environments of sub-Sahara Africa has provided indigenous cultures with a diverse range of plants and as a consequence a wealth of traditional knowledge about the use of the plants for medicinal purposes. Given that Africa includes over 50 countries, 800 languages, 3,000 dialects; it is a veritable treasure of genetic resources including medicinal plants. While the medicinal plant trade continues to grow globally, exports from Africa contribute little to the overall trade in natural products and generally only revolve around plant species of international interest that are indigenous to Africa. Africa is only a minor player in the global natural products market. We identified several key challenges facing the natural products sector in this region. These include the presently limited value-addition occurring within region and as a consequence exports tend to be bulk raw m...

How much does Nigeria stand to gain annually from this? It is difficult to estimate. It is an informal sector. Very easily, I don't see why the nation cannot generate $1 billion annually from this. It is just in terms of monetary value. The jobs that you create, the healthy nation that you have, the impact you have in the society are unquantifiable. Nigeria spends more than that buying Chinese products. When some people travel, half of their boxes are filled with vitamins. Our own tea manufacturing companies are struggling because they are not patronised by our people. One of the outcomes we expect from this festival is to have an undertaking to have it as an annual event. The industry has come of age and we can have it annually. The second thing is that we will be talking among ourselves and have a monograph of current products that are in current use. What that does is that it will help researchers and the market people know what the standards are. Those are the behind-...

The great biodiversity in the tropical forests, savannahs, and velds and unique environments of sub-Sahara Africa has provided indigenous cultures with a diverse range of plants and as a consequence a wealth of traditional knowledge about the use of the plants for medicinal purposes. Given that Africa includes over 50 countries, 800 languages, 3,000 dialects; it is a veritable treasure of genetic resources including medicinal plants. While the medicinal plant trade continues to grow globally, exports from Africa contribute little to the overall trade in natural products and generally only revolve around plant species of international interest that are indigenous to Africa. Africa is only a minor player in the global natural products market. We identified several key challenges facing the natural products sector in this region. These include the presently limited value-addition occurring within region and as a consequence exports tend to be bulk raw materials; local markets gen...

UN General Assembly Proclaims 3 March as World Wildlife Day Fri, Dec 27, 2013 The United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March as World Wildlife Day, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's wild fauna and flora. - See more at: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2756&ArticleID=10687#sthash.wsumhxJT.dpuf Major boost for climate change resilience in Africa [CAPE TOWN] A new US$10 million fund has been launched to increase climate change resilience in Africa . The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UN agencies and humanitarian organisations launched the Climate Services Adaptation Programme in Africa at the 19th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw, Poland last month (21 November). The programme, which is funded by the Norwegian government , is to be implemented under the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) from 2014 to 2016. http://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-...