Concluded Projects

Over the years we have been engaged in a wide variety of projects around the globe. Below are some examples of recently completed projects.

Ethnobotany and Vegetation of African Mountains

Our previous work has focused on vegetation, regeneration processes, germination of indigenous forest species and plant use among a wide variety of indigenous societies in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Cameroon.

Palms and palm use in northwestern South America

Palms (Arecaceae) are a large family of plants with about 2,500 species and are of economic importance to many countries and indigenous peoples of the tropics. They are found in the humid tropics and subtropics and are highly diverse in the Malesian and Neotropical regions but scarce in the African subcontinent. Palms are a major component of tropical ecosystems and occupy many diverse habits. They grow abundantly in wet lowlands, mangrove swamps, along river edges, in the under-storey of rainforests, in high mountainous regions and in secondary forests. They provide important food resources for animals living in these habitats. Indigenous peoples not only hunt these animals that feed on palms, they also use palms for their daily needs. Traditional uses of palms include: leaves for thatching, basketry and weaving, palm trunks for house construction, rattan for making furniture, palm fibers for strong twines, oil from coconuts and oil palms, fermented palm sap and fruits for alcoholic beverages, palm fruits and palm hearts for food, sago starch from the pith of the sago palm and for multiple medicinal purposes. This myriad of palm uses make them among the most exploited of plants on earth by humans.

The WLBC, in cooperation with PALMS—Palm Harvest Impacts in Tropical Forests, a project funded by the Seventh Framework Program of the European Union (see PALMS-FP7) is putting together a series of publications in Spanish on the use of palms among indigenous peoples of Peru and Bolivia. The first six books are now available in pdf format. Visit our books list for information and free download.

Vegetation ecology of Southern Ecuador

The border region of Ecuador and Peru is one of the Earth’s most biologically diverse areas, and thus a “hotspot of biodiversity” par excellence. Low passes in the Andean chain allow an easy exchange between the floras and faunas of the Amazon Basin and the Pacific lowlands. Additionally, the region shows a very fast transition between the humid mountain forests of the northern Andes and the dry, deciduous forests of the northern Peruvian lowlands. Until the recent past, the Podocarpus National Park and the study area have been almost unknown scientifically. 

Studies of the composition and regeneration of the forest vegetation of Reserva Biológica San Francisco have been carried out since 1997 as part of the DFG Project “Functionality in a tropical mountain forest: Diversity, dynamic processes & use-potential under ecosystem aspects”. The intention of these investigations is to characterise the different forest types and their regeneration stages along ecological gradients, and to evaluate whether a detailed characterization is already possible by means of a physiognomic approach, or whether a detailed phytosociological analysis is necessary.

Ethnobotany and livelihoods in Madagascar

The Madagascar Ethnobotany Program is based on the premise that working with local people is the most effective way to conserve biodiversity-rich areas sustainably. By integrating ethnobotanical data into conservation plans, we collaborate with communities to develop a program that will not only protect and replenish the ecosystem but agree with their daily lives and cultural practices.

The program is a collaborative effort with the William L. Brown Center at Missouri Botanical Garden and the University of Antananarivo and the Malagasy communities.

Capacity building: We have partnered with the University of Antananarivo to train Malagasy graduate students in the methods of ethnobotany and provide valuable field experience. Additionally, we aid the faculty of University of Antananarivo in supporting ethnobotanical research and courses. Within the communities we train community members to become forest rangers and serve on conservation committees.

Conservation: We aim to strategize with local populations on how to use their natural resources sustainably so they can become wise stewards of their environment. We work with these communities to develop conservation plans that are both ecologically beneficial and culturally appropriate. We also firmly believe that the preservation of traditional knowledge is a key component in both conservation and sustainability.

Scientific research: Ethnobotanical research and inventories add new information and perspectives on the plants of Madagascar. Our research is scientifically rigorous and shared with the world wide community through scientific publications.

Quality of Life: Improving the living conditions is a fundamental part of the work we do in each community. Our program is based on the belief that in order to permanently solve poverty in biodiversity-rich but economically-poor countries, environmental activities must be linked closely to developmental activities. We also believe an educated, healthy community leads to better decision-making.

Ethnobotany of Kailash Sacred Landscape Nepal: Ecology, Ethnography and Ethnomedicine

Nepal holds much of the biological and cultural diversity of the Himalayan region. This diversity is structured not only over the steep north-south elevational gradient, but also over an east-west gradient of precipitation, with eastern Nepal receiving ten times more monsoon rainfall than western Nepal. The country’s diverse indigenous groups speak 120 languages, and an estimated native 2000 plants are in common use as medicines, foods, fodder, religious purposes, etc. Especially in mountain communities, these useful plants are vital, in some areas collected by virtually all households, and providing half of the household income

The dialectical relationship between indigenous knowledge and practices shape the ecosystem and affect the constituent plant populations. Indigenous knowledge and use have to be explicitly analysed so that appropriate management measures that build on both scientific and local knowledge may be developed for management of both indigenous knowledge and plant populations. However, due to changing perception of the local people, commercialisation and socio-economic transformation all over the world, there has been a general observation that the indigenous knowledge on plant resource use has degraded. Due to lack of organised and scientific cultivation, proper management, and awareness of social factors, the number of useful plant resources is decreasing at an alarming rate. Furthermore, the indigenous knowledge on use of lesser-known plants is also rapidly declining. The present study therefore assesses the diversity study of plant population in West Nepal and scopes the relationship of plant diversity and indigenous uses of plant resources along altitudinal and longitudinal gradient.

The general objective of the study is to analyse the plant diversity and ethnobotany along altitudinal gradient.

To study the plant diversity of west Nepal;

To document the indigenous uses of plant resources of west Nepal;

To document the relationship of plant diversity and indigenous uses of plant resource along altitudinal and longitudinal gradient and standardize the module of interrelationship;

To analyze the biochemical assessment of some ethnobotanically important plant species and plot their major compounds along altitudinal gradient;

To compare ethnomedicinal information of the selected species of the survey sites to the Ayurveda, and phytochemical tests and develop consecutive conservation strategies; and

To recommend integrated management plan in accordance with the research findings for sustainable management of plant resources, indigenous knowledge and livelihood.

Expected outputs:

Species richness of the study area will be documented;

Indigenous uses of higher plant resources will be presented;

Proportion of ethnobotany and ethnomedicine with respect to species richness will be figured out for whole study area west Nepal;

A module of interrelationship between species richness and indigenous uses along altitudinal gradient will be developed;

Biochemical assessment of some ethnobotanically important plant species will be carried out. Matching of indigenous uses and scientific data of species bioassay results will be done and recommendations will be made based on appraisal;

Frequency of some common compounds like alkaloids, phenolics, etc of the species will be computed. The distribution pattern of the compounds and their efficacy along altitude will be assessed along altitudinal gradient. The relationship of the compounds with indigenous uses will be analyzed; and

Recommendations related to conservation, research and development will be made.

Sustainable use of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Swat Valley, Pakistan: Improving livelihoods and mitigating climate change

This project integrates research on economic development for low-income farmers in the Swat Valley with biodiversity and climate change research. Previous work suggests that increasing cultivation lifts harvest pressure on wild medicinal and aromatic plants. This results in an improved and sustainable return for farmers, but maximizing this return requires providing pure, correctly identified, and well processed material.

We work with farmers in three villages to help them provide high quality MAP materials for trade while learning about the value of collaboration, reliability, branding, and certification. The biodiversity research develops information about natural populations of MAP species while offering villagers training in conservation, plant identification, and monitoring.

To monitor climate impacts, we use the standardized “Global Observational Research in Alpine environments” (GLORIA) research method to set up permanent biodiversity and climate monitoring plots on mountain summits, and track the impact of climate change both on the alpine flora and on traditional culture. We pair this with ethnobotanical interviews with mountain residents and local plant experts focusing on mountain plants and in particular species represented in the plots.

The flora of the warriors of the clouds

The Chachapoyas, widely known as “warriors of the clouds” originally inhabited what is now the border region of the Departments Amazonas, San Martin and La Libertad in northern Peru, covering altitudes from 1500 – 4500m. Botanically this area is characterized by dense Andean cloud forest, as well as large areas of Paramo and drier Andean grasslands, in a profoundly glacially structured landscape. Archaeological data indicate that the valleys of the region held a population of at least 500,000 people in pre-Columbian times, while the current population only consists of 1-2,000 people at most. Parts of the area are of high touristic significance.

Preliminary floristic studies indicate a tremendous diversity of the region, but have not fully penetrated most of the area. Our own preliminary fieldwork found that most of the forests are not older than 4-500 years, and many forest areas, as well as all grasslands, contain widespread ruins of dwellings and tombs, as well as terraces as signs of dense previous human occupation.

Since 2008 we have been conducting a series of floristic expeditions to remote parts of the area not previously covered by botanical exploration in order to complete our overview of the local flora. Based on our initial surveys we predict a large number of new species to be discovered. In addition local community members are trained in botanical collection techniques in order to continue collection during the entire growing season.

As part of the project we conduct ethnobotanical interviews in the settlements in and bordering the research region in order to document the current traditional knowledge. Plant knowledge is highly influenced by Andean tradition, since many current inhabitants are migrants from the Department of Cajamarca. We also predict that vernacular plant nomenclature is closely linked to Andean tradition. This makes the project an interesting study on how newcomers deal with naming a diverse flora.

Traditional Knowledge in a Changing World - the Chácobo in Bolivia

Bolivia has a rich diversity of indigenous cultures, with at least thirty tribes among eleven language groups. However, there are few detailed studies on the use of plants and resources by indigenous groups, and the authorities are still ignoring their knowledge of forest management. The Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) had a strong impact in changing the culture of many tribes in Bolivia, including the Chácobo. The SIL worked with Chácobo communities from 1953 to 1980, leading to a profound change of lifestyle, and a permanent process of acculturation. Brian Boom (Boom 1987) led the first ethnobotanical study of Chácobo from 1983-1984, documenting their knowledge after almost 30 years into this cultural change. Since then, essentially nothing has been published with regard to Chacobo ethnobotanical knowledge.

The study area― The Chácobo and Pacahuara

The Chácobo belong to the Panoan linguistic group that includes about twelve tribes (Chácobo, Pacahuara, Matis, Matses, Yaminahua, and others). At the end of the 1890s, the Chácobo lived as semi-nomadic hunters and cassava and corn cultivators, probably in two groups, one with six families and one with four, in northwestern Bolivia, roughly between Lake Roguagnado and the river Mamore, south of their current territory. During the rubber boom in the early 1900s, they were forced by more aggressive tribes to move north, where rubber tappers, who also brought disease and epidemics to the tribe, threatened them. The Chácobo managed to avoid most of the outside influences however, while other tribes in the region were hunted like animals to be enslaved to work in rubber stations. The Chácobo had their first permanent contact with the outside world only in 1953 with people from the Tribes Missions, and in 1954 the Bolivian government established an agency about 15 km from the current location of Puerto Limones. The missionary linguist Gilbert Prost arrived in 1955 under the auspices of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). According to Prost there were four Chácobo groups living between the Benicito and Yata rivers, with about 200 people (Boom 1987). Prost and his wife continued to live among the Chácobo until1980. In addition to translating the New Testament into Chácobo, they made some observations on cultural and linguistic practices. In 1964, Prost managed to buy a territory in the north of the Chácobo's ancestral lands, forming the community of Alto Ivon, and most of the remaining population moved there. In 1965, the Bolivian government finally assigned 43,000hectares of land to the Chácobo, although this area was less than 10% of their original territory. The influence of Prost caused profound cultural change among the Chácobo, including the abandonment of traditional costume and dance in 1969.Currently the population of the Chácobo community numbers about 500 people, with Alto Ivon as the largest settlement and Tokyo, Motacuzal, Siete Almendros, and other smaller communities along the Yata River. The current territory of the tribe encompasses 450,000 hectares, and is roughly equivalent to the original extent of the tribe's ancestral lands. The community of Alto Ivon, the center of the Chácobo territory, is located about 112 km south of Riberalta, along the river Ivon, a tributary of the Beni. The elevation is about 200 m, and can be classified as Amazon rainforest. Rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) and Brazilnut (Bertholletia excelsa) are abundant. The average annual temperature is 26.8°C, with an average annual rainfall of 1.56 mm, based on observations in Riberalta. A distinct dry season lasts from June to November. Formerly the Chácobo were led by a Cacique. Today there are two indigenous organizations: The Capitanía Mayor Chácobo, closely linked to the evangelists, and the Chácobo- Pacahuara Association, recognized by the Central Indígena de la Región Amazónica de Bolivia (CIRABO), supported by the Central de Pueblos Indigenas del Beni (CPIB) and the Confederacion de Pueblos Indigenas de Bolivia (CIDOB).

Methods

The project explores the current traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) on plant use of the Chacobo and Pacahuara in Beni, Bolivia and has three goals: 1) to discover and document current traditional plant knowledge through interviews and surveys, 2) to inventory the current flora of the region, and 3) to repatriate the acquired knowledge as well as previous data to the community.

Goal 1: We started fieldwork with a thorough prior informed consent session in May 2013, involving representatives of all 27 villages in the Chacobo Territory. This session included the repatriation of the results of our previous study on palms (Arecaceae). The results of the study, presented as full color book in Spanish, with the participating Chacobo collaborators as authors, was received with great enthusiasm. The local showed great enthusiasm to start the new study right away. Based on this 12 additional local counterparts were selected by the local population to be trained as interviewers and plant collectors.

In September 2013 we started a two-week workshop on ethnobiological methods and plant collection, raining the 12 selected counterparts. Training was conducted directly in the field in the central village of Alto Ivon, and involved theoretical exercises (overview on methodology of interviews, collection and herbarium techniques), as well as extensive practical exercises (structuring and testing of questionnaires, test interviews among the participants, field interviews with local community members, plant collection in the field, preparation of herbarium specimens, plant and artifact collection in the local community, databasing, initial data analysis).

Goal 2: With the background of taxonomic and herbarium training we simultaneously initiated the a floristic survey of the Chacobo territory. The survey follows the well-established Missouri Botanical Garden floristic studies methodology and selects locations throughout the Chacobo territory, representing all of the plant communities present, to record fertile species. The local assistants have been trained in botanical collection techniques and will continue to collect plants throughout the growing season, providing far superior coverage of plants that may not be in flower when MBG botanists are present. While all fertile species will be collected the main focus will emphasizing the presence and distribution of culturally important plants, for which interviewees will be asked to confirm correct identification. The results will include a checklist of species present on Chacobo territory and basic mapping of the distribution of culturally important species. We will compare our floristic survey with historical records of plants collected in the Missouri River Region (Boom 1987). The herbarium material will be deposited in the National herbarium La Paz, which is the institution easiest reached from the Chacobo homeland.

Goal 3: After concluding the fieldwork, we will host a useful plants workshop to share the information found, in printed and electronic forms and in a public presentation, with the local population, and discuss with the Chacobo how best to honor and preserve traditional knowledge within the community in the future. We will create a database that contains the information collected during interviews and the floristic survey. All members of the tribe will have access to compiled interview data for purposes of learning and education. The data collected will be a valuable resource to the community as a tool to preserve their traditional knowledge, and will encourage the launch of research projects and community activities so the information does not become static. Species identified as being most important to the community can be targeted for conservation and restoration activities