Resource Centers

Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development

Surama - a village just to the southwest of the Iwokrama reserve - has a mixed population of Makushi and Arawak peoples who manage the diverse vegetation of the region’s forest and savanna interface. Here, forest islands dot tropical savannah, while the forest proper stretches towards Iwokrama’s field station at Kurupukari. Our aim, with the help of Iwokrama’s indefatigable staff, is to investigate the vegetation management techniques employed locally, with a view to improving our understanding of what constitutes ‘sustainable forest management’. /CC.

The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development, in Guyana, was initiated to demonstrate to the global community that tropical rain forests can provide sustainable economic, environmental and social benefits without destroying the biological diversity contained within it. The Centre manages a pristine tropical rain forest of 360,000 ha (almost one million acres) in central Guyana, which the Government of Guyana allocated for this purpose.

Iwokrama seeks to achieve the following strategic objectives: (1) demonstrate that tropical forest resources can be both conserved and used to generate socio-economic benefits for the people of Guyana; (2) research, develop and disseminate techniques and methods for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable management of the multiple resources of the tropical rain forest, for the benefit of Guyana and the wider world community; (3) preserve and more widely apply the knowledge, innovations and practices of local Amerindian communities that contribute to conservation and sustainable utilization of biological diversity, and to ensure that the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices are equitably shared with local Amerindian communities; (4) promote effective links with and among relevant research, extension, educational and information organizations, as well as with the Amerindians, the private sector, and the policy community; and (5) conduct training in order to improve skills for sustainable forest management and the conservation of biological diversity, and to organize and support symposia and seminars for the exchange and dissemination of ideas and information related to these issues.

In addition to institutional building activities, researchers are carrying out a project on ‘Amerindian Communities and the Sustainable Utilisation of the Biological Resources of the Iwokrama Area’. This project is documenting the biological resources used by local communities and will address the problem of ensuring adequate rewards for Amerindian indigenous knowledge. Iwokrama makes available the facilities of a field station located near Kurupukari on the left bank of the Essequibo River. Interested institutions or individuals are invited to send a profile of their proposed research to the Iwokrama Centre

‘Cultural affirmation and confidence, learning the usefulness, the harm as well as the sacredness of plants, animals, traditions, beliefs and the pride and joy in naming these through rediscovering the richness of an age old language. These are all aims of one of Iwokrama’s most human-centred projects – the Makushi Women’s Ethnobotany/Ethnomedicine project.The project, conducted by Janette Forte of the Amerindian Research Unit of the University of Guyana, is funded by Iwokrama. Participants were selected by their respective communities and eight of these completed the community research assignments. The project started in May 1995 with an initial training course and was continued in eight subsequent workshops, each of a week’s duration, with each of the communities being host to one of the sessions ...The trainees researched over 70% of the farms within each of their communities. Both the quantity and quality of the information gathered is impressive. Collectively, the group has pressed over 100 specimens of medicinal and non-medicinal plants; documented 125 cultivars or varieties of bitter cassava; recorded 120 species of fishes; gathered and named 30 kinds of wild fruits; identified 184 species of birds and 60 species of wild animals. This process involved widespread participation from community members and especially drew on the reservoir of knowledge held by the elders.’

Anonymous. 1996. Women and biodiversity research project.
Iwokrama Bulletin, April.

CONTACT

David Cassells, Director-General,
Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development,
c/o Guyana Natural Resources Agency, PO Box 1074, Georgetown, Guyana;
Tel. +592.2.51504, Fax +592.2.59199 or 71211,
E-mail iwokrama@guyana.net.gy
Website http://www.idrc.ca/iwokrama

Renald Lafond, Senior Program Officer,
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 250 Albert Street, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H9, Canada;
Tel. +1.613.2366163 ext. 2414,Fax 1.613.5677749,
E-mail rlafond@idrc.ca

Guyana is a small, sparsely populated country located in the northern tip of South America, but with historical, linguistic and geopolitical ties firmly rooted in the Caribbean.

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CAB International

CAB International (CABI) is an international, intergovernmental organization established in 1928. It is owned by its member governments, which currently number 40. CABI is dedicated to improving human welfare world-wide through the dissemination, application and generation of scientific knowledge in support of sustainable development, with emphasis on agriculture, forestry, human health and the management of natural resources, and with particular attention to the needs of developing countries. The organization is largely self-supporting, through the sales of its products and services.

CABI operates four scientific institutes that conduct basic and applied research, and also publish a wide range of scientific material. Titles of their abstract journals include Review of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, Agroforestry, Apiculture, Forest Products, Plant Genetic Resources and Rural Development. All information from the abstract journals has been collated in a database, CAB ABSTRACTS, which is available through commercial database vendors, on CD-ROM, floppy disc and in other formats. CABI also produces a number of specialty CD-ROMs. AGECONCD covers literature on economic and social aspects of agriculture, forestry, food and Third World rural development, while TREECD is a comprehensive source of information on forestry, agroforestry and forest products. CABI’s wide range of books includes titles on biotechnology and plant breeding, and ecology and the environment. Of particular interest to ethnobotanists is Collecting Plant Genetic Diversity: Technical Guidelines, which was edited by L. Guarino, R. Rao & R. Reid, and published in May 1995.

For further information contact CAB International at the address nearest to you:

• Headquarters: Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK; Tel+44.1491.832111, Fax +44.1491.833508, E-mail cabi@cabi.org
• North America: 845 North Park Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85719, USA; Tel.+1.800.5284841 or 520.6217897, Fax +1.520.6213816, E-mail cabi-nao@cabi.org
• Asia: PO Box 11872, 50760 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Tel+60.3.2552922, Fax +60.3.2551888, E-mail cabi-aro@cabi.org
• Caribbean: Gordon Street, Curepe, Trinidad & Tobago; Tel+1.809.6624173, Fax +1.809.6632859, E-mail cabi-cro@cabi-org
• Africa: PO Box 76520, Nairobi, Kenya; Tel.+254.2.747340 or 747337, Fax+254.2.747340, E-mail cabi-roaf@cabi.org

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Center for Tropical Forest Science

A complementary program to that of CTFS is the Smithsonian Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program, which coordinates a network of one hectare plots for biodiversity monitoring at many sites in the tropics. The aim of the Smithonsian MAB program is to gain baseline data for a rapid index of biodiversity over a wide range of sites scattered around the globe. /ALH

The Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) is a program within the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute that brings together a voluntary network of natural and social scientists and institutions from around the world. The mission of the Center is to promote and coordinate long-term biological and socio-economic research within tropical forests and forest dependent communities. Furthermore, it aims to translate this information into results relevant to forest management, conservation and natural resource policies.

To achieve these objectives, scientists associated with CTFS work with collaborators in forestry departments, universities and NGOs to develop a network of long-term forest research programs. The primary involvement of CTFS is to coordinate and standardize research at different sites, through workshops, conferences, production of manuals, and exchange of personnel. Technical assistance and training are also provided. Collaborative research programs have been established in Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, India, Malaysia, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. A research tool shared by all these research sites is the Forest Dynamics Plot. This approach includes setting up large permanent plots (usually about 50 hectares) situated in natural forests, in which all trees with a diameter of one centimeter or greater at breast height are mapped and monitored.

CTFS now has almost two and a half million trees permanently tagged, providing data on more than 3000 species of tropical trees. CTFS has two main foci for its research. The Tropical Forest Ecology Initiative aims to improve understanding of how tropical forests function. It includes investigations of tree phenology and demography, reproductive biology, plant genetics, animal ecology, soils and climate. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative aims to combine the silvicultural, socio-economic and ecological research conducted within the CTFS program. This information will be used to better inform policy makers of the economic and social values of tropical forests and how they can be sustainably managed.

‘Since 1992, the Center for Tropical Forest Science has overseen a community-based reforestation project entitled “The Potential of Native Forest Species on Degraded Soils in the Tropics”. … We chose a 2-ha study site adjacent to the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, near the town of Las Pavas [Panama]. Through extensive meetings and other collaborations with the scientific and local-farming communities, we selected tree species based on the following criteria: first, species known to have moderate to high growth rates; second, species identified by local farmers in ethnobotanic interviews as useful for construction or firewood; and third, species of significant ecological importance. … During a period of two years, 240 plots were established on degraded land to study 17 native species. … Working together, farmers and scientists shared the daily routines of transplanting, weeding, and plot demarcations. Over 80 farmers, both male and female, from more than eight communities near BCNM participated in nursery and plantation management. Through this process, farmers have learned that the forested land is a source of opportunity not only for agriculture and cattle farming, but also for forestry projects.’

Morales, J.E. 1995. Inside CTFS 2.

CONTACT

Elizabeth Losos, Director,
Center for Tropical Forest Science,
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute,
900 Jefferson Drive, Suite 2207, Washington, DC 20560, USA;
Tel. +1.202.6338095, Fax +1.202.7862819,
E-mail strfdp02@sivm.si.edu

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Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza

Since the 1980s, CATIE has broadened its research program to include projects on forest conservation and extraction of NTFPs, with a special focus on medicinal plants. / GJM

The Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Center) was founded in 1973. This non-profit, international institute carries out research and education in the fields of sustainable agriculture and management of natural resources.

Its geographic focus is the American tropics, with emphasis on Central America. Member countries of CATIE are Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela. The Center organizes short training courses, in-service training, strategic courses and regional meetings.

Of particular interest is the project ‘Conservation for Sustainable Development in Central America‘, known as OLAFO, which began in 1989. It seeks to promote rural development through the sustainable use of natural resources. In Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama the project has been working with local communities to investigate diversified forest management, utilizing timber and non-timber forest products. Research and development actions are undertaken to improve farming and extractive practices. To ensure the sustainability of this approach, the project has been working on linking governmental and non-governmental institutions to local initiatives.

‘Quassia amara is a small tree whose wood, bark, and leaves contain quassina compounds which in small doses possess medicinal characteristics, but in its same form works as a pesticide. On a local and national level Quassia amara is sold as a medicinal aid for stomach ailments. The raw material was sold internationally before the Second World War for use as an insecticide, but with the creation of effective synthetic substitutes, interest dwindled in the late 1940s. Given changing attitudes toward pesticides and a burgeoning ‘green’ market, an organic product was deemed to have potential and so it is being reintroduced at the national and international level.’

Kent, J. and L. Bianco. 1994. Market-related Constraints to Non-timber Forest Product Development in Central America: Experiences from the CATIE/Olafo Project. Manuscript.

CONTACT

Tania Ammour, Project Leader, OLAFO Project,
PO Box 99, 7170 Turrialba, Costa Rica;
Tel. +506.5566882 or 5560301, Fax +506.5568417,
E-mail olafo@catie.ac.cr or tammour@catie.ac.cr
Website http://www.catie.ac.cr

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Centre for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development

Dennis Michael Warren, the founder of CIKARD and its director for ten years, passed away in December 1997 at his home in Ara, Nigeria. He was a guiding light not only for CIKARD, but also for all the indigenous knowledge resource centers with which it is linked. Norma Wolff and Mike Whiteford and other colleagues at CIKARD are ensuring that his inspiration and spirit live on. /GJM

The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD) was established in 1987 at Iowa State University. The Centre’s goal is to record indigenous knowledge (IK) and to make it available to local communities, development professionals and scientists. Through these means, CIKARD aims to facilitate participatory and sustainable approaches to development. Its activities are focused in four areas: indigenous innovations, knowledge systems (e.g. classification systems), decision making systems (e.g. which crops to grow), and organizations.

CIKARD’s activities and current programs are based on the following objectives:

• collecting, documenting and disseminating information on indigenous knowledge of agriculture, natural resource management and rural development;
• developing cost-effective and reliable methodologies for recording this knowledge;
• conducting training courses and producing materials on IK for extension and other development workers;
• preparing teaching modules based on indigenous knowledge case studies for use in primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions;
• facilitating interdisciplinary research
• supporting the activities of regional and national IK resource centers; and
• formulating agricultural and natural resource management policies and designing technical assistance programs based on IK.

The Centre networks with more than 2500 individuals and institutions, and has formal links with 34 IK resource centers around the world. It is also involved in production of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor (IK&DM; see PPH 1). CIKARD’s home page includes a wealth of resources, including a wide range of articles on IK and a keyword search facility for abstracts and citations of nearly 4500 papers.

The administration of CIKARD is currently being handled by the Acting Director, Mike Whiteford, Department of Anthropology; the Associate Director for Research, Robert Mazur, Department of Sociology; and the Associate Director for Training, Norma Wolff, Department of Anthropology; all at Iowa State University. CIKARD has an International Advisory Board comprising the directors of indigenous knowledge resource centers from around the world.

‘The majority of small-scale farmers in developing countries live in conditions of high variability, uncertainty, and complex interactions. For them, indigenous innovations, which are generated mainly through experimentation, represent one of the key elements in their survival. However, the capacity of these farmers to experiment is a neglected resource. As a rule, it goes unrecognized and unsupported, without any link to the formal agricultural research systems. There are studies that show that knowledge generation by farmers often draws on both scientific and local methods of experimentation. Thus it is important that methodologies and approaches are developed together with farmers, in a collaborative and interactive way. This will help them to enhance their own experimentation methods, and strengthen the communication channels between these two parallel systems of knowledge generation.’

Quiroz, C. 1996. Local knowledge systems contribute to sustainable development. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 4(1): 3-4.

CONTACT

Norma Wolff, Associate Director for Training,
CIKARD, 318 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA;
Tel. +1.515.2940938, Fax +1.515.2946058,
E-mail nhwolff@iastate.edu
Website http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/cikard/CIKIntro.htm

IK&DM, a publication to which CIKARD contributes heavily, is now available on the Internet at www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/index.html

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East-West Center

Rajindra Puri, visiting fellow at the East-West Center, has been carrying out innovative research on ethnobiology and historical ecology in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. He participated in two sessions of the People and Plants in Southeast Asia Certificate Training Course in Applied Ethnobotany, held in the Philippines and Malaysia in 1998. / GJM

The East-West Center was established in 1960 to foster mutual understanding and cooperation among the governments and peoples of the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States. Principal funding is provided by the US government. The Center’s research activities are divided into four programs, of which the Program on Environment was established in 1977. It focuses on improving management of renewable resources and the environment in the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, it seeks to understand how environmental factors influence human welfare, how human activities are changing the environment, how such environmental change can be controlled or mitigated, and how societies can best respond to unavoidable changes. Results of the research are published as books, articles and occasional working papers.

Two areas of particular interest are biodiversity conservation and renewable resources management. In the former area, current work includes developing methods for rapid and remote assessment of biodiversity maintenance and investigating feedback linkages between biodiversity and society. Within the field of renewable resources management, major issues being addressed include joint community/state management of forests, and the role of spatial information technology (maps, aerial photographs, satellite images, geographic information systems) for understanding human/land relationships.A new initiative on ‘Vulnerable Ecosystems and Their People’ includes projects on research, training and dialogue for sustainable development in montane mainland Southeast Asia; coastal resource assessment, management and rehabilitation; and valuing natural resource in Hawai’i and the Pacific Islands.

‘The Penan of Long Peliran have had opportunity to travel throughout the area and, being in many cases collectors of forest products, have a very good understanding of the local and regional distribution of many of these palm species. Whether this knowledge corresponds to actual distributions remains to be seen. In terms of local distribution, Penan recognize differences in the palm’s preferred habitat and clumping …Eugeissona grows in large, near-monospecific groves on the top of many dry ridges surrounding the villages of the Bahau and Lurah, but can also be found in both primary and secondary forests up to 1000 masl. Eugeissona is said to be particularly dense along the steep banks of the Pujungan River, the Lurah River and the Upper Bahau River. Arenga undulatifolia is more evenly distributed, and occurs in mixed species clumps in secondary forests along stream banks ...What is most interesting is that Penan recognize areas and habitats where human activities are in part responsible for these observed distributions, as is the case for Arenga undulatifolia and Caryota no. It is very likely that Penan harvesting practices have served to enhance the abundance of all palms, especially increasing the size of Eugeissona groves …

Puri, R. 1997. Penan Benalui knowledge and use of tree palms. Pages 195 – 226 in K.W. Sorensen and B. Morris, editors, People and Plants of Kayan Mentarang. London, World Wide Fund for Nature Indonesia Programme.

CONTACT

Jefferson M. Fox, Director, Program on Environment,
East-West Center, 1601 East-West Road,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96848, USA;
Tel. +1.808.9447266, Fax +1.808.9447298,
E-mail env@ewc.hawaii.edu
Website http://www.ewc.hawaii.edu/env/env00001.htm

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Caribbean Natural Resources Institute

Although many NGOs carry out innovative development and conservation projects, few go the extra step of analyzing their experiences and sharing the lessons they have learned. CANARI has embarked on a fruitful project to document case studies of community participation in Caribbean forest management, including experiences in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad. The first in the series, dated April 1998, describes collaborative management of the Mankòtè mangrove in St. Lucia. / GJM

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is a regional non-governmental organization that has been working for over 15 years on conservation, environment and sustainable development in the Caribbean islands. Its goal is to foster the development and adoption of policies and programs that support increased participation of communities and user groups in natural resource management, and that create effective partnerships between governments and institutions in civil society.

Through its program activities, CANARI aims to encourage collaboration – through the sharing of technologies, ideas and experience – among all the countries of the region. Applied research, analysis and advocacy are the tools by which it seeks to reach these goals.

CANARI’s research is carried out through a series of field projects in which different management approaches and technologies are tested. In the 1996-97 program, studies conducted in St. Lucia included: participatory planning and management on the southeast coast; community organization and conflict resolution; and collaborative management of the Mankòtè mangrove. As well as developing its own research, CANARI also works with other institutions to extract lessons from their fieldwork. The results and experiences are used to identify the skills and techniques needed to implement effective collaborative management. Recent work has focused on developing and refining procedures and skills in coral reef monitoring, sustainable mangrove harvesting and participatory planning processes.

Through its advocacy work, CANARI seeks to build support for the use of participatory approaches in natural resource management. Its activities include organizing meetings and conferences, and producing publications that include guidelines on policies and techniques for participatory and collaborative natural resource management. English, Spanish and French versions of the Caribbean Park and Protected Area Bulletin are produced occasionally. CANARI collaborates with the Panos Institute on publications that document case studies of community participation in natural resource management. CANARI also organizes workshops, short courses, study tours and training materials, providing people from the region with the opportunity to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems.

‘The Mankòtè mangrove was once covered with well developed trees. The area was part of a US military base during World War Two, and little or no exploitation took place. After the base closed down in 1960, the area became public land, and was used for a variety of purposes including seasonal fishing, bird hunting, crabbing, therapeutic bathing and as a source of wood for charcoal production and for construction. The area has also been used as a waste disposal site for local households and businesses. Decades of uncontrolled use and indiscriminate waste dumping has left Mankòtè in a highly degraded condition.Studies undertaken since 1981 documented, nevertheless, that the area was being used extensively by local people for a variety of potentially sustainable purposes. Unlike much of the adjacent public lands, use of the mangrove appeared to be regulated to some extent by the community of users, particularly the charcoal producers.’

Smith, A.H. and F. Berkes. 1993. Community-based use of mangrove resources in St. Lucia. International Journal of Environmental Studies 43:123-131.

CONTACT

Yves Renard, Executive Director,
CANARI, Clarke Street, Vieux Fort, St. Lucia;
Tel. +1.758.4546060, Fax +1.758.4545188,
E-mail canari@isis.org.lc

CANARI, 1113 Strand Street, Christiansted,
St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00820, USA;
Tel. +1.340.7739854, Fax +1.340.7735770,
E-mail ac636@virgin.usvi.net

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African Wildlife Foundation

AWF has been at the forefront of developing approaches to community-based conservation in East Africa. In doing so, they have not shied away from difficult cases of land-use conflicts between local communities and conservation areas. / ABC

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is an international NGO, founded in 1961. Its mission is to promote the protection and sound management of Africa’s natural resources, and to increase the contribution of these to local and national economies. It seeks to achieve this by building the capacity of individuals and institutions in the continent to manage their resources. AWF is implementing a range of conservation projects within the continent, focusing mainly in East Africa.

Since the late 1980s, AWF has developed the field of community conservation through the program ‘Protected Areas: Neighbours as Partners’. This program is working in collaboration with conservation authorities in Kenya (Tsavo/Amboseli, Laikipia/Samburu and the coast), Tanzania (in all the national parks) and Uganda (Mburo and Bwindi).

AWF’s work in Tanzania has led to the formation of the Tanzania National Parks Community Conservation Service, and in Kenya to the establishment of the Community Wildlife Service within the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). In Uganda, AWF is supporting Uganda National Parks to institutionalize community conservation.

In all three countries AWF works with its conservation authority partners to help in the definition of community conservation policy and practice. This has been with relation to training, benefit sharing and creating conservation related business options, and also the process of community conservation extension.

In Tanzania this process has evolved further with the formation of a separate project, the ‘Community Conservation Service Centre’, as a resource to provide relevant community conservation skills and resources to a wide range of stakeholders.

‘An inherent component of community conservation is redressing the traditionally inequitable distribution of the costs and benefits of conservation. People living on the periphery of protected areas incurred costs of restrictions on resource use, alienation from land and damage to life and property, while deriving little benefit from the protected areas. Governments collected revenues generated from wildlife resources and foreign tourists enjoyed the aesthetic and recreational benefits of wildlife. Community conservation encourages the sharing of the benefits of conservation with local people, and various strategies have been used, including the distribution of revenue gained from tourism to local people, permitting wildlife utilization by giving use rights to local people, and permitting the collection of resources from protected areas … The implementation of community conservation [in Kenya] has proved to be complex. A history of preservationist and militaristic conservation authorities makes partnerships with communities more difficult, and the benefits of conservation are less clear to communities than the benefits of economic activities such as cultivation and livestock farming. The integration of conservation and economic development objectives is also proving challenging. Nevertheless, in certain conditions, conservation is a viable and competitive land use option, as demonstrated in the drier, pastoral areas of Eastern Africa.’

Barrow, E., K. Kangwana and D. Berger. 1992. The Role of the African Wildlife Foundation in the Evolution of Community Conservation Practise and Policy in Kenya. Nairobi, ACTS.

CONTACT

Mark Stanley-Price, Director, African Wildlife Foundation,
P.O. Box 48177, Nairobi, Kenya;
Tel. +254.2.710367, Fax +254.2.710372,
E-mail awfwash@igc.apc.org
Website www.awf.org/

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Jatun Sacha Foundation

David Neill, who began his career in Ecuador as a plant collector for the Missouri Botanical Garden, has worked hard with Ecuadorian colleagues to make Jatun Sacha one of the largest non-profit conservation organizations in this biologically-diverse country. / GJM

The Jatun Sacha Foundation (Fundación Jatun Sacha) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1986 and officially recognized by the government of Ecuador in 1989. The Foundation owns and manages three biological field stations, through which it promotes biological conservation, research, education, community extension and ecotourism in Ecuador. The Jatun Sacha Biological Station (named the Seco International Children’s Rainforest in 1993) protects about 2000 hectares of tropical wet forest in Amazonian Ecuador. The Guandera Biological Station, established in 1994, comprises 1000 hectares of high altitude inter-Andean forest. The Bilsa Biological Station protects some 3000 hectares of some of the last remaining tropical wet forest in western Ecuador

.One of the programs at the Jatun Sacha Biological Station is the development of the Amazon Plant Conservation Center, which oversees the establishment of a living collection of economically important plants from the region. Native medicinal plants and fruit and nut trees are cultivated within the Center’s Ishpingo Botanical Garden. Soon after the opening of the Garden in 1996, a workshop on the useful plants of Amazonian Ecuador was held. The participants were university botany students and members of local indigenous organizations. Similar workshops are planned in coming years.

Jatun Sacha is also conducting silvicultural research. Plantation trials have been set up for selected native tree species that yield timber, latex, resins, fruits and other products. The staff members of Jatun Sacha are developing an agroforestry extension, which is designed to promote sustainable agricultural practices among local farmers. The program promotes the use of multiple-cropping systems and the planting of trees for timber, fruits and other locally marketable products.

‘ The Quichua peoples, through their continual trial and error investigation of traditional medicine, have found excellent curative properties in [huasca shia, Mikania cordifolia (Asteraceae)]. The root is cleaned and chewed on a sore tooth, and it produces an anesthetic effect. Also, the plant can be made into a mouthwash to prevent dental caries, and a decoction of the root is used to treat stomach cramps and diarrhea.’

Alvarado, A. (Translated by D. Kiefer). 1996. Medicinal Plants of the Ishpingo Botanical Garden, Amazon Plant Conservation Center (CCPA), Jatun Sacha Biological Station. Quito, Jatun Sacha Foundation.

CONTACT

David Neill, Jatun Sacha Foundation,
Casilla 17-12-867, Avenida Rio Coca 1734, Quito, Ecuador;
Tel./Fax +593.2.441592,
E-mail neill@pi.pro.ec
Website http://www.jatunsacha.org/

Ishpingo is the Quichua word for the native Ecuadorian ‘cinnamon’ tree Ocotea quixos (Lauraceae), found only in a small region of Amazonian Ecuador. It has been used locally as a spice and flavoring agent since pre-European times.

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