Conclusions

Action should be taken now to conserve the medicinal plant base of traditional medicine in Africa, as well as safeguarding its potential for western style medicines in other parts of the world. A shift to a cash economy and the emergence of commercial harvesters into what was largely a specialist activity restricted to TMPs have resulted in medicinal plants becoming a common property resource with few incentives for resource management or traditional conservation practice. In the context of major threats posed to natural habitats and the survival of particular species by agricultural expansion, deforestation, and so on, over-exploitation of traditional medicines is occurring. Subject to uncertainties in demographic and urbanization trends, the demand for traditional medicines is set to rise, putting increasing pressures on remaining areas of natural vegetation. Neither formal conservation legislation nor customary law or conservation practices are able to control the situation, and even CCAs and botanical gardens are being exploited (e.g. Albizia suluense in Hluhluwe Game Reserve (South Africa), Erythrophleum suaveolens and Pterocarpus angolensis in Zomba Botanical Gardens (Malawi), Securidaca longipedunculata in Harare Botanical Gardens (Zimbabwe). Traditional conservation policy for CCAs which are set up to maintain the status quo will only succeed when supported by ex-situ conservation methods including large scale cultivation, buffer zones, public awareness and research. In the longer term, however, the success of conservation will depend upon national and international policy and cooperation which will lead to improvement of the socio-economic framework within African nations.

Acknowledgments

Essential background to this study was provided by resource users (herbalists, gatherers and herb traders) and conservation bodies in Natal, South Africa who funded the Natal survey (particularly M. Ntimbane, S. Jamile, N. Tembe, S. Gumede, Mr L. Govender and B. Naidoo).

This study was funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) (Project 3331). I am extremely grateful to J. Seyani (Malawi), J. Chapman (UK/Malawi), S. Mavi, T. Muller and B. Drummond (Zimbabwe), M. Bingham and R. Nefdt (Zambia), L. Ake-Assi, M. Egnankou Wadja, and M. Prager (Côte d’Ivoire) and the late A. Maite-Santos (Mozambique). Without their assistance, as well as that of the medicinal plant sellers and TMPs at urban markets in all of the above countries, this survey would not have been possible.

I thank also S. Dipper, A. Hamilton, T. Johns, I. Kamau, T. Fonki Mbenkum and D. Taylor for their comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper. Any errors are, of course, my own.

Personal communications

Ake Assi, L., Centre National de Floristique de l’Universite, BP 322, Abidjan 322, Côte d`Ivoire.

Gautier-Beguin, D., Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Cote d’Ivoire CSRS 01 Bp 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Hines, C., c/o Institute of Natural Resources, University of Natal, P O Box 375, Pietermaritzburg, 3200, South Africa.

Horenburg, F., c/o Thusano Lefatsheng, P O Gaborone, Botswana.

Louis, A.M., Le Chef de l’Herbier National, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologie, Commissariat General, BP 842, Libreville, Republique Gabonaise.

Maite, A., Faculdade de Biologia, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, C P 275, Maputo, Mozambique.

Mavi, S., National Herbarium and National Botanic Garden, PO Box 8100, Causeway, Zimbabwe.

Smith, R.M. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh

Seyani, J., National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens, P O Box 528, Zomba, Malawi.

Sturton, C., Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, U.K..

Venter, F., University of Venda, P/Bag X 2220, Sibasa, South Africa.

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