Thesis (M.Sc. (Botany)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / Traditional medicine plays a major role in the primary health care of many people
residing in rural areas. People in these areas still consult traditional healers who
utilise plants as medicine. Medicinal plants have come under increasing pressure due to a number of factors, which have resulted in the decline of certain species, extinction in others, and a general decrease in biodiversity of high use areas of South Africa, Blouberg Mountain included. To date there has been a lack of information on how traditional healers utilise the Blouberg Mountain with respect to amounts and species removed, or where the most important collecting sites are located. Thus, no conservation strategy exists for the
Blouberg Mountain to ensure sustainable management of its natural resources.
Furthermore, there is a perception amongst elders of this area that, as with
indigenous knowledge around the world, the knowledge centered around Blouberg’s
medicinal plants is declining, and little formal documentation of that knowledge has
taken place. Consequently, this study investigated aspects related to medicinal plant use such as collection, patterns of collection, legislation, storage and packaging of medicinal plants by traditional healers around Blouberg Mountain. These were documented via a semi-structured questionnaire and a data collection sheet. Furthermore, traditional harvesting methods employed by traditional healers, and in situ conservation issues related to species removal from the mountain were investigated.
Data was collected between September 2010 and September 2011. Sixteen villages in close proximity to the mountain, and 32 healers (two per village) were selected. In
addition 16 consulting rooms were sampled (one per village) in order to gather
information on the number of species collected from the mountain and stored in the
consulting rooms. The 16 most used (indicated by village traditional healers) collection tracks, (one per village surrounding Blouberg Mountain), were travelled with traditional healers to
record botanical and vernacular names of the medicinal plants, vegetation type,
habitat, parts used, harvesting method, replacement value of plant species and
perceived rarity of collected material. A Garmin GPS was used to record waypoints
for the beginning and end of each track. Co-ordinates were logged automatically
every 10 m. A map using Quantum GIS software to capture the position of the healers’ collection tracks, overlaid with topographical and vegetation information, and protected area information of the Blouberg Mountain, was generated. Geographic Information System software was used to geo-process the collection tracks of the healers with respect to where medicinal plants were collected relative to the various vegetation
types. This gave information on vegetation types important to healers. The majority of traditional healers were females. Most of them had no formal education, with only a minority reaching secondary school. Due to their low level of literacy they tended to shy away from sources of written information, with the result
that none of the questioned healers had any knowledge of the various national or
provincial environmental legislations. The majority of them see between 15 and 20
patients per month. Most of the healers had more than 30 years of experience in
traditional healing. The study found 64 plant species commonly used for medicinal purposes. Most of them were harvested for their roots and bark. According to the healers, Boophane disticha and Hypoxis hemerocallidea are declining in Blouberg Mountain, with Warburgia salutaris, endangered in South Africa, not perceived as rare or declining. However, a number of plant species recorded in the Red Data List as of least concern, or not threatened, are seen as rare by the healers. These include Clivia caulescens, Erythrina lysistemon, Lannea schweinfurthii and Maerua juncea.
No exotic species were documented from the surveyed tracks. However, two naturalised exotics were collected from the mountain, namely Cassytha filiformis and Corchorus tridens. Cocculus hirsutus, a naturalised exotic and Abrus precatorius, an exotic species were found in one of the consulting rooms. Dichrostachys cinerea,
Philenoptera violacea and Tarchonanthus camphoratus, which are indicators of bush
encroachment, were identified on selected tracks. Tracks on which indicators of bush
encroachment are present should be investigated more thoroughly to ascertain the
extent and severity of such a threat.
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Investigations into healers’ collection tracks showed that the Soutpansberg Mountain
Bushveld vegetation type is the most heavily utilised of the five vegetation types
around Blouberg Mountain. This vegetation type is vulnerable to human population
densities as most species were collected from it, therefore it should be conserved
and managed if possible as it is targeted for plant species of medicinal value. The
most travelled tracks were found in the Catha-Faurea Wooded Grassland
community.
Solutions to the problems of over harvesting of medicinal plants require local
innovations and the full participation of traditional healers in resource management
initiatives. The development of medicinal plant nurseries together with propagation of
key species will be a crucial management tool, as this will reduce over harvesting of
natural resources from the wild.
In conclusion, it was found that although most species utilised around Blouberg
Mountain are abundant and not threatened, healers are nevertheless concerned
about dwindling medicinal plant supplies. They would welcome conservation
initiatives and the use of GIS maps would be useful in prioritising conservation areas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ul/oai:ulspace.ul.ac.za:10386/966 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Mathibela, Khomotso Malehu |
| Contributors | Egan, B. A., Du Plessis, H. J., Potgieter, M. J. |
| Publisher | University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | xiv, 138 leaves |
| Relation |
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