Use and Management of Traditional Medicinal Plants by Indigenous People in 'Boosat' Wereda, 'Welinciti' Area: An Ethnobotanical Approach
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Date
2001-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
An ethnobotanical study on uses and management of traditional medicinal plants by indigenous
people in 'Boosat' Wereda has been conducted in Welinciti area, East Shewa Zone, Oromia
Region between July 2000 and March 2001 to make inventory of plants that have ethnomedicinal
value and investigate the uses and management practices by local people. Five study sites were
systematically established to include areas inhabited by settled fmmers and transhuman
pastoralists. Eighty informants were randomly selected from age group 15 to 40 years and above
from both males and females. Vegetation was examined and the dominant species of vegetation
visually recognized were documented. The eight vegetation types identified were: Acacia albidaZiziphlls
spina-christi woodland, Acacia senegal-Acacia tortilis dominated vegetation, the
Pistacia falcata, Acacia seyal-Acacia tortilis and Cissus quadrangulaJ1s, BoslVellia papyrijera,
Euphorbia nigrispinoides, Acacia senegal thicket vegetation and Acacia tortiUs-Balanites
aegyptiaca woodland.
Ethnobotanical information of medicinal plants including uses, management and conservation by
indigenous people, land, soil and vegetation classification by indigenous people were obtaine<l
from informants by semi-structured interview, observations, group discussions, guided
fieldwalks. A total of 81 medicinal plant species distributed in 66 genera and 34 families were
documented. Of these, 29 species are used to treat 18 livestock diseases while 52 are used to treat
43 human diseases. Habits of medicinal plants include shrubs 41(50,6%), herbs 17(21 %), trees 15
(18.5%), climbers 7(8.6%) and hemiparasites 1(1.2%). Roots are the most frequently used plant
parts accounting for 49 (31.4%) of the preparation followed by leaves 38 (24.4%). There were 23
different preparation methods reported. Howevere, the most widely used method of preparation is
crushing, pounding and mixing with cold water to serve as a drink 43 (24.3%). Eighten (10.2%)
of the preparations are made by concoction of different parts of a plant or different part of the
same plant. There is diverse indigenous ethnomedicinal knowledge in the area. Men and women
of age above 40 knew 80 (98.8%) of the 81 species while people of age between 15 to 40 years
knew 37 (45.7%). Modernization and acculturation have contributed in making the younger
generation unwilling to practice, retain traditional knowledge and consider it as less important.
Paired compadson and preference ranking showed that people have preferences for some species
over the other in treating the same ailment. Environmental degradation, habitat changes fueled by
production of charcoal, collection of fuel wood construction material and agdcultural
intensification are major threats to medicinal plants and knowledge on them. It was found that,
there is little practice of bringing medicinal plants under cultivation. Indigenous practices,
various cultural and seasonal restdctions of collecting medicinal plants have contdbuted to the
management and conservation of medicinal plants in the area. It is therefore, recommened that
the indigenous knowledge and practices be blended with the formal sector to ensure sustainable
use, management and conservation of the important medicinal plants in particular and the biota in
general. Furthermore, traditional community based in-situ conservation should be complemented
with ex-situ conservation with the participation of indigenous people.
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Biology