Inside Environmentalist

Thursday 31st December 2009

The wonders of the world we live in

It’s the time to take stock. The spotlight for so much of 2009 was focused on Copenhagen that it was difficult to feature other issues which, for some may have seemed even more important in their relationship to everyday living.

On the last day in the office before the Christmas break I received a document from Kenya which contained the results of a survey funded by The Conservation Foundation’s Young Scientists for Rainforests scheme which brought home to me the wonders of the world we live in and how things we so easily take for granted can often play a unique role.

The Foundation helped to fund Nickson E. Otieno of the National Museums of Kenya and Caleb Analoto of the Kakamega Environment Education Project to document plants of medicinal value in and around Kakamega, Kenya’s only tropical rainforest.

Like many of the world’s rainforests the pressures from an expanding population and encroaching agriculture are threatening Kakamega and Nickson and Caleb could see there was no time to be lost to research those plants of their forest which contain secrets often shared by only a few of its elderly inhabitants . The documentation was therefore made ‘against the clock’ to ensure that as much knowledge as possible was recorded.

The document that arrived in London with the last post before Christmas contains a unique insight into the glories and mysteries going back through countless generations leaving us to wonder how such knowledge would have been obtained. How do you discover that the bark of a tree can cure one specific ailment whilst the leaf of another performs another, quite different miracle?

Our researchers found 40 plant species used to treat various issues and illnesses among the local people and 6 used to treat livestock.

Whilst cures for illness have understandable benefits in general terms, one of the main aims of our researchers’ work is to increase the awareness among local people about Kakamega forest’s ethno-botany. In turn they hope this will contribute towards identifying some cost effective ways of reducing work-hours lost by members of the local community due to illness. Surely an example of sustainable livingwe could all benefit from.

The people of Kakamega have growing around them plants which can cure fever, aches, pains, malaria, insect bites and much more. Inhaling the crushed young leaves of the climbing plant Lunyili, clears stuffy noses associated with respiratory problems. A tree known locally as Musamia provides double benefits – the bark treats ulcers, the leaves treat boils. Some have really specific properties such as treating dripping noses in poultry.

Crushed roots mixed with water are the equivalent a free version of our Lemsips which judging from the display at my local Boots must have been expected to be a major seller here this Christmas.

We might spend much of our time discussing worrying and treating our own ailments, but the Kenyan research shows the importance of plants to animals. Both the Lusiola, known as the Nile Tulip tree, and the leaves of the Itikwa shrub, known locally as Mufindi coffee, can be crushed to cure eye problems in livestock.

And so the list continues covering treatments for coughs, hiccups, prostate cancer and sexually transmitted diseases and not forgetting Jukuye – toddalia asiatica - to rid cattle of worms. Whilst much of the growing is ‘natural’ the Kakamega Forest Integrated Conservation Project involves local people working in collaboration with the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology with the commercial cultivation of two medicinal plants on farms. The income generated benefits the farmers and helps supplement subsistence needs.

You can read more on the Kakamega forest report on http://www.conservationfoundation.co.uk/content.php?id=51

And if you would like to read the full report email your request to info@conservationfoundation.co.uk

The Conservation Foundation is all about promoting positive environmental news, information and action. What better way to start a New Year than by reporting on this positive news from Kakamega?

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