Tesfaye Awas

The current status of knowledge of herbal medicine and medicinal plants in Fiche, Ethiopia.

BackgroundA majority of Ethiopians rely on traditional medicine as their primary form of health care, yet they are in danger of losing both their knowledge and the plants they have used as medicines for millennia. This study, conducted in the rural town of Fiche in Ethiopia, was undertaken with the support of Southern Cross University (SCU) Australia, Addis Ababa University (AAU) Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity (EIB), Ethiopia. The aim of this study, which included an ethnobotanical survey, was to explore the maintenance of tradition in the passing on of knowledge, the current level of knowledge about medicinal herbs and whether there is awareness and concern about the potential loss of both herbal knowledge and access to traditional medicinal plants.MethodsThis study was conducted using an oral history framework with focus groups, unstructured and semi-structured interviews, field-walk/discussion sessions, and a market survey. Fifteen people were selected via purposeful and snowball sampling. Analysis was undertaken using a grounded theory methodology.ResultsFourteen lay community members and one professional herbalist provided information about 73 medicinal plants used locally. An ethnobotanical survey was performed and voucher specimens of 53 of the plants, representing 33 families, were collected and deposited at the EIB Herbarium. The community members are knowledgeable about recognition of medicinal plants and their usage to treat common ailments, and they continue to use herbs to treat sickness as they have in the past. A willingness to share knowledge was demonstrated by both the professional herbalist and lay informants. Participants are aware of the threat to the continued existence of the plants and the knowledge about their use, and showed willingness to take steps to address the situation.ConclusionThere is urgent need to document the valuable knowledge of medicinal herbs in Ethiopia. Ethnobotanical studies are imperative, and concomitant sustainable programmes that support the sustainability of herbal medicine traditions may be considered as a way to collect and disseminate information thereby supporting communities in their efforts to maintain their heritage. This study contributes to the documentation of the status of current traditional herbal knowledge in Ethiopia.

Ethnobotany of Berta and Gumuz people in western Ethiopia.

Abstract This paper studies the use and management of local botanical resources by the Berta and Gumuz people of western Ethiopia. The study focused on plants that are important in their lives, including those that grow in natural habitats and those maintained in fields and cultivated home gardens. Interviews were conducted along with informal discussions with the purpose of collecting ethnobotanical information on useful plants. The interviews included 125 informants; most of whom were from farming families. Information was provided on 185 plant species that serve as sources of food, medicine and other products essential for local livelihoods. The study showed that the Berta and Gumuz people rely on an assortment of plants, 30% through cultivation and 70% through direct collection from wild stands. The ethnobotanical knowledge of the people was equated with the age and educational level of the informants. Areas of conservation concern are over-harvesting of wild plants that give immediate economic returns, change in plant use due to increased dependence on fabricated materials, cultivation of crops in direct response to market needs and domestication of new plants. Recommendations are made for intervention through in-situ and ex-situ conservation. The traditional conservation options that have ensured the maintenance of the plant diversity and the indigenous knowledge base to date must be encouraged and enhanced through application of modern approaches to biodiversity conservation. This study attempts to provide baseline information that can be used in conservation planning and sustainable resource development programs in addition to documenting the cultural heritage of the people.

Four new species of Aloe (Aloaceae) from Ethiopia, with notes on the ethics of describing new taxa from foreign countries

SummarySubsequent to the treatment of the Aloaceae, with 38 species of Aloe, in the Flora of Ethiopia (Sebsebe Demissew & Gilbert 1997), four more species, Aloe bertemariae Sebsebe & Dioli (2000), A. friisii Sebsebe & M. G. Gilbert (2000), A. clarkei L. E. Newton (2002) and A. elkerriana Dioli & T. A. McCoy (2007) have been described from that country. Here four additional new species are described: Aloe benishangulana Sebsebe & Tesfaye from near Assosa, Benishangul-Gumuz in Welega floristic region; A. ghibensis Sebsebe & Friis from the Ghibe Gorge, Kefa floristic region; A. weloensis Sebsebe from near Dessie in Welo floristic region and A. welmelensis Sebsebe & Nordal along the Welmel River in Bale floristic region. The phytogeographical positions of the new species are assessed by comparison with the previously known species. Complications with the deposition of type material of A. clarkei and A. elkerriana is used to raise various issues regarding the ethics of describing new taxa from foreign countries.

Woody Plant Species Diversity Analysis in Awash National Park, Ethiopia

Woody Plant Species Diversity Analysis in Awash National Park, Ethiopia The study was conducted at the Awash National Park (ANP), with the objectives of assessing woody plants diversity, identifying plant community types, and producing a list of woody plant species of the ANP, in order to provide information for appropriate decision making on the biodiversity conservation of the park. A total of 64 sample plots, each with 20 × 20 m were laid along the altitudinal gradient of 750 to 1916 m and a total of 65 woody plant species were collected from 44 genera and 27 families. Of the 65 species, 51% were trees, 32% were shrubs and 17% were vines. Out of the 27 families Fabaceae was the dominant family and represented by 12 species in five genera followed by Tiliaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Capparidaceae. Plant specimens were collected and brought to the National Herbarium (ETH) of Addis Ababa University for identification. The specimens were properly identified using authenticated specimens and referring the published volumes of Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea.