Abstract
Kakamega forest is Kenya's only rainforest and is distinguishably rich in biodiversity but threatened by agricultural encroachment and other forms of human activity. It is also one of Kenya's Important Bird Areas and a significant source of natural products to neighboring rural communities, such as medicinal plants, food, wood and other fibers. By using structured questionnaires for direct interviews, local indigenous knowledge was tapped through involvement of a focal group of elderly key informants in three blocks of the forest. Forty key species of medicinal plants used by local people were identified and recorded. Fifty-five percent of these were shrubs, thirty-two percent trees, seven-and-a-half percent lower plants such as herbs or forbs while five percent were climbers. About seventy percent of the medicinal plants occurred inside the forest itself and thirty percent around the edge and the immediate surroundings outside the forest. Thirty-eight (95%) of the plants were indigenous to Kenya and two (5%) exotic. Such extensive indigenous knowledge of the medicinal uses of the plants, including their distribution trends in the forest, may be tapped for decision support in rural health service planning, policy formulation for conserving the forest, tracking and mitigation of climate change impacts.
Highlights
Community development goals are not always consistent with biodiversity conservation objectives[1] there are often many opportunities for mitigating negative effects by tapping into local indigenous knowledge with reference to certain aspects of environmental use and conservation[2]
A total of 40 key species of medicinal plants used by the people around Kakamega forest were identified and recorded
The majority of the medicinal plants identified (95%) were indigenous and only 5% exotic
Summary
Community development goals are not always consistent with biodiversity conservation objectives[1] there are often many opportunities for mitigating negative effects by tapping into local indigenous knowledge with reference to certain aspects of environmental use and conservation[2]. Application of knowledge and values of communities that are resident within or around key biodiversity areas has been gaining increasing global popularity as significant elements in enriching and improving strategies for conserving biodiversity[3] This is because integration of such indigenous knowledge into conservation programs facilitates cross-borrowing of ideas, promotes constructive engagement, and instills a sense of common ownership and responsibility towards achievement of a synergy of goals[2]. This echoes the concept of social capital[3] that, apart from amassing local support and goodwill, adoption of local indigenous knowledge in conservation may promote and provide sustainable insurance against conflicts of purposes. We have cited two references as suggested to support our assertion about other studies having been conducted on the subject
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