Medicinal plants and conservation in S�o Tom�

Abstract

The study reported in this paper examined the use of plants as medicines by people on the island of Sao Tome (Gulf of Guinea). A description of the uses and preparation of the 53 most commonly used plants was noted, the collected plant material was subsequently identified at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The source of the majority of plants was domestic gardens and to a lesser extent disturbed forest close to settlements. The low human use of natural resources within the primary and advanced secondary forest areas has positive implications for the proposed conservation policies, since the protection of these areas would create little conflict with human use of the natural resources within these vegetation types. Several recommendations are made on how the modern medical system in Sao Tome might be improved by integrating into it traditional medicine.