Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Men, Women and Children in Rural Niger: A mixed-methods approach

Abstract

Comparé aux hommes, les femmes connaissent mieux les plantes comestibles et celles utilisées dans la pharmacopée et ont moins de connaissance sur les plantes utilisées dans la construction. Les données d'interview ont montré Research AbstractEthnobotanical studies often underestimate or misrepresent impacts of age and gender on individual ethnobotanical knowledge. This paper compares two common methodologies, participant observation and key-informant interviews, to examine the variation of ethnobotanical knowledge across age and gender in three communities in rural southwest Niger. We compared lists of plants mentioned in interviews as food, fodder, construction and medicine, to lists compiled from observations of daily activities. Compared to men, women reported more edible plants, different medicinal plants, and less detailed information on construction plants. Interview data indicated ethnobotanical knowledge increased with age. However, in observations youth ate a greater diversity of food plants and identified and ranked fodder species more quickly than adults. This paper supports previous research on age and gender effects on ethnobotanical knowledge and critiques common research methods and assumptions. We advocate for mixed-method approaches to gather more nuanced understandings of ethnobotanical knowledge. RésuméLes études, souvent sous-estiment ou présentent mal les impacts de l'âge et du genre sur la connaissance ethnobotanique individuelle. Cet article compare deux méthodes: l'observation et l'interview afin d'examiner la variation de la connaissance ethnobotanique en fonction de l'âge et du genre dans trois communautés rurales du sud-ouest du Niger. Nous avons comparé les listes des plantes utilisées dans l'alimentation, le fourrage, la construction et la pharmacopée, à l'issue de l'interview aux listes établies sur la base des observations d'activités quotidiennes.

Traditional medicinal uses of plants in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

“…The remaining knowledge is confined to the older folks of the area as compared to the youngsters with a percentage ratio of 80:20 and males were more knowledgeable as compared to the females with a percentage ratio of 60:40 ( Figure 3A and B). The results are much similar to those of the previous studies of Qureshi et al (2006), Khan et al (2011), Guimbo et al (2011 and Shedayi and Gulshan (2012). It is because of the reason that the males spend most of their time in outdoor activities and field work such as visitors, shepherds, farmers etc and are more in touch with the nature/plants as compared to the females as they are mostly confined to the household activities.…”

Specialization in ethnomedicinal plant knowledge among herbalists in the forest region of Rivercess County, Liberia

“…For male herbalists in Nasarawa State of Nigeria, it was reported that they held more knowledge of medicinal plants than female herbalists (Ibrahim et al, 2016), although another study from Nigeria found men and women holding similar knowledge (Ayantunde et al, 2008). In three rural communities in Niger, Guimbo et al (2011) utilizing participant observation and key-informant interviews found ethnobotanical knowledge to increase with age, but noted differences in ethnobotanical knowledge for both men and women as it related to medicinal plants. However, our study found female herbalists to know more medicinal plants than their counterpart male herbalists.…”

Inventory and conservation plant of oke sou traditional ceremony; a welcoming tradition of maturity girl on the community of Lako Akediri Village, West Halmahera, Indonesia

“…It can happen because of the plant's habitat or place to grow is far from settlement areas. As revealed by Guimbo et al (2011), the distance of place to grow from settlement is one of reasons the community not knowing and not using a plant.…”