The use of traditional ecological knowledge in sustainable use and management of plant resource through a community-based and participatory assessment

Abstract

This study was carried out on a community-based and participatory field-based experiment, combining traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientific knowledge, with the aim of defining criteria for sustainable harvest prescriptions for Garcinia lucida bark, focusing on its profitability, acceptability and ecological sustainability. Bark harvesting process was documented by monitoring 35 bark gatherers, who have provided accurate information on habitat, density, recruitment, seed predator of G. lucida species that matched well information found with ecological studies. TEK have provided useful information on the species geographical distribution that could serve as important tools in resource mapping and management. Based on the harvest practices experimental records and using TEK, bark gatherers have recommended a strip of 1/3 or 2/3 of tree circumference, by peeling off bark using machete, for household consumption; or ring-barked or felling trees for commercial proposes; a selection of larger trees and a repeat harvest on the same tree after complete bark recovery. Few gatherers, who started planting G. lucida in their coco-farm, showed real interest in applying these harvest prescriptions. However, the open-access status of wild stands constituted the most vulnerable point in applying these prescriptions. This study results have direct bearing on attempts towards sustainable resource use and adaptive management incorporating current ecological knowledge into participatory forest and resource management planning and regulations.

Vulnerability assessment of Gnidia glauca (Thymelaeaceae) exploitation, traditional uses and domestication potential in the community forest of Kilum-Ijim, North Western Cameroon

“…The selection criteria for exploitable trees mainly depend on the bark thickness and size of the tree. This result is consistent with those obtained for many bark producing species such as Garcinia lucida (Guedje et al, 2016;Guedje et al, 2017), P. africana (Nkeng et al, 2009) and Rytigynia spp. (Kamatenesi et al, 2014).…”

“…The multiplicity of exploitation techniques always reflects the diversity of uses as well as the level of pressure on the species (Cunningham, 2001). It is well known that exploitation for traditional and household uses are always restricted to collection of bark patches, while the huge quantity of barks needed to meet commercial demand implies strip and ring debarking and tree felling to maximize yield (Delvaux et al, 2010;Guedje et al, 2017;Ramana and Raju, 2017). Therefore, the high proportion of trees exploited using small bark patches technique indicate that the exploitation of G. glauca bark in the study zone is still restricted to local use with little pressure on the species resources at the ecosystem level.…”

“…Open and easy accessibility of resources are known to favor overexploitation; therefore increasing vulnerability if strong regulations are not put in place (Cunningham et al, 2016;Guedje et al, 2016). Recent studies also indicated that open access resources were more prone to overexploitation than individually-owned plants preserved in farming systems (Cunningham et al, 2016;Guedje et al, 2017).…”

“…Therefore, the present work was designed to determine optimal practices for the exploitation of the bark of the plant. The participation of the local populations in the various processes of evaluation and follow-up in order to define a viable operating system which is socially suitable, economically viable and ecologically durable was taken into account (Guedje et al, 2017). The aim of the study is to characterize the sustainability of exploited populations of G. glauca, in relation to local uses in the Oku area within the Kilum Ijim Mountain Forest of Cameroon.…”

Exploitation et importance socio-économique du bambou de chine, <i>Bambusa vulgaris</i> Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl. (Poaceae) dans la région de l’Agnéby-Tiassa: cas de la Sous-Préfecture d’Azaguié (Sud-Est de la Côte d’Ivoire)

“…La méthode d'analyse utilisée pour cette étude est basée sur l'approche du système Production-Consommation (SPC). Cette approche permet de décrire et d'analyser la chaîne entière d'activités qui part de la production de la matière première jusqu'à la consommation du produit final (Darko Obiri et Oteng-Amoako, 2007;Guedje et al, 2017). La méthode consiste à créer les différents groupes actifs dans l'exploitation d'une ressource.…”