Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Use Value of Bamboo in Southeastern Benin: Implications for sustainable management

Honfo, H.S.; Tovissodé, Frédéric; Gnanglè, Césaire Paul; Mensah, Sylvanus; Salako, Kolawolé Valère; Assogbadjo, Achille Ephrem; Agbangla, Clément; Kakaï, Romain Glèlè

doi:10.17348/era.14.0.139-153

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Male informants reported more uses than female ones. Although this finding does not confirm the general statement that women are reservoirs of traditional plant knowledge [ 59 ], similar findings have been reported in Benin [ 60 , 61 ] and Mexico [ 62 ]. As suggested by Voeks [ 59 ], this might be due to gender division of the space and labor.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 71%

Species richness, cultural importance, and prioritization of wild spices for conservation in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Benin (West Africa)

Kafoutchoni

Idohou

Egeru

et al. 2018

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundSpices have always been used for their flavor-enhancement characteristics and for their medicinal properties. In Benin, scientific research on spices is scarce, despite their importance in the local population’s daily needs. This study investigated the diversity of wild spices and documented the associated traditional knowledge that can be used for their valuation, domestication, and sustainable management in the Sudano-Guinean Zone of Benin.MethodsData were collected during field expeditions using semi-structured interviews in ten localities across the three phytodistricts of the zone. Species richness and Shannon’s diversity index were estimated using species accumulation curves. Use report (UR), cultural importance, use value (UV) index, and informant consensus factor (Fic) were used to assess traditional knowledge on wild species, their local importance, and informants’ agreement among sociolinguistic groups. Priority wild spices were finally identified using an approach combining eight criteria (native status, economic value, ethnobotanical value, global distribution, national distribution, in-situ and ex-situ conservation status, legislation, and threats assessment) in four prioritization methods (point scoring procedure, point scoring procedure with weighting, compound ranking system, and binomial ranking system).ResultsA total of 14 species, belonging to 12 genera and 9 families, were inventoried. The most prominent families were Zingiberaceae (21.43%), Annonaceae (21.43%), and Rutaceae (14.29%). More than 200 specific uses were reported, with the Tchabè people holding the greatest level of knowledge (70 uses; UR = 5.70 ± 0.33). The culturally most important spices differed among sociolinguistic groups. Most of the informants agree on the use of the species among (Fic = 0.72–0.98) and across the considered use categories (Fic = 0.88–0.99). The highest UV were registered for Aframomum alboviolaceum (UV = 0.93), Lippia multiflora (UV = 0.76), and Aframomum angustifolium (UV = 0.18). Overall, people perceived wild spices as declining due to agriculture, grazing, and drought. Five species, A. alboviolaceum, L. multiflora, Monodora tenuifolia, Xylopia aethiopica, and Z. zanthoxyloides, were the most prioritized for conservation.ConclusionsThis study provides information relevant for the implementation of conservation and domestication actions of wild spices in Benin. Priority species could be integrated into traditional agroforestry systems (e.g., home gardens). However, for this to be effective, further research should be undertaken on morphological and genetic diversity and propagation methods of priority wild spices.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 71%

Species richness, cultural importance, and prioritization of wild spices for conservation in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Benin (West Africa)

Kafoutchoni

Idohou

Egeru

et al. 2018

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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“…There are several evidences that patterns of plant selection and use by local people, as well as the importance of plants, are driven by complex interactions of biophysical, social, cultural, cultual, political, and economic contexts [ 14 , 18 ], including resource availability [ 19 ]; informant age, gender, and ethnic affiliation [ 20 ]; urbanization and informant education level [ 10 , 21 ]; market importance, nutritive value, and number of complementary uses of species [ 22 ]; informant social network [ 23 ]; and taboos [ 24 ]. As such, TK on use of plants and their importance cannot be simplified to only resource abundance and socio-demographic attributes such as age and gender.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional knowledge and cultural importance of Borassus aethiopum Mart. in Benin: interacting effects of socio-demographic attributes and multi-scale abundance

Salako

Moreira

Gbèdomon

et al. 2018

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundEliciting factors affecting distribution of traditional knowledge (TK) and cultural importance of plant resources is central in ethnobiology. Socio-demographic attributes and ecological apparency hypothesis (EAH) have been widely documented as drivers of TK distribution, but their synergistic effect is poorly documented. Here, we focused on Borassus aethiopum, a socio-economic important agroforestry palm in Africa, analyzing relationships between the number of use-reports and cultural importance on one hand, and informant socio-demographic attributes (age category and gender) on the other hand, considering the EAH at multi-scale contexts. Our hypothesis is that effects of socio-demographic attributes on use-reports and cultural importance are shaped by both local (village level) and regional (chorological region level) apparency of study species. We expected so because distribution of knowledge on a resource in a community correlates to the versatility in the resource utilization but also connections among communities within a region.MethodsNine hundred ninety-two face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in six villages of low versus high local abundance of B. aethiopum spanning three chorological regions (humid, sub-humid and semi-arid) also underlying a gradient of increasing distribution and abundance of B. aethiopum. Number of use-reports and score of importance of uses of B. aethiopum were recorded in six use-categories including medicine, food, handcraft, construction, firewood, and ceremonies and rituals. Data were analyzed using Poisson and ordered logistic models.ResultsInformants listed 121 uses for B. aethiopum: medicine (66 uses), handcraft (16 uses), food (16 uses), construction (12 uses), firewood (6 uses), and ceremonies and rituals (5 uses); but food use was the most culturally important use (2.45 ± 0.03), followed by construction (0.61 ± 0.03), medicinal (0.57 ± 0.03) and handcraft (0.56 ± 0.03), firewood (0.29 ± 0.02), and ceremonies and rituals (0.03 ± 0.01). Food use was the most important for women who were specialized in hypocotyls and fruits collection for commercialization. Men valued more the species for handcrafting, construction, and medicine. The number of use-reports was significantly dependent on age category and gender, and differences between age categories (young, adult, and old) in particular were dependent upon local and regional apparency. In particular, discrepancies among age categories were higher in areas of low abundance and distribution, which may be linked to different speed in the process of knowledge acquisition. In areas of low abundance, the species past abundance was also found instrumental in understanding current knowledge distribution.ConclusionFindings suggest that studies aiming at understanding relationship between current TK and cultural importance of a resource on one hand and socio-demographic attributes on the other hand should consider the resource current local and regional apparency but further its local past abundance...

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“…This put bamboo in the category of Multipurpose Free Species. Bamboo has been used widely for various purposes, from as building materials, home furnishings, handicrafts, foodstuffs, to medicines (Patel 2005;Tamang et al 2013;Honfo et al 2015). In addition, bamboo has ecological functions and the potential to be the solution of environmental problems such as global warming (Thokchom and Yadava 2015) as well as social economic values (Kelbessa et al 2000;Lobovikov et al 2007;Pande et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species diversity and utilization of bamboo to support lifeâ€™s the community of Karangwangi Village, Cidaun Sub-District of Cianjur, Indonesia

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Setiawati T, Mutaqin AZ, Irawan B, An'amillah A, Iskandar J. 2017. Species diversity and utilization of bamboo to support life's the community of Karangwangi Village,. Bamboo is closely related to the lives of Indonesian people, especially in the rural area. Indonesia has a high diversity of bamboo species with multiple social, economic, cultural and ecological functions. Village communities have taken advantage of bamboo as a building material, furniture, handicrafts, household items, food, and medicine. The objective of this research is to determine the diversity of bamboo species in the Karangwangi Village and their role in supporting the daily life of the local community. The method used in this research is qualitative descriptive analysis method using ethnobotanical approach. Data collection was conducted with a semi-structured interview with local informants, followed by field observation and specimen collection. Bamboo specimens are later morphologically observed and identified. Results of the study shows that there are 13 species of bamboo in Karangwangi Village, namely Haur Gereng These species are used by the community of Karangwangi Village for various purposes, ranging from building materials, handicrafts, furniture, food, medicine, to fish poison.

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Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Use Value of Bamboo in Southeastern Benin: Implications for sustainable management

Cited by 31 publications

References 29 publications

Species richness, cultural importance, and prioritization of wild spices for conservation in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Benin (West Africa)

Species richness, cultural importance, and prioritization of wild spices for conservation in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Benin (West Africa)

Traditional knowledge and cultural importance of Borassus aethiopum Mart. in Benin: interacting effects of socio-demographic attributes and multi-scale abundance

Species diversity and utilization of bamboo to support lifeâ€™s the community of Karangwangi Village, Cidaun Sub-District of Cianjur, Indonesia

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