At the opening of a Tibetan medical clinic, Dolpa, Nepal (photo: Susanne Schmitt)

People and Plants was started by WWF in 1992 as a partnership between WWF, UNESCO and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The programme will have 3 phases. People and Plants phase 1 (1992-1996) The work included various types of activity:

Production and distribution of publications. The reasoning behind producing and distributing publications was recognition of the shortage of practical guidance for ethnobotanists interested in conservation and sustainable development, as well as the desperate shortage of books and other materials in some developing countries. Two series of publications were started – manuals and working papers. The manual series was conceived as a commercial production, to ensure wide distribution in certain markets. However, the agreement with the publisher also allowed purchase of copies of the manuals on favourable terms by People and Plants to allow their distribution widely in developing countries. Two manuals were produced (Ethnobotany, Plant invaders). Three working papers were published, internally by UNESCO and widely distributed.

Four international training workshops were held, on Ethnobiological methods (Mexico 1992), Conservation of Caribbean medicinal plants (Dominican Republic 1993), Joint forest management (India 1994) and the Cultural context of plant resource management (Thailand and China 1994).

Site-based work by inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural teams was undertaken at a number of sites, generally combined with training of students. The sites selected were Kinabalu National Park (Malaysia), Bwindi Impenetrable and Rwenzori Mountains National Parks (Uganda), the coastal forests of Kenya (related to the hardwood carving trade), Sierra Norte (Oaxaca, Mexico) and Beni Biosphere Reserve (Bolivia).

Work was started on preparation of the People and Plants Handbook, intended as a compendium of information organised by theme in a series of issues.

A project was carried out in six countries in Central America to provide advice on curriculum development in applied ethnobotany for universities and forestry colleges.

People and Plants phase 2 (1996-2000)

The second phase of the programme was conceived as consisting of 3 regional projects, in Africa, the Himalayas and South-east Asia, and an additional Global Project for the promotion of applied ethnobotany internationally. Additionally, a component of the People and Plants programme was implemented independently by the WWF South Pacific Programme Office. Most activities, including all at field level, was carried out by WWF and UNESCO, with Kew mainly responsible for providing information for the field projects on request, and hosting the People and Plants website.

Integrated packages of activities were designed for each region of operation according to perceived needs. Activities included various combinations of courses, workshops, grants for applied research and training, and production and distribution of materials. Technical support was provided by international co-ordinators, working closely with regional and national co-ordinators, many based at WWF National and Programme offices.

The African project was carried out principally in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Both WWF and UNESCO have been heavily involved. The main thematic issues addressed have been the interface between people and protected areas (especially at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, and Udzungwa National Park, Tanzania), and unsustainable harvesting of wild plants resources (especially trees used for wood-carving in Kenya and Uganda, and bark used for various purposes in Zimbabwe).

Both UNESCO and WWF have mounted major projects in the Himalayas, the former in conjunction with ICIMOD in Kathmandu. The UNESCO element consisted of 6 national training courses in applied ethnobotany, and a series of small grants essentially for training. The WWF element has been active in only two countries - Nepal and Pakistan, and at only one field site in each. Training and research programmes have been mounted, focusing on pressing conservation and development issues. The Nepalese site is Dolpa, the site of the largest national park (Shey Phoksundo) in Nepal. The site in Pakistan is Ayubia National Park, home to an important remaining example of temperate forest, marked by many conflicts over resource-use between agencies and communities.

WWF alone has been active in Southeast Asia. The first two years were devoted mainly to mounting a major 3-part course in ethnobotany for participants from various countries in the region. This was followed by a number of practical village-based projects, designed for training and to assist in building grass-roots involvement in conservation. Some of this work has been undertaken with a local community development NGO, PACOS. There have been several other components, including a policy project on access and benefit sharing, a study of ethnobotanical literature and training in Malaysia, and small projects in Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Global project included some international training courses (especially to support the WWF South Pacific People and Plants project) and production of various materials to stimulate applied ethnobotany internationally. Two new manuals were produced Plants and protected areas and Botanical databases for conservation and development, and the writing of several others initiated. Ethnobotany, already existing, was produced in Bahasa and Chinese versions. Also produced were 4 new working papers (some in more than one language) and 5 issues of the Handbook. This People and Plants website was started and placed on the server at Kew.

Achievements of People and Plants (1992-2000) have included:

• Assistance with development of ethnobotanical curricula at 9 universities and colleges.

• Assistance with the formation of 5 new ethnobotanical networks, mainly nationally based, but one regional (the Africa Ethnobotany Network).

• Training of 35 professionals in applied ethnobotany and related disciplines, typically to MSc level.

• Contributions to policy, including:

• The listing of Prunus africana, an African montane forest tree over-harvested for medicinal purposes, on CITES and stimulus to several related programmes, e.g. promotion of a cultivation programme by ICRAF

• The adoption of the principle of multiple-use management in national parks in Uganda, based an initial involvement of the development NGO CARE and People and Plants at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

• A campaign to help place the wood-carving industry in Kenya (with 60,000 carvers and 350,000 dependants) on a more sustainable basis.

• Increased awareness of plant resource issues in Zimbabwe (where there has been a strong policy emphasis on wildlife).

• Contributions towards the development of management systems for protected areas in Nepal, notably through searching for ways in which communities can be involved in management, and especially in relation to the sustainable use of medicinal plants and the development of traditional health-care facilities.

• Creating awareness of the need for greater involvement of communities in forest management in Pakistan.

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