UgandaHealth and environment community platform

Preserving medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in Uganda

 

The preservation of medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in Uganda is both a critical environmental and cultural issue. Deforestation, driven by the pressures of subsistence farming, threatens the rich biodiversity of the country, which includes valuable medicinal plants. Despite this, Uganda’s climatic conditions, with rainfall averaging 1,700 mm annually, offer potential for more sustainable, diversified farming practices that could help mitigate deforestation while also safeguarding medicinal plants.

The Earth Focus Foundation, in partnership with Friends for the Environment in Development, is working on a community-driven project aimed at both raising awareness and implementing action to protect medicinal plants and the environment in Uganda. The project targets a region between 1300 and 1600 meters above sea level, where small-scale farmers live in harmony with nature, a tradition that traces back to the Tooro Kingdom.

This region is a vivid example of Uganda’s environmental challenges, as local communities are facing pressures to exploit the land for subsistence agriculture while also dealing with the effects of climate change. Despite these challenges, there remains a strong cultural connection to the land, particularly through the practice of using medicinal plants for health care- a tradition passed down through generations, especially by grandmothers who serve as custodians of this valuable knowledge.

The project’s aim is twofold: preserving both the plants that are vital to local health practices and the traditional knowledge surrounding their use. Through education, sustainable farming methods, and environmental conservation efforts, it seeks to balance the needs of the environment with the well-being of the communities that depend on it.

Community leaders and experts will collaborate to promote public health and environmentally sustainable practices, supporting the transmission of indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants to younger generations. The publication in both the local Batooro language and English will serve as a key tool in ensuring that the knowledge is accessible and preserved for future generations. By documenting known plants and their uses, the project not only safeguards cultural heritage but also contributes to the broader understanding of local biodiversity and its potential applications.

Préserver les plantes médicinales et les savoirs traditionnels en Ouganda

 

L’Ouganda fait face à un défi environnemental majeur dû à une déforestation causée par une surexploitation agricole largement vivrière, et ce, malgré des conditions climatiques propices à une agriculture diversifiée plus pérenne.

La Earth Focus Foundation soutient un ambitieux projet d’action et de sensibilisation communautaire consacré aux plantes médicinales, à la santé et à l’environnement, en partenariat avec la coalition ougandaise Friends for the Environment in Development.

La région identifiée pour le projet se situe entre 1300 et 1600m d’altitude. Avec 1700 mm de précipitations annuelles, cette région peuplée de multiples petits agriculteurs illustre bien la problématique environnementale nationale. Ces populations, descendantes du Royaume Tooro dont l’économie mixte de subsistance reposait sur une étroite relation avec le monde forestier, se souviennent encore de leur profond attachement à la nature, notamment au travers de traditions des soins avec des plantes médicinales encore utilisées par les grands-mères.

Le projet a pour objectif premier la préservation des espèces végétales et des savoirs traditionnels liés aux vertus de ces plantes locales, un savoir ancestral qui risque de se perdre dans un pays où l’accès aux médecins est très limité. Pour ce faire, le projet développera un lieu d’échange intergénérationnel ainsi qu’une pépinière et des plantations. Des experts, appuyés par les leaders·euses communautaires, feront en parallèle la promotion de la santé publique et de techniques écologiques innovantes. Ils appuieront la transmission des savoirs traditionnels aux nouvelles générations, encore aujourd’hui très respectueuses de leurs aînés. Les plantes connues et leurs usages feront l’objet d’une publication en langue locale Batooro et en anglais.

Strengtheningthe ecosystem

The establishment of the Kibale National Park in 1993 has been a critical step in preserving the region’s rich flora and fauna, but local populations, who were displaced by the park’s creation, now face the challenge of balancing their subsistence needs with the preservation of an increasingly fragile ecosystem. In the last 40 years, the region’s ecosystem has undergone significant changes, with certain areas seeing a threefold increase in density, making the environment more vulnerable to overuse.

The project will raise young people’s awareness of nature’s value and vulnerability, while creating new professional opportunities in scientific, technical, and tourism sectors, including disease prevention, medicinal plant cultivation, and agro-ecology and agro-forestry practices. Preserving this knowledge will also empower women, who care for both their own children and many orphans in their communities. By maintaining their role as custodians of natural medicine, these women will be further strengthened as key agents in preserving the environment they already manage and depend on daily.