The use of this information has been granted to The African Garden because The African Garden supports both ex-situ and in-situ conservation, and the horticultural culture of many medicinal bulbous species. Genera such as Eucomis and Tulbaghia, both of which are
currently under threat in their native habitats. Large collections of both of these genera are cultivated on The African Garden.

Here I wish to inform users of The African Garden of what is happening across Southern and South Africa by way of promoting EZEMVELO KZN WILDLIFE .

The Medicinal Plant Trade in KwaZulu-Natal Conservation Concerns and Actions

There is a widely held belief in Zulu culture that health, disease, success or misfortune are not chance events but the result of the active influence of individuals or ancestral spirits. For this reason, traditional healers are held in high esteem in Zulu culture and are regularly
consulted by a large proportion of the population. Diviners (iSangoma) are consulted to find out what a problem might be. A herbalist (iNyanga) is then recommended by the iSangoma to treat the ailment. Indigenous plants are used by the traditional healers to divine and to treat.

Conservation of medicinal (or muthi) plants used to be achieved by various customary
conservation practices such as taboos, religious controls and seasonal and social
restrictions. For example, menstruating women were not permitted to collect certain species as this would remove the "power" of the plant. Inadvertent restrictions such as the use of
inefficient digging sticks to remove bulbs and roots also prevented overexploitation.
Traditional healers and their plant gatherers collected enough for their needs and no more. Many traditional healers, unlike most commercial gatherers, still adhere to traditional
conservation practices in modern times. Among plant gatherers, however, the situation is very different and the collecting and selling of medicinal plants has become highly
commercial.

When entering a muthi market, one is faced with a bewildering array of bulbs, bark, roots and mixtures of chopped plant material, not to mention various animal parts. According to recent research done by the Institute of Natural Resources, the value of the medicinal plant trade in KwaZulu-Natal alone is conservatively estimated at R62 million per annum (approximately equal to one third of the value of the annual maize harvest) and is rising as demand increases. This figure is inflated to approximately R500 million when Traditional Healers' consulting and dispensing fees are included.

Conservation Concerns

More than 1020 plant and 150 animal species are used for traditional medicine in KwaZulu-Natal, of which approximately 450 plant species are sold in large volumes in the markets. Nine plant species make up approximately one fifth of the market. The amount of plant
material traded in KwaZulu-Natal is estimated at 4 500 tonnes per year. Most of this
material is traded in the informal street markets, Durban and Umlazi being the largest of these. Two thirds of the population in this province rely on traditional medicine for their
primary health care needs. Were traditional medicine to disappear, and assuming that a
primary health care substitute would be provided free of charge, it would cost the taxpayer this amount to provide the service which traditional medicine currently provides. These
figures give an indication of the value of this portion of biodiversity to the people of this
province. Traditional medicine is deeply rooted in Zulu culture and is unlikely to be replaced by western medicine.

The table below gives estimates from recent research of the amounts of the priority species traded annually in KwaZulu-Natal. Scientific name, Tonnes traded per year and value per kg, Plant numbers used per year and part used.

Scientific name Tonnes traded per year and value per kg  Plant numbers used per year and part used
   Tonnes  RG  Street  S,H     
Scilla natalensis  95.5  R1.89  R6.50  R6.80  432 000 (bulbs) 
Eucomis autumnalis  73.17  ?  R6.20  10.6  428 000 (bulbs) 
Boweia volubilis  43.0  R11.7  R14.0  R27.8  386 000 (bulbs) 
Alepidea amatymbica  31.23  R11.7  R16.0  R17.8  1 820 000 (roots) 
Ocotea bullat  25.25  ?  R6.67  27.7  2104 (bark) 
Curtisia dentata  23.9  R3.28  7.61  23.8  1993 (bark) 
Haworthia limifolia  22.5  ?  R30.7  69.2  479 000 (whole plant) 
Warburgia salutaris  17.2  R8.52  R16.9  R31.0  1 432 (bark) 
Siphonochilus aethiopicus  1.9  ?  R140  450  52 800 (roots) 

RG = price obtained by rural gatherer, street = price obtained by street traders, S, H = price obtained by shops, healers). (Mander 1998).

The informal trade in indigenous plants and animals for muthi is growing constantly. There are a number of reasons for this. Population growth coupled with rapid urbanisation is
creating an ever increasing demand for traditional medicine. This, together with the high rate of unemployment being experienced, is forcing many people to turn to gathering and selling medicinal plants to eke out a meagre living. This is resulting in the overexploitation of many species, some being driven to the brink of extinction. IsiPhephetho (Siphonochilus aethiopicus) is one species which has been overexploited to the brink of extinction in the wild in KwaZulu-Natal.

Trees are being totally stripped of their bark and entire plant populations, sought after for their roots or bulbs, are being removed from some areas by unscrupulous gatherers. In many situations, a classic "tragedy of the commons" (Hardin, 1968) scenario exists where every available muthi plant or plant part is removed before someone else takes them. More plants to sell means more money today; very little, if any, thought appears to be given to what will happen when these resources run out. The demise of medicinal plant species holds dire consequences both socially and ecologically. People stand to lose their medicine, and in the case of traditional healers and plant gatherers, their livelihoods. Plants are the "green glue" that bind the soil and that keep spectacular mammals like rhinos and elephants as well as the less spectacular, but essential ones like livestock, alive.

Most medicinal plants are presently harvested from wild stocks. Species are harvested mainly from grassland, savanna and forest (sand, coastal and afro-montane). What remains of these biomes in this province are unable to meet the demand and face
increasing and non-sustainable harvest pressure. Much of the medicinal plant material sold is now being sourced from outside the province (Mozambique, Eastern Cape). The
following data (Mander 1998) show the limited capacity of these biomes, particularly
forests, to meet the current demand for medicinal plants.