The wealth of nature is explored in the three articles of this issue of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor.

Detailed information on that wealth is often difficult to come by. Researchers have to delve deep into the collective experience of a community to obtain these valuable bits of information. That was certainly the case for the opening article, 'Maintaining seed diversity during the Green Revolution', by Dr Yunita Winarto. The article presents the results of patient and painstaking interviews with rice farmers in an Indonesian hamlet, in an effort to arrive at an historical overview of the existing varieties of rice and those that are actually planted. By gathering and interpreting this information, Ms Winarto made a significant contribution to our understanding of the wealth of nature and the ways in which this wealth can be made productive.

The botanical wealth of South India has been documented by field botanist Dr S. Rajan, who listed sixteen plants and, together with medical anthropologist Dr M. Sethuraman, recorded eighteen specific ethnoveterinary uses of these plants. Although the authors do not discuss this point, the treatments and practices described have an economical value, since the predominantly pastoral population of the research area—Dindigul district in Tamilnadu—are dependent for their well-being of the well-being of their cattle.

Health and wealth often go hand in hand. The third article we feature in this issue presents a fascinating analysis of the health care system of the Guarani Indians in Bolivia. Dr Laurent Umans demonstrates the strenght of the indigenous health care system of the Guaranis, into which the Western health care is only loosely integrated. The author concludes that the community might well benefit from a better coordination of the best features of the two systems.