The Agroecology research group is also engaged in a variety of teaching and outreach activities. Dr Erle Ellis recently created an interactive web page to encourage collaboration (see Websites). In August 1999, for the first time, a short international course on agroecology was given with the help of Dr Miguel Altieri, a leading agroecologist from the University of California at Berkeley.

The following is a brief description of the current research project on sustainability indicators.

Indicators of sustainability in agroecosystems
A sustainable agroecosystem can be described as one that maintains the resource base upon which it depends, relies on a minimum of artificial inputs from outside the farm system, manages pests and diseases through internal regulating mechanisms, and is able to recover from the disturbances caused by cultivation and harvest. But the description is abstract. It is quite a different matter to point to an actual agroecosystem and identify it as sustainable or not, or to specify exactly how to build a sustainable system. Ultimately, sustainability is a test of time. An agroecosystem is sustainable if it has continued to be productive over a long period of time without degrading the resource base on which it depends, not all of which is local. But how long is ‘a long period of time’? How do you determine whether or not degradation of resources has occurred? How can you design a ‘sustainable’ system when the proof of sustainability always lies in the future? Can parameters of sustainability be identified, and then can the levels at which these must be maintained be defined?

The process of identifying indicators of sustainability begins with two kinds of existing systems: natural ecosystems and traditional agroecosytems. Both have stood the test of time in terms of maintaining productivity over long periods, and each offers a different kind of knowledge foundation. Natural ecosystems are an important reference point for understanding the ecological basis of sustainability. Traditional agroecosystems offer abundant examples of agricultural practices that are actually sustainable; they also offer insights into how social systems—cultural, political, and economic—fit into the sustainability equation. Sustainable food systems, for example, are based on a social system that has cultural, social, economic and political components. These shape the way human actors design and manage agroecosystems, and also place constraints on it. The natural ecosystem provides the raw materials and physical context for the agroecosystem. It has both local components and global components, such as solar radiation and climatic patterns. The table below presents important aspects of social and ecological systems that interact at each level in sustainable food systems. With the knowledge derived from analysis of these systems, researchers can devise principles, practices, and designs with which to convert conventional, unsustainable agroecosystems into sustainable ones.

Important aspects of social and ecological systems that interact at each level in sustainable food systems

The social system	The ecological system
Conditions of sustainability	Conditions of sustainability
equitability satisfaction efficiency cultural stability	stability resilience health permanence
Parameters of agroecosystem function	Parameters of agroecosystem function
dependence on external forces land tenure relationships role in food product economy share of return to workers	biotic diversity soil fertility and structure rates of erosion rates of nutrient recycling
Components of agroecosystem structure and function	Components of agroecosystem structure and function
farmers and farm workers landowners consumers of food products knowledge and know-how	crop plants and their genomes non-crop organisms soil quality nutrient cycling

Source: Gliessman, S.R. (1998) Agroecology: ecological processes in sustainable agriculture. Michigan: Ann Arbor Press.

For more information, please contact:
Agroecology Research Group, Environmental Studies
Dept., University of California,
Santa Cruz CA 95064 USA.
Tel.: +1-831-459 4051.
Fax: +1-831-459 2867
http://www.agroecology.org
Researchers and graduate students interested in perhaps visiting the group should contact Stephen R. Gliessman, e-mail: gliess@zzyx.ucsc.edu
For information about the group’s activities, please contact Erle C. Ellis, e-mail: erle@agroecology.org
Communications can be directed in Spanish to Ernesto Méndez, e-mail: vemendez@cats.ucsc.edu.

Medicinal plants and local communities, Africa
The Medicinal Plants and Local Communities-AFRICA (MPLC-A) project started in January 1997. Its first phase is being implemented in South Africa, Central African Republic, Republic of Guinea, Malawi, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire. The MPLC-A is the outcome of preparation that began in April 1995 at the initiative of the Environmental Liaison Centre International (ELCI) in Kenya, in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada, and the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark. NGOs, community-based organizations and traditional practitioners are also involved in the project. It will end in December 2002, at which time an independent regional network will be established to carry on with a number of the activities. The purpose of the MPLC-A project is to promote the conservation of biodiversity by helping local communities to make the best possible use of their own knowledge of plants. The project fosters the protection, cultivation and sustainable use of medicinal plants by encouraging communities to act on the basis of their own knowledge and for their own benefit. The project seeks over the long term to help local communities appreciate the need for using biological resources in a sustainable way, to reinforce indigenous know-how, and to develop tools and methodologies which enable them to benefit from their own knowledge and practice. Research teams and traditional healers are using a participatory approach to gather information, and are concentrating on the following activities:

• studying the trade in medicinal plants in order to identify medicinal plants that are threatened by over-exploitation;
  
• documenting and analyzing conservation and harvesting techniques and their impact in different African regions;
  
• preparing case studies on the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants;
  
• determining the constraints faced by local communities as they attempt to benefit from their own knowledge and practices;
  
• eliciting local communities’ own recommendations for alleviating these constraints.
  

The project is expected to produce three main results:
1. In each country involved in the project, ten priority medicinal plants will be identified and targeted for research and development that reflect both community priorities and a scientific assessment.

2. In each country involved in the project, a national centre will be established for demonstrating the issues and providing training related to biodiversity, medicinal plants and traditional medicine.

3. An African regional network of some 200 scientists, researchers and traditional healers will be exchanging information pertaining to medicinal plants, traditional medicine and indigenous knowledge.

In connection with the project, two international regional workshops have been held, one for the English-speaking and one for the French-speaking part of Africa. (See IK&DM 6(1) for information about these workshops.) Reports of the workshops have been published in English and French. The reports contain recommendations and clear action plans on four key issues:
1. protection and conservation of medicinal plants and traditional knowledge and implementation of article 8(j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity;

2. participatory research and involvement of local communities and traditional healers;

3. standardization processes and protocols for research on new drugs and for development of a traditional-medicine industry;

4. integration of traditional medicine in the public health system.

Copies of the reports can be obtained from the MPLC-A project coordinator, Dr Ernest Rukangira (for the address, see below). A description of the project as a ‘best practice’ can be found online at http://www.unesco.org/most/bpikreg.htm). The project has also been selected for the World Exposition EXPO 2000, which will take place in Hanover, Germany, in October 2000. The survey results are of course also being shared with the local communities in question.
For more information, please contact:
Dr Ernest Rukangira,
ELCI,
P.O. Box 73461,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel.: +254-2-576 114.
Fax: +254-2-562 175.
E-mail: erukangira@iconnect.co.ke

The LinKS project:
local knowledge to conserve biodiversity and achieve food security

The LinKS project entitled ‘Gender, biodiversity and local knowledge systems to strengthen agricultural and rural development’ is a regional effort in Southeast Africa aimed at raising awareness of the value of rural men’s and women’s knowledge related to the use and management of the agricultural biological systems they depend on for food security. The project seeks to strengthen the ability of local institutions to adopt approaches that recognize and apply farmers’ own knowledge and experience. It is conducted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and funded by the government of Norway. The project was launched in 1998 and is currently operating in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Activities in Swaziland are planned to start in the year 2000. Phase 1 of the project is scheduled for completion in December 2000. The name ‘LinKS’ was chosen for the project because it reflects the importance of local knowledge systems and also draws attention to the emphasis placed on establishing links. Food security serves as the subject around which two types of links revolve:

• links between the crucial issues of local knowledge systems, gender roles and relationships, food provision, and the conservation and management of agro-biodiversity;
  

• links between the knowledge of how to preserve agro-biodiversity and put it to use, and the people and forces that have an impact on men and women’s ability to manage and apply that knowledge.
  

For more information, please contact one or more of the following:
FAO Rome: Ms Sally Sontheimer (Sally.Sontheimer@fao.org) or Ms Anne Nicolaysen (Anne.Nicolaysen@fao.org), Women in Development Service, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy.

Zimbabwe:
Dr Joseph Matowanyika, Regional Coordinator, LinKS Project,
c/o SADC Centre of Communications for Development,
P.O. Box 3730,
Harare, Zimbabwe.
Tel.: +263-04-722 723.
Fax: +263-04-722 713.
E-mail: jmatowanyika@fanr-sadc.co.zw

Tanzania:
Mrs Hilda Hidaya M. Missano, National Coordinator, LinKS Project,
c/o Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre,
P.O. Box 977, Ocean Road,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Tel.: +255-51-11 8137.
Fax: +255-51-11 6713.
E-mail: hhmissano@hotmail.com

Mr Lars Otto Naess, Associate Professional Officer, LinKS Project,
UN Food and Agriculture Organization,
P.O. Box 2, Pamba Road,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Tel.: +255-51-11 3070.
Fax: +255-51-11 2501.
E-mail: LarsOtto.Naess@field.fao.org

Soil and water conservation 2:
innovations of a woman farmer
In the July 1999 issue of the Monitor, ‘Focus on’ featured the innovation of a farmer in Ethiopia, which came to light through the Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation Programme (see IK&DM 7(2)). It was promised that the next issue would feature a second example of an innovative farmer.

The case study, presented here, was recorded by Million Alemayehu, of Debre Berhan, in June 1999. Mr Alemayehu is not directly connected to the ISCW programme. Ms Ann Waters-Bayer of ISCW informs us that he works for the Bureau of Agriculture in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, and over the years has shown tremendous interest in indigenous practices and innovation. Mr Alemayehu’s postal address is P.O. Box 34036, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Mrs Ayelech Fikre is a 61-year-old woman living in Ankober Wereda (District) in the North Shewa Administrative Zone of Amhara National Regional State. She is a widow with one adopted son, who is now married and has two children. Mrs Ayelech is head of this family, which farms approximately one hectare of land inherited from her father. It is situated in a weyna dega (medium highland) agro-climatic zone, on a hillside with an elevation of 2150 metres. Annual rainfall is approximately 870 mm, and there are two rainy seasons. The short one (belg) is from January to April, and the long one (meher) is from July to September. The main crops grown by Mrs Ayelech are sorghum, teff, maize, wheat, horsebean and barley.

After the death of her father some 35 years ago, Mrs Ayelech started to apply various indigenous agricultural practices—at her own initiative and using her own knowledge. The practices have included stone-bund construction, soil-fertility management, and rainwater harvesting. This article will focus on soil-fertility management: that is, what Mrs Ayelech does to reverse erosion caused by rain.

After constructing the stone bunds, Mrs Ayelech noticed that the soil immediately below the bunds was less fertile than the soil above them. She thought about how to improve the fertility of the soil below the bunds and systematically began to try different methods: applying composted manure, intercropping, rotating crops, and planting a row of croton (Croton macrostachyus) below each stone bund. The compost is prepared every year. Animal manure, vegetation (mainly croton leaves), and waste from the household and from animal feed are put into a pit in Mrs Ayelech’s backyard.

The croton plants growing below the stone bunds stabilize the bunds besides improving the soil’s fertility. The leaves are chopped up and spread over the less fertile parts of the farm. After the leaves have dried, they are ploughed into the soil as part of the process of land preparation.

Mrs Ayelech has been practising intercropping and crop rotation since she started farming. She intercrops sorghum with soybean, and maize with horsebean. She says that her main objective in intercropping is to maximize production on her single hectare of land.

Mrs Ayelech trained her adopted son very well in all her farming practices, and he now assists her. She is also very keen to share her experiences with other farmers, as well as with government experts, and is ready to accept any new ideas which can help her obtain better yields.

Ethnomedical phytotherapy among the Gaddi tribe of Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
The Kangra valley in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is situated in the Himalayan belt, which includes heights of 400 metres in the Shivalik range to 8,000 metres in the snow-clad Dhauladhar ranges. This rugged area lies between latitude 310 27' – 320 28' 54" N and longitude 760 3' – 770 6' 45" E. Due to its varied topography, the valley is endowed with a rich and diverse plant life, including different kinds of medicinal and commercial plants. The diverse forest ecosystems play a vital role in the life, economy and health care of the tribals who inhabit the region. The valley is home to Gujjars, Gaddi and other hill communities. They gather many medicinal herbs from the ambient vegetation and use herbal therapy to treat diseases and disorders. Much of this knowledge is in danger of being lost.

With a view to collecting information on the traditional uses of plants, wild as well as cultivated, and discovering new or little-known uses of potential plants of economic and medicinal value, a study was conducted which focused on the tribal tracts of Kangra Valley, inhabited by the Gaddi tribe. Fieldwork was carried out in September-October 1997 and March 1998. The area, consisting of the tribal tracts of Palampur, Dharamshala and the Kangra forest division, was surveyed. Ethnomedicinal information on the plants and plant products used by the tribe to meet their primary health care needs was obtained from the Gaddi medicine men and other knowledgeable informants. That information was analyzed and compared with data previously collected and stored at the National Botanical Institute in Lucknow. The research resulted in a longlist of 69 plants, ranging from Achyranthes aspera L. (Amaranthaceae), prickly chaff flower, to Zanthoxylum armatum DC. (Rutaceae) Syn. Z. alatum Roxb. The list provides the Latin name, followed by the local name, and the English name, if available. Information about locality and details of its use or uses is recorded.

The vast majority of plants listed (47 out of 69) are generally used for only one purpose. Of the ‘multi-purpose plants’, rambel, or chitroli (Marsdenia roylei Wight) is used for the greatest number of ailments. An aqueous extract of its root is mixed with buttermilk and black pepper, forming an antidote for snakebites. An aqueous extract of the plant is used to treat spermathorrhoea (10 ml twice a day for 15 days). A paste made from the root, combined with black pepper and cow’s milk, is applied to boils and blisters, and an aqueous extract made from the leaves is used as an antidote for rabies (100 ml twice a day). Most of the uses recorded here are known to specialists. However, they include seven treatments not previously recorded in the literature. These are No. 33 lal jahri (Geranium wallichianum D. Don), a decoction of which is prepared from the whole plant and used to treat toothache; No. 41 pudina, horsemint (Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds), applied as a paste to treat rheumatism; No. 46 alomori, gurbin, wood sorrel (

Oxalis corniculata L.), which is made into a paste and used in the treatment of dysentery (one teaspoonful twice a day for three days); No. 56 bekhala (Prinsepia utilis Royle), the seed oil of which is applied externally for extended periods to treat the symptoms of rheumatism; No. 64 phul, pustajari; stinking-roger (Tagetes minuta L. Syn. T. glandulifera Schrank.), the leaves of which are made into a paste for treating burns; No. 67 Banafsa (Viola pilosa Blume. Syn. V. serpens Wall. ex Ging., non Ridley), a decoction of which the Gaddi use together with black pepper to treat coughs and colds (5-10 ml twice a day for three days); and No. 69 tirmira (Zanthoxylum armatum DC. Syn. Z. Alatum Roxb.), the leaves and seeds of which are used for treating toothache.

After clinical trials, phytochemists and pharmacologists will be able to determine the active therapeutic ingredients of the plants. The valley offers an enormous potential source of medicinal plants which could form the basis of a herbal drug farm for the processing and production of herbal medicines, thus generating employment avenues for the tribals and the local rural populations.

The list of medicinal plants is available online.

A hard copy is available upon request from the editor. Readers can obtain the list by contacting her at:
Nuffic-CIRAN,
P.O. Box 29777,
2502 LT The Hague,
the Netherlands, fax:
+31-70-4260 329;
e-mail: ikdm@nuffic.nl

For more information, please contact:
Dr K.K. Singh or Kaushal Kumar,
Taxonomy and Ethnobotany Division,
National Botanical Research Institute
(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research),
Rana Pratap Marg,
PB No. 436
Lucknow-226 001, India.
Fax: +91-522-282 849.

The editor would like to thank Dr Ardeshir B. Damania and Dr Y.L. Nene for their help. Special thanks are owed to Ms Sheila Vijayakumar of the Asian Agri-History Association in Secundarabad (India), who kindly verified the uses and indicated which treatments had never before been recorded in the literature, and who provided additional plant names in English.

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