Contribution of indigenous knowledge to the conservation of wild medicinal plants in Mvomero district, Tanzania

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of master of science in forestry

Wild medicinal plants are used and conserved based on indigenous knowledge. The objective of this study was to assess the contribution of indigenous knowledge to conservation of wild medicinal plants. Four villages were selected based on their proximity to the forest reserves. Data were collected through household questionnaires with 133 respondents, focus group discussions (FGDs), and transect walk. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and MS Excel computer software tools were used to analyse qualitative and quantitative data respectively. One hundred twenty-seven out of 133 respondents (95%) reported using WMPs. A total of 91 WMPs reported to be used as traditional medicine by communities were identified and documented. Ten out of 91 WMPS were reported to be grown mainly on home gardens while the rest (81) are wild- harvested. Roots (57%) and leaves (57%) were reported to be harvested from grown and wild harvested WMPs respectively. Farmland, public land, homesteads and forest reserves were reported to be sources of WMPs. Though public land was reported to be the main source (39%), the study noted that most of the WMPs were harvested from the forest reserves as most of the identified WMPs were from forest reserves. Nine traditional practices were mentioned to be used in conservation of wild medicinal plants. These included domestication, beliefs in sacred plants and forests, respect of cultural forests, protection of plants at the burial sites, selective harvesting, secrecy on plants name, location, collection of deadwood for firewood, and use of energy-saving cooking stoves. The logistic regression test results showed that indigenous knowledge has an influence on conservation. The Likert-scale response categories of the respondents showed that 99% of the respondents had positive attitude towards local conservation methods. The study found that indigenous knowledge contributes to conservation of wild medicinal plants in the communities around Mvomero Distric