Preserving medicinal plants for the future
2002-02-26 13:59
Durban - There is a huge black market situated at an intersection in Durban where any endangered plant and animal product can be bought.
Mounds of roots, powdered bark, skins, teeth and entrails are available for making muti in the immensely lucrative business of traditional medicine. And at the end of the day, as the passing trade goes home, the bits of rare animals, parts of scarce plants and the powdered bark that caused the death of an ancient tree are simply dumped in rubbish bins.
The tradesmen are too tired to lug it back home and the customer wants it fresh. And anyway, another truckload is arriving tomorrow. Every day, large lorries trundle up from Durban to remote areas in Zululand.
Gangs of men roam the veld with spades and pangas, and dig up, break down or take out anything which will be of use to stallholders in the market. Often they work with local residents to find rare plants and trap animals.
Legislation offers no effective protection to these endangered species - anywhere that people are allowed to go, the muti-gatherers will make their hunting ground.
This has created a situation where the local Zululand izinyanga, when the time comes for them to gather their roots and herbs, find that there is nothing left. And this crisis in the supply lines of the traditional healer in the Zululand countryside has led to the formation of an unusual alliance between the izinyanga of Zululand and their former enemies, the provincial conservation authorities, who are now working closely together.
A united front
For decades the two groups have been at war with each other: the izinyanga gathering their stock-in-trade and KZN Wildlife trying to stop them. But a new innovative approach from community conservation officer Jabulani Shabalala, who is based in Hluhluwe, has created a united front against the threat of extinction of these valuable plants.
"I have been in charge of the indigenous nurseries at the Hluhluwe game reserve for many years," says Shabalala. "I have been trying for all that time to get the izinyanga to talk to me about their problems, to see if I can help them and also save plants that are disappearing from the veld. At last I have
succeeded."
At a meeting held at the Hluhluwe Game Reserve last Monday, 40 izinyanga from greater Zululand came together under the leadership of Shabalala to find solutions to common problems. They had identified five issues that affect them all.
Firstly - and most urgently - their stocks are being stripped by the marauders from Durban. The izinyanga suggested that they approach the police, the army and the traditional courts to assist with controlling this traffic.
Zululand roads are dotted with roadblocks. The izinyanga want the soldiers manning the roadblocks to search, not only for weapons and drugs, but also for indigenous plants. If someone is carrying a load of plants for muti, they should be able to produce a KZN Wildlife-issued permit.
The izinyanga resolved to put pressure on local authorities in Zululand to curb the traffic in endangered plants. They will also use their considerable local authority to persuade local people not to steal plants or poach animals to sell to the bulk muti-gatherers.
The second problem is to include izinyanga who are not part of this process. The solution is to create a register of izinyanga who will have registration cards enabling them to buy restricted plants and get rationed animal products from KZN Wildlife at reduced prices.
Other incentives to encourage membership of this "izinyanga guild" were also proposed.
Creating supplies
The third problem is the waning availability of much of the izinyanga's supply. Shabalala, as head of the KZN Wildlife indigenous nurseries, is creating supplies of rare plants to sell to them.
Taking the process one step further, he will also supply stock to the izinyanga so that they can grow their own supplies. Therefore, the problem will be tackled with a three-pronged approach: people who want to gather plants in the wild will need a permit which will only be given to registered izinyanga; stocks from KZN Wildlife that are no longer available in the wild will be sold at reduced costs to members of the "guild"; and these members will also be assisted to set up their own nurseries.
This project has been sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWFSA) and Anglo-Gold.
The fourth problem for the izinyanga concerns access to animal products. Very few animals remain in the wild and those that do are protected by law. Shabalala has negotiated with the Hluhluwe/Umfolozi park management that, whenever an animal is found dead or is culled, its parts are offered to the izinyanga. These will be sold from a "chemist" within the park.
A dream come true
The last issue on the agenda was administrative: to set up committees and channels of communication between the izinyanga associations and KZN Wildlife. Monday's meeting, for Shabalala, was a dream come true. "Everyone was so full of happiness. They told me that it had opened their minds and taught them that they must work together. They realised that KZN Wildlife was not against them."
Inyathi Inyanga's Association chairman Emmanuel Jele was effusive in his praise for Shabalala and his initiative.
"Meetings like these will educate more of our people - even the amakhosi - about the right way to go about getting things for muti.
"We will also let our people know that they must not steal things like buffalo horn; they must not support poachers. I am keen to go on with this. If we are united we can stop our troubles," he said.