View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa Diversity of Useful Plants in the Coffee Forests of Ethiopia Feyera Senbeta, Tadesse Woldemariam Gole, Manfred Denich, and Ensermu Kellbessa Research Abstract Plant use diversity and their forms of use and manage- inal purpose around the globe. This has resulted in the ac- ment were studied in four coffee forests of Ethiopia. A cof- cumulation of a vast indigenous knowledge resource base fee forest is a segment of moist montane forest with oc- with respect to the utilization of native plants. In recent currence of wild Arabica coffee populations. The present years, the value of indigenous knowledge in natural re- study was conducted in four forest fragments located in sources management and rural development has become the southwestern and southeastern parts of the country. increasingly recognized by many ethnobotanists and an- These forests represent three different indigenous ethnic thropologists (e.g., Asfaw & Tadesse 2001, DeWalt 1994, groups that live in and around the coffee forests. On the Lulekal 2005, Senbeta et al. 2005, Walker et al. 1995). bases of ethnobotanical and floristic studies, a total of 143 Such recognition would be good if it leads to the conser- useful plant species representing 54 families were identi- vation of biological diversity, which justifies a search for fied in all study areas. Nearly all species are native except ways to stop the erosion of traditional knowledge. Hence, one which is naturalized. The identified use categories promotion of this valuable indigenous knowledge can include medicine, food, honey, material sources, social make an important contribution to alleviation of rural pov- services, animal fodder and environmental uses. Overall, erty by improving food security and economic welfare of Yayu and Harenna shared a high number of useful plant rural populations if well studied. species in common. Of the total, about 25 species (19%) were similarly used across three or more studied ethnic In Ethiopia, several studies have been made to document groups. The implication is that there is a difference be- the use of plants in indigenous communities (e.g., Addis tween and among the four communities studied for gen- 2009, Addis et al. 2005, Asfaw 2001, Asfaw & Tadesse eral plant knowledge and uses. As observed, deforesta- 2001, Awas et al. 2010, Balemie & Kibebew 2006, Bale- tion, over-harvesting, cultivation of marginal lands and overgrazing appear to be threatening the plant resources and their habitats in the studied areas. Ecosystem con- servation will ensure in situ conservation of many useful Correspondence plant species by applying sustainable harvesting methods for collecting plants for any type of use from wild habitats. Feyera Senbeta, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA. [email protected] Introduction Tadesse Woldemariam Gole, Environment and Coffee Forest Forum, Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA. Millions of people around the world depend on native Manfred Denich, Center for Development Research, plants as sources of food, medicine, wood and other prod- University of Bonn, Bonn, GERMANY. ucts to sustain their livelihoods. Indigenous people are of- Ensermu Kellbessa, National Herbarium, Addis Ababa ten very knowledgeable about their environment, includ- University, Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA. ing plant and animal species. Farnsworth et al. (1991) for example argued that between 35,000 and 70,000 species Ethnobotany Research & Applications 11:049-069 (2013) of plants have been used at one time or another for medic- Published: July 15, 2013 www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol11/i1547-3465-11-049.pdf 50 Ethnobotany Research & Applications mie et al. 2004, Deffar 1998, Fichtl & Adi 1994, Guinand & knowledge in the moist montane forests in general and in Lemessa 2000, Lulekal et al. 2011, Wondimu et al. 2006, coffee forests in particular (Asfaw & Tadesse 2001, Sen- Yineger 2005). However, the majority of these studies beta et al. 2005, Teketay et al. 2010). Patterns of indig- were conducted in highly managed landscapes and low enous knowledge and trends of wild plant utilization in land ecosystems; and only few were made in moist mon- moist montane forests have been neglected. Apparent- tane forests of Ethiopia (Lulekal et al. 2008, Teketay et al. ly, the knowledge remained undocumented because the 2010). products are mostly used locally and seldom enter nation- al or international markets. Thus, this study was carried In Ethiopia, the moist montane forest has long been rec- ognized as the center of origin and diversity of wild Coffea out to document diversity of plant uses in the relatively arabica L. (Aga et al. 2003, Gebre-Egziabher 1990, Mey- large blocks of coffee forest patches distributed across er 1965, Senbeta et al. 2005, Woldemariam et al. 2002). southwestern and southeastern parts of the country. Currently, wild populations of C. arabica occur in many moist montane forest fragments which are geographically The most common approach to the collection of indige- separated and isolated from each other due to natural and nous knowledge is an ethnobotanical survey, which focus- anthropogenic factors. These forest fragments with wild es on the traditional uses of a given plant species. Such Arabica coffee populations are commonly named “coffee information is essential to develop strategies for sustain- forests.” Like other forests, these forest fragments are un- able use and conservation of useful plant species. The der continuous threat due to the expansion of agriculture purpose of this paper is, therefore, to analyze and com- and commercial plantations (such as tea and coffee). pare knowledge of traditional plant uses among the differ- ent ethnic groups in four coffee forests in Southwest and The montane forest region of Ethiopia, including the cof- Southeast Ethiopia. In particular, the research focused on fee forest belt, is inhabited by many millions of people with diverse ethnic groups and communities. These groups assessing the richness of useful plants, their uses and have vast accumulated traditional knowledge and expe- forms of management. The specific objectives of the study riences of what and how to use wild plants through long- were to: 1) investigate general patterns of plant utilization term interrelations with their environments. However, lim- and manipulation processes in the areas; 2) evaluate the ited ethnobotanical studies have been carried out up to importance of these areas within the context of the diver- now to reveal this accumulated traditional resource use sity of useful plant species of Ethiopia; and (3) provide N ETHIOPIA o 10 N Addis Ababa Yayu Bonga INDIAN Harenna Sheko OCEAN 0 500 45oE kilometers Figure 1. Location of the study areas in Ethiopia. www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol11/i1547-3465-11-049.pdf TANZANIA Senbeta et al. - Diversity of Useful Plants in the Coffee Forests of Ethiopia 51 recommendations for sustainable use and management Data collection and analysis of these plant resources. A survey of the useful plant species was conducted be- Materials and Methods tween 2004 and 2008 in four montane forest areas of Ethi- opia. A total of 120 households (30 households per site) were interviewed for any traditional plant uses. One per- Description of study sites son per household was interviewed to avoid repetition of ideas from members of the same household. Households To document the major useful plant species, four coffee were randomly selected from the respective sites; howev- forests were selected for the study: Yayu, Sheko, Bonga and Harenna (Figure 1). The first three forests are located er, systematic sampling was also employed to include one in Southwest Ethiopia, and the last one (i.e., Harenna) is knowledgeable person from each site in the interview. The located in Southeast Ethiopia. The study sites are sep- knowledgeable person was identified with the consultation arated from each other by agricultural and/or settlement of the local residents. The interviews were conducted us- landscapes and other natural features. The closest sites ing the preferred language(s), depending on which of the are Bonga and Sheko (distance between them = about languages the respondents felt more comfortable with. 150 km). The vegetation of the study sites is classified as In each site, local guides from among the local residents moist montane forest or montane rainforest with occur- were used to facilitate a comfortable communication and rence of wild coffee populations. The sites are inhabited a fluent conversation with the respondents in the respec- by different ethnic groups, which make the study very in- tive study areas. In addition to the individual interview, a teresting. group discussion was also held with the local residents to cross-check the validity of the gathered information. In ad- In Bonga, Kaffa is the dominant ethnic group and hence dition to the quantification survey in the field, with regard they are the main sources of the present data. Over 90% to the extent of the use, the yields of the collected plants of the population in the area is engaged in subsistence agriculture. Coffee provides the largest income and em- and the market value were also registered when possible. ployment opportunities for the local communities. Apicul- The traditional management system was also document- ture and spices also play an important role in the house- ed when available. Plant specimens were collected in the holds’ economy. presence of local people participating as key informants. All useful plant species were recorded at species level. In Sheko, diverse ethnic groups live in the area. These The collected voucher specimens were identified and de- include Sheko, Bench, Amhara, Kaffa, Mejenger and Me- posited in the National Herbarium (Ethiopia), Addis Ababa nit. Among these Mejenger is the only group native to University. Data were analyzed using descriptive statis- the area whereas the others are immigrants from other tics. Nomenclature of plant taxa follows Hedberg and Ed- parts of the country who settled there in the last 3–4 de- wards (1989, 1995), Edwards et al.