Uganda Forests Endangered by Sugar, Over-farming of Medicine

Sugar Cane Expansion and Roots Medicine Make Uganda's Forests Go Down

By Alexis Okeowo/Mabira Forest Reserve

article from: Time.com

Scientists are combing rain forests around the world for potential cures for cancer and other ailments, but the residents near Uganda's last rain forests are are not waiting around for a multinational drug company to discover their treasures first. They have always believed that there are cures in the plant life of the Mabira Forest Reserve, the green, leafy jungle that sprawls through the middle of the country. And so, locals seeking treatments for sexual impotence, cancer, malaria and other illnesses are simply taking plants from the forest, parts of which are already in danger of being razed to make room for the construction of a sugarcane plant.

For example, there is what the locals call the "sex tree," which grows deep in Mabira's dense, tropical bush. It is a skinny, scruffy, slow-developing plant with springy green leaves that is decidedly unremarkable. It has a lonely existence. Other members of its plant family have been uprooted by local aphrodisiac-seekers long ago.

"We need to think about conservation in a scientific way," says Dr Mauda Kamatenesi, a lecturer of botany at Uganda's Makarere University and a lead researcher on Mabira's medicinal plants. Kamatenesi is leading a drive to conserve plants such as Citropsis articulata, or the "sex tree." Also in danger of extinction in Mabira is Pronus africana, which is commonly used to treat malaria and some forms of cancer.

Kamatenesi believes that plants like the "sex tree" may have other medicinal properties besides treating sexual impotence and says that Uganda will miss out on drug discovery and manufacturing if the government does not protect the forest. Researchers also say that the plants' extinction would take a toll on local Ugandans who have been using the trees as herbal cures for generations. Says Kamatenesi: "We are losing out if we let these plants go extinct without doing more research. The people say that the medicines work."

Crunching leaves on the damp, muddy ground as he walks in the forest, Ibrahim Senfuma, a bird guide, says that he and his friends take Citropsis articulata to boost their sex drives. Locals either chew the roots and leaves of the plant (salt is added for flavor), or mix them in a half liter of water and then boil to make tea. Lowering his voice amid the crowing and squawking sounds of the forest, Senfuma confides: "I don't know if it is psychological, but it works. You feel stronger than before."

Nearby, sunlight streams from an opening in a thatch of trees onto Faziira Nakalama, a cook, as she proudly lists the ailments (her own and her neighbors') cured by the leaves and roots of the Pronus africana. "Decreased immunity, stomach pains, malaria... the forest is very important," Nakalama says.

A great deal of the forest may not be around much longer. Over a fourth of the rain forest is in danger of being cleared in order to make way for a sugarcane estate, if a plan by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni is approved. Last year, Museveni ordered a study into the feasibility of clearing 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of the forest after a sugarcane company applied for permission to expand its farm. The study concluded that the sugarcane plan endangers rare trees and birds in the 30,000-hectare forest. At risk are 218 species of butterflies, 312 plant species and 315 bird species, including nine found nowhere else in the world.

Full article continues at: Ugandan Forest Endangered by Sugar Cane, Its Own Medicines

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Global Trees Campaign aims to save world's threatened tree species

Over 8000 tree species, 10% of the world's total, are threatened with extinction. Destruction of woodland and forest and unsustainable felling of valuable timbers are causing the loss of many important species. Very few of these endangered trees are being conserved in the wild. The Global Trees Campaign, a joint initiative between Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in association with other partners around the world, is drawing attention to this global problem and finding solutions.

The Global Trees Campaign aims to save the world's most threatened tree species and their habitats through provision of information, conservation action and support for sustainable use. The campaign focuses on trees as flagship species for conservation of ecosystems and landscapes, and enables local people to carry out rescue and sustainable use operations. We are working in partnership with organizations around the world to save endangered trees.

Endangered Trees List from United Nations

A

African Blackwood, which is also known as Mpingo in Swahili is considered to be the national tree of Tanzania, despite the fact that it is native to 26 African countries, ranging from northern Ethiopia, to the south in Angola, also spreading from Senegal across to Tanzania.

Mpingo not only improves soil fertility, but is also good at maintaining soil stability. Its leaves offer feed for migrating herbivores and for domestic livestock. The mature African Blackwood trees are capable of surviving fires that destroy other vegetation in grasslands. The dark heartwood of Mpingo, is one of the most economically valuable timbers in the world.

B

Bois dentelle is a beautiful tree, endemic to the high cloud forest of Mauritius. Despite the fact that it has no commercial value, only two individuals are left. The most remarkable thing about the species are the flowers – sprays of white bell flowers with fine lacy petals that cover the tree in summer (January –March).

C

The Clanwilliam cedar is a species endemic to the Cederberg Mountains in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A majestic tree of 6-18 meters in height, the Clanwilliam cedar is a rot-resistant, fragrant and visually beautiful timber that was extensively exploited for building, furniture and later on telegraph poles by European settlers in the eighteenth century.

D

The Dragon Tree is found on the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Madeira and Morocco. The Guanche people of the Canary Islands used the sap for mummification purposes. In Ancient Rome, Sangre de Drago (Dragon Tree) was used as a colorant and across Europe it has been used as a varnish for iron tools.

According to the Greek myth, "The Eleventh Labor of Hercules: The Apples of the Hespérides", the hundred-headed dragon, Landon, who was said to have been the guardian of the Garden of the Hespérides, was killed by either Hercules or Atlas in order to fulfill Hercules’ task to bring back three golden apples from the garden. As told in the myth, the trees known as 'Dragon Trees’ sprung from Landon's red blood, which flowed out upon the land.

The species is classified as being "Endangered" by Cape Verde, while it is identified as being extinct in the wild on Brava and Santiago where only planted specimens exist today.

H

The Honduras rosewood is found in Belize in Central America and produces timber, which is extremely valued on the world market because of its use in musical instrument production.

Since the Honduras Rosewood supplies hard, heavy, durable and very resonant timber, when struck, it gives off a clear, loud note and making it itself most highly valued in the production of orchestral xylophones and claves. It is also used to make thin covering for fine furniture and cabinets, , knife handles etc.

L

The Loulu is a palm endemic to the northernmost of the Hawaiian Islands chain with the most variety of plant species of any island in Hawaii. There are fewer than 300 individuals of the Loulu left, because of limited regeneration caused by seed predation by rats and pigs as well as competing plants.

M

The Monkey Puzzle is the National Tree of Chile. Nevertheless, there is at least of these trees in every botanical garden in Europe. Its local name is Pehuén and its existence has great historical and social importance to the people living in that area known as the Pehuenche, which means “people of Pehuén”. The seeds of the tree shape an important part of their diet.

The Monkey puzzle is also valued for its unique and natural beauty, which makes it an emblem of a national parks and provinces in both Chile and Argentina. The timber found from the Pehuén has a high mechanical resistance and moderate resistance to fungal decay, hence for its being used for beams in buildings, bridges, roofs, furniture, boat structures, thin covering etc. Monkey puzzle forests have been fast destroyed and degraded due to logging, fire and grazing.

N

Nubian Dragon Tree is found in Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda and was once a widespread and abundant species.

It is one of the few species that can survive wide periods of drought in all parts of its scope, hence making it an important part of the desert ecosystem. The mature fruits of the Nubian Dragon tree are eaten and its sap and fruit may also have medicinal properties.

P

Pau brasil is the national tree of Brazil, making it have strong cultural links to Brazil’s social and economic history. The species is known for the dye extract taken from the heartwood, for which it has been exploited since 1501. Presently, the dye extract and its bark are used locally for medicinal purposes. Research is being carried out to find out whether the bark of this tree can be used as a cure for cancer.

Pau brasil wood is hard and compact, which is almost indestructible and was traditionally used to make hunting tools; commercially, it was harvested for use as a construction timber and in craftwork. It is also highly valued by musical instrument makers and still being exported for the production of bows for stringed instruments.

The various uses acquired from the Pau Brasil have made it target to extensive collection and export of the dyewood, resulting in the loss of large areas of forest and the enslavement of local people and later on the demand for its timber by bow manufacturers has contributed to a great loss.

Q

Quercus hintonii, also known as Encino of Hinton (Hinton's Oak), is endemic to Mexico. Some of the wood’s uses range from locally made tool handles, to beams and fencing poles, and primarily for firewood. Traditionally the wood is used to bake bread known as "las finas", which the distinctive taste is brought on by the smoke.

The species has also been highly affected by grazing, which prevents regeneration as well as the coming up of agriculture, coffee plantation and road construction have all contributed to the decline in the Quercus hintonii populations.

S

St Helena gumwood was selected as St. Helena’s national tree in 1977. The endemic floras of St Helena are not only of great biogeographical significance, but they are also home for equally rare and unusual animal species. The St. Helena gumwood is one of the fourteen most globally endangered and endemic tree species in St Helena. It is threatened by human presence and their use of the timber for firewood and building.

W

The Wollemi pine belongs to the ancient Araucariaceae species, thought to be over 200 million years old. Until 1994, the Wollemi pine was believed to have become extinct about 2 million years ago, but it was rediscovered in a gorge 150 km north-west of Sydney, Australia. There are less than 100 mature trees in the wild, making it one of the rarest species in the world. Because of this rarity, the Wollemi attracts a lot of tourism, which threatens its existence because of the therefore threatened by tourism, for it may be disturbed by human activities, also exposing it to seeds being trampled, compaction of the soil, the introduction of weeds and an increase in the possibility of fires.


List of Endangered Tree species from United Nations Environment Programme

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