date: 27 feb 201 subscripfion no: l note: n^^i

/ . i'<ii}

Titl?: Insula: international journal of isl..

Cat. no: 211537Subscripfion no: l

Note:

Date: 27 Feb 201

n^^ ^

s- .ûyA®*J û û»

Dossier

October 2005 ISSN 1021-0814 Yearl4 1

Bibliothèque/LibraryNESCO

pi^se de Fontenc

-.s

An orga i t on

to support n

islands

ration

BIOCULTURAL DiVERSI .Y IN ÎSLAMD COMMUNIT!ESBY EDGAR J. DASlLVA

Bibliothèque

ESEILibrary

E-mail : [email protected]. : +33 (0)1 45 68 03 56/607, Place de Fontenoy 75007 Paris, France

ISLAND COMMUNITIES: BIOREPOSITORIES OFTRADITIONAL MEDECINE, CULTURE AND DiVERSITYBI EDGAR J. DASILVA, MURUKESAN V. KRISHNAPILLAI, PlER GIOVANNI D'AYALA

INVESTIGATSNG DIVERSITY IN MATERIAL CULTURE AND LANGUAGEBY MATTHEW LEAVESLEY AND TlM THOMAS

THE EVOLUTION 0F CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN FUI: ANALYSES 0F ANCIENT CERAMICSev ETHAN COCHRANE

MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS: BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTSBY EDGAR J. DASlLVA

THE SOCIO-CULTURAL HERITAGE 0F MUSHROOM SCIENCE !N SOUÏHEAST ASIAN ISLAND COMMUNITiESevSHU-TlNG CHANG

MEETING AT CASTELSARDO: Plant genetic resources of geographical and "other" islands

THE MAURiTIUS CONFERENCE: Smalt islands, big stakes

AD MEMORIAM: FRANCESCO D! CASTRi

END OFTHE OPET-OLA PROJECT

TAIWAN CONFERENCE: Islands of thé world "Changing islands - changing worlds"PALERMO CONFERENCE: Towards a Sustainable and QualityTourism in thé European Islands

5

21

23

27

43

48

5050

50

50

EL

U £ SLANDS

NEWS FROMTHE MAN AND BIOSPHERE PROGRAMME (MAB)Three new Biosphère Réserves in islands during thé year 20059th Meeting of thé East Asian Biosphère Réserve Network, Jeju, Republic of Korea

WORLD HERITAGEMexico: islands and protected areas of thé Gulf of California on thé World Héritage List since 2005"World Héritage - Pacifie 2009" Programme

515151

525252

52

54

nsulaInternational Journal oflsland Affairs

EDGAR J. DASlLVA, GUEST EDITOR

ISSN1021 0814Year 14, No. l

October 2005

Editorial Board

Editer:

Pier Giovanni d'Ayala

Scientific Advisory Committee:

Prof. Salvino Busuttil, Malta

Prof. Nicolas Margaris, Greece

Prof. Patrick Nunn, Fiji

Prof. Edgar J. DaSilva, IndiaProf. Hiroshi Kakazu, Japan

Dr. Henrique Pinto da Costa, Sao Tome e PrincipeProf. Uno Briguglio, Malta

Back cover: Olive oil,

an emerging passion forgourmets.

Pdlished by INSULA, thé International Scientific Council for IslandDevelopment, with thé support of UNESCO.Articles pubtished in this journal do not necessarily reflect thé opinions ofINSULA or of UNESCO.

Material appearing in fhis journal cannot be reprodaced without thé priorpermission of thé Editer.

insula, thé International Journal ofIslandAffaiis is distributed freeto INSULA's individml and iastitutional members. For subscriptions andinformation, please write to:

insulac/o UNESCOl. rue Miollis

75732 Paris, FRANCETél.: +33 l 45.68.40.56, Fax: +33 l 45.68.58.04E-mail: [email protected]

Graphie designer: Susanne Klein

Cover: Image from thé movie of Silvia Paggi "Thé Son of Crooked Leg.Traditional winemaking on thé Eolian Islands", Italy, 1994.

Silvia Paggi: Anthropologist-movie maker and lectiu-er at thé University ofNice-SophiaAntipo-îis. She pro'duced several movies following field research in Italy (Eolian Islands, Tuscany), Africa(Ivory'Coast), Samoa (Upolu Island) and France (Camargue). In thé différent topics approached,spécial attention is givento thé body techniques that accompany human activities, nc)tably mthé domestic space."Her current research looks at thé behaviours linked to traditional dancfâ andmusic, especially those from Mediterranean area, and thé current intercultural crossoversjhisworkbegan with thé shooting of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer pilgrimages (France), where Gipsy andRomany music and dances take place.

Biocultural diversity with its sig-nificance in national developmentand international coopération bas

become a flagship of global économie concern andsustainable development. Such diversity is to be foundin thé complex range of interactions amongst différentpeuples whose cultural traditions, biological, linguisticand physical milieus that are mirrored in their variedapproaches, sometimes with striking similarities and atother times with contrasting dissimilarities, to conserv-ing thé natural environment, human health, traditional

knowledge and cultural héritage.

Thé wide range of différent plant and animal species,ecosystems, cultural traditions and languages that areencountered in thé terrestrial and marine environments in

ail régions of thé world constitutes thé reality ofbiocul-tural diversity and thé new science ofbiocomplexity.

Biocultural issues such as traditional medicines, intel-lectual property rights, gender and biosafety are ofrele-vance in island communities that are naturally vulnérableto thé vicissitudes ofclimate change and globalization.DaSilva and Murukesan draw attention to thé bioculturaland socio-economic diversity of médicinal plants andherbal medicine in thé continuing beliefs and reliance ofisland communities in thé age-old curative properties oftraditional plant medicine that is practiced worldwide.Indeed thé roots of thé lingua franca ofbiocultural diver-sity are to be found in thé ethnocultural knowledge andpractice ofherbal beverages and médicinal plants.

Chang emphasizes that mushrooms, a key componentofNature's library oftraditional medicines and deposi-tary ofmodem-day nutriceuticals or 'plant-food medi-cmes' that illustrate thé Hippocratic injunction that 'yourfood shall be your medicine', hâve been used traditionallyin gourmand delicacies, and more recently in nouvellecuisine. Mushrooms hâve been used for médicinal and

therapeutic purposes for more than two thousands years.Furthermore, with thé évolution of cultural practicesand resort to thé sorcerer's interprétation of thé benignand malign properties of 'toadstool' magie and poison-ing, mushrooms became abjects of fear and distrust,and were even linked in mythology to thé origin andonset oflightning and thunderstorms. Notwithstandingthèse time-honoured cultural and mystical nuances thémushroom cuisine ofnumerous Southeast Asian Island

Communities today bears witness to thé availability ofadelicious, proteinaceous and highly nutritive food sourcethat helps combat malnutrition and poverty.

Indeed, "there is something to leam from thé meet-ing ofindigenous and modem woridviews. Time-testedancient wisdoms combined with modem technologiesare proving to create solid foundations for sustainabledevelopment projects" that "share thé knowledge fromthis bridge with communities in both developing anddeveloped nations ... in an authentic global partner-ship."

Leavesley and Thomas investigate through Thé Pio-neers oflsland Melanesia project thé evolutionary historyof thé remarkable linguistic, cultural and genetic diversityexhibited by island Melanesian populations that are partof thé Oceanic sub-branch of thé Austronesian family,and that seemingly entered thé région 3500 years ago.Cultural and linguistic diversity arising fi-om some 200différent languages is often associated with variationsin material culture, social and technological practice.In analyses of ceramic technological change on WayaIsland, Fiji, Cochrane explains documented variationprésent aver three thousand years of innovation, interac-tion, and change through a proposai of hypothèses forstmctured testing 'by thé uni versai evolutionary mecha-nisms of cultural transmission, adaptation and naturalsélection, and innovation and thus hâve implications fornot only Wayan prehistory, but ail of thé Pacifie'.

g

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFFAIRS

Floral and faunal biodiversity, cultural and socio-économie diversity, linguistic diversity, and diverseecosystems and environmental niches constitute théintertwining of thé interactive bridging of thé time-honored indigenous and thé modem biotechnologies.Biocultural diversity in island countries is most oftenencountered in thé teaditional use offorest and non-woodforest products as food, omamentals and medicines. Thiscultural diversity is thé natural source ofentrepreneurialcontributions towards sustainable économie developmentmade through active engagement by especially smallisland communities in thé conservation, rational use,and rational management of their island bioresourcessuch as plant foods as medicines (culinary and médicinal

herbs); handicraft and omamental materials (bambooand ornamental floral products); herbal medicinalsand therapeutics (kava, ginseng extracts; essential oils.herbal teas, and scents) that constitute either thé actualor thé major source of incarne for island village and ruralcommunities.

In summary, biocultural diversity, thé trademark ofmral, tribal and village peoples ofmany cultures world-wide in island communities is thé bedrock ofisland sus-tainable économie growth, island cultural endurance, andisland environmental health that bas often been ignoredor marginalized by local and international govemmentalagencies.

AbstractThé biocultural and socio-economic diversity ofmédicinal plants and herbal medicine is reflected in

thé continuing beliefs and reliance of island commu-nities worldwide in thé age-old curative properties oftraditional plant medicine that is practiced worldwide.Thèse practices are in line with thé recommendationsThé Mauritius Déclaration (UN, 2005) that drewattention to thé rôle of culture and resilience-build-

ing in thé sustainable development of small islandstates and their diverse communities. Thé use of

green box-based biotechnologies provides islandcommunities opportunities to sustain bioproductivityof their médicinal plants in their aquatic and terres-trial environments; to maintain thé stability of theirsocio-cultural traditions; and, to further engage ingender equitability in island employment, labour andmanagement schemes.

Introduction

There are rich traditions of thé use of

médicinal plants in every continent(Moran, 1996). Whilst, more than 80

percent of thé people in thé developingworid rely on plants for their médicinal

needs as a conséquence oftheir beingclosely associated with traditional

practices and livelihoods, and, not-withstanding thé widespread inclina-tion in thé industrialized societies to

regard "traditional knowledge" asnothing more than "old wives' taies",

approximately 74 percent of thé phar-maceuticals were obtained thèse same

plants credited with ethnomedicinal

uses (Famsworth et al., 1985) and inneed of conservation (Gurib-Fakim,2004).

Biocultural diversityThé wide range of différent plantand animal species, ecosystems,cultural traditions and languages thatare encountered in thé terrestrial and

marine environments in ail régions

EDGAR DASILVA*, MURUKESAN V KRISHNAPILLAI AND PlER GIOVANNI D'AYALA

of thé world constitutes thé reality

of biocultural diversity (Terralingua,2004). "There is something to leamfrom thé meeting of indigenous andmodem worldviews. Time-tested

ancient wisdoms combined with

modem technologies are proving tocreate solid foundations for sustain-

able development projects" that "share

thé knowledge from this bridge with

communities in both developing anddeveloped nations ... in an authen-tic global partnership." (Terrawatu,2004). In summary, floral and faunal

biodiversity, cultural traditions and

socio-economic diversity, linguistic

diversity, and diverse ecosystems andenvironmental niches constitute thé

bedrock of thé interactive bridgingof thé time-honored indigenous and

modem biotechnologies. Biocultural

diversity in island countries is most

often encountered in thé traditional use

offorest and non-wood forest productsas food, omamentals and medicines.

Africa

African island communities are

encountered in Cape Verde, Comoros,GuineaBissau, Madagascar, Mauritius,Sao Tome and Principe and Seychelles.Thé médicinal plants of Madagascar

are not dealt with in view of their

extensive coverage. Thé best-known

plant is thé Madgascar periwinkle

- Catharanthus roseus that contains thé

alkaloids vinblastine and vincristine

used in anticancer treatment.

Thé Cape Verde Islands at thé cross-

roads ofthree continents include 10

islands and 5 islets, divided into thé

windward islands (Santo Antâo, Sâo

Vicente, Santa Luzia, Sâo Nicolau, Sal,

and Boa Vista) in thé Barlavento and

leeward islands (Maio, Santiago, Fogo,

Former Director, Division of Life Sciences,UNESCO and lltember of INSULA'sBoard of Dlrectors, Dr. Edgar DaSffva iscurrently Professor Extraordinary in (heDspartment of Microbial, Biochemieal aad

Food Blotechnology at thé University de Vrystaat in South Africaand visiting Professor at Osaka Universi^ in Jspan. He waseducated at (he University of Bombay, and later did researchand teaching at académie mstitutons and universities in Noway,Finland snd Sweden.

Contact: International ScientifcCouneil

forlslandDevelopmentflNSUl. A),c/o UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, Paris 75015, FranceE-mail : [email protected]

Mumkesan Krishnapillai currently holdsthé position of Agricutore Researeherwîth Collège of Micronesia USDA LandGrant Programs at Yap Island Cafflpus.He possssses Ph, D. in Plant Science and

PG Diploma in Environmental Education anet Management,besides an laternatioBal Certtficate in ISO 14001 Environ-

mental Management System internai audlting. He worked forenvironraent reiated projects in New Zealand, Sweden andSeychelles and with Gujarat Ecology Comfnission in thé WorldBask funded BiodiveFsity Project. Curent research interests apeon agrobiodlversity conservation, simplified home hydroponicsgardens, enhanced production of giant swamp taro thFoughélimination of burowing neniafodes and groundwater qualitystudtes in Yap Island.Contact Agricultural Experiment Station,Collège ofMicronesia-FSM, Yap Site, P.O. Box 1226,Colonia, Yap, FM 96943, Federated States of MicronesiaE-mail: AESyap@mail. fm

Pier Giovanni il'Ayala s Sicllian, begradtiateel ffora thé University of Palerfflowbere he got a degrés in chemistry andlater a PhD in Poliiical Sciences. HB came

to Paris where he carried out anthropologi-cal researches on tha inaritime world with a spécial focus on théMediterranean Sea and gave lectures at thé University of ParisVil (Vincennes). In 1973, he joined UNESCO whew he wasfesponsibleforseveralfnultidisciplinaryfesearch programmes.He went into retiFement in 1992 and dedicated himself to thésuccess of INSU1.A, totbe création ofwhich he had contributed

in 1989. Since 1995 he is thé Général Secretaryof INSULA.E-mail: eniall: [email protected]

Correspondi

l

^

l

Yapese dancer(Courtesy Dana Lee Ling)

and Brava) in thé Sotavento group ofislands which are home to thé occur-

renée and use by rural populations,

especially of a wide varied diversityof médicinal plants to treat a variety ofailments such as heart diseases, intesti-

nal and kidney problems, and diarrhea(Table l). Most médicinal plants areencountered in Santo Antâo; and in

Santiago and Fogo. Several plants ofmédicinal importance hâve been identi-fied (GEF, 2003).

Comoros benefit from thé introduc-

tion ofsome 60 species ofomamental

plants in 1870 and yet is at a disad-vantage as some of thèse exotic plantshâve now a profile of invasive growth(Ibrahim, 2003). Thèse invasive plantsare considérée as a menace in overall

conservation and management ofagri-culta.iral resources and thé environment

in thé Comoros islands.

Mauritius like Trinidad and Tobago is thé

beneficiary oftraditional healthcare Systems thathâve their origin in thé cultural antécédents ofAfrican, Chinese, European and Indian peuples

and their spices and medicines that were derivedfi-om a variety ofaromatic and médicinal plants.Close to 100 endémie médicinal plants, some

of which are highly endangered, hâve beenidentified and documented in traditional phar-

macopoeia. (FAO, 1996). There is concem inrelation to thé use and conservation of médicinal

plants in Mauritius since nearly 30 médicinalplants are endangered, threatened or neariyextinct as a result of over harvesting in thé wild

(Gurib-Fakim, 2004).In Sao Tome and Prmcipe, some hun-

dred différent orchids such as Angrae-

cum doratophyllum, Cribbia pendulaare on display in thé Bom Sucessobotanical garden ofObo National Park.To counteract thé scarcity ofinforma-

tion and thé frustrations in accessing

such information, an undertaken studyestablished a list of thé orchids in thé

archipelago ofSao Tome (100 species)and Principe (65 species) with relevantdétails conceming their ecology, theirdistribution and frequency of occur-renée (Stévart, 1999)'.

About 350 folk médicinal and aro-

matic plants are widely used through-out Sao Tome and Principe in thé formofwhole herbs, extracts and powdersto treat a variety of ailments (Martinset al., 2003).

Seychelles is an archipelago comprisedofgranitic and coralline islands. Seychelleshas a rich variety of plant life. Seventy five

species of plants are used medicinally(PAO, 1995). Aromatic and fragrant spe-cies such as Eucalyptus citriodora, théginger lily - Hedychium coronarium, wildginger - Zingiber zerumbet and cardamom- Elettaria cardamomum exist.

Table 1. Traditional medicinals of plant and marine origin

îfuirttry

;ape Verde

Comoros

Guinea-Bissau2

Maldives

Sâo Tome and

Principe

Seychelles

SciBntirc Name

Borreria verticillata

Cymbopogoncitratus

Jatropha curcas

Psidium guajavaDolabella auricularia

Ecteinascidia turbinata

Euphorbia prostrata

Ficus thonningii

Lantana camara

Sida rhombifolia

Adansonia digitata

Calotropis procera

Cochlospermum

tinctorium

Guiera senegalensis

Hymenocardia acida

Leptadenia lancifoliaParto'a globosa

Piliostigma thonningii

Sewridaca

longipedunculata

Prosopis africana

Ricinus communis

Aeri /a lanata

Punica granatum

Rosa grandiflora

Eryngium foetidum

Commelina

benghalensis

Lodoicea maldivica

Local Name

Locotane

Chali

Physic nut

Goibeira

Sea slug

Tunicate

(sea squirt)

Fulani

Fulani

Djandere

Fulani (gelode)

Coron-conde

safarodje

nere

barquedje

djuro

Tchelem-tchelemadje

Aamanaka

Hudhu huypilaa

Annaaru

Finifena

Herbe cochon

Double coconut

used in African and Indian Océan Islands

Famfly Name Reputed Use aflainst or as

Rubiaceae Allergies

Secamone schimperiana Milkweed

Kanvinde (1999); DaSilva (2003); Prélude Medicinals Database" (2005)

Poaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Myrtaceae

Aplysiidae

Perophoridae

EuphorbiaceaeMoraceae

Verbanaceae

Malvaceae

Bombacaceae

Asclepiadaceae

Cochlospermaceae

Combretaceae

Hymenocardiaceae

Asclepiadaceae

Mimosaceae

Caesalpiniaceae

Polygalaceae

Mimosaceae

EuphorbiaceaeAmaranthaceae

Punicaoae

Rosaceae

Apiaceae

Commelinaceae

Arecaceae

Asclepiadaceae

Tension, fevers

Purgative, soap

Intestinal parasites

Anti-cancer

Anti-cancer

(Esteinasoidin 743)

Balm for vertébral column pains

Bafm for vertébral column pains

Brucellosis; diuretic agent

Acné and arthritis

Urogenital infectionsSinusitis, influenza3

Liver cirrhosis

Catarrh, tuberculosis

Skin wounds

Sexually-transmitted diseases

Anti-inflammation agent

Arthritis

Skin wounds

Anti-inflammation: and anti-

arthritic agent

Constipation, diabètes mellitusUrinary infections

Diarrhea, choiera

Boils. stress, heart disease

Anti-inflammatory agent

Anti-inflammatory drug tocalm abdominal pains and intreatmentof dysentery

Drug (not used for severaldécades)

Pharmacological agent

Arab States

Throughout thé first half of thé lastcentury, Jidd Hafs was a prosperousvillage in Bahrain renowned for itsextensive date palm graves and thé

manufacture of médicinal dmgs fromthé buds, flowers, and pollen of palmtrees. A survey ofherbal and folk medi-cinés indicated that thé plant médicinal

flora of Bahrain was encountered in

52 species with widespread represen-tation in 29 plant familles (Abbas etal., 1992). From this group, 20 indig-

enous species were used as traditionalmédicinal décoctions and infusions to

treat wounds, intestinal and respiratoryaliments, using thé knowledge andskills transmitted in thé Bahraini popu-

lace from 'génération to génération'.

Herbal plants of potential économie

significance hâve been screened for théprésence of antimicrobial compoundsranging from alkaloids and anthraqui-noues to saponins and sterols (Al-Saleh

et al., 1997).Seemingly, diseases such as stomach

ailments resulting from malnutrition

and poor diets in thé past Bahrainigénérations hâve now been replaced bythé modem societal scourges of heartdisease, diabètes and obesity that hâveemerged from thé drugstore culture,modem lifestyles and fast food intakes(NCCAH, 2004).

In response to thé uncontrolled use

of médicinal plant préparations, thereis concem for thé need of scientific

évaluation and assessment of purity.Recently, three halophytic plantsfrom Bahrain Sesuvium verrucosum,Salsola baryosma, and Zygophyllumquatarense hâve been tested for their

cytotoxic activity (Taha and Alsayed,2000).

Asia

Singapore and thé Maldives are islandcountnes in Asia. Thé former is a

member of thé Alliance of thé Small

Island States (AOSIS) and like Bahrainin thé Arab world, has a well developedmarket economy. Activities concera-ing thé inventorization and use of

médicinal plants ofSingapore availableelsewhere (Chin, 1998) are not covered

in this review.

Some 122 médicinal plants in thé

Maldives were catalogued in 1992

(MoFA, 1992). In2001 several hundred

plants with médicinal properties werereported (UNEP, 2002). Several plants

e. g. Plumeria spp. constitute a source

of fragrances and perfumes. UNDP/GEF5 assistance has been providedtowards thé conservation of médicinal

plant species (Table l) and traditional

knowledge in Maldivian atolls within

thé Framework that emphasizes thédevelopment ofa national biodiversitystrategy. Thé Maldives now possesses

500 species of plants that include more

than 300 species, which are used in cul-tural and traditional médicinal practice(MHAHE, 2002).

Europe

In Europe, thé occurrence of médicinal

plants in thé island states ofCyprus andMalta are of significance. In Cyprus,newly initiated studies in thé search

for new therapeutic principles and

thé expansion of thé pharmaceutical

industries result from thé traditional

use of herbs and médicinal plants inancient times. Thé listing ofabout 125médicinal and aromatic plants provides

some justification for thé enthusiasms

in developing new industrial crops as

a source of green and low-cost medi-cinés that stimulate thé émergence ofnew markets of healthcare products

(Akkelidou et al., 2004)6.In Malta, médicinal plants are widely

used as part of folk médicinal rem-

edies. Well-known Maltese examplesare: fejgel, faqqus il-hmir, and hobbeja.Within thé context of expanding thébenefits accruing from biotechnologi-cal research in thé area ofgenomic andmédicinal technologies, thé Universityof Malta has compiled an electronicinventory of 300 Maltese médicinal

and aromatic plants with accompany-

ing text and images through its Institute

ofAgriculture.

Latin America and thé Caribbean

There is a wide range of médicinalplants that is used, especially by thérural communities throughout théCaribbean région (Table 2). Thé mostimportant non-wood fore&t productsare médicinal and aromatic plants,citronella (Cymbopogon citratus),and sassafras (Ocotea pretiosa) oil. Inthé Bahamas, thé use of indigenousmédicinal plants is widespread. Tra-ditional bush medicines are popularin thé treatment of common ailments

-colds, fevers, and intestinal disorders

as well as in thé more serious illnesses

of thé cancers andAIDS.

Cuba has aver 1000 species of plantswith médicinal properties. Several ofthèse are endémie such as Rauwolfîa

linearifolia which is strictly endémie inSierra de Nipe and ofsignificance in thétreatment of abnormal heart rhythms(Granda et al., 1995). Plants containingessential oils and médicinal principlesare conserved and maintained in thé

Instituto de Investigaciones Funda-mentales en Agriculturea Tropical(INIFAT), Ministry of Agriculture,

Havana; and thé expérimental station

of médicinal plants 'Juan T. Roig' inSan Antonio de los Banos Municipal-ity. La Habana Province.

Eighty percent of thé Grenadianpopulation uses herbal medicines and

aromatic plants that include candle-

wood (Amyris balsamifera), citronella

(Cymbopogon citratus), rosewood(Aniba rosaeodora), sassafras (Ocoteapretiosa), common hazel (Gevuina

spp.), vétiver (Vetiveria zizanioides)and Eucalyptus sp.

In Santa Lucia, aver a hundred plantshâve been recognized for their medici-

nal properties aad values. Médicinal

and omamental plants are conservedand maintained along with other cropsin designated réserves - e.g., thé King-shill Forest réserve in St. Vincent and

thé Grenadines.

Thé use of herbs and médicinal

plants in thé multiethnic societies of théAmerindian tribes - thé Caribs and thé

Arawaks; thé Afro- thé Indo- and Euro-

u

Q

g

<^

l


Table 2. Traditional médianes used in thé islands of thé Caribbean région

Island Commumty

Antigua andBarbuda

Bahamas

Barbados

Cuba

Dominica

Dominican

Republic

Grenada

Jamaica

St.Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St Vincent and thé

Grenadines

Trinidad and

Tobago

National Park of

PeservB

Botanical Gardens

ofAntigua andBarbuda

HydroforaGardens

Andromeda

Gardens

INIFAT); and JuanTomes Roig stationfor médicinal plants

D'AuchampsGardens; Botanical

Gradens Roseau

(?)

National Park

of Sierra de

Bahoruco;

Jaragua NationalPark; Jardin

Botanico Nacional

Raphaël MocosoPuello7

Grand EtangNational Park;

HopeGardons

Brimstone Hill

Fortress National

Park8

Botanical Gardens

of Nevis

Diamond

Botanical

Gardons; Mamiku

Gardens

KingshillForest Réserve

MinistryofAgri-culture, Land

Marine Resources

(MALMR)

Scmntiflc name

Achyranthes indicaAristolochia trilobata

Jacaranda caerulea

Phyllanthusnirun

Croton flavens

Euphorbia hirtaBrosimum alicastrum

Talauma plumieri

Passiflora lauriflora

ïicheria grandis

3oerhaavia erecta

-lyptis verticillata

;ass/a a/ate

Vcinus communis

Ftfphonbi'a hirtaSmi'/ax offidnalis

Asctepfas curassavicaSpondias mombinWamanda cathartic

Exostema sanctae-

lyc/'aePluchea odorata

Argemone mexfcanaJatropha multifida

Cassia alata

Momordica charantia

Common name

man-better-man

S/x sixty-six

Cancer

Bush

Chanca piedra

Milkweed

Cauchomacho

Maranon

De La Maestra

Ca;a-

basique

Pomme di

Boïsbande

Patagon

Herbe au Diable

Ringworm bushCastor oil plant

Pempe

Sasparilla

Milky-milkyHog plum

Yellow bell

Chinchona

Yellow thistlePhysic nut

Wild senna

Karilla

Famtly

Amaranthaceae

Aristolochiaceae

Bignoniaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Moraceae

MagnoliaceaePassifloraceae

Euphorbiaceae

Nyctaginaceae

Lamiaceae

Caesalpiniaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Smilaceae

Asclepiadaceae

Anacardiaceae

ApocyanceaeRubiaceae

Asteraceae

Papaveraceae

Euphorbiaceae

Caesalpiniaceae

Cucurbitaceae

R^puted use as agent

against

Colds; diabètes and

hypertensionFever. diabètes and

hypertensionSkin cancers

Laxative, vermifuge

Coughs and colds

Excrescence

Anticancer agent (Utérus)

Astringent

Used as sédative

d as Aphrodisiac

Asthma

Headache

Ringworm

Laxative; anti-diabetic agent

Warts

Anticancer agent

Guineaworm and ringwormDiarrhea and dysenterySkin infections, ringworm

er

Colds

cancer agent

Ringworm:PurgativeMalaria; diabètes

pean-Trinidadians and Toboggans hasbeen thé subject ofa detailed survey inthé control and treatment of diabètes

in Trinidad and Tobago (Mahabir andGulliford, 1997). Some 100 différent

médicinal plants were reported tohâve been used as bush medicines by

over 600 people afiBicted with diabètesmellitus. An interesting finding of thésurvey indicated that several médicinalplant remédies used by thé Indo-Fijianpopulation in Fiji were also menti onedby thé Trinidadian and Toboggans ofIndian origin in Trinidad and Tobagothus confirming thé strong influenceacross geographical location ofcultural

beliefs and traditions in thé use ofbush

medicines.

Thé use of médicinal plants is not

confined to humans alone. Ethnom-

edicines hâve been used by hunters totreat themselves as well as their hunt-

ing dogs. Plant baths and décoctions, inpréférence to conventional medicinesthat involve thé use ofsteroids, antibi-

otics and enzymatic applications (e.g.ananase from thé pineapple Ananas

comosus), hâve been used in Dominicaand Trinidad and Tobago to counteractthé ill-effects of extemal parasites, totreat wounds caused by snakebites,scorpion stings and other similar inju-

ries encountered as occupational haz-

ards, and even to neutralize thé demor-

alizing effects of witchcraft (Lans etal., 2000, 2001). More recently, there

bas been an assessment of médicinal

herb use amongst asthmatic patients

in a Trinidadian healthcare facility

(Clément et al., 2005).

Dance is an art form in Yap. Throughdance, legends are passed down,

history is rccorded and entertainmentis created. Thé dances ofYap are

raucous. colourful and well-

orchestrated. Dancers perform atraditional dance à'ess.

Thé Pacifie Région

This région is a natural treasury of

numerous cultures, cultural legacies,

languages, social customs, and awealth of floral and faunal biodiversitythat is a resource base of alternative,

folkloric and traditional plant-basedmedicines. Verbal phannacopoeias of

varied philosophies and practices intraditional medicine hâve been trans-

mitted from génération to générationand are still in thé contemporary prac-tice ofAboriginal and Maori medicine.

Thé therapeutic use of médicinal plants

elsewhere in thé Pacifie régions for thé

maintenance and sustenance ofhuman

health resources has found favor with

occidental lifestyles.Thé Pacifie région with widespread

géographie and geological diversity interrestrial and marine environments is

naturally endowed with a diversity ofendémie, rare, endangered and threat-ened plant and marine species. Thisvaluable bioresource is constantly atrisk of irréparable loss that accruesfrom exposure to thé growth andexpansion of thé tourist industry insearch of newer havens conducive to

corporal and mental relaxation. Fragilenatural ecosystems in thé Pacifie islandstates are susceptible to imminent dis-

mption and destmction. Furthermore,

^.Aw

several island states on account oftheir

small size, limited natural resources of

économie significance and geographi-cal isolation, hâve a limited range ofoptions in overcoming their vulner-

ability in aworldwide market-orientedeconomy. Of économie significancefor thé sustenance and developmentofseveral Pacifie island communities,

traditional intellectual property con-ceming médicinal plant resources is

tapped as an alternative resource to thé

rising costs ofcommercialized health-

care and globalizing market-economypressures.

Traditional intellectual property basbeen accumulated through thé experi-ences ofself-taught village practition-ers and observations of mral users of

médicinal plants in thé past and présent

générations. Today, this traditional

knowledge is an active contributor to

thé understanding of contemporarycultural héritage and societal practicesconceming thé conservation ofhealth

and human resources through thé use

of médicinal plants in thé Pacifie island

countries (DaSilva et al., 2004)

Socio-economic DiversityAfrica

Information and published reportsof médicinal and ornamental plantsconceming Afi-ican island communi-

ties (and especially thé Cape Verdeanislands), for some reason, is scarceor not easily available even thoughtheir use is widespread throughoutthé islands and islets of Cape Verde,Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tomeand Principe, and Seychelles.Apopular herbal tea amongst rural folkin thé islands of Cape Verde is that ofthé herb - cidreira (Micromeria forbe-sii). Such traditional use constitutes an

alternative livelihood option for mralentrepreneurs - especially women,

well versed in thé art of gathering,documenting, processing and sellingmédicinal plants in thé compétitivemarkets ofPraia. Such activity is testi-mony to thé oft repeated and incontest-able observation that mral and villagewomen possess more cultural knowl-

edge of thé soft technologies in thérearing and thé use of médicinal herbs

than men who are more proficient inthé use of hard technologies involved

§

i

2

la

\INTETOIATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFFURS

in cropping Systems and animal hus-bandry production Systems.

Yling-ylang - an important compo-

nent of essences and perfumes, clovers,and vanilla are of significance in thémarket economy of Comoros whichranks amongst thé world's top two orthree producers of scents and spices.Thèse valuable exports in thé foreign-exchange eamings ofComoros, thoughsignificant, are nevertheless vulnérableto thé varying market demands andclimatic influences such as cyclonic

and marine pollution disasters.Thé aqueous extracts ofTchunfki - thé

local name for Securidaca longipedun-culata, are used in religions rites bythé Balanta people in thé island com-munity of Guinea-Bisseau (Samorini,1996). This plant used either singlyor in combination with other plants inthé African continent - for example

in Ethiopia by thé Shimsha peopleagainst tuberculosis and gonon-hea, inMalawi to induce 'spirita^al possession'(Hargreaves, 1986) and in SouthAfricaby thé Ikung people 'as medicine forpeople possessed by evil spirits' (Win-kleman and Dobkin de Rios, 1989)

- bas been reported as extremely toxicleading to death (Samorini, 1996).

Thé situation with Madagascar andMauritius is more promising. Plants offood value and income (inclusive of

aromatic spices and scents) are many(Walter, 2001). Bakerella hoyifoliaand Erythroxylum laurifolium possesséconomie potential as herbal remédies.Examples are: thé fruits of Cycasof&cinalis (Comoros), Lodoicea mal-divica (Seychelles), wild coffee CoÉfeavaughanii (Mauritius); thé Malagasyclove - Syzygium aromaticum (Mada-gascar); cinnamon - Cinnamomumaromaticum (Seychelles) and vanilla- Vanilla planifolia (Madagascar,Comoros and thé French territory of

Réunion).

Thé omamental plants Hibiscus lilii-floms and Trochetia boutoniana (Mau-

ritius), thé fem tree Cyathea sp.. Ficussp., various orchids and thé aquaticplant Aponogeton sp. (Madagascar)

are important sources of foreign-exchange income. Annual exportationof some 276 000 ornamental plants

bas been estimated at US$100 000.

Thé national omamental plant incomeamounts to 40 percent. Thé occurrence

and identification of aver 600 aromatic

and médicinal plants in Mauritius andRodrigues Island along with theircorresponding ethnobotanical, phy-tochemical, relevant pharmacologi-cal and antimicrobial data hâve been

inventoried and compiled within théframework of collaboration by thé Uni-

versity ofMauritius, thé Indian OcéanCommission and thé European Union

(Gurib-Fakim et al., 1994).Exportation of médicinal plants from

Madagascar bas been documented forDrosera madagascariensis, Centellaasiatica, Catharanthus roseus, Eugenia

sp. Harongana madagascariensis,Hazunta sp. Medemia nobilis, Voa-canga thouarsii, Satrana madinika,Moringa sp. and Prunus africana.In 1993, exportation of 300 tons ofPrunus africana bark was estimated

at US$1. 4 million and exportation of

Catharanthus roseus roots and aerial

parts amounts to 1000 tons.In Sao Tome and Principe, traditional

healers use a variety of médicinal plantsto combat a number of ailments such

as common colds and sinusitis (Table

l). Traditional stew intakes use sev-

eral différent aromatic and médicinal

plants in thé daily sustenance of goodhealth and a good-feel healthy status.Izaquente prepared from thé seeds ofTreculia Africana - Airican breadlruit

is one such example that is used to treatcoughs, fever and anémia. Médicinalplant products hâve long been usedas antimalarials by traditional healers.

Extracts from médicinal plants hâve

been examined for their antimalarial

protection against Plasmodium falci-pamm and P. berghei (Madureira et al.,1999). Other plants such as Pycnanthusangolensis and Morinda citrifoliausedin traditional medicine hâve also been

assessed for their antimalarial activity

(Ancolio et al., 2002).

In Seychelles, there exist severalmédicinal and omamental plant spe-

cies of potential market significance.Endémie plants with médicinal prop-erties are Erythroxylon sechellamm,Plectranthus aromatica, Lodoicea

maldivica and Secamone schimperi-

ana. Market-oriented omamental plants

are Bégonia sechellensis. Impatiensgordonii, Dracaena reflexa, Angraecumeburaeum and Vanilla phalaenopsis.

About 350 médicinal and aromatic

plants (Hamdy, 2004) found in théIndian Océan islands of Comoros

and Seychelles hâve been describedwith their distribution, pharmacology,

chemistry and use in traditional medi-ciné along with thé chemical formulaeof thé active compounds (Gurib-Fakimand Brendler, 2004). An inventory of59 médicinal plants in Comoros existsin thé Prélude4 database. An FAO

estimate indicates that there are 250

to 500 plants with curative propertiesin thé Seychelles which after surveyand analysis could necessitate théestablishment of a national data bank

conceming species distribution, chemi-cal and pharmaceutical properties andethno-botanical knowledge. Plantsthat are categorized as of 'endangeredstatus' resulting from over-harvestingand market exploitation in thé IndianOcéan islands are: Dracaena draco

(Cape Verde), Catharanthus coriaceus(Madagascar), Lodoicea maldivicaand Toxocarpus schimperianus (Sey-chelles).

Arab States

Recently at thé Bahrain Garden Pair(BGF) thé beauty of thé Bahrain roséwas in prominence in a traditionalArabie courtyard. On-site workshopsin thé fair's rosé garden at thé Bah-raini international centre, focused on

Achafas - professional braiders dem-onstrating their skills by braiding giris'hair with rosé buds and materials, and

women grinding pétais for use in thémaking of rosé water, médicinal herbsand perfumes (Torr, 2005). Anotherfeature of thé fair was thé revela-

tion and release of a new rosé bred

m Paris, France. This hybrid rosé in

shades ofyellow and pink was namedas thé Oasis of Bahrain by Her High-ness Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al

Khalifam, chairwoman of thé Suprême

Council for Women.

Cun-ently, assistance is being pro-vided to

0 Aid farmers in Bahrain in buildingup a complète floriculture system,including eut and potted flowers,

and bedding plants for exhibition andexport purposes as well as to meetdomestic demand during thé winterseason.

e Help vegetable growers to expandflower production for increasedincome. Thé project goal is to estab-lish Bahrain as a production centerfor eut ûowers and potted flowers in

thé Middle East.

. Conduct large-scale cultivation for

floral démonstrations.

A garden emphasizing clean and greenbiotechnologies sponsored by thé GulfPetroleum Industrial Company (GPIC- Bahrain) ensures thé safe local cul-

tivation and protection of importantBahraini médicinal plants and herbs.Moreover, in coopération with thé Bah-rain Centre for Studies and Research

(BCSR) field and laboratory studiesfocus on l) thé efficacy of folk herbsand médicinal plants used locally andin indigenous bédouin medicine, and 2)their nutritional content and contribu-

tion in relation to health and nutrition

(BCSR, 2005).

Asia

Thé Maldives naturally endowed witha richness ofbiodiversity and currentlyis a favorite holiday spot for tourists insearch of mental and physical calm.Maldivian traditional medicine orDhivehi Beys practiced for centuriesin thé nation's atolls once was thé onlyform oftreatment in thé conservation

of human health. Current popularityand préférence for their remédiai useresults from thé historical interactions

between and with thé ancient Indian,

Arab, Persian, Malaysian, Sri Lankan

and Chinese traditional healers that

drew upon their cultural héritage and

rituals as a means ofmaintaining their

good health and daily good-feel status.Thé practice of Maldivian traditional

medicine, influenced to some extent

by Ayurvedic practice, bas its originthé Unani school of medicine. Trans-

mitted fi-om génération to générationand practiced on a family-based level

by both holy men and women known

as fanditha, there is a natural dyingout of thé traditional occupation thatis characterized by inadéquate monthlyincome for self-sustenance. Moreover,

atoll communities taken in by thé phe-

nomenon ofglobalization and thé tour-ist trade exercise a préférence for thémore efficient allopathie médical care

as modernization of lifestyles takes

hold in private and public life sectors.Thé World Health Organization

initiative (WHO, 2002) to revive tradi-tional medicine and maintain Nature's

laboratories ofbush medicines helps to

safeguard against thé loss of Dhivehi

medicine. To avoid thé loss ofvaluable

traditional knowledge available onlyin a verbal context, efforts are beingmade to produce written texts for use

in traditional medicine course work

and to accompany thé conservation of

médicinal plants that are endangeredby over-exploitative market forces orby eventual extinction (MCST, 200l)9.Other initiatives focus on documenting

détails conceming dosage, deciphering

and establishing thé relevant chemical

formulae of thé plant curative princi-pies and thé purity of traditional rem-edies. Thé cataloguing of médicinalplants and herbs in Dhivehi Beys, théestablishment of a national herbarium

of traditional plant-based remédies,

and thé development ofskilled human

resources in thé areas ofbotany, phar-

macology, other forms of traditionalmedicine are foreseen (MCST, 2001;

MCCA, 2005).

Fisheries and marine produce con-

stitute a major source of income forthé Maldivians. A modest foreign-

exchange eamer in thé last décade is

that ofshark liver oil (from Centropho-rus granulosus or Centrophoms scal-pratus), thé traditional uses of whichhâve been as a lubricant in thé tanningand textile industries (squalene oil)10,as an ingrédient in thé cosmetics andskin healing products and as a remédiaiin thé healing of wounds, irritationsof thé respiratory and gastrointestinaltracts and général debility (Vannuc-cini, 1999).

Europe

Cypms bas a rich héritage in thé useof aromatic, culinary and médicinalplants in everyday life. Récent excava-tions at thé Pyrgos-Mavroraki site near

Nicosia included clay perfume bottlefragments that contain 14 perfumesof varied fragrances and ten odoressences. (Viegas, 2005). Fragrances

of cinnamon, laurel, myrtle, anise,citrus bergamot and pine hâve beenidentified.

Several species of flora of Cypmshâve been used in their wild form as

a source of aromatic oils and plantmedicines. Salvia fruticosa and Sideri-

tis cypria are médicinal plants that areused in tea préparations to treat sorethroats. Four species ofTeucrium thatare used in thé island's traditional

medicine hâve been studied for their

essential oil content and nature (Arnold

et al., 1991). Origanum dubium and

Thymus capitatus are well-known

sources of plant aromatics that areused in Cypriot cuisines. Thé aromaticleaves of thé latter species yield oilthat is médicinal in nature and that is

also used in thé préparation of cos-mettes and perfumes. Other aromatic

plants are Capparis spinosa that is ofmédicinal and culinary significance;and, Laura nobilis which is used in

thé préparation of cosmoceuticals.In thé early 1990s, thé Ministry ofAgriculture, Natural Resources andEnvironment launched a project for

thé "Development and CultivationofAromatic and Médicinal Plants"

(Walter, 2001). Aromatic and medici-

l

§e

E

l

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFFAIRS 11

nal plants of économie significance asnew industrial crops are conserved andmaintained in thé botanical gardens ofthé Athalassa govemment nursery. Incurrent times, thé rising cost of allo-pathic healthcare is paralleled with thémarket demand for prescription-freephytopharmaceuticals from médicinalplants and herbs that are increasinglybeing regarded as new industrial crops6

(Akkelidou et al., 2004).

Thé Maltese islands constitute an apt

example where médicinal plants arewidely used in everyday life as part ofculinary practice and folk médicinalremédies (Lanfranco, 1992). Buzbiez(Foeniculum vulgare) and Fidloqqom(Boragio ofi&cinalis) commonlyknownas fennel and borage respectively aretwo such examples. Several examplesof folklore médicinal herbs in thé

Argotti Herbarium of thé University ofMalta hâve been exhibited for public

viewing as a means of sustainingprivate, public and pursuit scientificinterest in thé médicinal flora ofMalta

(Table 3). Research studies indicate

that several aromatic and médicinal

plants in Malta are of potential sig-nificance in socio-economic context

of thé island.

Latin America and thé Caribbean

Thé Caribbean région known for its

calypsos and cricketing excellenceis comprised of many small islandsthat are diversity-rich in plant geneticresources. There are many botanicals

of socio-economic signifîcance. Aro-

matic, médicinal, spice and omamentalspecies are widespread throughoutthé région and are conserved and

maintained either in well-established

national botanical réserves or gènebanks of plant genetic resources(Table 2). Other natural products are

edible, non-edible and essential oils.

Antigua and Barbuda participatedin a sexennial project on thé économiebiology of under-exploited tropicalplants (EUBTROP) two décades agowith a focus on thé development of

herbaria; databases; phytochemical

studies on médicinal plants to safe-

guard against thé loss of traditionalknowledge and medicine; and, toexplore through research undemtilizedplant resources for their économiepotential as sources offood and medi-cinés (OAS, 1990). Today, thé import,market availability and monitoringand sale of médicinal plants with local

and scientific names are regulated by

Table 3. Research studies on médicinal plants in Malta11

Scientific name

Ecballium elaterium

Crataegus monogyna

Drimia maritima

Cucurbita maxima

Nerium oleander

Erica multiflora

Hyoscyamus albus

Momordica charantia

Capparis spinosa

Research-targeted Molecufe(s)

Cucurbitacins

Oleanolic acid

Glycoside

Essential oils

Glycoside

Glycolic acididentified as active diuretic

component

Hyoscyamine alkaloids

Lectins

Secondary metabolitesflavonoids, terpenoids

Remafks

Of significance in inhibiting ovarianand stomach cancer cell growth

Potential Angiotensin-convertingenzyme inhibitor

Only Maltese plant that was exported;Used in cardiac malfunction; Now an

endangered species as a result of lossof rural areas ta urban development;successfully regenerated throughmicropropagation

Anthelminthic agent in caninetreatment of significano in veterinarymedicine

Used in cardiac malfunction

Used in traditional medicine as an

astringent, urinary antiseptic anddiuretic; skincare health products nowbeing developed containing glycolicacid

Used as a sédative, pain killer;authorized médical approval requiredprior to use

Effective against gastrointestinalinfection; reported to possess anti-cancer (breast) properties

Possesses culinary and médicinalproperties

thé country's Phannacy Council. Théconservation and maintenance ofoma-

mental and médicinal plants is foreseenfor continuation in thé réhabilitation

of thé 112-year old Botanical Garden.Several médicinal plants are oftour-

ist interests and export significance.Dried bark ofCroton eleuteria used in

thé préparation of digestive teas andexported to Italy occurs in abundancein thé Eleuthera Island of thé Bahamas.

A source of cascarilla - a spicy resin

and a fragrance, it is used in infusionsto treat coughs and other ailments.Kalanchoe tea derived from Kalanchoe

pinnata and Gamalamee 21 Gun SaluteBush Tea - thé aphrodisiac bush tea or

tourist tea obtained from Bursera sima-

mba are popular with tourists.

As a result of thé 1989 politicallandscape change in Europe, Cubaembarked on thé establishment of

8000 organic gardens and aver 200green-based biotechnology institutesto help sustain urban agriculture andensure national food security. Thé suc-

cess of thé province ofCienfuegos asthé 'urban agriculture' capital of Cubaresults from thé nation-wide provision

of accessible low-cost quality-control-led biofertilizers, insect biocontrol

agents and biopesticides. One amongstthé few countries in thé world with a

command-market economy in lieu of

a free-market economy, Cuba has abeehive biotechnology industry that

results from some 220 biotech insti-

tûtes1 2 and research centres with 30, 000

plus workers that produces about 200biotechnology products for expert toaver 50 countries. Similar success

is envisagea with thé research beingconducted with traditional médicinal

plants (Acosta de Luz et al., 2000;Fuentes Fiallo, 2001).

In thé Caribbean région a variety

of herbal teas that are recommended

or administered by curanderas whoare generally well-meaning women

believed to possess some acquiredspiritual healing power in thé use ofherbal-based médicinal balms and

rub-on potions. In village and tribal

Table 4. Médicinal plant activities in thé Caribbean région(a) CARAPA" activitiesYear Locaîkm

1998

Thème

Trinidad & Tobago To Rescue a Caribbean Héritage

1999 St. Croix, Utilizing Médicinal Plants to Add Value toUS Virgin Islands" Caribbean Agriculture

2000 Jamaica Caribbean Hgrbs in Health Promotion

2001 St. Lucia

2003 Suriname"

To Integrate Herbal Medicine into MainstreamHealthcare

Integrating Herbal Medicine into thé HealfhcareSystem

2005

Remarks

Création and sustenance of an awareness oftraditional médicinal héritage in thé Caribbeanrégion focusing on:. documentation of herbal medicines. value and varieties of alternative medicine. uses and benefits of alternative medicine andtraditional healing practices in healthcare. médicinal and culinary plants as new marketproducts

Development of national policies to:. maintain and safeguard indigenous plantbiodiversity of économie potential. develop technologies conducive to production andcommercialization of médicinal and culinary plants. support exploratory efforts with a focus onidentifying traditional médicinal plants and their usesin thé health and agricultural sectors

Focus on Ethnomedicine and Médicinal Plants tofacilitate:

. exploration of academic-industry interaction andinvestment

. régional and international exchanges inethnomedicine through electronic means. émergence and récognition in thé Caribbean of arégional WHO Collaborating Centre for thé Americasfor ethno-medicine and médicinal plantsFocus on harmonizing herbal medicine intomainstream healthcare emphasizing:. thé value of médicinal plants in mainstreamhealthcare

. herbal medicine healthcare used traditionally inthé Caribbean for severat décades

. éducation for pharmacists and thé général publicDevelopment of healthcare an marketing stratégiesin thé Caribbean with focus on:

. Sustainable production ofgood quality médicinalplants

. Promotion of research in thé efficacy of médicinalplants. Delivery of plant médicinal healthcare

St. LuciaAdvancing Caribbean Herbs in thé 21" CenturyFocus on thé science and commerce of Caribbean herbs:. légal issues in trade of herbs. herbs and their marketing. Caribbean herbal in industry. Education and herbal medicine

(b) Entrepreneurial activities

Several entrepreneurial and small business activities hâve emerged in thé Caribbean région e.g. :. Blue Mountain Aromatics (Jamaica): herbal bath and therapeutic oil products. Caribbean Herbal Business Association (CHBA) established in Grenada in 2003 and based inTrinidad and Tobago (www. caribbeanherbs. net)

. Cher-Mere (Trinidad and Tobago): body- and healthcare products, fragrances and essences

. De La Grenade Industries (Grenada): nutmeg-, spice- and pepper-based products

. EXPROECO (Dominican Republic): trade with neem-based products

. Eden Herbs (St. Lucia): Caribbean tradition of using natural herbal remédies in healthcare and beauty enhancement (wwm.edenherbs.comf)(e) Educational activities

Awareness^ conservation and rational use of médicinal plants is being promoted through educational activities and exhibitions e. g..^Summei^Course: Thé Caribbean Médicinal Plants-Ethnopharmacy, pharmacopoeia, régulation and folk practices (Thé Université des Antilles et de laGuyane, French West Indies, July 1 -13, 2002). Treasures of thé Caribbean: Exhibition in thé Natural Products Expo (London, UK, 2003)promotes Caribbean herbal products aims at creating new herbal markets in Europe; and emphasizing thé wealth of thé botanical base and marketpotential of thé Caribbean traditional; médicinal industry. Commissioning of thé préparation of a pioneer text: Handbook ofselected Caribbean Herbs - Phase l (CHBA, 2004)

Research assessment of thé extent of use of herbal remédies by asthmatic patients and détermination of factors influencing décisions by patients touse such remédies (Faculty of Médical Sciences, University of thé West Indies, Trinidad - Clément et al., 2005)

communities, such incompréhensibledivine gifts' are associated with bmjas

with witches who may engage in ritu-aïs and secretive practices in treatingillnesses and diseases that do not

respond to thé folk médicinal therapyadministrations of thé curanderas. In

thé Dominican Republic, several varie-ties ofherbal teas with spécifie recipesfor préparation are marketed to treat

cancer, diarrhea, and stomach pain.Grenada as thé world's second larg-

est producer of essential oils derived

from thé seeds of thé nutmeg tree,Myristica fi-agrans accounts for some

jQ

i

§e

l

INTERNAIIOKAL JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFFAIRS 13

25 percent of thé worid productionand around 40 percent of thé country'sexpert revenue. In thé last two décades,there has been a downtum in experts

and foreign-exchange earnings thatresults from decreased world demand

for raw nutmeg and market competi-tion with other producing countries.In Jamaica, Pimenta racemosa, an

ingrédient ofperfumes is used as a fla-vouring agent in cooking and as bodytonifier in baths. On thé other hand,

Grenada's vast natural resource ofvir-

tually untapped indigenous médicinalplants, herbs and omamentals providesopportunities for market diversifica-tion e. g. with cinnamon, cloves andcocoa. Furthermore, thé establishment

ofa banana tissue culture laboratory a

décade ago is of potential économierelevance in thé production of ediblevaccines.

Trmidad and Tobago, by virtue ofitspeuples, its diverse societal customs,and proficiency in thé use oftraditionalmédicinal knowledge, is thé naturalrepository of cultural inheritancesfrom earlyAfi-ican, Chinese, European,Indian and Middle Eastem migrants.

This legacy of médicinal knowledgeis évident in thé large number ofendémie naturalized médicinal and

aquatic plants that are ofcontemporaryéconomie and landscaping significancein market-oriented activities and thé

development oforaamental ponds.Facilities for thé conservation,

maintenance and évaluation ofaquatic,cosmetic, médicinal, and ornamen-

tal plants of économie significancehâve been established in Trinidad

and Tobago. Thèse are managed andmonitored by thé Ministry of Agri-culture, Land and Marine Resources

(MALMR) in an interactive and 'net-

working' mechanism of conservationof plant genetic resources in severalinstitutional, académie and commercial

facilities such as thé ministry's agricul-

tural services, thé Eastem Caribbean

Institute of Agriculture and Forestry(ECIAF), thé Cocoa Research Insti-tute, Caroni Ltd. and thé University

of thé West Indies. Activities of field

genebanks are carried out within théfacilities of thé MALMR, thé UWI

and Caroni Ltd.

MALMR has several important

ongoing plant biodiversity programssuch as l) thé development and main-tenance ofa germplasm bank ofspices

and herbs; 2) development and main-

tenance of floriculture germplasm tofeed 'eut flowers' market demand; 3)

ex-situ conservation of endangeredand rare médicinal plants; 4) landscape

management; and 5) initiation of publicawareness programs to inculcate an

appréciation of green box technologyin thé conservation and management

of thé environment.

In récent times thé Caribbean région

has witnessed a number of initiatives in

relation to médicinal plants that rangefrom a séries of stock-taking and for-

ward-looking international conférences

to some entrepreneurial initiatives andeducational activities (Table 4).

Thé Pacifie

Traditional herbal medicines hâve been

used in ail thé Pacifie islands since

time immémorial, and, hâve been rec-

ognized as part of thé culture and wayof life. Examples of area locations ofthé culture, customs and traditional

resource management practices of théPacifie island communities are: 'Mo'

areas in thé Republic of thé MarshallIslands, 'ra'ui' in thé Cook Islands,'tabu' areas in Fiji and 'tapu' and'fono' areas in Niue. Thèse traditional

area locations are repositories of richmédicinal plant diversity that are har-nessed to conserve thé healthcare needs

of thé island communities in thé Pacifie

région (UNEP, 2005).Kava in thé Pacifie island countries

is widely consumed as a médicinal, acérémonial drink and as an anti-stress

beverage. Prier to thé ban of kava inEurope and thé USA ( DaSilva et al.,2004) annual revenue of export salesin thé Pacifie région amounted to 50million p.a. In Vanuatu, Kava foreign-exchange amount to 20 per cent. Kava-kava is of cérémonial, social, ritual and

health significance in island cultureis widely consumed throughout théPacifie island communities. Offered as

a mark ofwarm welcome ofneighbour-

ing tribal chiefs, kava has been used asa cérémonial drinlc at village weddings,

as a beverage that tones down in ten-

sions in conflict situations resulting in

thé inducement ofempathy and good-will and as a folk medicine that makes

thé unbearable bearable.

Médicinal plants and herbal rem-edies aka as bush medicines are widely

popular with thé middle-income strataof thé populations of thé island com-munities as in thé Caribbean région.

^

Traditional Sakau préparation in Pohnpei. Sakau, a Micronesian variant ofPolynesian kava is prepared from théroot of thé pepper plant by pounding thé plant root upon a basaltic sakau stone that often rounded river rocks(Courtesy Dana Lee Ling)

Traditional Yapese food dishes made out oftender coconut leaves (Mumkesan Rrishnapillai)

Resort to their use notwithstanding théavailability of public and private healthSystems anses from a variety offactorswith traditional beliefs and cultural

influences being thé most prominent(Janska, 2005).

Thé importation oftraditional plants,in addition to Fijian traditional medi-cinés, for use by ethnie communities

is permitted, certified and govemed bythé Phannacy and Poisons Act of Fiji.Updates ofhealth législation focus onthé monitoring of potential dangersthat arise from thé uncontrolled qual-ity, remédiai efficiency, and safety ofherbal medicines.

Fiji in reducing its heavy relianceon fuel oil and a fluctuating médicinalmarket has embarked market diver-

sification in using processed coconutoil as a source ofcheaper and cleanerbiofuel-biodiesel. Similar initiativeshâve also been made in Papua NewGuiaea and Vanuatu.

In Kiribati, farmers between 46

and 55 years of âge are categorizedas 'unimwane' or 'old men and heads

ofhouseholds'. Women as household

heads and seaweed farmers are few.

Many mâle farmers adopt a somewhatcasual or recreational attitude towards

seaweed farming since it is 'te kakaki-

botu' or 'thé act of ridding oneself ofboredom'. (Bergschmidt, 199716).

In thé Marshall Islands there is

concem that there is a décline in thé

practice and use of traditional plantmedicine which results from thé spreadof globalization and thé introductionof clinical pharmacy and occidentalheathcare products and techniques. Tosafeguard against thé loss oftradtionalknowledge women through their newlyformed Marshall Islands Society forthé Protection and Promotion of Tra-

ditional Medicine hâve undertaken

thé production of a herbal chart; and

thé documentation of local practicesused in thé treatment ofbone fractures,

reproductive problems and oither ail-ments. 17

Seaweeds as a source ofnutraceuti-

cals (e. g., Laminaria), cosmoceuticals

(e. g., Asparagopsis, Palmaria, Chond-

rus), agroceuticals (e.g. Fucus, Lami-naria), biotechnological products (e.g,

Village income in Langalanga resultsfrom shell money andjewellery frommollusc shells. Overharvesting of thémollusc shells endangers their avail-ability and damages thé environment,notwithstanding that this, resourceprovides village women with incometo meet their family and domesticresponsibilities.

"This work should also stimulate

interest in research into thé cultural

significance of shell money, and helpwomen in Langalanga who are cur-

rently looking for ways to develop amuséum and conserve valuable arti-

facts of thé shell money trade. Anotherneed identified in thé case study is forresearch into how women in Melane-

sian culture can develop and maintainsuccessful small businesses."20

ConclusionThé biocultural and socio-economic

diversity of médicinal plants and herbalmedicine results from thé continuingbeliefand reliance ofmiddle- and low

income strata of rural urban societies in

thé age-old curative properties oftradi-tional plant medicine that is practicedworldwide in island communities. For

example, thé reliance ofpeople in théIndian Océan islands and elsewhere on

herbal medicine is borne out to some

extent by research that tends to validate

thé use of some local ethnobotanical

préparations. On thé other hand, calm

and relief may be due to thé result ofa psychological state rather than to théprésence of a pharmacological sub-stance. However, as thé application ofmédicinal plants increases woridwide

by thé use of novel herbal essencesand healthcare balms and lotions and

notwithstanding their appréciation inidioms and verses, there is need for

more pharmacological knowledge andresearch and caution conceming théuse of médicinal plants (Table 5).

Again, there are some hundred dif-

ferent orchids and amongst that aresources of valuable natural productssuch as antimalarials and scents such

as Cribbia confusa with its strongly

u

Q

g

ûis^

l


Source

African proverb

Amelia Simmons

Attributed toAvicenna

Table 5. Thé Socio-Cultural Appréciation andCaution of Traditional Medicine and Healers

Quotes of Appréciation and Caution

Do not adore thé smoothness of thé bitter-apple; it is acrid insideWhen a knowledgeable old person dies, a whole librarydisappears

Garlics, though used by thé French. are better adapted to théuses of medicine than cookery

Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus,Chapter 38

Benjamin Franklin

Bible Psalm 51 ;7

German Proverb

H i Ida Leyel(leading expert on herbalism)

Hippocrates

James Duke M. D.

Maori saying

Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Palauan proverb

Samoan saying

Samuel Butler in poemHudibras

English poet and satirist

Qur'an, SurahXVI:68-(

Vedas: Hymns of thé Atharva-Veda21

William Shakespeare

There are no non-healing herbs - only thé lack of knowledge

Honor thé healer for his services,

for thé Lord created him.

Mis skill cornes from thé Most High,and he is rewarded by kings.Thé healer's knowledge gives him high standingand wins him thé admiration of thé gréât.Thé Lord has created medicines from thé earth,and a sensible man will not disparage them.

Much virtue fis) in Herbs, little in men.

Purge me with hyssop, and l shall be clean: wash me, and l shallbe whiter than snow

Thé garden is thé poor man's apothecary.

Botany and medicine came down thé âges hand in hand untilthé seventeenth century; then both arts became scientific, theirways parted, and no new herbals were compiled. Thé botanicalbooks ignored thé médicinal properties of plants and thémédical books contained no plant lore

Let thy kitchen be thy apothecary; and, Let foods be yourmédiane.

An old-fashioned vegetable soup, without any enhancement, is amore powerful anticarcinogen than any known medicine

Hold fast ta thé treasures of thé ancestors

For they are that hâve been handed down to us by God

Aromatic plants bestow No spicy fragrance while they grow; Butcrush'd or trodden to thé ground, Diffuse their balmy sweetsaround.

l firmly believe that if thé whole materia medica ould be sunk tothé bottom of thé sea, it would be ail thé better for mankind and

ail thé worse for thé fishes

Like thé breadfruit of Kayangel, just one rotten pièce will spoilthé whole bunch.

Thé strangers' treatments will work for thé strangers' illnessesand thé Samoan treatments for thé Samoan illnesses

Learn'd he was in medic'nal lore,

For by his side a pouch he wore,Replète with strange hermetic powderThat wounds nine miles point-blank would solder.

Thy Lord taught thé BéeTa build its cells in hills,On trees and in man's habitations;

Then to eat of ail

Thé produce of thé earth . . .From within their bodies cornes a drink of varying colors,Wherein is healing for mankind

"This herb, born of honey, dripping honey, sweet honey, honied,is thé remedy for injuries; moreover it crushes insects"

Trust not thé physician, hlis antidotes are poison

scented flowers. Thé investigation of

thé médicinal value of orchids as a

source oftraditional medicines (Kong

et al., 2003) is of concem to conser-vationists who fear that thèse plants

will soon be considered as endangeredspecies as a result of demands in théexpanding markets of new sources ofplant medicines.

Similarities exist in thé use of plant

medicines across geographical dis-

tances as women 'doctors' are more

engagea than their mâle counterpartsin thé practice ofAboriginal, African

and Caribbean island traditional medi-

ciné. As concerns modem diseases

like HIV/AIDS, traditional healers are

in demand which eventually adds to

their attainment of high social status

in urban societies.

Traditional medicine is an intégral

and indisputable component of thédaily économie, political and culturelife of Pacifie islanders (Parsons, 1985)

It constitutes thé response of simpleisland communities eut off from thé

mainstream of advanced technologiesand médical care to illnesses that inter-

fere with social, économie, political

and religious activities. Finau (1994)in his considération of traditional

médicinal knowledge used in treating

illnesses within thé social and physical

environments of a society identified

thé following three precepts in thépractice oftraditional medicine of théPacifie islands:

'' Social interactive communication

and acceptance through thé use oftime-honored rituals that reinforce

social relationships and strengthenbonding between related and diverse

groups (Parsons, 1984),

. Interactive bonding through 'gifts'

of financial significance bestowed

before, during and after treatment;and which in some cases providelivelihood means for families (Finau,

1981),

. Reliance on a verbal pharmaco-

poeia and storehouse of traditionalknowledge about plants, animais,beliefs, seasons, religions été thatperpétuâtes and that reinforces théimportance of thèse parameters in

society and thé interrelationships ofits constituents (Whistler, 1985).

In comparison to thé régions of théCaribbean and thé Pacifie islands,

documented information and reportsconcerning thé African islands andthé Maldives (Table l) are scanty,.

scarce, and inaccessible. Landlocked

developing countries in thé Africanand Asian continent seemingly fare

much better in coverage by thé public

and technical press. Notwithstandingthat small islands like those found

in thé Indian Océan and elsewhere

are often portrayed as attractions of

touristic and romanticized bliss, there

is no doubt that there is much in terms

of thé médicinal value of végétal andmarine resources that merits technical

assessment and scientific research. On

thé other hand, random collection and

indiscriminate use by many of thé local

people of thé available médicinal florafor immédiate financial gain contrib-utes to thé possibility of extinction ofmany endémie plants notwithstandingthey are being a source of bioactivemolécules. Furthermore, thé degreeof thé richness ofnatural biodiversityon many of thèse island communitiesthough common is still unknown as

they hâve not been thematically inven-

RéférencesAbbas, J.A., AI-Oqlah, A.A. and Mahasneh, A. M. 1992.

Herbal plants in thé Traditional Medicine of Bahrain.Economie Botany, Vol. 46 (2): 158-163,

Acostade Luz, L., Fuentes Fiallo, V. R., Martin. G., and Ro-

driguez Ferradâ, C. T. 2000. Agricultural Investigationsin species of fréquent us in thé traditional medicine. l.Llantén (Plantago major L. ). Revista Cubana de PlantasMédicinales, Vol. 5(1): 6-9.

Akkelidou, D., Papadopoulos and Chimonidou, D. 2004.

Report from thé Republic of Cyprus. Nicosia. (http://www. ienica. net/reports/cyprus. pdf)

AI-Saleh, G. F.S., Gamal EI-Din, A. Y., Abbas, J.A. and

Saeed, N.A. 1997. Phytochemical and biologicalstudies of médicinal plants in Bahrain: Thé familyChenopodiaceae - Part 2, International Journal ofPharmacognosy, Vol. 35:38 -42.

Ancolio, C, Azas, N., Mahiou, V, Olliver, E., DiGorgio,D., Keita, A., Timon-David, P. and Balansard, G.2002. Antimalalarial activity of extracts and alkaloidsisolated from six plants used in Mali and Sao Tome.Phytotherapy Research, Vol. 16:646 - 9.

Arnold, N., Bellomaria, B, Valentini, G. and Rafaiani, SM.Comparative study on essential oil of some Teucriumspecies from Cyprus. Journal of Ethnopharmacology,Vol. 35 (2):105-113.

Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research. 2005 (http://www.bcsr.gov. bh/english/index.php)

Bergschmidt, H. 1997. Seaweed production in Kiribati:a new cash crop. Bulletin Vol. 10, No. 3. pgs. 10-12,September 15

(http://europa.eu. int/comm/development/body/publica-tions/fish/pe099710. pdf)

Chin, W.Y. 1998. A Guide ta Médicinal Plants (1998 Re-print). Published 1992, First Edition. ISBN 9971883031;SB 012414, pgs. 160.

Clément, Y.N., Willuima, S.F., Aranda, D., Chase, R.,Watson, N., Mohammed, R., Stubbs, 0 and Williamson,D. 2005. Médicinal Herb Use amongAsthmatic PatientsAttending a Specialty Care Facility in Trinidad. BMCComplément. Altern Ned. Vol. 5: 3 (pdf pages 1 -8).

DaSilva, E. J. 2003. Biosciences and Biotechnologiesfor Sustainable Development of Island States in Africaand theArab States. INSULA, FebruaryYear 12 No. 1ISSN1021.0814. pgs 27-34.

DaSilva, E.J, Murukesan.V. K., Nandwani, D, Taylor, M.and Josekutty, P.C. 2004. Thé Pacifie islands: a biotech-nology resource bank of médicinal plants and traditional

toried to détermine their fûll potential.Perhaps, thé 2001-2010 Décade forAfrican Traditional Medicine by théSummit of thé Organization of Afi-i-can Unity (OAU) may help focus

attention on thé health ofAfrican and

Asian island populations endowed withdependence on traditional medicineand médicinal plants notwithstandingtheir marginalization and vulnerabilityin geographical location, globaliza-tion and lack of Nature's bestowal of

natural resources of économie signifi-

cance. Thé Mauritius Déclaration (UN,

2005) furthermore draws attention

to thé important rôle of culture andresilience-building in thé sustainable

intellectual property. World Journal of Microbiology andBiotechnology, Vol. 20 (9): 903-934.

FAO. 1995. Conservation and Sustainable Utilization

of Plant Genetic Resources in Indian Océan Islands.

Sub-regional Synthesis Report. Annex 1 of thé Reportof thé Sub-Regional Preparatory Meeting for EasternAfrica and Indian Océan Islands, Nairobi, Kenya 12-14 September.

FAO. 1996. Mauritius Country Report to thé FAOInternational Technical Conférence on Plant Genetic

Resourees (Leipzig, 1996). (http://www.fao.org/WAI-CENT/Faolnfo/AgriculUAGP/AGPS/pgrfa/pdf/mauritiu.pdf)

Farnsworth, N. R.,Akerele, D., Bingel, A.S., Soejarto,D. D. and Guo, Z. G. 1985. Médicinal Plants in Therapy.Bulletin of thé World Health Organization, Vol. 63:965-981.

Finau, S.A. 1981. Traditional medicine in Tonga: apreamble to a Pacifie model. Fiji Médical Journal, Vol.9 (8/9): 93-99.

Finau, S.A. 1994. Traditional Medicine in thé Modem

Pacifie: A Dilemma or a Blessing? In: Morrison, J.,Geraghty, P. and Crowl, L. (eds. ), Fauna, Flora, Foodand Medicine: Science of Pacifie Island Peuples, Vol. III,pgs.. 47-64. (Suva) Institute of Pacifie Island Studies.

ISBN982-02-0106-3.Fuentes Fiallo, V.R., Méndez, G., Hernandez, C. M.L., Ro-

driguez Ferradà, Soler, B. T., Gonzalez, R. and Lapez,A. 2001,. Dynamics of monthly and daily accumulationof alkaloids and flavonoides in Incamata passiflora L.

Revista Cubana de Plantas Médicinales, Vol.6:( 3): 105-111JSSN1028-4796 on-line

Global Environment Facility (GEF). 2003. IntegratedParticipatory Ecosystem Management in and aroundprotected areas, Phase l (http://thegef.org/Documents/Project_Proposals_for_Endorsem/Cape_Verde_-_ln-tegrated_Participatory_Ecosystem_Management. pdf)

Granda, D.C., Towers, M. G.A., Fernândez, L. and

Sânchez, D.D. 1995. Metabolic altérations in patientsdealt with low oral doses about amidarona. Cuban

Magazine of Infirmary, September - December.Guirib-Fakim, A. 2004. The Utilization and Conservation

of Médicinal Plants in Mauritius. HerbalGram, Vol.64:34-43.

Guirib-Fakim, A., Gu_ho, J., Sewraj, M. D. and Dulloo,M. E. 1994. Plantes médicinales de l'ile Rodrigues.Edition de l'Ocean Indien, Mauritius, pgs 589

development ofsmall island states andtheir diverse communities. Thé use

of green box -based biotechnologiesprovides island communities oppor-tunities for thé sustenance of biopro-ductivity of médicinal plants in theiraquatic and terrestrial environments;

for maintaining thé stability of theirsocio-cultural traditions; for resilience-

building capacities to safeguard againstéconomie vulnerability and climatic

disasters; and for improving genderequitability in thé use of skilled and

non-skilled human resources in island

employment, labour and managementschemes.

Guirib-Fakim, A. and Brendler, T. 2004. Médicinal and

Aromatic Plants of Indian Océan Islands: Madagascar,Comoros, Seychelles and Mascarenes. MedpharmScientific Publishers. Stuttgart, ISBN: 3-88763-094-7.In: Hamdy (2004).

Hamdy, R. C. 2004. Book Review -Médicinal andAromatic Plants of thé Indian Océan Island. Southern

Médical Journal, Vol. 97 (11) November: 1136.Hargreaves, B. J. 1986. Plant induced spirit possession in

Malawi. Society of Malawi Journal, Vol. 39:26 -35.Ibrahim, Y. 2003. Ecosystèmes Forestières des Comores:

Biodiversité, principales menaces, perspective demise en valeur -Le cas de la Forêt du Kartala dans

lîle de Ngazidja ; In : Proceedings of thé Régionalworkshop on Invasive Alien Species and TerrestrialEcosystem Réhabilitation for Western Indian Océan

Island States- Sharing Expérience, Identifying Priori-ties and Defining Joint Action, Seychelles, October 13- 17, 2003 Ed. Muremootoo, J. R. (http://www.gisp.org/downloadspubs/AISworkshops.asp) pgs. 160 plusannexes 1 -10 (pgs 1 -xlvi).

Janska, E. 2005. Traditional Medicine in Trinidad andTobago (http://www. ias. unu. edu/research/traditional-medicine. cfm)

Kanvinde, H. S. 1999. Maldivian Gender Rôles in Bio-

resource Management RAP Publication 1999/15.ISBN: 974-680-163-5

(http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?uri_file=/DOCREP/005/AC792E/AC792EOO.HTM)

Kong. J.M., Goh, N.K, CHia, L.S. and Chin, T. F. 2003.Récent advances in traditional plant drugs and orchids.Acta Pharmacologia Sinica, Vol. 24: 7 - 21.

Lanfranco, G. 1992. Popular Use of Médicinal Plants inthé Maltese Islands. INSULA, No. 1, pgs. 34 - 35.

Lans, C., Harper, T, Georges, K. and Bridgewater, ER.2000. Médicinal plants used for dogs in Trinidad andTobago. Préventive Veterinary Medicine, Vol. 45:201-220.

Lans, C., Harper, T, Georges, K. And Bridgewater, E. R.2001. Médicinal and ethonveterinary remédies ofhunt-ers in Trinidad. BMC Complementary and AlternativeMedicine, Vol. 1:10(17 pgs in pdf format).

Mahabir, D. and Gulliford, M.C. 1997. Use of médicinal

plants for diabètes in Trinidad and Tobago. Pan Ameri-can Journal of Public Health, Vol. 1:174 -179.

Madureira, M.C., Martins, A. R, Gomez, M., Nogoueira, F.,Antunes, A., Proença da Cunha, A. and Rosàrio,, V. E.

s

l

lias

INTERNATIONAI JOURNAL 0F ISLA^D AFFAIRS 17

1999. Validation of Médicinal Plant Products used asantimalarials in Traditional Medicine of thé Démocratie

Republic of Sâo Tome and Principe. In: Proceedingsof First International Meeting of thé Research Initiativeon TraditionalAnti-Malarials (RITAM), Moshi, TanzaniaDecember8-11, pgs, 57

(http://www.mim.su.se/english/partnerships/ritam_pro-gram. pdf)

Martins. A. P., Salgueiro, L.R., d Cunha, A. P., Vila, R., Can-igueral, S., Tomi, F. and Casaniova, J. 2003. ChemicalComposition of thé Bark Oil of Cedrela odorata from S.Tome and Principe. Journal ofEssential Oils Research,Vol. 15:422-424

Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology(MCST). 2001. In: S &T Master Plan

(http:www.mcst. gov., v. Downloads/doucuments/S&T//Part2. 07Health. pdf)

Maldives Common CountryAssessment (MCCA). 2005.Présentation at thé 7th Conférence of Parties (COP7).

(202. 1. 199.67/intraneVunrc/ CCAmaldives-draftver6-29-1-O2. pdf-20 Mar 2005).

Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment(MHAHE). 2002. National Biodiversity Strategy andAction Plan of thé Maldives.

pgs 110. (http://www. mv. undp. org/perojects/environment.ibasbook/NBSAP.book. pdf)

Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (MoFA). 1992. Cata-logue of Plants, Mâle', Republic of Maldives

Moran, K. 1996. Compensating forest-dwelling communi-lies for drug thé work of thé Healing Forest Conserv-ancy. Unasyvla, Issue no. 186, pgs. 564.

National Council for Culture, Arts and Héritage (NCCAH).2004. Seminar on Traditional Medicines and Herbs,

29/12/2004, Doha, Qatar(www.apctt-tm. net/business/display.jsp?id=1628)

Organization ofAmerican States (OAS). 1990. EconomieBiology of Underutilized Tropical Plants. Régionaland Scientific Developed Program, Washington, D.C. pgs. 39.

Parsons, C. D. 1984. Idioms and distress: kinship andsickness among thé people of thé Kingdom of Tonga.Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, Vol. 8(1): 71-93.

Parsons, C. D., 1985. Healing Practices in thé South

Pacifie. Institute of Polynesian Studies, Brigham YoungUniversity-Hawaii. lSBN-0939154560.

Prélude Medicinals Database. 2005. (http://www. metafro.be/prelude?set_languageïen&cl=en)

Samorini, G. 1976. An African Kykeon? Eleusis, No. 4.pgs 40-41.

South Pacifie Régional Environment Program (SPREP).2002. Women making money in thé Solomon Islands.

(http://www.sprep. org.ws/publication/webpage/001annual_report2002/

WomenmakingmoneyintheSolomonlslands. htm)Stévart, T. 1999. Les orchidées de Sào Tome et Principe.

Canopée, No. 15 pgs. 3-4.Taha, A. and Alsayed, H. 2000. Brine shrimp bioassay

of ethanol extracts of Sesuvium vemcosum, Sal-

sola baryosma and Zygophyllum quatarense médicinalplants from Bahrain. Phytotherapy research , Vol. 14:48-50.

Terralingua. 2004. Global Source Book on BioculturalDiversity. Draft version available at

http://www.terralingua.org/GDBBCD.htmTerrawatu. 2004. Bridging Indigenous and Modem Worlds

(http://www.terrawatu.org/pages/front.htm)Torr, R. 2005. Bahrain - a rosé by any othername.. ! Daily

Gulf News, VI: XXVII, No. 345, Friday 4 March.(http://www. gulf-daily-news. com/Story. asp7Articles1058

10&Sn=BNEW&lssuelD=27349)

United Nations (UN). 2005. Mauritius Déclaration(Outcome of International Meeting to Review thé

Implementation of thé Programme of Action for théSustainable Development of Small Island Develop-ing States), Document A/Conf 207/L.6, Port Louis,Mauritius, January 14.

UNEP. 2002. Maldives State of thé Environment Report.

ISBN: 92-807-2140-2. pgs 86.UNEP. 2005. Pacifie Environment Outlook. UNEP/SPREP

Spécial Edition for thé Mauritius International meetingfor thé 10-year Review of thé Barbados Programme ofAction for thé Sustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States authored by M. Mclntyre (SPREP)and Edited byS. Heileman (Consultant). pgs 91;

Vannuccini, S. 1999, Shark Utilization, Marketing andTrade, ISBN: 9251043612m pgs 407.

ISSN:04299345 (http://www. fao. org/documents/show_cdr. asp?url_file=/docrep/005/x3690e/x3690e00. htm)

Viegas, J. 2005. Ancient Perfumery Found in Cyprus.Discovery News, March 10

(http://dsc.discovery. com/news/briefs/20050307/per-fumery. html)

Walter. S. 2001. Non-wood Forest Products in Africa:

A Régional and National Overview. (http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/003/Y1515B/y1515b08. htm).

Whistler, W.A. 1985. Traditional and herbal medicine

in thé Cook Islands. Journal of Ethnopharmacology,

Vol. 13(3): 239.Winkleman, M. and Dobkin de RIOS, M. 1989 Psycho-

active properties of Ikung Bushmen Medicine Plants.

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol. 21:51 -59.Worid Health Organization (WHO). 2002. WHO Tradi-

tional Medicine Strategy 2002 - 2005, 62 pgs. Geneva,Switzeriand: WHO/EDM/TRM 2002.

herbal industry comprised of aromatic, médicinal andculinary plant products. encourage and promote research éducation andtraining in thé demain of Caribbean herbs.

i" Thé US Virgin Islands has Observer Status in AOSISand SIDS.

is Landlocked by Guyana, Brazil, and French Guiana andwith northern frontier open to thé Atlantic Océan, Suri-name is memberof Thé Alliance ofSmall Island States

(AOSIS) - a coalition of small island and low-lyingcoastal countries that share similar development chal-

lenges and concems about thé environment, especiallytheir vulnerability to thé adverse effects of global climatechange. It functions primarily as an ad hoc lobby andnegotiating voice for Small Island Developing States(SIDS) (which includes Suriname as a member) withinthé United Nations System.

i6 Thé Bulletin of thé European Union (EU) provides amonthly insight into thé activities of thé European Com-mission and its interaction with other Community enti-ties collaboration such as thé South Pacifie Commission

within thé framework of EU -ACPa coopérationa = ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacifie (ACP)States

" Natural medicine still useful in Marshall Islands. In:

Pacifie Béat update of June 18, 2002, ABC Radio

Australia. Transcript available at: http://abc. net. au/ra/pacbeaVstories/s5845660. htm

18 Thé Secrétariat of thé Pacifie Community (SPC) - withits headquarters in Nouméa, New Caledonia and its

régional office in Suva, Fiji, is thé premier régionaltechnical and development organization of thé Pacifieislands. Since its inception SPC has carried outseveralscience and technology programmes amongst whichseaweed farming figures prominently. Information onthé advances made in seaweed farming in Fiji, Kiribati,Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu maybe obtained from offices in New Caledonia and Fiji [email protected]

19 Shell money called tafuliae results from a lengthy labourintensive process that involves thé making up ofof 10

strings of shell disks threaded together in particularpatterns using a mixture of red, black, white and brown

colours. Thé red-lipped rock oyster called romu (Chamapacifica) provides red coloured disks. Thé small white

shell known locally as kee (Beguina semi-orbiculata)when heated gives orange disks. Black disks areobtained from thé horse mussel shells called kurila(Atrina vexillum); and thick white disks are obtainedfrom a cockle (Anadara granosa).

10 Quotation by SPREP Coastal Management AdvisorMary Power, SPREP is coordinating thé SolomonIslands Women in Fisheries Project that is being carriedout by thé Environmental Concerns Action Network of

thé Solomon Islands (ECANSI) with Canadian govem-ment funding provided through thé Canada-SouthPacifie Océan Development Program. "Thé goal of théProject is to understand thé important issues ofsustain-'

able management, conservation and development ofmarine resources currently faced by thé women," Seealso (SPREP, 2002).

21 Thé Vedas which were composed about 1500 BCand written down about 600 BC speak of. Hymnsof thé Atharva-Veda. Extracts from thé ritual booksand thé commentaries. In Sacred books of thé east.Trans. Maurice Bloomfield, 1847 vol. 42: Vll-56, Vlll-7www. sacred-texts. com

Traditional knee-length Hibiscus plant-derived skirtwom by Yapanese women. g

?:

l

Notes' Further information may be obtained from:

a) Stevart T. 1998. Etude sur les orchidées de SâoTome et Principe. Mémoire de licence, Université librede Bruxelles, Laboratoire de botanique systématiqueet de phytosociologie, 117 p. + 191 p. annexes.b) Stevart T. 1999.Rapport de mission sur les orchidéesde Sâo Tome et Principe. Projet ECOFAC (Conserva-tion et utilisation rationnelle des écosystèmes forestiersd'Afrique centrale), AGRECO-GEIE, Bruxelles, 364 p.

2 Guinea Bissau land-bounded on thé north by Sénégal,on thé east and south by Guinea, and on thé west bythé Atlantic Océan includes about 60 offshore islands

amongst which are thé nearby Bijagos (Bissagos) Ar-chipelago and other islands in thé Atlantic and amongstwhich are encountered thé Orange National Park, théJoao Vieira & Poilao National Park and thé Cantanhez

protected area. Guinea-Bissau is included in this articleas it is a member of thé Small Island Developing StatesNetwork (SIDSNET) and of thé Alliance ofSmall IslandStates (AOSIS).

3 Several plant species (1) - Cassia sieberiana (Fam-ily name (FN): Caesalpiniaceae), local name (LN):Sambasintche-andje); (2) - Dichrostachys glomerata(FN: Mimosaceae; LN: Burle); (3) - Entada abyssinic(FN: Mimosaceae; LN: Fulani) and (4) - Erythrinasenegalensis (FN: Mimosaceae; LN: Fulani) are usedin treatment of sinusitis and influenza.

4 Prélude (Programme for Research and Link betweenUniversitiesforDevelopment), recognized by UNESCOand updated January 26, 2005, is an initiative of thé Bel-gian Directorate Générale for Development Coopération(DGDC) in collaboration with thé Belgian Royal Muséumfor Central Africa (RMCA) that concems thé use ofplants in traditional human and veterinary medicines;and which is linked to thé proprietary database software

www.metafro.beof thé MetadataAfrican Organization.Thé Prélude database deals with thé use of about 1 .900

plants in traditional veterinary and human medicine inmore than 13000 recipes from Sub-Saharan Africa.

' Thé National biodiversity and Action Plan of thé Mal-dives was developed by thé Ministry of Home Affairs,Housing and thé Environment (MHAHE) with supportfrom thé United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and thé Global Environmental Facility (GEF)within thé framework of thé following projects:a) National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy andAction Plan and Report to thé CBD including ClearingHousing Mechanisms (CHM) - project No:649;and,b) Atoll ecosystem-based conservation of globallysignificant biological diversity in thé Maldives' Baa Atoll-Project No: 1044

5 Report from thé Republic of Cyprus in framework ofINFORRMa-IENICAb project funded under thé FifthFramework Programme by DG XII of thé EuropeanCommission.

a) INFORRM = Industry Network for Renewable Re-sources and Materials

b) IENICA= Interactive European Network for IndustrialCrops and their Applications

7 'El Proyecto Mediano TRAMIL-UNEP titulado:Conservaciôn de la Bioversidad e Integraciôn delConociemento Tradicional de Plantas Médicinales a las

Politicas de Attenciôn Primaria de Salud en Centroa-

merica y Caribe' es ejecutado por enda-caribe, travésdel Programa TRAMIL (GFL/2713-01-4356)'.

8 Recognized as a UNESCO World Héritage Site ofhistorical, cultural and architectural significance.

9 Thé Asian Development Bank provided assistancein 2000 towards thé préparation of thé MasterS&T plan that was finalized in draft form in 2001

for considération of délibération and adoption."Squalene is used as a bactéricide, an intermediate in thé

manufacture of pharmaouticals and aromatics, Nowadaysit is extensively used as an additive in pharmaceuticalpréparations, cosmetics and health foods. As squalane it isalso used in skin care products, as it is a natural emollientand is considered to be efficient in healing wounds and in

preventing thé multiplication of bacteria" Adapted from Research reports -Aromatic and Medici-

nal Plants, Instituts of Agriculture, University of Malta(http://www.home. um.edu. mVioa/amp.html)

12 Does not include Centre for Genetic Engineering and

Biotechnology (CIGB) a globally recognized institute atHavana as one of thé world's best biopharmaceutical

research institutes outside thé US and Europe, andwhich has a staff of about 700 people nor thé CentroNacional de Biopreparados (BIOCEN), Instituto CarlosD Finlay, Centra de Inmunoensayo (CIE), and thé Centrode Inmunologia Molecular (CIM). BIOCEN for example,markets 55 products complying with ISO standards.Four production facilities of thé Finlay institute supplyCuba and customers from developing countries withvaccines and sera and there are 82 CIE labs; some of

them located in thé former Soviet Union, Ghana, Brazil

and Colombia. Moreover, Cuba through a generousbiennial donation to UNESCO makes possible thé award

by UNESCO of thé Carlos Finlay Prize in Microbiology- thé only prize in thé UN System for this discipline.

"Thé Caribbean Association ofResearchers and Herbal

Practitioners was established in 1998 to ensure that

ail Caribbean national authorities recognize that somemédicinal plants possess. therapeutic properties in treating and preventingdisease in humans and animais

. support thé émergence of a safe sustainable médicinal

l


DOD^iyM

ev MATTHEW LEAVESLEY AND IM HOMAS

Thé history of diversityThé Pioneers of Island Melanesia

project seeks to investigate thé evo-lutionary history of thé remarkable

linguistic, cultural and genetic diver-sity exhibited by Island Melanesianpopulations.

There are about 200 différent lan-

guages in this area of thé world. Someare part of thé Oceanic sub-branch

of thé Austronesian family, and arethought to hâve entered thé région3500 years ago with thé appearanceof an archaeological culture knownas Lapita. Others are currently classi-fied as belonging to thé unrelated andpooriy understood East Papuan group,perhaps deriving from languagesspoken by pre-Lapita populationsliving in thèse islands for thé previous40,000 years.

A gréât deal of variation in mate-

rial culture, social and technologicalpractice accompanies thé linguisticdiversity. We know very little abouthow this was generated.

In order to understand thé prehistoryof this région we need to explain théway m which populations interactedand diversity was generated and main-tamed. This involves identifying andanalysing thé nature ofboundaries andafiinities in language and material cul-ture. One aspect ofthis is determiningan answer to thé following question:

To what extent does material cultural

variation parallel thé pattern of lan-guage distribution and historv?

Developing models:phylogeny and reticulationCurrent thinking suggests two modelsfor thé génération ofdiversity:

l. Thé phylogenetic model - ances-

tral populations split into divergentparts through time, becoming graduallydifférent interms oflanguage, artefactsand biology. Consequently, material

culture and language co-vary in time

and space, as a package accompanying

identifiable and distinct population his-tories. In thé Island Melanesia case we

might expect that Papuan-speaking and

Austronesian-speaking groups would

hâve distinct material cultures, paral-

leling their linguistic historiés.

2. Thé reticulate or 'net-like' model

- material culture is independent oflanguage, often transmitted between

populations and across linguistic

boundaries. Borrowing and exchange

between geographically proximategroups créâtes distributions of artefactsthat are unrelated to language. If truefor Island Melanesia we would expectPapuaa-speakers and Austronesian-

speakers to hâve historiés characterised

by interaction and thus share material

culture.

BUT: It has become increasinglyapparent that each model, on its own,is an inadéquate means of explainingthé formation and nature of material

culture boundaries. It is seldom a case

ofeither/or in most parts of thé world

(Jordan & Shennan 2002; Welsch et al.

1992; Moore & Romney 1994).

We need a subtle methodology thatallows for, and can explain, différentpattems and proportions of variationand transmission, and is applicableat différent scales and with différent

datasets. Our work seeks to achieve

this, conducting a séries of detailedquantitative and qualitative analyses

of Melanesian material culture. Thé

results of thèse analyses will be directlycompared with thé linguistic researchproduced by Pioneers oflsland Mela-

nesia collaborators.

Matthew Leavesleywas an undergradu-ate studeiit of Melanesian archaeologyat La Trobe University, Bmdoora beforeundertaking graduate studies at thé Schoolof Afchaeology and Anthropotogy atttie Australian National University in

Canberra, hew is eurrently a postdoctoral researeher atthé Leverhulme Centre for Huraan EvoluSonary Studies at théUniversityof Cambridge.

ïïm Thomas (PhD Anthropology, Otago)Is a postdoctoral research fellow at théUnwersity of Carobridge, and is soon totake up a Lectureship at thé Universiiy ofOtago in New Zealand. He has conductedSeldwerk in thé Soloinon tslands, Cook Is-

tands, andAmerlcan Saawa. His i-esearch

interests focus on raateriat culture studies, tandscaps anthropol-ogy, and Melanesian etftnogiïiphy and arehaeology.

A sub-project of thé OML Pioneers of Island Melanesiaresearch programme.

u

a

i^i

a0

g:

ceï

l

21

Data sélection:examining levels and kinds ofbetween-group artefact variation

We intend to look at a range of datatypes - moving beyond single-class

artefact studies. We expect that dif-ferent artefacts, and différent artefact

attributes, will tell us différent thingsabout diversity. We will examine théfollowing kinds of variation throughoutIsland Melanesia:

l. Presence/absence of artefact

types

2. Stylistic (attribute) variation

within a single artefact type: a) stylisticsimilarity but différent meaning/use;b) stylistic différence but identical

meaning/use; e) similar style and mean-

ing, but with social result of groupdiiïerentiation;

3. Manufacture séquence varia-

tion within a single artefact type:

a) Complexity/simplicity of séquences-relatively long production séquencesmay promote vertical transmission of

abjects and/or résistance to borrowing.Complex séquences can be enclavedthrough spécialisation, and ritual.b) Modes of learning/transmission- may or may not be lineage based.

4. Nomenclature

Both abjects and words are subject toprocesses that either promote or limittransmission. A comparison between

thé distribution of abjects and relatednouns will investigate thé direction of

transmission and thé degree to whichthey co-vary or follow their own unre-

lated trajectories.

Determining sources ofdiversity: thé complexgénération of patterningPhylogenetic and reticulate models

tend to simplify transmission intotwo directions: Vertical (time) andHorizontal (space). We need to breakthèse down to achieve a more thoroughunderstanding.. History: much of thé material condi-

tions ofpeople's lives are transmitted

generationally, and we can expectthat some artefacts will exhibit

Shell Ring Exchange Média

Poata - New Georgia, Solomon Islands

Kiha - Rendova, Solomon Islands

[Bakiha in Roviana, Solomons]

Hâta 'imu - San Cristobal. Solomon Islands

[Amfat in New Ireland]

,./ \ ',

\>

Bokolo - Simbo, Solomon Islands

[Hokata in Roviana, Solomons]

Bakiha mendaka - Roviana, Solomon Islands

/7'

(ï;.

^:-

^^

Hinuili

. -. 'wi^ -.

^"\ "

^c

/

\

^'->.-

.y

^.^"

^

- Solomon Islands

(Ail artefacts from Auckland War Mémorial Muséumcollections. Photographed by Tim Thomas.)

continuity through time. Broadlyspeaking, people with différent his-tories may hâve différent material

cultures.

. 'Passive' change: isolation, bot-

tleneck effects, and transmission

errors result in cumulative variation

in material cultures, so that throughtime groups become différent with-

outreally 'trying'.. 'Active' change: because material

culture is a form of communication

in its own right, certain artefacts can

be utilised as boundary markers,expressing différent fonns of iden-

tity, domination, résistance etc.

. Functional and resource driven change:

thé patteming of natural resourcesand raw materials impacts thé kindsofthings people make and use.

. Trade and cérémonial exchange:

material culture variation often

reflects thé purposive circulation ofabjects through space via networksof interaction.

n Borrowing, learning and skills trans-

mission: thé production of artefactscan be copied, taught, or learned

from sources of innovation or inter-

mediary parties.

Detailed Melanesian ethnographies,muséum collections and archaeologi-cal surveys enable us to develop a richaccount of thèse processes. We can mapexchange networks, test for environmen-

tal corrélations, and examine modes of

production and leaming. Ultimately thiswill result in a better understanding ofwhat is meant by 'diversity', and howthis relates to population historiés.

RéférencesHaddon, A. C. and J. Hornell, 1937 Canoës of Oceania:

Volume II, Thé Canoës of Melanesia. Queensland and

New Guinea. Bishop Muséum Spécial Publication 28Honolulu.

Moore, C. C. and A.K. Romney, 1994 Material Culture,Géographie Propinquity, and LinguisticAffiliation on théNorth Coast of New Guinea: A Reanalysis of Welsch,Terrell and Nadolski (1992). American Anthropologist96(2):370-392.

Shennan, S. and P. Jordan, 2003 Cultural transmis-

sion, Language, and Basketry Traditions amongstthé Californian Indians. Journal of AnthropologicalArchaeology 22:42-74.

Welsch, R. L, J.Terrell, and J.A. Nadolski, 1992 Languageand Culture on thé North Coast of New Guinea. Ameri-can Anthropologist. 94(3):568-600.

Anthropologists hâve often explained

population similarities and différencesas a result of changes in human inter-

action across time and space. Whileinteraction may structure thé distribu-

tion of similar cultures, gènes, andartifacts, not ail aspects ofhuman cul-ture and biology are equally affected:

some similarities may result from

interaction, others from a shared past,or thé development ofsimilar cultural

solutions in unrelated populations. ThéPacifie Islands présent an idéal culturaland natural environment to explore thérelationship between interaction andmaterial cultural diversity. Colonizingthé Pacifie, voyagers sailed east leav-ing thé islands ofMelanesia and reach-

ingFiji(Fig. l)byc. 1000 BC. Islandgroups further to thé east in Polynesiawere colonized aver thé ensuing cen-tunes. Fiji occupies a unique locationin thé Pacifie on thé boundary betweenMelanesian cultural diversity andPolynesian homogeneity. Thé historyof interaction in Fiji and its relationshipto Fijian cultural diversity is importantforunderstanding large-scale questionsabout thé région. To better understandancient Fijian interaction and material

culture similarity we may begin witha simple question:

How does ceramic similarity reflectchanging patternsof cultural diversityin Fiji?

Clay compositional groups in archae-

ological ceramic assemblages define

Ë@ra[nn]0(

ETHAN COCHRANE

Yasawa

Etends

r-'a. iscuca

ÏÙfX

baseline pattems ofhuman interaction

in thé Yasawas. Compositional data

were generated through LA-ICP-MS

(Fig. 2) on aver 300 sherds from sev-eral time periods and sites. Principalcomponent and hierarchical cluster-ing analyses were used to identifycompositional groups in thé elemental

data set. Thé distribution of shared

compositional groups across sitesreflects thé spatial scale of interaction.For example, sherds dated to thé earii-

Fig. 2: LA-ICP-MS allows thé archaeologist to target aprécise area of thé ceramic matrix for detailed chemicalanalysis. Hère l hâve laid out a raster pattem on thé claypaste, avoiding temperparticles. Thé laser (blue light) isablating thé pattem.

Fig. l. Thé Yasawa Islands

form a gentle arc approximately40 km northwest of thé main

Fijian Island ofViti Levu.Analyzed ceramics are iromexcavated and surface collected

sites throughout thé Yasawas.

est occupations (e. 800 BC) belong toa Yasawa-Mamanuca compositionalgroup defined by a north-southcontin-uum of rare earth élément abundances

(Fig. 3). A handful of exoticsherdsfrom this time period suggest Yasawapopulations were in contact with other

areas of Fiji as well.

Early (e. 800 BC)Yasawa populations

interacted frequently with those closestto them and primarily only within aYasawa-Mamanuca population. Thèse

populations also interacted with a

larger, probably pan-Fijian population,but at a much lower frequency.

Early vessels, rims, and décorations

Ethan Cochranereceived his Ph.D. ffom

thé Uflivereityof Hawaii wh6» his researchoncentrated on styliste and mmpositionalvariation among Fijian ceramlcs. He hasalso worked in Micronesia, Samoa, and

througtout thé Hawaiian islands studyingprehistoric settlement pattems and nionumental architectureaffiong oiher tapies. Dr. Cochrafle also specializes in archaeo-logical mettiod and theory and evolutionary theory. He is cur-rendy Lectufer in Pacifie tsland Archaeology at thé Institute ofArchaeology, University Coilege London.

loa

s

l


0 " « .»<0^^

. .. *; o Os

"0^ &.

-1.00 -050 0.00

Tbl59 ^>pm ïglO)

Fig. 3. Sherds at either end of thé REE continuum are

easily separated into compositional groups. Blue datapoints represent sherds made &om northem Yasawasclays, red data points those made from southemYasawa-Mamanuca clays. Circles are sherds excavatedfrom thé Olo site on Waya Island. Triangles are sherdsfrom thé Natia site on Nacula Island. See Fig. l for sitelocations.

at thé sites of Olo, Qaranicagi, andNatia (Fig. 4) are predominantly madewith local clays; only 6% of thèse earlysherds are made from exotic materials.

However, ail of thé eariy vessel fonnsat thèse sites are also found throughoutFiji. Eariy décoration and surface treat-

ments at thèse sites are found across

Fiji as well. During this time 100-200years after colonization, Fijians did notmove ceramics aroundthe archipelago,but were interacting enough to transmitideas about vessel manufacture.

Mid-sequence (e. 300 BC - AD 800)

ceramics were excavated from Qara-

nicagi cave in thé Yasawas (Fig. 5).

Compositional analysis of sherd claysuggests that interaction patterns atthis time were similar to those of

thé earliest inhabitants. During thémid-sequence people in thé Yasawasinteracted frequently with those clos-

est to them and primarily within a

Yasawa-Mamanuca population. At thé

beginning of thé mid-sequence offewexotic sherds appear, but contacts witha wider pan-Fijian population diminishover time.

Mid-sequence vessels, rims, anddécorations are différent from those

présent in early Yasawa deposits, but

again are very similar to forms found

throughout Fiji (Fig. 6). Invertedand shallow bowl forms remain and

there is a decrease in thé diversity ofrestricted neckjars. New fonns includelarge, ovoid restricted neck pots. Mid-séquence décorations and surface

modifications are sparse and includerim notching and paddle impressingof parallel rib motifs - décorationsfound throughout Fiji. Again it appearsthat with even limited movement of

ceramic materials, thé people of théYasawas shared vessel and décorative

traits with people throughout Fiji.Late séquence (e. AD 800-1700)

Yasawa populations underwent a

rapid change in interaction patternsevidenced by restricted compositional

Fig. 4. Early vessel and rim fonns are found

at sites in thé Yasawas and throughout Fiji.Thé notehed rim and crescent shape decora-tions are also found throughout Fiji as muchas 250 km from thé Yasawas.

Fig. 5. Qaranicagi cave on Waya Island containsapproximately 2.6 m ofcultural deposits dating frome. 800 BC to récent times. Field school students are

excavating deposits containing ceramics, charcoal,faunal remains, and other artifacts.

Fig. 6. Mid-sequence vessels, surface modi-fications, and décorations from thé Yasawas

are similar to those found throughout Fiji atthé time.

diversity of late-sequence ceram-ics (Fig. 7). Late-sequence ceramics

excavated from Qaranicagi do not

dérive from a Yasawa-Mamanuca

compositional group defined by anorth-south continuum of rare earth

élément abundances. Instead theydérive almost solely from thé north-ern, Yasawa-end of this continuum.

During thé late séquence thé scale ofinteraction involving ceramic materialscontracted.

-1.00 -0.50 0.00

Tb159(ppmlog10)

Fig. 7. Late séquence sherds from Qaranicagi (greensquares) are predominantly associated with thé north-em end of thé REE continuum defining thé Yasawa-Mamanuca compositional group. ByAD 800 Yasawapopulations were using ceramic materials from a moreresfricted géographie space. Red and blue data pointsare thé early sherds at either end of thé REE continuumplottedmFig. 3.

Late séquence vessels, rims, and

décorations differ from mid-sequencematerials, but are similar to other areas

in Fiji (Fig. 8). Bowls ofvarious typescontinue throughout thé late séquencedeposits, some of thèse bowls from e.AD 1000 show incised décorations

identical to vessels from Viti Levu.

Large flare-rimmed jars are found inthé Yasawas and throughout Fiji atthis time. Impressed surface treatments

such as parallel ribs continue from mid-séquence deposits and are found alongwith a checkered impressed form.Checkered impressing, like parallelribbing, is found throughout Fiji. Bythé end of thé séquence incised decora-tion often appears on sherds.

Temper practices change dramati-cally in a high proportion of lateséquence sherds from Qaranicagi datedto e. AD 1500-1700 (Fig. 9). Thèsesherds contain abundant amounts of

calcareous sand temper. This repre-sents a dramatic change from earlyceramics containing a random mix

of lithic and calcareous tempères.Interestingly, 70% of thé sherds withabondant temper are made from exoticclays and represent contact betweenYasawan and probably pan-Fijianpopulations.

An inaccurate picture of ancient

interaction and population diversity isproduced by examining only ceramicdécoration and vessel forms. Alone,thèse dimensions ofceramic similarity

suggest that Yasaw populations main-tained consta.nt and relatively unvary-ing interaction with thé rest of Fiji.This would also suggest that diversity

among Fijian populations is, past and

présent, a function solely of interactionand cultural transmission. Combiningprovenance analyses with analyses ofother dimensions ofceramic similarity

demonstrates that thé pervasive simi-

larity of décoration and vessel fonns

in Fiji must be interpreted against abackground of contracting interactionwith some periods of wider ranging

contact. This suggests several explana-

tiens for ceramic similarity.

Frequency

Fig. 9. Thé proportion ofsherd with abondantcalcareous sand temper (30% by volume) increasesdramatically in thé upper excavation levels atQaranicagi cave.

Fig. 8. Late séquence vesseland rim forms are found

at sites in thé Yasawas and

throughout Fiji. Thé decora-tions and padddle-impressingtechniques are also présent atother sites in Fiji.

Thé shared decrease ofvessel diversity and similardécorations during thé mid-sequence indicate somecultural transmission across pan-Fijan populations, butceramic similarities may also be generated by similarprocesses in separate populations that limit costlyproduction of multiple vessel variants.

With interaction at a dramatically smaller spatial space,and almost no exotic ceramics, Yasawa populationsof thé late séquence still share many décorative andtechnological ceramic characteristics with thé restof Fiji. Perhaps and ecological "crunch" suggestedby paleoenvironmental work fostered compétitiveinteraction and cultural transmission.

g

ls

2m

S

l

Thé early sharing ofvessel forms and décorations maybe produced through a combination ofcontemporarycultural transmission, and local rétention ofpast sharedcultural traits.

Thé exotic sherds and changed tempering practicesofYasawa populations during thé last several hundredyears indicates contact with other populations andpossibly overriding fimctional reasons influencingsimilar ceramic technologies.


EDGAR DASlLVA

AbstractVulnérable to thé vicissitudes of globalization, bio-technological issues such as traditional medicines,intellectual property rights, gender and biosafety areofrelevance in thé Pacifie islands. Thé région with itsexclusive économie zone of 15 million km2 possesses

a unique and unrivalled combination ofgeographicallylocated bioresources of cultural and socioeconomic

significance.

Introduction

Thé calming remedy and thé therapeu-tic serenity in a world ofsocio-cultural

development in thé Pacifie région, and

more particularly thé South Pacifie

région has been captured in thé PulitzerPrize-winning novel Taies of thé SouthPacifie by James Michener, and in thé

cinematic musical by Richard Rodg-

ers and Oscar Hammerstein Jr. This

région of geographical and politicalsignificance, whose stratégie locationbas been described as thé Pacifie Rimor thé Pacifie Arc, is spreadwide acrosssome 29 km2 of thé Pacifie Océan that

is home to about 30, 000 islands. Thèse

in tum constitute some 22 countries

and territories with a land surface

of 550,000 km2 contained in either

single island states or in groups oflarge and small dispersed islands that

are inhabited by a total population ofsome 8. 5 million inhabitants constitut-

ing a fascinating amalgam of people,religion and diverse cultures.

Thé Pacifie régionand médicinal piants

Your food shall be your medicine

and your medicine shall be your

food.

Hippocrates (460-377 B. C.)

Thé Pacifie région and especially that ofthé South Pacifie islands that constitute

an area of stratégie geographical and

political significance often described asthé Pacifie Rim or thé Pacifie Arc is richin socio-cultural traditions that hâve

long been acknowledged as a remédiaifount of mental calm and corporal well-

being. Thé island states and territories

of thé Pacifie région, collectively calledOceania', hâve been grouped into threedistinct socio-cultural régions (Box l)

Box 1

namely, Micronesia, Melanesia and

Polynesia.

Enjoying widespread géographie and

geological diversity in terrestrial andmarine ecosystems thé Pacifie régionencompasses several small island states

some of which are made up of manysmall islands. Many of thèse Pacifieisland states are naturally endowedwith a biodiversity of endémie, endan-

gered, rare and threatened species.

* This contribution is an abridged version of thé articleThé Pacifie Islands: a biotechnology resource bank ofmédicinal plants and traditional intellectual property in :World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 20 (9):903-934, 2004, (DaSilva et al. ), Springer Netherlands,with kind permission.

Former Director, Division of Life Sonces,UNESCO and Memberof INSULA's Board

of Directors, Dr. Edgar DaSilva is currentlyProfesser Extraordinary in thé Depart-ment of Microbial, Biochemical and Food

Biotechnology at thé Univeisity de Vrystaat in South A-fricaand vislting Professor at Osaka University in Japan. He waseducated at thé Unlvereity of Boinbay, and tater did »searchand teaching at académie InstituttQns and universities in Nonvay,Finland and Sweden.Contact: International ScientBc Council fer Island

Development (INSUIA), cto UNESCO, 1 rue Miotlis,Paris 75015, France

E-mail : e.dasilva@wanadoo. fr)

(a) Island States and Territories of thé Pacifie Région - Source: WorldAtlas.wmMelanesia Micronesia

Group of islands northeast of Group of islands east of thé Philippines, thé Mari-New Caledonia and including thé independent ana Islands, and including Palau, thé Federatedcountries of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, thé Solo- States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribatimon Islands and Vanuatu and Nauru

(b) Governance in thé Pacifie Région - Schoeffel (2000)2

Independent States States in Free association

Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua Cook Islands (New Zealand);New Guinea, Samoa, Federated States ofSolomon Islands, Tonga, Micronesia, Palau and théTuvalu and Vanuatu Marshall Islands (USA)

Polynesia

Group of islands including ail French Polynesia andthé Austral Islands, thé Easter and Pitcairn Islands,

Wallis and Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tuvalu

and Tonga

Territories

Easter Island (Chile);

French Polynesia, New Caledonia,

and Wallis and Futuna (France);

Tokelau (New Zealand); American

Samoa, Guam and Marianas (USA)

0

ifc^

g

e

l

27

Amongst thèse menaced indigenous

bioresources of thé Pacifie région thé

world of médicinal plants occupies an

important socio-economic niche. Thèse

valuable and vulnérable médicinal

bioassets, edible in some cases, are

continuously exposed to thé risk of

irréparable loss that émerges from thégrowth and expansion of thé tourist

industry which is in constant search ofnewer small island havens conducive

to corporal and mental relaxation.

Several of thèse small island states with

their isolated geographical locations,their vulnérable économies are at a

disadvantage at thé take-off point inlarge-scale technological developmentwithin a worldwide market-oriented

economy. Given thé limited occur-

renée of natural resources of low- or

médium level économie potential thérange ofbioindustrial options is virtu-ally non-existent. Nevertheless, thébank oftraditional intellectual property(TIP) in thé Pacifie island countries

conceming médicinal plant resources

and their use constitutes a stratégieéconomie input in thé émergenceof new markets of green medicinalsthat are increasingly being acceptedin thé industrialisée societies as a

realistic alternative to thé rising costsof commercialized and conventional

allopathie healthcare products. ThéCook Islands, thé Federated States

of Microaesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru,Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, thé

Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa,Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and

Vanuatu possess valuable resources

of traditional knowledge concern-ing thé uses of herbal medicines andmédicinal plants that are, indisputably,of économie significance in thé dailysustenance of thé Pacifie island com-

munities.

Thé World Health Organization(WHO) deflnes traditional medicine

to include diverse health practices,approaches, knowledge and beliefsincorporating plant, animal and/or min-

eral based medicines, spiritual thera-

pies, manual techniques and exercises

applied singulariy or in combination to

maintain well-being, as well as to treat,diagnose or prevent illnesses (WHO2002). Activities conceming thé use ofherbal medicines3 and médicinal plantsin thé Cook Islands, thé Federated States

of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru,Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, théRepublic of Marshall Islands, Samoa,Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu andVanuatu are dealt with though not inan exhaustive manner.

Traditional intellectual property,often described as traditional knowl-

edge accumulated from thé experi-ences and observations of succeedinggénérations of self-taught villagepractitioners and mral dispensers ofaiedicinal plants, facilitâtes thé under-standing of contemporary culturalhéritage and societal practices in thé

Fig. 1. Number of plants used in thé Pacifie Région for thé treatmentof différent aliments

50-1

4Q»i

No- of plants îo-j

,/^^%^ .^

....ci"

^

use of médicinal plants concerningthé conservation ofhealth and human

resources (Figure l). Indeed, thé folk-

lore science of thèse islands accrues

from thé precious and priceless herit-âge of accumulated indigenous andtraditional knowledge (Nandwani &DaSilva 2003).

Humankind since time immémorial

has depended upon plants as a source

of food and medicine for their well-

being, shelter, protection and survivalagainst climatic forces and changing

environments. Entrepreneurial rural

and village cultures worldwide consti-

tute a rich source for anthropological,botanical, and ecological researchvis-à-vis thé search for new drugs,

foods, pesticides, natural products,etc., to meet thé demands of thé âgeof global consumerism. In thé Pacifie

région, like in Asia and thé Caribbean

région, traditional médicinal knowl-

edge aver a span of some 3000 yearsbas been accumulated for simplistichealthcare use. Home to a large numberof ethnie cultures and diverse socio-

économie mcome generatmg groups,

thé Pacifie islands possess a wealth ofbioresources. Micronesia, Melanesia

and Polynesia are acknowledgedtreasurehouses of folkloric medicine

and domesticated health conservation

skills. Folk medicine in Tonga bas beenused in rural areas for obstetric and

gynecological conditions and disorders

(Singhetal. 1984).Médicinal applications, concoctions

and décoctions refined and 'standard-

ized' through repeated domestic usehâve contributed to thé developmentof self-sustaining traditional health-care Systems in thé conservation of

early and contemporary human health

resources in thé Pacifie région. Tradi-tional medicine in thé Pacifie islands

having evolved from thé applicationsof a wide range of médicinal plantsprimarily in mral and village societies

is today a much coveted cultural andiatellectual property héritage that has

been fiercely and secretly guarded byfamily, communal healers and tribal

island practitioners (Nandwani 2003).

Moreover, such héritage and propertyis thé raison d'ètre oftheir livelihoods

and an indisputable factor for their self-

sustaining existence. Notwithstandingthé attraction, thé introduction, and

efficiency of modem medicine, manyPacifie island communities are unwill-

ing to forego their confidence, culturalcustoms and reliance in their traditional

medicines that hâve contributed to their

socio-cultural wellbeing aad health-care for décades through use of eitherone or more parts of médicinal plants(DaSilva et al, 2004).

In Fiji, a tea of thé kava root is used

to treat kidney and bladder ailments.

Thé root when chewed is considered to

be effective as a contraceptive. In fact,this médicinal plant bas been consid-

ered as a virtual all-round remedy fora number of aliments ranging fromsexually transmitted diseases e. g.gonorrhoea to that of muscle achesand headaches.

Médicinal plants of marine origin- green, brown and red algae in théPacifie région contain between 10

and 20 percent protein, fibre, calcium,iodine, iron and potassium, trace ele-ments, and vitamins A, C, E, and thé

vitamin-B group inclusive ofespeciallyvitamin B, and bio-active compoundsof médical significance. Given their

usage m traditional Chinese, Japaneseand Pacifie island medicine. seaweeds

are a natural resource bank ofagroceu-ticals, cosmoceuticals, dermaceuticals,

and nutraceuticals that are finding theirway into contemporary pharmaceuti-

cal préparations as new health andskiacare market products in différentcultures and societies. In thé Solomon

Islands, coastal plants such as kokoilo(Calophyllum inophyllum), vutu (Bar-nngtonia asiatica), talise (Terminalia

catappd), tututu (Scaevola taccada)and sala (Ipomeapes-caprae) dominatethé coastal village areas. Thé peopleof Savo Island use some 70 per centof traditional médicinal plants, mostprobably obtained from Papua NewGuinea, as herbal medicine.

Aboriginal and MaoriMedicine

Early Aboriginal and thé Maori com-

munities, seemingly, were farhealthierthan their current day descendents andcompatriots whose ancestral settlers

arrived from thé northem hémisphèresome hundreds ofyears ago. Thé resortto traditional knowledge in thé use ofnative plants by thé early communitiesof native island inhabitants for food

and médicinal purposes bas contrib-uted through migration and tribal tradeto thé introduction and évolution of

médicinal plant usage in Micronesia,Melanesia and Polynesia. Some tra-ditional plants used in Aboriginal andMaori native plant-based medicinesare provided in Table l . Moreover, thé

practice of such medicine by currentdayAboriginal and Maori descendentsreveals thé availability of traditionalknowledge and apriceless héritage thathas been bequeathed from générationto génération through unwritten/ar-

macopoeias in thèse two communities.

Govemmental foresight and action has

been initiated to ensure against loss ofthis legacy of bush medicine4 as thèse

communities decrease in number and

succumb to thé customs, pressures,and vicissitudes of thé attractive glo-balizing occidental lifestyle. RongoaMaori or Maori plant-based medicines

hâve been researched as a resource

for skin balms and essential oils such

as manuka oil (Tairawhiti Pharma-

ceuticals Ltd. 1999) and tamanu oil

(Kilham, 1994).

An example of thé value and appreci-ation ofthis accumulation oftraditional

knowledge is to be found in thé postedinjunction Warning'. Aboriginal

people hâve expert hîowledge aboutplants. Some of thé plants listed hèrearepoisonous unless treated properly"

carried in a muséum information sheet

conceming aboriginal plant use in cur-

rent times (Muséum Victoria 2001).Eléments of similarity exist in thé

philosophies underlying thé practicesofAboriginal and Maori plant-basedmedicines. Thé aim of Aboriginal

medicine was to protect, conserveand sustain Aboriginal human healthresources through thé use of médicinalplants and herbal remédies and to rid

thé body of evil spirit either throughmassage (mirimirî) or suction by eithertribal men or women 'doctors'. In thé

case of Rongoa herbal (Maori) medi-ciné thé médicinal doctors or tohungaplayed an intermediary rôle in spiritualprayers (karakid) to thé gods (atua)since thé spiritual dimension {tahawairua) occupied an anchoring rôle inthé maintenance of thé mental (hinen-garo) and physical (tinana) wellness ofa Maori being. Most health discomfort

and illnesses like in ancient Indian cul-

ture resulted from a major deficiencyin spiritual health (wairua).

Pacifie Isiand MédicinalPlants and IntellectuaiProperty RightsIn thé Pacifie région, a vast majorityof thé people rely directly on thé richbiodiversity of island plants for theirfood and medicine. There is an abun-

dance of local knowledge and expertisepertaining to plant genetic resources

that has been in use aver a considérable

period oftime and which is in constant

évolution and upgrading. Traditionalknowledge is people's awareness atthé communal, rural and village levelsofsociety oftheir natural plant capitaland its bioeconomic and biomédical

significance in thé sustenance of thé

quality oftheir daily existence. In brief,traditional knowledge generated andaccumulated through years ofobserva-tion, practice and skills in acceptingand rejecting plant species as foodand medicine is nothing else but TIPthat provides usefùl leads for scientific

research. Leptospermum scoparium -a source of thé skin healthcare productmanuka is an apt example (TairawhitiPharmaceuticals Ltd. 1999).. Globalannual sales of products derivedfrom tapping of genetic resources liebetween US$ 500 and US$ 800 billion

annually (Kate & Laird 2002). Sales ofherbal medicine alone are estimated

?:§

le


TABLE 1 Aboriginal and Maori médicinal native plants

Abortglnal traditional médicinal planta

Botanical name

Acacia

pycnantha

Carpobrotusross»

Centipedia

cunninghammi

Clematis

microphylla

Eucalyptuscamaldulensisi

E. leucoxylon'connata'

Mentha australis

Aboriginalname

Karraank

Tunline

KeengKatwort

Gadwud

Gukwonderuk

Tarook

Be-alBeeul

BialBiel

DharnyaMooerr

PeealTa'art

Tarrk

Poang-gurk

Maori traditional médicinal plants

Aristotelia serrata

Caulerparacemosa

Coprosma

grandifolia

Coprosmarobusta

Halydroclathrus

Makomako

Rimu kai

(in Maori

medicine)

Manono

Karamu

Rimu orna

{Maoriréserves)

Plant partused

Gum from plant andnectar from

flowers;

Bark

Old plants

Whole plantboiled

Leaves

Leaves

Oil

Leaves

Leaves

Green marine

alga

Leaves

Plant

Marine brown

alga

Médicinal use

Mixed with

water ta préparea sweet drink;

Used to treat

indigestion

Treatment of

cuts and bites

Infusion drunk

to treat colds;

to treat ski n

complaints andinfections; and

in skincare

balm products forbabies and adults

Leaf poultice totreat blisters and

skin irritations

Leaves used in

aromatic steam

bath for various

illnesses; in

treatment of

diarrhoea

Used to treat

colds

Crushed leaves

and inhaled for

treatment of

colds and coughs

Infusion used to

make soothing tea tonic and

for cleansing of

sore eyes; leaves

used externallyfor burns and

boils

Used as folk

medicine

for rheumatism

in thé

Philippines

Used as poultices

to help healingfractures and

weak bones

Décoction used

for kidneytroubles, bladder

stoppage, andinflammation.

Eases stomach

ache and

vomiting

Used ta prevent

heart disease;

and during

pregnancy

Used in Aboriginal

Language and in

region/clan area

Gunditjmara

/ Victoria State (Australia)

Djab wurrung

Bungandit

GippslandGunai/Kurnai

Wotjobaluk

Djab wurrung;

Gunditjmara

Woi wurrung

Lake Boga

GunditjmaraWemba Wemba

Yorta Yorta

Wimmera

Djab wurrung

Gunditjmra

Djadja wurrung

Djab wurrung

Remarks

Known also as

wineberry which is used

in winemaking

Found in ail countries

throughout thé Pacifie

région

Also known.knitbone' plant

Used in Maori

cérémonial

culture

Cook Island, Fiji,Marshall Islands,

Micronesia, Samoa,

Solomon Islands

and Tonga

to hundreds of billions of US dollars

"with annual growth rates averagingbetween 5% and 15%, depending onthé région" (International Trade Fomm2001). Indeed, traditional knowledge- thé basis for screening and identify-ing naturally-occurring therapeuticprinciples within a plant which gains incommercial andphannacopoeial valuee.g. reserpine from Rauwolfîa serpen-tina whose root bark has been used for

circulatory disorders in Indomalesia

[thé geographical area from India to théPhilippines and Papua New Guinea]and (colocynthin [or alhandal Arabie

name] from Citrullus colocynthusused as a purgative in thé Middle East

since Biblical times) is an indisputableconstituent of ancient cultural legacythat is in need of safeguards againstindiscriminate commercial and market

forces.

In thé Pacifie islands, access to TIPis unhindered, and, more often than

not, made available through thé age-old principles of goodwill and tmst.Bioresearching resources ofbiodiver-sity for thé development of éducationand knowledge hâve given way tobioprospecting for thé advancement

ofand pharmacommercial biodiversityin markets of new medicines for thé

curtailment, treatment and eradication

of new diseases. As a conséquence,and in light ofoverall market eamingsof thé bioprospected product, retura-ing financial benefits to thé Pacifie

island communities are of a muchlower order.

Bioprospectiag is synonymouswith exploitation6. " Kava and Nonu

are two well-known examples ofproducts of médicinal plants that hâvebeen thé subjects of bioprospectingresearch elsewhere in thé northern

hémisphère (Grain & Kalpavriksh7

2002; Thorpe 2002) notwithstandingthat current local Pacifie products hâvebeen developed through thé ingenuityof thé indigenous people aver severalgénérations in hundreds and hundreds

of years. Other examples are thécoral reef sponges from Papua New

Guinea and thé Samoan mamala trees

(Homolanthus nutans).Inadéquate protection against

exploitation of genetic resources inthé Pacifie région results from a lackof appropriate légal mechanisms thatprotect and safeguard thé rights offarmers and indigenous peuples. Apartfrom Papua New Guinea and Tongathat issued new intellectual propertylaws and régulations at thé start of

thé millennium, patent laws in mostPacifie island states hâve been carried

aver from thé era of colonial relation-

ships as transitional légal mechanisms

into thé national governance of thénewly independent island states. Thèsemechanisms are now confi-onted with

thé need ofupdates given thé advances

in thé formulation ofintellectual prop-erty rights in thé past frwo to three dec-ades (Forsyth 2003)8. Furthermore, nointernational patents hâve been taken

out as protective measures to ensure

proprietary rights of biotherapeuticand bioremedial principles présentin traditional médicinal plants of théPacifie région. Several reasons hâvebeen advanced for this dysfùnctionalstate. (Grain & Kalpavriksh , 2002;

Pushpangadan92002; Thorpe 200210).However, interest in thèse issues

exists as thé Pacifie states embark en

route" to safeguarding their assetsof traditional médicinal knowledge,their usage in cultural custom, ritualexpression, and biodiversity resourcemanagement primarily for their ownwell-being and subsequently for theirmore well to do entrepreneurs andusers elsewhere. Thus, thé conserva-

tion of indigenous and traditionalknowledge through time becomes a

necessity (UNDP/CSOPP 2000).

Compensatory andColiaborative ResearchPartnershipsThé Tuhoe tribe (aka thé People of théMist) of thé Maori people has devel-oped a répertoire of médicinal plants ofsignificance that formally "recognizesMaori ownership of thé knowledge,

practical use and development ofnative plants used by thé Tuhoe." In théevent that any new drugs or treatmentsare developed and commercialized, thé

benefits will be shared: 40 percent willgo to thé Tuhoe représentative body,another 40 percent will be awardedto a trust board for New Zealand's

Maori and Waikato University (théemployer of thé research investigator)will receive thé remaining 20 percent.Finally, thé research will specificallyfocus on developing treatments forchronic diseases affecting thé Maori,such as diabètes, high blood pressureand asthma. This sets thé project apartfrom thé vast majority - which seek toprofit from indigenous knowledge ofmédicinal plants without sharing finan-cial or médical benefits (UNESCO2002).

A similar venture encompassing thésharing offinancial retums is that of thé

University of thé South Pacifc, thé gov-emmental authority of Fiji, thé localcommunities of9 villages in thé VerataTikina county on thé island Viti Levaand thé Strathclyde Institute for DrugResearch, Scotland in thé framework

ofa marine bioprospecting agreement(Prévost 2002). Financial retums fromthé analysis of thé extracts from marine

plants and organisms by thé Scottishinstitute "on an équitable basis" willensure that thé village communitiesas a whole will benefit in their efforts

of conserving potential resources ofplant and microbial-derived therapeu-tic phnciples rather being peripheralbeneficiaries.

Such traditional knowledge exempli-fied by thé traditional médical Systemsof thé Ririo tribe of thé Laura Island

amongst thé western Solomon Islands

indicates that local practitioners oftraditional medicine possessed "asophisticated knowledge of humananatomy, disease states and médical

treatments" (Mozena 2001).

Thé world's natural product marketmay soon benefit from collabora-

tive research being conducted by théUniversities of Papua New Guinea

g

g"

s

l

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISIAND AFFAIRS 31

and Utah in thé framework of thé

International Coopérative Biodiver-sity Groups (ICBG) 'Conservationand Sustainable Use of Biodiversity

in Papua New Guinea'1 project12. Théfocus ofresearch is on thé occurrence

ofbiological and chemical therapeutics

for use in thé conservation of localand

international human health resources.

Collection and establishment of an

inventory of ethnomedicinal plants,assessment of thé économie value of

natural products is being conducted bythé University of Papua New Guineaand thé National Forest Research

Institute prior to thé development ofintellectual property rights législation.Tobia (2004) reports that some 250plant samples and aver 120 marineinvertebrates hâve been processed todate for thé détection of remédiai prin-ciples against a variety of diseases.

Also an agreement reached betweenAIDS Research Alliance of America

(ARA) and Samoa guarantees théreturn of 20 percent of commercialrevenues derived from thé use of

Prostratin, promising anti-HIV/AIDScompound, to thé people of Samoa who

helpedAmerican researchers discover

this plant-derived therapeutic (Saga-polutele, 2002).

GenderWomen, thé mainstay ofmral and vil-lage households in thé Pacifie islands,

like those elsewhere in other régions,are thé guarantors and transmitters of

traditional knowledge conceming théuse of médicinal plants for thé healthywell-being of their familles. Villagewomen occupy an important rôle in

thé use of plant médicinal resources;and through time-honoured practiceshanded down fi-om mother to daugh-ter through several générations in thésowing; harvesting and use of tradi-tional médicinal plants contribute totheir préservation and availability invillage markets. However, thé major-ity of traditional healers are women,

and thus thé women's labour force

cannot compare in scope and range of

activities as those in Asia, Africa and

Latin America. Lack of opportunities

for fùrthering thé little formai educa-

tion received at thé mral level during

childhood and thé time spent as a dis-

penser of traditional healing restrictsfiilfilment oftheir customary domesticduties and responsibilities. Neverthe-

less. Pacifie island women occupy aunique rôle as instinctive and intuitive

agents of change and innovation inbridging gaps between thé practice oftraditional green health science withthé modem healthcare advances in thé

maintenance of thé well-being oftheirfamilies. Récent initiatives focus on

empowering and enabling women toengage in 'participatory democracy' bybringing an understanding of science

and thé issues of intellectual propertyrights conceming Pacifie island avail-ability and use oftraditional médicinalplants (Box 2).

Thé undemtilized resource of sea-

weeds constitutes another avenue

of incarne génération for rural andentrepreneurial women in thé Pacifie

région (Novaczek 2003). Encouraged

by UNDP supported workshops at théUniversity of thé South Pacifie, women

desirous of engaging in thé develop-ment of small enterprises hâve takenpioneering steps. A small successful

business providing seaweed-basedcosmetics, tonics and other health-

related préparations exists in Suva,Fiji. In Papua New Guinea a similarherbal venture has been opened; and

Box 2. Women and Médicinal Plants in thé Pacifie région

Country

Program

Fiji:EcoWoman

Project

Fiji:Wainimate

NGO-

Women's

Association

for Natural

Médicinal

Therapy)14

Duration (and

Sponsors)

1997-1999,(CIDA)"

1998-2002

(WWF, théUniversity ofthé South

Pacifie, Fiji,and Pacifie

Peuples'

Partnership)

Goal-oriented

activities

' Transfer sci-

entific

knowledge from

women profession-

aïs in science to

rural counterpartsBuild network

infrastructure for

program deliveryon traditional

medicine

Record occur-

rence and promotesafe use of tradi-

tional médicinal

practices;

and protect againstloss, misuse and

piracy of healers'know-how of

traditional

médicinal plants

through thematicactivities:

1) 'Save plants thatsave lives' and

2) 'Affordable

Healthcare for Ail

by thé Year 200V

Achievements

Coopération

group withWainimate

(see below) to

develop Fiji's

Biodiversity

Strategy andAction Plan

Issuance of

traditional

medicine handbook

- 'Na Vola ni Wai

Vakaviff for use by

healers in thé Fijianislands

Conduction of

workshops in Fiji,Kiribati [with heal-

ers' group - Te

Maurin Kiribati) that

/)as developed théETEN Médicinal

Plants garden) andVanuatu;

business visits to

Niue and Tuvalu;

and conduction of

workshop in théSolomon Islands

for trainers

WAINIMATE

Project displayed atEXPO 2002

Lessons Learnt

' Ongoing activi-ties need to be

more widespread

throughout thé

country

Participation ofprofessionalwomen scien-

tists and rural

women healers

aids growingawareness of

traditional and

modem healing

Systems;

potential

source of new

income for rural

women résulta

from establish-

ment of

'kura' (Morinda

citrifolia)

plantations;more need to

to protect against

exploitation oftraditional cures

and loss of

knowledge pos-

sessed by thé

aged génération

in Vanuatu, natural therapy clinics inPort Vila and Santo are testimony tothé innovative skills of women that

are breaking out of thé confinement ofestablished gender rôles that restrict

them to thé drudgery of domesticchores and habits.

SafetyThé safety and appropriateness ofmédicinal herbs and plants is alwaysan issue of concem amongst médicaland health professionals. Whereas

there is wide acceptance oftraditionalplant medicine as an important com-plementary component of therapeuticpractice, thé use of plant and herbalremédies on thé other hand has been

questioned on thé grounds of absenceof scientific rigour in determining thédegree ofeffectiveness and toxicity ofthé remédies compared to that appliedmore strictly with allopathie medicine;thé absence of standardized qualitycontrol measures; and, thé présence ofsubstances other than that of thé tradi-

tional remedy that could be injuriousto health (Kang-Yum & Oransky 1992;Catlinetal. 1993).

Thé use oftraditional medicine in thé

Pacifie island states is an indisputablecomponent of thé islanders' répertoireof culture, customs and habits that

contribute to their maintenance ofgoodhealth. As a result, it is being integratedby médical doctors and hospitals intotheir daily practices conceraing healthcare. Such a development bas beenmirrored in thé growing préférenceto médicinal plant use in thé north-ern industrialised societies that are

faced with thé high monetary cost ofpharmaceutical healthcare medicinesand products. Traditional domestic

herbaria are now becoming store-houses ofvaluable information on thé

occurrence, préservation and use of

traditional médicinal plants.Home garden cultivation accounts

for some 40 percent of thé reported183 médicinal plant species in Fiji(Clarke & Thaman 1995); some 75percent of ail reported herbal plants in

Kiribati and Tonga; some 28 percent

of reported and protected médicinal

plants in Nauru; and conservation of

young médicinal plants seedlings inTuvalu. In Samoa, several Polynesianintroductions of médicinal plants

hâve been made (Imo & Câble 1995).

Thé most significant finding is that ofHomolanthus nutans that is reported tocontain prostratin and "to hâve activity

against thé AIDS/HIV vims" (Cox &

Balik 1994). In summary, thé guidingand motivating principle throughoutthé history of thé people ofMicronesia,Melanesia and Polynesia and their

voyage into current times has been an

unshakeable faith in thé healing prop-erties oftheir médicinal plants.

There is an urgent need for thé

rational use of traditional medicine

with oversight mechanisms in orderto conserve, préserve and protectpublic safety. WHO through its of&cein Manila embarked upon a policy of

promoting thé sound use oftraditional

medicine that involves thé followingéléments:

l. framing national and régionalpolicies,

2. enhancing safety, efficacy and qual-

ity oftraditional médicinal practices

and products,

3. ensuring access to and use of safeprocédures of application, and

4. promoting rational, standardized and

quality use of traditional medicine

(WHO 2003a).Guidelines conceming thé cultiva-

tion and collection of médicinal plantsand some post-harvest opérationsthat are necessary for thé safety andef&cacy of médicinal herbs hâve beenissued (WHO 2003b). Thé guidelinesfocus on:

l. ensuring thé quality of médicinal

plant materials used as a source for

herbal medicines for purposes ofimproving thé quality, safety andef6cacy ofmarket-oriented remédiai

products

2. promoting thé formulation anduse of national and régional GACPguidelines through dissémination

of GACP monographs that instmcton thé safe and efficient use of

médicinal plants and herbal medi-

cinés; and

3. encouraging, monitoring cultiva-tion and collection pro.cedures ofmédicinal plants ofgood quality thatcontributes to thé conservation of

médicinal plants and to thé manage-ment of thé environment.

Twelve WHO Collaborating Centresfor Traditional Medicine hâve been

established for thé Western Pacifie

région.. Two of thèse are Universities

in Nanking and Shanghai, and five areinstitutes of science and research in

médicinal plants and acupuncture inBeijing. Out of thé remaining five insti-tûtes, two each are based in Japan andthé Republic ofKorea, and one in Viet-nam (WHO 2002). Perhaps by thé endof thé décade one will be established

for thé région of thé South Pacifie forpréservation and conservation needs of

médicinal plant germplasm resourcesin thé région and to provide thé muchneeded training opportunities for théassessment of green pharmaceuticalapplications and their safety considera-tions in daily use.

Kava and NonuAmongst thé médicinal plants of théPacifie thé two most widely usedspecies and well-known experts of

virtually worldwide économie signifi-cance are kava and nonu - traditional

medicines that may include thé use of

thé root, stem, bark, leaves, flower,

rhizomes or whole plant for treatment,Récent developments, however, hâvediminished thé attraction of foreign-exchange eamings and trade of thèsetwo Pacifie médicinal plants withfinancial losses being particularlysévère in thé case ofkava. Such lasses

as in thé case of kava arise from thé

onslaught of dieback disease due to

cucumber mosaic virus (Davis et

al. 1996). Sévère losses ofplantingmaterial reported in Fiji, Tonga andVaauatu contribute to thé économie

vulnerability of thèse Pacifie states.

lBa

''&.

s

l0

l


To contain thèse losses, thé techniqueof tissue-culture bas been preferredby thé Plant Protection Services of thé

SPC in building up stocks of disease-free kava-plantlets in Fiji. A similarapproach has been made at thé PapuaNew Guinea University ofTechnologywith nonu that is susceptible to attackby insects (Anon 2004).

KavaPiper methysticum, a shrub belongingto thé pepper family Piperaceae andthé psychoactive beverage made fi-omit are both known by thé name kava(Rudgley 2000). Awa, Waka, Lawena,Sakau, Yaqona are other commoa

names m use in Fiji and elsewhere in

thé Pacifie région for kava which is

offered at traditional social gatherings,and in cultural and religious cérémonies(Lebot et al. 1997) and which spreadwestwards to Papua New Guinea and

Micronesia and eastwards into Fiji andPolynesia from thé group of islandsm eastem Melanesia - Vanuatu that is

considered thé centre of distribution.

Of thé known 118 cultivars ofkava,80 occur in this archipelago. Interest inkava has extended beyond thé PacifieRim into thé industrialized world on

account ofits many bénéficiai qualifiesthat help to reduce stress and inducea state of relaxation. In thé Federated

States Micronesia (FSM), thé islandofPohnpei is thé major market wheresakau bars are a common sight ail alongthé island. Local consumption alonecould amount to about US $10 mil-

lion annually. Sakau is being exportedfrom thé FSM to nearby islands withPonapean populations, Guam and théCommonwealth of Northem Mariana

Islands. Fresh extracts ofkava are also

sold in thé local markets in Micro-nesia1 5. In thé 1990s thé kava industryand market in thé Pacifie islands was

widely estimated to hâve grown to avalue of US$200 million.

This médicinal plant that originatesfrom a wild progenitor Piper wich-mannii bas beea thé focus of concem

for thé Pacifie région on account of

TABLE 2. Worldwide responses to kava products from thé Pacifie région16

Country Year Remarks

Developed World

Germany 1998

2001

2002

2004

Switzerland

Australia

2000

2001

2002

Belgium

Austria

Canada

France

2001

2002

2002

2002

Ireland

Malta

Netherlands

New

Caledonia

New Zealand

2002

2002

20022003

2002

2002

2003

2004

Two cases of hepatotoxicity reportedBundesinstitutfurArzneimittel und Medizinprodukt (BfArM) orFédéral Institute for Drugs and Médical Devices issues noticeof withdrawal of marketing authorizations for kava-containingproducts27

June: registrations of German manufacturers of kava prepa-rations inclusive of food and médicinal products and alsohoméopathie medicines cancelled;October. German Fédéral Institute for RiskAssessment warns

consumers not to use kava products. Following a meeting inBerlin, April 2 between thé German Health Ministry and IKEC(acting on behalf of thé Pacifie Islands States) agreement isreached on that research would first focus on thé safety àfkava prier ta a discussion of its efficacy; a re-evaluation of thésafety of kava within thé next six months would be made. Asa conséquence Deputy Health Minister for Germany calls onIKEC and independent experts in pharmacology and toxicol-ogy ta jointly détermine thé design modality for thé générationof new data.

Kava marketers notified by government authorities on safetyconcerns relating ta use of kava. Following conclusion ofSafety Drug Control use of kava extracts suspended andwithdrawn.

February. Attention of healthcare personnel and consumersthrough respective Therapeutics Goods Association (TGA)alerts drawn to emerging and increasing number of interna-tional reports linking kava-medicine use with hepatotoxicity.Consumers recommended to discontinue use of kava and to

desist from use of unsupervised prescription drugs. Consulta-tion with a doctor emphasized prier to use of kava-containingmedicines

August TGA issues voluntary recall of ail kava-containingmedicines.

N. B. There are 84 medicines containing extracts from thékava plant on Thé TGA RegisterBelgian Health authority announces (i) requirement of ad-ditional labelling on kava products and (ii) distribution bypharmacies and health stores be done with care

Follows German ban of July 2002 though no case of illnessreported

January: Health Canada announos safety assessmentsurvey of kava and advices consumers to refrain from usingkava products

August Stop-sale order issued following report of illness infour cases

French Agency for thé Safety of Health Products suspends forone-year ail products containing kava. Public advised to stopusage of kava products

Irish Medicines Board institutes voluntary withdrawal of ailkava containing products

Following évaluation of growing scientific information on théhealth effects of kava on humans, Food Safety Commissionprohibits kava extracts from local markets

Government authorities ban thé sale of kava-based productsCommodities Law (Herbal Préparations) Decree amendedso that herbal préparations are not to contain any materialderived wholly or partially from kava

Sale of kava-based products in pharmacies banned Healthand Social Department; traditional kava préparations servedin nakamals" and products such as kava sweets and instantkava sold in supermarkets not covered by thé ban;Food Standards Australian and NewZealand (FSANZ) author-ity warns consumers of possible ill-effects of kava-containingdietary suppléments; (FSANZ) issues proposa! (i) to retainprohibition on kava ingrédients in foods but not in dietary sup-plements covered by NZ government régulations; (ii) ta keeplabelling statements concerning public health. In addition toabove warnings and considérations, FSANZ proposes to:(1) operate in conjunction with thé National Code of KavaManagement; and (2) amend thé définition of kava; and(3) retain thé labelling statements concerning public health(ses also Gruenwald 2004).

UK (see a/so Wales) 2001

2002

2003

2004

USA 2001

2002

Wales 2002

2003

2004

Developing countries

Brazil 2002

Malaysia 2002

Singapore 2002

South Africa

International

IKEC

WHO

2002

2003

2003

2003

TABLE 2 (cont.)

Medicines Control Agency (MCA) requests marketing com-munity to withdraw on voluntary basis ail kava products theirtoxicity évaluation MCA concludes safety assessment andissues ban on médicinal products containing kavaIn mid-January order banning sale of kava-based productsbecomes effective with foreseen review after two yearsFollowing a meeting in London, April 2 between UK Medicinesand Healthcare Products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA) and théIKEC, thé MHRA expresses interest in thé German approach- thé création of new data, dialoguing on thé issue in questionand re-consideration of thé results of ail new research

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls on healthcareprofessionals to report adverse events linking kava use withliver toxicity.Report from Centres for Disease Control and Prévention

reports on two cases of liver associated with kava-dietaryproducts1 ' FDA continues ta draw attention of consumers and

healthcare providers to potential risks oncerning use of kava-based products

Through thé Welsh Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 3157(W. 293) Thé Kava-kava in Foods (Wales) Régulations 2002,that came into force on 9 January, 2003, thé sale offoodconsisting ofor containing was prohibited.As a result of thé case brought by thé National Associationof Health Stores (NAHS) against thé UK Government, ThéNational Assembly or Wales reversed its ban that came intoforce on end October 2003

London High Court in January rejects NAHS case re: UKGovernment re-consideration of its ban on kava

Brazilian National Agency of Sanitary Monitoring (ANVISA)requires spécifie labelling for médicinal products containingkava. This measure is to restrict indiscriminate usage ofsuchproducts without médical évaluation

Thé Drugs Control Authority (DCA) suspends thé registrationof ail kava products until safety concerns answered; requiresregistered holders of kava-products to provide detailed infor-mation on their products and methods of préparation: cancelsregistration of 9 out of 13 kava-containing registered productsin Malaysia

Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA)voluntary with-draws ail kava-containing products from Singaporean marketsand proceeds ta prohibit importation of kava and its constitu-snts underthe Poisons Act; violation of thé prohibition orderaunishable by fines up to US$10, 000 and imprisonment up ta[wo years.

Uedicines Control Council of South Africa issues recall of ail

dietary suppléments, medicines and préparationsIssues gazetted notice conveying MCC décision ail kava-con-taining medicines, dietary suppléments and préparations are aserions health risk

Explores ways to re-establish thé trade between EU Member

Sates and thé South Pacifie countries in first ever European-South Pacifie Stakeholders' consultations

(Brussels, Belgium, August)October. Advisory Committee on Safety of Médicinal Plants"recommends:

(1) Pharmacovigilance in herbal médianes

(2) Obtaining data /assessments from countries reporting ad-verse réactions arising from thé use of kava-based medicinesand inclusive of literature reviews

(3) Re-evaluation of ail data following compilation of ailavailable data on kava-products and their safety by thé WHOCollaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring basedin Uppsala, Sweden

(4) Extraction and analysis procédures used for ail kava

préparations be thé subject offurther research preferably atthé Ph. D. level

thé considérable économie losses intrade (Gmenwald et al. 2003) and ofsafe consumption for human health(Table 2). Thé reporting of liver tox-icity of kava especially in Germanyand Switzerland triggered a virtualworldwide chain réaction that wascrippling and detrimental to several

Pacifie island économies.

Once flourishing markets of kava

nutraceuticals and food supplémentsand experts fi-om Fiji, Samoa, Tongaand Vanuatu were virtually destroyedovernight upsetting self-sustainingrural enterprises and livelihoods andadding to an increase in thé vulner-

ability of once thriving communitiesthat were using traditional medicines

and practices that through thé passageoftime had sustained thé well-being oftheirpeoples through several centuriesand successive générations. As a resultof thé action initiated by several SouthPacifie governmental and scientific

bodies20, thé fact-finding Gruenwaldreport21 and its proposed stratégieaction plan to counteract thé debilitat-

ing impact of thé ban, thé convening ofa kava-stakeholders' meeting (Gruen-wald 2004), and thé délibérations of thé

WHO Advisory Committee on SafetyMédicinal Products, thé World Health

Organization (WHO) is to review thésafety ofherbal kava.

NonuMorinda citrifolia, commonly knownas noni or nin and one of thé most

widely used médicinal plants in Poly-nesia prier to European use, is widelypopular in current times (Dixon et al.

1999). Moreover, it is an apt exampleof thé varied ways used in plant medici-nal préparations by différent cultures.For example, noni juice products,available with or without pasteuriza-tion, are processed and prepared eitherthrough fennentation or through dripextraction or thé squeezing of freshfmits. (Box 3).

More than 200 commercial entities

sell and distribute noni products world-wide as a contemporary medicine.

t_>a

ls

l

ci:UJ

l

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFFAIRS35

Box 3. Family-owned 'noni' enterprises

Country

Cook Islands

Samoa

\./

Product

100%OrganicNoni

juice

100% Pure SOrganicNoni Juice

100%OrganicNoni

juice

Remarks

No additives or

preservatives présent

Family owned

and managed

company

Family owned and

managed enterpriseInternational Trade

Centre, 2001).

Category listed

Health

Health and

Médicinal

Organic Certjfied

by International Federa-

tion ofAgriculturalMovements

(IFOAM)

urther détails at

ttp://www. noninz. com/

ww. estermaria. corn/

ww. nonusamoa. com

However, in some cases use as a medi-

ciné has been contested thus necessitat-

ing thé need for constant clinical moni-

toring for impurities ând additives.

Thé methods of use and préparationof thèse médicinal products are nowbeing challenged by health authoritiesm some countries on account of thé

absence of standardized procéduresfor préparation and quality control.Regulatory action against nonijuice inthé USA was successfully terminatedin 1998 through a multistate agreementby thé Attomeys-General of Arizona,California, New Jersey and Texaswho had contestée thé daims made in

promotional material conceming reme-dial actions in relation to a variety ofillnesses22. In relation to unpasteurizedand 'ail other unprocessed packagedfmit and vegetablejuices, ' thé US Food

and Dmg Administration now requiresthat thèse products carry a warninglabel or sign by thé fall of 1999 indi-cating that such products 'can be thécause of serions illness in children,thé elderly and persans with weakenedimmune Systems' (see also Mueller et

al. 2000). Thé Finnish National Food

Administration22 in 1998 banned thé

sale ofnoni juice until such time thatthé mandatory required brochure inconjunction with sales as well as other

promotional had been corrected in

accordance with thé Finnish Food Act

and its legislated régulations. And in2000, thé Belgian Compétent Authorityconcluding that information provided'conceming probable place of thé novelfood in thé diet and its level of use were

not suf&cient' issued an unfavourable

opinion - a view that was heard by thé

UK Compétent Authority2 2. Following

completion of consultations between

European Commission (EC) Member

States, thé EC Scientific Committee

on Food (SCF) expressed an opinion"that nonijuice is acceptable as a novelfood given that toxicity data showedno cause for concern. Furthermore,

following pasteurization, thé productwas microbiologically safe.

Médicinal plants -Culture, Linguistics,Biodiversity and Festivals

Exactly what is lost when a

language dies? Do we ail lose what

can be called a biotic world-view,

thé local knowledge and wisdom ofwhich is a repositoryDown to Earth, 2002"

Thé use of plant forms for traditionalmedicine is found in ail traditional

societies of thé World. In thé Solomon

Islands, ornamental and importantreligious, fruit and médicinal plantssuch as mango (Mangifera indica),kinu (Barringonia edulis), gheva(Delonix regia), sisivalu (Hibiscus

rosa-sinensis) and différent varieties

of keghi (Cocos nucifera) are widelyencountered in daily cultural use.Traditional kava cérémonies are of

three major types: (l) those held onvery formai occasions such as to hoaor

royalty; (l) kava cérémonies per-formed at community meetings suchas at elder's councils, and (3) informai

kava cérémonies such as those on a

Friday night social occasion. Cultural

context dictated thé préparation of thé

drink- either by a specially designatedindividual or a group ofindividuals inthé community. Historically, prepara-tion of thé kava beverage involved thédental power of chewing thé root foruse. Social consumption of thé bever-âge in modération soothes an agitatedtempérament, eases moral discomfort

and anxiety, lessens nervous tension,neutralizes stress and contributes to

mental calm and serenity. Kava, prima-rily, a médicinal préparation was alsoconsumed as a cérémonial beverage.

Thé kava ceremony is creditedwith breaking down communicationhosts and visitors; antagonists andstrangers with réservations throughthé installation of a comfortable goodfeel ambience and confidence that is

iree of doubt aad stress. Legends andmyths exist with thé kava and noni

plants throughout thé Pacifie régionand especially in Polynesia.

Areview offems as food and medi-

ciné and as décoration and ritual items

has recently been covered in an update(Croft, 1999). Attention bas also been

given to use offems as fibre, abrasives,and handicraft and constmction mate-

rial. In addition, Elevitch and Wilkin-

son (2000) hâve made available a spe-cies table of aver 70 traditional Pacifie

island nontimber forest products thathâve environmental, économie andcultural importance in sustainable

development and diversified économie

growth.

Médicinal trees and shmbs, which

are mcome-eamers in poverty-stricken

mral and lower-income urban popula-tiens, are traditionally associated with

cérémonial practices, rituals, health

cr

^

s

E

l

37

conservation magie and spiritual sig-

nificance conceming human émotionsand events (Thaman, 1989) and thateventually contribute to thé growinginterest in kava trade. Thé sustainabil-

ity of thé kava trade bas been culturallyconstmcted with cultiu-al variations in

five Pacifie island countries where thé

use is more ofa religious rather than ofa médicinal nature (Pollock, 2000).

Recently a success story has beendescribed with thé case of kava inVanuatu and its contribution to thé

national economy (Lebot, 2001). Les-

sons leamt from this policy venture areapplicable in strengthening économiedevelopment in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga,and Pohnpei in Eastem Micronesia)and other Pacifie island countries.

Linguistic diversity is like genetic

diversity because mapping it and

understanding ail its nuances is a

race against time.

Cavalli-Sforza2*

Thé contribution of médicinal plants tothé sustenance of human welfare and

well-being has been given prominencewithin thé séries of thé quadrennialconférences: Festivals o f thé PacifieArts. Thé 7th festival (Apia, Samoa,8-23 September, 1996) attractedsome 15900 participants from over20 Pacifie island state and territories

aad shared basic knowledge on théconservation and use of médicinal

plants in thé treatment of children's

and women's aliments, skin diseasesand thé healing of broken bones. Inthé 9th festival (Belau, Palau) medici-nal plant healers demonstrated on-site

Table 3. Contributions in thé strengthening of Biocultural Diversity in thé Pacifie island countries

Year

May1972

October,

1992

September,1996

Place

Suva, Fiji

Festival Thèmes Features

Fight against thé disappearance of traditional arts ' Statement of architectural solidarity of Pacifie island

March,

1976

June/July,1980

July, 1985

August,1988

Rotorua,

New Zealand

Port Moresby

Papua NewGuinea

French

Polynesia

Townsville,

Australia

Rarotonga,Cook Islands

Apia, Samoa

in most Pacifie countries

Protect them from being submerged by othercultural influences

Start a process of préservation and developmentof thé various local art forms

. Presenting our culture to our neighbours and

sharing a common héritage

Acting forfriendship between peoples of thé

région

Culture as a key to individualityA célébration of Pacifie Awareness

Pacifie, my home

Dur own Pacifie way for our new home

For a Pacifie way in development

Ta promote thé maintenance of indigenous cul-tures of thé Pacifie région

Making thé Arts Festival a lime for communication

between Pacifie peuples

Making thé 'Dreamtime' a rebirth for thé Pacifie

peuples in their common destiny, working, living,and achieving fulfilment together through their artsand cultures

Seafaring Pacifie Islanders

Pacifie Islanders as gréât océan voyagers

Tala Measina

peoples in construction and exhibition of thé 'village oftraditional houses' by natives from Fiji, Kiribati, NewCaledonia.Niue, Solomon Islands and Tonga

Artistic window to thé world that thé peoples of théPacifie islands countries hâve their own patterns ofcultural behaviour and héritage that can only enrichbiocultural diversity

Emphasis on a Pacifie awareness and by conse-quence of a Pacifie régional awareness andrenaissance

Reaffirmation of thé Pacifie island cultural identity andlegacy in thé wake of thé festival originally pallnerec-New planned for New Caledonia in 1984 but organizedin 1985 in French Polynesia

Emphasis on thé significance of thé indigenous cul-tures of thé Pacifie région and their contribution

biocultural diversity

October/

November,2000

July, 2004

2008

Nouméa,

New Caledonia

Belau, Palau

Page Pago,American Samoa

Pacifie Cultures on thé move togetherWords of Yesterday

Words of TodayWords of Tomorrow

Nurture

RegenerateCelebrate

To be defined

Pays tribute ta thé skills and spirit of thé thé seafar-ing Pacifie islanders and thé anxcient navigators ofPolynesia

Spécial attention given ta youth and their contributionin thé unveiling of Samoa's origin and hospitality. Withrelation to médicinal plants, healers shared their experi-ences in thé healing ways of rituals in thé use and

conservation of médicinal plants in treating skin dis-eases and broken bones

Reaffirmation of ancestral wisdom. thé rôle of

traditional Pacifie island communities in confrontingthé phenomena ofdemocratization, globalization andhomogenization

Emphasis on a living Pacifie island culture that bearswitness to thé Pacifie island communities to nurture,regenerate and celebrate their contribution to thé emer-

gence of biocultural diversity

herbal and médicinal plant techniquesfor thé conservation of human health

resources. Hopefully thé next festivalin Pago Pago, American Samoa willgive attention to folklore medicine

that emphasizes Mother Nature'sbenevolence for humankind's healthand welfare.

Thé thèmes of thé past nine festivals(Table 3) emphasize thé éléments ofbiocultural diversity which coversthé relationships between thé planet'sinteractive and interlinked diversities of

thé biosciences, culture and linguistics(Cavalli-Sforza, 2001, Harmsworth,2002; Skutnabb-kangas et al, 2003;Sutheriand, 2003; UNESCO, 2004).

ConclusionThé Pacifie région, an oceanic blanketofsome 29 million km2 of thé planet'ssurface, is home to neariy 9 millionpeople who hâve descended from a

succession of ancestors starting witheariyAsian, Austronesian and Melane-

sian settlers several thousands ofyearsthat were followed by implantationsof 16th century European explorers,18th century entrepreneurial fishingand trading communities, 19th centuryempire-building powers of thé north-em hémisphère that culminated in thé

émergence of thé early 20th centuryindigenous people-settler dominatedstates. Thé région is thus a naturaltreasury ofnumerous cultures, cultural

legacies, languages, social customs,and a wealth of floral and faunalbiodiversity that is a resource base ofalternative, folkloric and traditional

plant-based medicines. Verbal phar-macopoeias ofvariedphilosophies andpractices in traditional medicine hâve

been transmitted from générations togénérations and are still in thé con-

temporary practice ofAboriginal andMaori medicine. Thé therapeutic useof médicinal plants elsewhere in théPacifie régions for thé maintenance andsustenance ofhuman health resourceshas found favour with occidental life-

styles as an alternative to thé risingcosts of patentée drugs in conventional

medicine and health practice, thé effi-ciency ofwhich, at times, is weakened

by thé phenomenon ofmicrobial dmgrésistance.

Thé rôle of women especiallyin thé least developed countries in

which familles cannot afford thé steepexpenses of allopathie medicines isvital. Mindful of thé crucial rôle of

women using médicinal plants forfamily and communal well-being,several UN agencies, and particularlyWHO, hâve endorsed thé undeniablevalue of traditional médicinal knowl-edge in thé conservation of humanhealth. Efforts to formulate nationalpolicies that embrace thé efficient andsafe use of traditional medicine. that

evaluate and regularize traditionalpractices, and that fosters consultations

between traditional and modem health

practitioners attract national and inter-

national endorsement and commercial

interest and support.

Safety issues regarding thé use ofmédicinal plants in thé technically-advanced societies hâve corne to thé

fore arousing concem and controversy(Moulds & Malani 2003). Use oftradi-tional medicines such as kava by gen-erations of native populations throughseveral centuries bas been broughtinto doubt on thé ground of health

concems arising fi-om biosafety issues- lack ofquality control, liver toxicity,and lack of use of standard methods of

préparation and application. Anothercomplicating factôr is inaccurate or mis-

leading product labelling that apart fromdamaging thé médicinal plant marketalso puts into disrepute and doubt thétime-honoured proven réputation of théherb as a médicinal plant. Linked tosuch doubt are thé issues of économiesignificance and global markets whereinthé galloping growth of thé médicinal

kava and nonu plant products competewith those of allopathie therapeutics(Blumentahl 2002).

Thé Gmenwald Report in its scien-tific évaluation found in faveur of théuse ofkava based on over two thousand

years of traditional use. Furthennore,

withdrawal ofauthorization for marketwas unjustified on thé basis of insuf-

fiaient and unconvincing data concem-ing liver toxicity. Thé formulation ofa stratégie action plan focusing onrévocation of thé ban and institutingmarket re-introductions of kava is a

necessary step m re-establishing théonce mutually-beneficial trade between

thé European and Pacifie countries.

Another vital issue is whether ù-aders,producers and devastated kava-usingmédicinal enterprises in Fiji, Samoa,Tonga and Vanuatu are entitled to

financial compensation through appro-pnate international mechanisms to

meet their économie losses comingfrom a ban unjustified to some andvalid for others.

Indeed within thé world of biocul-

tural diversity and médicinal plantsthé world's languages represent an

extraordinary wealth of human crea-

tivity. They contain and express thétotal "pool of ideas", nurtured avertime through héritage, local traditionsand customs communicated throughlocal languages. Thé diversity ofideascarried by différent languages and sus-tained by dififerent cultures is as nec-

essary as thé diversity of species andecosystems for thé survival ofhuman-

ity and of life on our planet. In manycases thé knowledge of natural curesand remédies for illnesses transmitted

by languages through générations andlinked to local plant life hâve been lost

due to thé abaadonment of languagesand cultures, and thé destmction of

natural habitat' (UNESCO, 2004)..Médicinal plants, thé oldest known

health care products, play a vital rôlein thé maintenance of human health

worldwide and especially in thé devel-oping world (Hoareau & DaSilva 1999;McNeill Jr. 2004)). Their importanceis linked to thé availability and use oftraditional intellectual property thathas sustained thé well-being ofances-tral générations over several hundred

years. Thé discovery of anticancercompounds and other therapeutics ofplant-origin is justification not only

u

Q

i^

lCQ>-"

g0

l


39

for such traditional use but also for thé

pursuit of pharmacological researchand dmg development to combat emer-

RéférencesAnon. 2004 Noni fruit and coconut oil studies kick off.

Thé Reporter, April 23-29, pg 6; Ed. Lahies, C., PublicRelations Unit, PNG University ofTechnology, PM BagLane 411, Papua New Guinea.

Blumenthal, M. 2002 Kava Safety questioned due to casereports of liver toxicity. HerbalGram 55, 26-32.

Catlin, D.H., Sekera, M. &Adeiman, D.C. 1993 Er/th-roderma associated with thé ingestion of an herbalproduct. Western Journal of Medicine 159, 491^493.

Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. 2001 Gènes, Peuples, and Lan-guages. Publ. University of California Press, May 7;pgs. 240ISBN No:0520228731

Clarke, W.C. & Thaman, R. R. 1995 Nonfood plants. InAgmforestry in thé Pacifie Islands: Systems for Sustain-ability, United Nations University Press, Tokyo, Japanpgs. 307, UNUP-824, ISBN 92-808-0824-9

Cox, P.A. & Balik, S.A. 1994 Thé ethnobotanical approach

to drug discovery. ScientificAmerican 270, 60-65.DaSilva, E.J, Murukesan, V. K., Nandwani, D., Taylor, M.

and Josekutty, P.C. 2004 Thé Pacifie Islands: a biotech-nology resouree bank of médicinal plants and traditional

intellectual property, World Journal of Microbiology andBiotechnology. 20:903 -934

Davis, R. l., Brown J. F., & Pone, S.P. 1996 Causalrelationship between cucumber mosaic cucumovirusand kava dieback in thé South Pacifie. Plant Disease80, 194-198.

Dixon, A. R., McMillen, H., & Etkin, N. L. 1999 Ferment

This: Thé transformation ofNoni, traditional Polynesianmedicine (Morinda citrifolia, Rubiaceae). EconomieBoteny 53, 51-68.

Elevitch, C. R. and Wilkinson, K.M. 2000 AgroforestruyGuides for Pacifie Islands Publ. PermanentAgricultureResources, P. O. Box 428, Holoualoa< Hl96725, USA

pgs. 240, ISBN:09700254407Forsyth, F. 2003 Intellectual Property Laws in thé South

Pacifie: friend or foe? Journal of thé South PacifieLaw7, 1-21.

Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN) &Kalpavriksh Environmental Action (KV) Group. 2002Traditional knowledge of biodiversity in Asia-Pacific;Problems of Piracyand Protection, Grain Publications,October 2002 (www.grain. org/publications/tk-asia-2002en.cfm).

Gruenwald, J., Mueller, C. & Skrabal, J. 2003 Kava

Report prepared for thé Centre for thé Developmentof Enterprise (CDE), Brussels, Belgium, March, p. 298.Phytopharm Consulting of Berlin, Germany (www.phytopharm.org).

Gruewald, J. 2004 Kava Stakeholders Plan RegulatoryReview and Market Return. HerbalGram 61, 69-70.

Harmsworth, G. 2002 In: 7th Joint Conférence on Pres-ervation ofAncient Cultures and thé Globalization

Scénario, School of Maori and Pacifie Developmentand International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS)India, November 22-24, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato,UniversityofWaikato, Hamilton, NewZealand

hloareau, L. & DaSilva, E. J. 1999 Médicinal Plants:

a re-emerging health aid. Electronic Journal ofBiotechnology, 2. pp. 15. http://www. ejbiotechnology.info/contenVvol2/issue2/full/2/indexMml

Imo, S.T. & Câble, W. J. 1995 Samoa: Country Reportto thé FAO International Technical Conférence on

Plant Genetic Resourees, Leipzig, 1996. pp. 1-24;Report made available by FAO, Rome, Italy at uww.fao. org/WAICENT/Faolnfo/AgriwWAGP/AGPS/pgrfa/pdf/samoa.pdf.

International Trade Forum. 2001 Médicinal Plants,

gent and new diseases which threatenfamilles and that erode national human

health resources.

October 17, page 11, publ. online UNCTAD/WTO atwwwi. tradeforum. org/news/fullstory. php/aid/301/me-dicinaljjlants. html

Kang-Yum, E., & Oransky, S.H. 1992 Chinese patentmedicine as a source of mercury poisoning. VeterinaryandHuman roxfcotogy34, 235-238.

Kate, K. & Laird, S.A. 2002 Thé Commercial Use of

Biodiversity, Access to Genetic Resources and Ben-efit Sharing, p. 398. Earthscan, London. UK. ISBN1 85383 3347

Kilham, C. 1994 Tamanu Oil: A Tropical Topical RemedyHerba/Gram 63, 26-31.

Lebot, V., Merlin, M. & Lindstrom, L. 1997 Kava, Thé Pa-

cific Elixir: Thé Definite Guide to its Ethnobotany, Historyand Chemistry. pgs. 255. InnerTraditions International,Vermont USA. ISBN 0892817267.

Lebot, V. 2001 Expert diversification in Pacifie IslandCountries: thé development of non-traditional agri-cultural products, pgs. 26 - Présentation at RégionalWorkshop on 'Constraints, Challenges and Prospectsfor thé Commodity-Based Development and Diversifi-cation in thé Pacifie Island Economies', August 18-20,

2001, Nadi, Fiji. Authorcan be reached at CIRAD, PMB,Port Vila, Vanuatu.

McNeill, Jr., D. G. 2004 Herbal Drug Widely Embraced inTreating Résistant Malaria, Thé New York Times, May19, publ. Thé New York Times Company, NY., USA(http://www. nytimes. corn f).

Moulds, R. F.W. & Malani, J. 2003 Kava: Herbal panaceaor liver poison. Thé Médical Journal ofAustralia 178,451^153.

Mozena, J. 2001 Traditional Médical Systems of thé Ririotribe on thé Island of Laura in thé Western Solomon

Islands. In Building Bridges with Traditional KnowledgeSummif Meetings: Abstracts of Building Bridges Summitheld at University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu from28 Msy--fJune. pgs. 99.

Mueller, B.A., Scott, M. K., Sowinski, K.M. & Prag, MA.2000 Noni Juice (Morinda citrifolia): hidden potential in

Hyperkalemia. American Journal of Kidney Diseases35, 310-312.

Muséum Victoria. 2001 Information Sheet No. 10319

- Aboriginal Plant Use. January.(http:www. museum. vic. gov. au/infosheets/10319pdf).

Nandwani, D. 2003 Biodiversity and Bio-cultural héritage inthé island Countries: Thé Marshall Islands. In: INSULA

Spécial Issue on Biosciences and Biotechnologies, ed.DaSilva, E. J. pp. 35^10.

Nandwani, D. & DaSilva, E.J. 2003 Traditional knowledgeand medicine in thé Marshall Islands. AgroFood IndustryHi- Tech, July-August, Ed. Maini, S. pp. 42-46. TeknoScienze, Milan, Italy.

Novaczek, l. 2003 Socioeconomic status of fishing com-munities. Seaweed: A promising option for women'ssmall business development in thé Pacifie région,SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin No. 13,

December, pgs. 17-18, produced by Information Sec-tion, Marine Resources Division, SPC, BP D5, 98848Nouméa, Cedex, New Caledonia.

Pollock, N. J. 2000 Sustainability of Thé Kava Trade. Paperpreared for Poverty, Progress and Prosperity, DEVNETConférence, Wellington, November 19.

(hSp;//www. cfevnef. org. nz/conf/papers/pollock. pdfiPrévost, F. 2002 Bioprospecting or..., Tok Blong

Pasf'ffk, Spring issue, pg. 17, publ. Pacifie Peo-pies' Partnership, Victoria BC., Canada atwww. pacificpeoplespartnership. org

Pushpagandan, P. 2002 Biodiversity Wealth and Op-

portunities forAsia-Pacific Countries in Biotechnology

and Herbal Technology - Strengthening Régional Co-opération, pp. 1-17 (www. apcff. org and http//china.apctt-tm. nef)

Rudgley, R. 2000 Thé Encyclopaedia of PsychoactiveSubstances, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin'S Press,

New York, USA. pgs. 302. ISBN 031 226 3171.Sagapolutele, F. 2002 A Positive Aids Connection

- Samoan Healers Recognized for Thousand-Year-OldKnowledge. Pacifie Magazine, (http://www.pacificis-lands. cc/pm22002/index. php)

Schoeffel, P. 2000 Thé Pacifie Islands: Past, Présent and

Future, pgs. 11(www. fdc. orgau/files/schoeflel. pdf)Skutnabb-kangas, Tove; Maffi, Luisa; Harmon, David 2003

Sharing a Worid of Différence: Thé Earth's linguistic,cultural and biological diversity - Paris, UNESCOPublishing, 2003. 56 ISBN: 92-3-103917-2

Singh, Y. N., Ikahihifo, T., Panuve, M & Slatter, C. 1984Folk medicine in Tonga. A Study of thé use of herbalmedicines for obstetric and gynecological conditionsand disorders. Journal of Ethnopharmocology 12,305-329.

Sutherland. W. J. 2003 Are Languages replaceable?,Nature 423: 276-279

Tairawhiti Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 1999 Thé Traditional

Uses of Manuka.

(http/www. manuka-oil. com/uses. html)Thaman, R.R. 1989 Coastal reforestation and agroforestry

as immédiate ameliorative measures to address globalwarming and to promote sustainable habitation of lowly-ing islands and coastal areas. Paper presented at théEnvironment and Policy Institute (EAPI) Workshop on"Responding to thé Threat of Global Warming: Optionsfor thé Pacifie and Asia," East-West Center, Honolulu,

21-27 June 1989. In: Agroforestry in thé Pacifie Islands:Systems for Sustainability. Eds W. C. Clarke and R. R.Thaman, United Nations University Press, Tokyo-NewYork-Paris 1993, pgs 307.

Thorpe, P. 2002StudyPaper7- Studyonthelmplemen-tation of thé TRIPS Agreement by Developing Countries,pgs 50. Thé Commission on Intellectual Property Rights(CIPR)(see note").

Tobia, B. 2004 PNG's Promising New Industry. PacifieMagazine andlslands Business, March, pp. 1^1(www. pacificslands. cc).

UNDP/CSOPP. 2000 Conserving Indigenous Knowledge- Integrating New Systems of Intégration. FebruaryUpdate (www. undp. org/csopp/CSO/NewFiles/doci-knowledge. Mml).

UNESCO. 2002 Innovative measures required to protectindigenous knowledge. Press release 2002-52, August22 (www. unesco. org).

UNESCO, 2004) Education -Thé Earth's Linguistic ,Cultural and Biological Diversity(http://portal. unesco. org/education/en/ev. phpurl_id=18391&urLdo=do_topic&url_section=201.html)

World Health Organization (WHO). 2002 WHO TraditionalMédicinal Strategy 2002-2005, pgs. 62. WHO /EDM/TRM/2002, Geneva, Switzerland.

World Health Organization (WHO). 2003a TraditionalMedicine. In: Report of thé Régional Director (l June2002 - 30 June, 2003), pp. 160-163. WPRO, Manila,Philippines.

World Health Organization (WHO). 20036 WHO guidelineson good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) formédicinal plants, 2003, pgs. 78. Geneva, Switzerland.ISBN 92 41546271.

NotesOceania is thé collective name that is occasionallyused for thé islands in thé Pacifie Océan, and thé exactnumber of which is not known. A général acceptedestimate is of 25,000 to 30,000. Thé islands were firstdescribed as Polynesia (a combination of thé Greekpoly and nesos meaning 'many' and 'islands') byCharles de Brosses, French magistrale and scholar,following his visit in 1751 and publication ofhis Histoiredes navigations aux terres australes in Paris in 1756.

Thé grouping of islands as Melanesia (a combina-tion of thé Greek me/as and nesos meaning 'black'and 'islands') results from thé visit in 1824 of JulesSébastien César Dumont d'Urville, botanist andlinguist. d'Urville coined this name on account of théprédominant dark skin colour of thé inhabitants in thisgroup of islands.

D'Urville coined thé term Micmnesia (a combinationof thé Greek mïfcros and nesos meaning 'small' and'islands') to describe thé thousands of small islands thatconstitute this grouping together of thèse islands.

Archaeological and linguistic évidence indicate thatthé islands were first discovered and settled betweensome 3000 years ago by settlers of Austronesianorigin who brought with them horticultural skills andvaluable maritime knowledge. Thèse first settlers arethought to hâve migrated eastwards from SoutheastAsia ta Yap (FSM), and then to Papua New Guinea,Solomon Islands, to Kiribati and thé Marshall Islandsas is evidenced from thé historical Lelu ruins in Kosrae(FSM) in 1400 AD and thé Nan Madol ruins ofPohnpei(1000 AD).

2 Présentation at Thé Brisbane Dialogue: South PacifieFutures Conférence, Brisbane, November 2000 organ-ised by thé Foundation for Development Co-operation(FDC), Brisbane, Queensland. Australia [www. Uc. org.au).

Herbs, herbal materials, herbal préparations and fin-ished herbal products containing as active ingrédientsparts of plants, or other plant materials, or combinationsthereof are referred to as herbal medicines (see WHO2002).

4 A rather extensive bibliography of bush-fwds, bush-medicines and aboriginal and traditional uses ofAustralian native plants bas been prepared by théAustralian National Botanical Gardens with thé supportof thé Department of thé Environment and Héritage,Australian Government (http://www.anbg.gov. au/bib-liography/bushfood.hmtl).

5 Adapted from Muséum Victoria (2001) and from RongoaMaori and other Maori Uses of Native Plants found inAotea Harbour {www. aoteamoana. co. nz/native. htmf)and Tairawhiti Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1999).see UNESCO (2002)

7 Kalpavriksh (KV) is a voluntary group that began work-ing in 1979 on environmental éducation, research, cam-

paigns, and direct action through a students' campaignto save Delhi's Ridge Forest area from encroachments

and destruction. Since then Kalpavriksh has movedon to work on a number of local, national, and globalissues. KVis registered underthe Societies Registra-tion Act of 1980 (No. S-17439). It is Delhi-based withan outreach unit in Pune.

s Deals with several issues of intellectual property laws- trademarks, copyright, patents, etc. in thé SouthPacifie States; discusses also thé history and rationale

of intellectual property protection in thé West and théSouth Pacifie.

9 Paper presented at Consultation Meeting of BIMSTCountries on 'Biodiversity Conservation and Sustain-able Industrial Utilization of Médicinal Plant and ExpertGroup Meeting for thé Establishment of Asia-PacificTraditional Médicinal Network fAPTMNETJ, Bangkok,Thailand, 20-22 May.

"Listed amongst several other associated documentsand study papers as background materials to théReport of thé Commission on Intellectual PropertyRights 'Integrating Intellectual Property Rights andDevelopment Police, November 2002 (2"" Edition}.Publ. Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, c/oDFID, London, UK (www. iprcommission.org).

"Examples of such interest are: (1) thé MataatuaDéclaration (June 1993) concerning thé HumanGenome Diversity project; (2) thé Maori Congress ofIndigenous Peoples (1993) concerning thé patentingof life-forms.

12 A project-Thé International Coopérative BiodiversityGroups (ICBG) Program is a unique effort by sixcomponents of thé National Institutes of Health (NIH),thé Biological Sciences Directorate of thé NationalScience Foundation (NSF) and thé Foreign AgricultureService of thé USDAthatfocuses on thé interdependentissues ofdrug discovery, biodiversity conservation, andsustainable économie growth.

" Thé South Pacifie People's Fwndation (SPPF) func-tioned as thé Canadian Executive Agency; thé PacifieIsland Nation Partner was thé Sou Pacifie ActionCommittee for Human Ecology and Environment(SPACHEE).

14 Part extraction form thé Once and Future ActionNetwork (OFAN) in Science and Technology, PacifieEdition, December, 2000 pg. 3 (www.wigsat/org.ofan/res/OFANewsPacific. do)

"Sales of kava were banned by thé govemment of théFederated States of Micronesia (FSM) in a bid to stopa choiera outbreak in mid-2000. Kava known as sakauis stronger and thicker than that found elsewhere in thé

Pacifie. It is prepared by mixing beaten kava roots withwater. Thé drink sakau itself does contain thé organismVibrio cholerae. However, thé danger is in thé unsafepréparation of thé drink, thé roots being beaten on oldstone blocks (Micronesia bans Kava Sales in bid to

combat choiera, International News, Agence FrancePresse (English), May, 18, 2000, Auckland, NZ).

"Adapted from (i) Gruenwald étal. 2003 (ii) Pharmaceu-fca/s; Restriction in Use and Availability, WHO Docu-ment: WHO/EDM/QSM/2003.5, prepared in within thécontextofthe United Nations Publication 'ConsolidatedList ofProducts whose Consumption and/or Sale hâvefteen Banned, Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or NotApproved by Govemments', April 2003, 21 pgs., andavailable from Marketing and Dissémination, WHO,Geneva, Switzerland (iii) FSANZ Proposai P256- Review of Kava (Standards 010/2. 6. 3) Final Assess-ment Report, 17 March, 100pgs, (www. foodstandards.9ov}.

17A nakamal, widespread throughout New Caledoniaand Vanuatu, with its calm and dimly lit ambience s atraditional place where kava is prepared, served, andconsumed with thé onset of dusk. Once identified asthé house of men, thé nakamal, has now evolved into

a central meeting place for men folk and their famillesfrom ail walks of life that wish to relax and escape fromthé pressures and stresses ofdaily work routine.

18 Thé Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2002.HepaticToxidtyPossiblyAssociatedwithKava-containingProducts - United States, Germany, and Switzerland,1999-2002, MMWR Vol. 51:1065-1 067 from thé Centresfor Disease Control and Prévention présents data for twocases in thé USAand summarizes thé European situation(see also Ji\Mh. 2003, 289: 36-37.

" Recommendations from thefirst meeting oftheAdvisoryCommittee on Safety of Médicinal Products, 20-22October 20034, WHO, Geneva. (www.who. int/medi-cine/organization/paredl/WAD-safety.doc}; see alsoWH0.1998, pg. 145.

20 Pacifie Island Forum Secrétariat (PIFS); Fiji KavaCouncil, Samoa Association of Manufacturers andExporters, Tonga Lava Council and Vanuatu KavaExporters Association.

21 Thé Pacifie Islands Forum Secrétariat, Suva, Fiji,(Régional Agency: (1) SPARTECA = South PacifieRégional Trade and Economie Coopération Agree-ment; (2) SPC = South Pacifie Commission; (3) SPF= South Pacifie Forum) on behalf of thé negativelyaffected South Pacifie Member States requested théCentre for thé Development of Enterprise (CDE),Brussels, Belgium - an institution of thé ACP bloc andthé European Union established within thé frameworkof thé Cotonou Agreement in 2000, for assistance inrelation to thé négative impact on Thé South PacifieMember States resulting from European bans on kavaimpart products. CDE then engaged thé PhytopharmConsulfing of Berlin, Germany (www. phytopharm. org)to perform thé "in-depth investigation Info EU MemberStates Market Restrictions on Kava Products".

22 (a) New Warning Labels and Regulatory Action againstTahitian Noni. In: Nutrition Forum, November 1998. éd.Vaughn, L; publ. Prometheus Books, Essex, UK. ISSN1093-4545.

(WMW, hufch. démon, co. uk/nutrition/)(b) Décision (E 27/216/98) of November 26, 1998,

thé National Food Administration Temporary ban onsales of NONI fruit juice from Tahiti (National FoodAgency Finland, Press Release: November 23/30,1998); [www.elintarvikevirasto. fi/vahonat/p3222.html).

(e) Communication from thé UKAdvisory Committeeon Novel Foods and Processes to thé European Com-mission: View of Noni Juice, Food StandardsAgency,13December, 2001.

(www. foodstandards. gov. uk/science/ouradvisors/nov-alfood/acnfppapers/noni-juice)

(d) Opinion of thé Scientific Committee on ToodonTahitian NonP Juice' Document SCF/CS?NF?DOS?1 8.

ADD. 2. Final, 11 December, pgs 13, publ. EuropeanCommission - Health & Consumer Protection Direc-torate Général (Directorate C - Scientific Opinions,C2 - Management of Scientific Committees; scientificcoopération and networks), Brussels, Belgium.

"Why Words are Biotic: Knowledges Vanish WhenLanguages Die. In: Down to Earth, December 31, 2002

(htpp://www.swaraj.org/sdhiksliantar/bioticwords.htm)24 In: Saving Endangered Languages, Logos 2002

(http://www. logos. it/owa-l/stampa. comunicatipagine?lang=en&numero_id=57)

sQ

!s

s

l

INTERMATIONAI JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFFAIRS4l

SHU-TING CHANG

AbstractThé mushroom is a macrofungus with a distinctivefruiting body that can be either epigeous (above-ground) or hypogeous (underground) and largeenough ta be seen with thé naked eye, and to bepicked by hand. Approximately 14,000 describedspecies of thé 1. 5 million fungi estimated in théworld produce fruiting bodies that are large enoughto be considered mushrooms. Thé richness of newlydescribed mushroom species are usually from thétropics, e.g., in a case study in Malaysia which showed66% to be previously undescribed. Mushrooms hâvebeen used and prized as a delicacy, as well as immu-notherapy for more than two thousands years. On théother hand, mushrooms, especially thé wild forms or"toadstools", became abjects of fear and distrust,because of thé stories of mushroom poisoning. Théassociation of mushrooms with thunderstorms was

common in mythology in thé communities, and itwas formeriy believed that mushrooms were formedby lightning and thunderstorms. Nutritionally, mush-rooms are low fat, low carbohydrate, high in vitamins,and high in trace éléments. Actually, thé mushroomrepresents a delicious and highly nutritive food sourceand also possessing health and tonic qualities. Thédevelopment of mushroom cultivation in SoutheastAsian Island Communities has been increasinglypopularized in récent years.

introductionOur attitudes to thé pheaomenon of

nature are seldom based on simple

observations. There are, however,

examples throughout history where

certain living things hâve inspired fearand loathing simply because they areregarded as ugly species with peculiarbehaviour, and supposedly evil. For

example, in some Southeast Asian

Island Communities, bats, snakes,

spiders, toads, and owls hâve ailbeen

associated with thé devil or regarded

as harbingers of illness and even of

death. This is one of thé reasons why

some refer to thé poisonous mushroomas "Toadstool". Actually, thé name hasno scientific basis at ail and it should

not be used in any situations, althoughit is possible to find a toad sittingbeside, or even on top ofa mushroom.

Mushrooms attract toads, not due to

thé mushroom itself, but because of thé

various insects which are harboured in

them. Insects certainly are interested inmushrooms as a source offood.

It cannot be denied that some mush-

rooms, even though they represent

about only less than 1% of thé world'sknown mushrooms, are dangerous if

eaten. Some are deadly poisonous.

Therefore, if you are not absolutely

sure whether a given mushroom is

edible or otherwise, don't touch it.

Leave thé strange mushroom alone.

But perhaps a more likely explanationfor thé widespread abhorrence ofwildmushrooms in thé communities is that

they are by nature a rather strange andmysterious group of organisms, quite

unlike thé green plants. In ancient

times, thé seemingly miraculous

manner of its growth without seed,

without leaf and without bud, but its

finiting body's sudden appearance afterrain, especially, after lightning andthunderstonns, its equally rapid disap-pearance and its curious umbrella-likeshape gave rise to a wealth of illusionsand mythologies.

There has been a récent upsurge

of interest in mushrooms not only as

health vegetable (food) which is rich in

protein, but also as a source ofbiologi-cally active compounds of médicinalvalue. Uses include complementary

medicine/dietary suppléments foranticancer, antiviral, immunopotentiat-

ing, hypocholesterolemic, and hepato-protective agents. This new class ofcompounds, temied "mushroom nutri-

ceuticals" (Chang andBuswell, 1996),

are exû-actable from either thé mush-

room mycélium or fruiting body andrepresent an important component ofthé expanding mushroom biotechnol-ogy industry. It has been showed that

constant intake of either mushrooms

or mushroom nutriceuticals (dietary

suppléments) can make people fitterand healthier. In addition, mushroom

cultivation also can help to convertagricultural and forest wastes into

useful matter and reduce pollution in

thé enviromnent. Therefore, mushroom

cultivation can be considered as one

stone killing three birds: production ofhealth food, manufacture ofnutriceuti-

cal, and réduction of environmental

pollution.

Sftu-Tmg Chang is Vice Président ofWortd Society for Mushroom Biologyand Mushroom Products, Directorof

thé Centre for International Servicesto Mushroom Biotechnology and

Emeritus Professer of Biology, Thé Chinese Universityof Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong, China.

Contact: 3 Britton Place, McK&tlar, A. C. T. 2617,Australia

u

a

§LU

lCQ>--

c^ly

l

Aspecinirn ot'Ainanita phglloïde?43

What are mushrooms?Should we conceive them as animais?

No, they are not, even though they arealso heterotrophic in their nutrition,deriving their food from complexorganic compounds synthesized bychlorophyll-bearing plants; eventhough some of thé natural productsconstituting thé cell walls of some

mushrooms (e.g., chitin) also occur inthé exoskeleton of insects and other

arthropods. Mushrooms are distinct

from animais because their cells are

protected by a rigid cell wall, whilecells of animais do not hâve cell

walls.

Should we then conceive them as

plants? No, they are not, even thoughtheir protoplasm is also protected bya cell wall. They are devoid of chlo-rophyll, and cannot, therefore, use

light energy to build complex organicfood substances from simple inorganicmaterials, such as nitrates, carbon

dioxide, and water.

Where then do we place them sys-tematically? They belong to an entirelynew Kingdom of their own. They aresufficiently distinct from both plantsand animais to be grouped separatelyinto what bas been designated as théFungi Kingdom. But not ail fungi aremushrooms.

Mushrooms are without buds, with-out leaves, and without flowers. Yet

they produce beautiful fruiting bodies(Fig. l). We hâve said that they arewithout chlorophyll. They are alsodevoid ofvascular xylem aad phloem.Although they cannot carry out pho-tosynthesis, they can biosynthesizemnumerable vital organic products.

Fig. l. Différent stages offruiting bodies of thé Strawmushroom (Volmriella volvacea)

How then should we define them?

Chang and Miles (1992) defined amushroom as "a macrofungus with

a distinctive fruiting body, which can

be either above ground (epigeous) or

below ground (hypogeous). Fruiting

bodies of macrofungi are large enough

to be seen with thé naked eye, and to

be picked by hand."

Some mushrooms are fleshy,while others are not. Thé latter are

variously textured. Some mushroomsare edible, while others are non-

edible. Some are médicinal, others

are poisonous. In addition, some

with neurotropic (hallucinogenicor psychotropic) properties usuallyreferred to as hallucinogenic, narcotic,sacred, psychedelic or entheogenicmushrooms, are highly diverse andhâve a wide distribution throughout théworld. Mushrooms ail grow relativelyfast, once provided with conditionsoptimal for their growth. Mushrooms

were often highly treasured by théancient civilisations ail aver thé world,

who traditionally used them as a relish,as a tonic, and as medicine.

Mushrooms and humanhealthEdibility of mushrooms: Thé edibilityofmushrooms is known in virtually ailhuman societies. Their characteristic

unmistakeable flavour, texture, and

taste, hâve been commonly celebrated

by humans from days immémorial. A

wide spectmm of mushroom speciesbas, aver thé years, been collected foruse as food, as medicine, and as a tonic.

Thé most highly treasured species, insome societies, were, in fact fit to be

presented even to thé King. Uses ofpoisonous species were also known to

occur. Indeed ugly historical accountsare documented in thé literature,

whereby individuals destroyed theirenemies using mushrooms as exter-

minators. Thé death cap mushroom,

Amanita phalloïdes, is reported to be

responsible for 90% of fatal poisoningscaused by fùngi {Thé Guinness Book

of Records, 2000, p. 141). Its toxins

Fig. 2. Aman'ita caesarea, edible wild mush-

room with four morphological structures(courtesy ofX. L. Mao)

include anatoxins and phallotoxins.Thé genus Amanita, unfortunately,contains both poisonous and ediblespecies, and thèse can easily be con-fused in their appearance. Amanitacaesarea, for example, is very deli-cious, and was so named because it was

thé choice mushroom loved by JuliusCaesar(100-44BC). Thismushroomhas ail thé four stmctures characteriz-

ing other Amanila mushrooms (Fig. 2).[A pileus (a cap), a stipe (a stalk), anannulus (a ring), and a volva (a cup)at its base].

Listen to this true story about thé

Roman Emperor Claudius (10 BC to54 AD), who mled from 41-54 AD.

According to what is documented

in thé literature, he was actually anexcellent ruler. But in 48 A.D., he

made thé greatest mistake. He marriedhis youngest nièce, Julia Agrippina, tobe his fourth wife. This marriage wentagainst thé Roman Law. However, he

changea thé Law: she was so beautifuland sensual. As bad luck would hâve

it, unfortunately, she did not lovethé Emperor. And, using her beautyas a weapon, she persuaded him torenounce thé daims of his own son

as his heir. Yet he deeply loved théson. However, Agrippina, with hertricks, managed to hâve her son byan earlier marriage (who took théname, Nero) declared by thé Emperoras his heir. With her manoeuvres

successfully accomplished, JuliaAgrippina, mthlessly, mixed poisonousmushrooms with Amanita caesarea,

and served it to Emperor Claudius.She poisoned him fatally. He died.Then Nero (37-68 AD), succeeded to

thé throne as Emperor. In thé first year

ofhis reign, he used thé same methodleamt from his mother, to fatally poisonhis half-brother, Claudius Britannicus.

Throughout his reign, Nero was cmel,

tyrannical, and wild. This is thé sameEmperor Nero, who had orderedSt. Paul, thé apostle, killed. This isthé same cmel Nero, who had ordered

his own mother, Agrippina, and his

own wife, also killed. This is thé same

Nero whose mie is best known for a

fire that destroyed much of Rome in

AD 64. He killed himself in AD 68

at a tender âge of 31. His almost-final

words were, ' WTiat a loss l am to thé

arto!'(Wishart, 1996).Actually, thé incidence ofmushroom

poisoning occurs in thé communitiesevery year. There is no known testby which you can tell if a mushroomis edible or not. People should avoidany white-gilled mushrooms and

should try not to eat any mushroom

unless they can be absolutely certainthat it is not poisonous. Anyone whosuspects that they might hâve eatendeath cap mushrooms should seekurgent médical help immediately,preferably at a hospital. Thé soonerthé treatment begins, thé better thépatient's chances of survival. Peoplewho are poisoned initially expérience

vomiting, diarrhoea and cramps but

thé death cap can cause kidney or liver

failure resulting in death.

Fortunately, most mushrooms, 99%of thé known species, are safe, althoughsome are inedible. It should be noted

that ail cultivated mushrooms are quite

safe to eat.

Let us see more of their positive

side!

Once you know for sure that théfleshy mushrooms at your disposai aresafe, don't hesitate to enjoy them, or to

use their products. Indeed, millions ofthé world's inhabitants regularly enjoy

awide spectrum ofmushroom species,and also many mushroom products.

Since times immémorial, thé peuples

ofA£rica, Asia, Europe, Latin America,

NorthAmerica, etc., men and women,

adults and children, rich and poor,

hâve been enjoying mushrooms thatare hunted from their wild populationsas delicious vegetables. Mushroomscan be roasted, they can be fried, andthey can be cooked as palatable soups.They can be dried, canned, pickled, andfrozen, for use at a later date. Some

can be farmed, and are indeed being

farmed. In thé process ofbeing farmed,they transform individuals in théworid's poverty stricken communities,into men and women enjoying greater

socio-economic prosperity, and also

more dignity in society.

Fig. 3. Thejoys ofthe authorandMr. P. Sugita in discov-ering thé wild Ganoderma mushrooms on tree stump mSurabaya, Indonesia in 1997

Fig. 4. A doser look at thé Ganoderma mushroomsmentioned in Fig. 3.

Some mushrooms display scientif-ically proven strong médicinal potency.They can thus be used (and are in-deed being used) to improve healthconditions of millions of individuals

who are afBicted by some of thé most

horrendous and psychologically mostdevastating incurable diseases of ourtime. Chronic wounds hâve been cured

through thé use of some mushroomproducts. Extracts fi-om other species ofmushrooms hâve restored good healthto many despondent cancer and otherpatients, e.g., Ganoderma musïiroovasthat can be either collected from field

(Figs. 3, 4) or cultivated in mushroom

houses. Products derived from thèse

mushrooms hâve scientifically beenproven (and beyond doubt) to bevery effective in boosting thé body's

immunoresponse Systems. Regular

and sustained use of such mushrooms

can thus serve as préventive (dietarysupplément) medicine, and also as

agents for making people healthier,fitter, andhappier. Thèse starkrealitiesabout thé many virtues ofmushroomshâve significantly elevated theirimportance in world trade. Récent

estimâtes reveal that thé combined

commercial value of edible and

médicinal mushrooms stands at US$

30-35 billion annually. Few peoplerealize that thé monetary contribution

ofmushrooms in world affairs is ofthat

order of magnitude.Nutritive value of mushrooms: When

used as a dietary supplément or as an

ingrédient of our human diet, mush-rooms supply thé body with protein,

carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, andinorganic minerais. Thé protein levelofsome edible mushrooms (e.g., Pleu-rotus sajor-caju, P. ostreatus, Agaricus

bisporus, and Volvariella volvacea) is

impressively high (20% to 40%, dryweight basis). Although mushroomprotein is slightly less than animal méatprotein, it contains ail thé essentialamino acids required in human diet,including leucine and lysine, whichare often lacking in some ofSoutheast

Asian Island Communities' most staplecereal crops, e.g., rice. In addition,when you get thé dietary protein source

through thé mushroom route, you neednot worry about présent day calamities

such as mad-cow diseases and birth-flu

épidémies.Thé polysaccharides biosynthesized

by mushrooms are most commonlybuilt of glucose and galactose mono-mers. Some of thé polysaccharides arecomponents of fungal hyphal walls.Others are constituents of fungal pro-toplasmic membranes. Some occuras storage polysaccharides e. g., gly-cogen (also found in animal tissues).

la2

^

ecci>-~

s

l


Thé fungal polysaccharides can formcomplexes with polypeptide chains,some ofwhich are increasingly beingshown to be medicinally patent againstsome cancers.

Thé lipids found in fùngal biomassare characterized by a high percentageof unsaturated fatty acids. In fact, in

some cases, up to 78% of their fattyacids are unsaturated, largely due to ahigh level oflinoleic acid: an essential

fatty acid. Animal tissues, in contrast,contain high levels of saturated fattyacids: a harmfùl attribute.

Mushrooms, and fungi in général,are a good source of several vitamins,as eloquently elaborated by Miles andChang (1997). Thèse include thiamine(Vitamin Bl), riboflavin (Vitamin B2),niacin (nicotinic acid), biotin (VitaminB7, and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).Regular use of mushrooms as dietarysuppléments thus protects thé bodyfrom thé common vitamin deficiencydiseases, such as béribéri, pellagra,and scurvy.

Value as dietary suppléments: When

used as dietary suppléments, mush-rooms also supply thé body withappréciable levels ofessential minéral

éléments, such as potassium, phospho-ms, sodium and calcium. Additionally,they provide valuable fibres, whichhâve significant health benefits. Thus

when taken regularly, mushrooms helpus to maintain good health, and, in thé

process, to keep thé doctor away. Inthé process, we keep thé money wewould otherwise pay to hospitals, anduse it for other vital économie advance-

ment activities; and, in thé process wemaintain our dignity. Ifyou hâve goneto hospitals, you know what we mean.Thé hospital personnel command you totake offyour shoes; to remove your tie,yourjacket, your shirt, your pants, andmore; to remove your brassière, yourskirt... and more. They pierce your skinwith their syringes and needles; theysubject you to x-rays, and more. Andthey do this regardless ofyour seniorityand rank in society. Yes, eat mushroomsregularly, and keep fit and healthy!

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISUND AFFAIRS

Some species of mushrooms areparticularly effective in promotingthé body's général fitness, whenused as dietary suppléments. Thèsesubstances extracted will enhance thé

body's immuno-regulatory balance.Extracts from such mushrooms, which

hâve both médicinal and nutritional

attributes, and which are packaged ascapsules, or as tablets, and regularlyused as a tonic, are referred to as

nutriceuticals (Chang and Buswell,

1996). Where medicinally patent ornutritionally valuable mushrooms are

consumed directly as part of thé normaldiet, and as functional foods, they arereferred to as nutraceuticals (Brower,1988, Zeisel, 1999).

Fig. 5. Straw mushrooms, K volvacea, grown onbanana leave bed in Philippines.

Mushroom cultivationSoutheast Asian Island Communities

hâve a wide range of climates. Theyhâve equatorial rainforests, whichare characterized by heavy rainfalland high températures ail year round.They also hâve mountainous and

misty forests, located in thé varioushighland régions, scattered in various

communities, some of which experi-ence a summer everyday, and a winter

every night. They also harbour exten-sive woodlands and grasslands, withdistinct rainy and dry seasons. Thèseclimates catalyse thé génération of anenormous quantity of ligno-cellulosicbiomass every year. Mushrooms (andother fungi) ubiquitously occur, in ailthèse climatic types, especially duringthé rainy season. Yes, indeed, while

rain follows thé san, mushrooms

follow thé rain. However, those wild

mushrooms occurring in nature aresubjected to being identified by expertsfor poisonous problems as mentionedabove. They are also limited by quan-tity and quality because thé climate

cannot be maintained constantly yearby year to ensure continuous produc-tion. In order to hâve a constant supplyfor demand in both quantity and qual-ity, mushroom farming in thé IslandCommunities bas developed rapidlyin récent décades, for example, in théPhilippines and Indonesia.

Mushroom cultivation can be a rela-

tively primitive type of farming, or ahighly sophisticated agricultural activ-

ity requiring a sizeable capital outlayfor machinery equipment. Thé strawmushroom, Volvariella volvacea, is a

tropical mushroom and is commonlygrown in SoutheastAsian countries on

small, family-type farms (Figs 5, 6). Incontrast, cultivation of thé Agaricusmushrooms, thé common white button

mushrooms, may be highly industrial-ized with a few farms producing adisproportionately large percentageof a country's output as is thé case inIndonesia. Detailed descriptions of thévarions methods adopted for thé culti-vation of tropical mushrooms are givenin thé Food and Agriculture Organi-zation (FAO) Plant Protection and

Production Paper No. 106: "TechnicalGuidelines for Mushroom Growing inthé Tropics" by Quimio, Chang andRoyse, 1990 and will not be repeatedhère. Choice of technologies for grow-ing mushrooms usually dépends onPersonal préférence, and on thé avail-ability ofsubstrates and thé amount ofresources available. While thé more

sophisticated indoor technology isrecommeaded for thé industrial-scale

production of thé mushroom, most ofthé other technologies are low-cost andappropriate of rural area development,especially when production is estab-lished at thé community level.

To summarize some of thé importantpositive factors associated with mush-

room cultivation: (l) Mushrooms fulfil

thé three major criteria required of

food for human consumption: natural,nutritious and healthy; (2) Mushroomcultivation utilizes and upgrades a

wide variety of waste materials; (3)

Mushroom cultivation represents

a low technology industry; and (4)Mushroom cultivation offers a short-

term retum compared with many other

crops important to thé économies ofthé Island Communities, e.g. palms,fmit trees, etc.

Despite thèse obvious benefits,especially to developing countries,mushroom cultivation bas not been

as successful or as widely adoptedas might hâve been expected in thé

Island Communities. Thé reasons

can be briefly identified: (l) in someCommunities there is no appréciation

among thé général populace that thémushroom represents a delicious andhighly nutritive food source, or of thémushroom's health and tonic qualities;

(2) mushrooms are unpopular in someCommunities for a variety ofgenerallyminor social and religious reasons. A

traditional négative association with

poisonous species still exists in manyrégions and consequently there is alack of trust in thé safety ofmushroomsas a food source even though theyare widely cultivated and consumedelsewhere; and (3) thé absence ofsystematic government support for,and promotion of, a viable mushroomcultivation programme.

ConclusionSoutheast Asian Island Communi-

ties hâve a wide range of climates.Mushrooms (and other fungi) ubiqui-tously occur in ail thèse climate types,

especially during thé raining season.Unfortunately, however, thé mush-room biota, one of natural resources

of thé Communities are very poorlyresearched and documented. Yet we

know, their biota is extremely rich and

of gréât diversity.

Although poisonous mushroomsrepresent less than 1% of thé world'sknown mushrooms, with some are

deadly poisonous, we should not ignorethem. Scientists believe those danger-

ously fatal mushroom species willdaim more lives unless local authori-

ties work together to raise publicawareness. Therefore, if you are not

absolutely sure whether a mushroom

is edible or otherwise, l re-emphasize,

don't touch it and leave it alone.

When we examine thé positive

side of fungi in général, thé tmth thatcornes to light enormously humblesus, since, aver thé years, we hâve notaccorded mushrooms thé attention

that they deserve. Think about thé

Fig. 6. Straw mushrooms grown on paddy straw bedcovered with plastic sheets and held up by bamboo archesto fonn a growth chamber in order to maintain suitablehumidity and température conditions for mushroomdevelopment (Indonesia).

expanding field of forestry and agroforestry where mycorrhizal fungi,which display symbiotic relationshipswith pines and various agricultural andforest crop plants, hâve gréât potentialto flourish. Thèse mushrooms represent

untapped resources in thé tropical andsubtropical communities. There areless than 5% of tropical native mush-room species known to science. Manymysteries remain unresolved in théKingdom of thé Fungi and SoutheastAsian Island Communities located in

thé tropics and subtropics can hâve abig rôle to play in helping to unravelthem. In addition, Southeast Asian

Island Communities enjoy one ofthé greatest wealth in biodiversity in

thé world and its generative capacity

as prime agricultural producer. ThéCommunities are endowed with an

outstanding photosynthetic System,

which not only générâtes abundantcrops and fruits, but also générâtesmassive amounts of lignocellulosic

biomass, which are thé raw materials

for mushroom cultivation. However,

thé mushroom cultivation species andmethods must be tailored in accord-

ance with thé prevailing unique naturalresources, héritage, local climate, andsocio-cultural conditions of thé farm-

ing communities. Therefore, thé train-ing activities ofmushroom cultivationshould be continuously supported andstrengthened. Governments of thévarions régional localities and theirdevelopment assistance partners needto build upon thé foundation alreadystarted during thé pilot phase of théUNESCO Mushroom Training Project

initiative in 1977 in Hong Kong, 1980in Philippines and 1982 in Indonesia(Ten Years Review of thé Activities

of thé UNESCO Régional Networkfor Microbiology in Southeast Asia,1984).

RéférencesBrower, V. 1988. Nutraouticals: poised for a healthy

slice of thé healthcare market? Nature Biotechnology16:728-731.

Chang, S. T. and J. A. Buswell. 1996. Mushroom nutriceu-ticals. World J. Microb. Biotechnol. 1:139-146.

Chang, S. T. and P. G. Miles. 1992. Mushroom biology- a new discipline. Mycologist 6:64-65.

Miles, P. G. and S. T. Chang. 1997. Mushroom Biology:Concise basics and current developments. World

Scientific, Singapore. 194 pp.Quimio, T. H., S. T. Chang and D. J. Royse. 1990.

Technical guidelines for mushroom growing in thétropics. FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper106. Rome, 155 pp.

Ten Years Review of thé Activities of thé UNESCO

Régional Network for Microbiology in Southeast Asia,1984, Department of Biology, Thé Chinese Universityof Hong Kong.

Wishart, D. 1996. Nero. Hodderand Stoughton, London.273 pp.

Zeisel, S. H. 1999. Régulation of'Nutraceuticals". Science285:1853-1855.

lça

ce.u

l

47

Plant genetic resources of ̂ a.ofii- phic^ l: nd "other" M nds

From March 30 through April 2, théMeeting "Plant Genetic Resources of

geographical and 'other' islands (Con-servation, évaluation and use for plantbreeding)" was held in Castelsardo,Sardinia, Italy. Thé Meeting was organ-ised in thé Hall XI of thé Doria Castle

by thé Genetic Resources Section of

EUCARPIA (European Associationfor Research on Plant Breeding) andthé CNR (National Research Council)Institute ISPAAM section of Sassari

(Italy).Thé meeting was focused on thé

importance ofislands for thé conserva-

tion of plant genetic resources. It wasexamined thé conservation, évaluation

and use for plant breeding of genetic

Panoramic view ofCastelsardo:

on thé top Doria Castle, site of thé Meeting

resources from both géographie andnon-geographic islands. Thé latterincorporate such "islands" as areas

isolated from intensive farming, tra-ditional cropping areas of neglectedlandraces, crops related to culturaland ethnie traditions ofisolated areas,protected areas and nature réserves.

Thé meeting also provided an oppor-tunity to review and update knowledgeof this réservoir of under-exploited

genetic resources. Thé followingnations were represented: Albania,

Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary,Kosovo, France, Germany, Israël,Italy, Japon, Poland, Romania, SlovakRepublic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,Tunisia, USA.

Jh(B M^wMmSmall i^ ndSs bi stakes.10 years after Barbados, JVIauritius has

InApril 1994, thé Global Conférence

on thé Sustainable Development ofSmall Island Developing States heldin Barbados addressed thé challengeof translating Agenda 21 into spe-cific policies, actions and measures

to be taken at thé régional, nationaland international level. Thé resultingDéclaration ofBarbados and thé Pro-

gramme of Action for thé Sustainable

Development ofSmall Island Develop-

ing States (SIDS) listed priority areasfor spécifie action such as biodiversity,climate change and sea-level rise,coastal and marine resources, energyresources, freshwaterresources, human

resource development, monitoring,management of wastes, natural and

environmental disasters, régional insti-tutions, technical coopération, scienceand technology, tourism resources andtransport and communication.

Thé scientific program was organisedinto thé four sessions: I) "Thé impor-tance of islands for thé conservation

of plant genetic resources", II) "Casestudies of exploitation of plant geneticresources of Geographical islands:Mediterranean,Atlantic, Nordic, Euro-

pean overseas and exotic islands", III)"Case studies of exploitation of plantgenetic resources of non-geographicislands": (areas isolated from inten-

sive farming, traditional croppingareas of neglected landraces, cropsrelated to cultural and ethnie traditions

ofisolated areas)"; IV) "Plant geneticresources in protected areas"

In January 2005 this Programme ofActions for thé Sustainable Develop-ment ofSIDS was reviewed within thé

Framework of thé Mauritius Confer-

ence where efforts to recognize smallislands' vulnerabilities and support totheir sustainable developmentreceiveda solid encouragement after thé unani-mous adoption of both a pro-activeStrategy to further implement thisprogramme of action, called Mauritius

INTERNATIONAI JOURNAL 0F ISUND AFFMRS

Strategy, and of thé Mauritius Declara-tion, a political déclaration that recog-nizes thé importance of internationalù-ade in building resilience and achiev-ing sustainable development.

This five-day International Meeting

hosted by thé Republic of Mauritiuswas held in an impressive new confer-ence centre where gathered not lessthan 18 Présidents, Vice-Presidents

and Prime Ministers, more than 60

ministers and nearly 2000 delegatesbut also civil society représentatives

andjoumalists from 114 countries and15 UN or multilatéral agencies.

Thé Mauritius Strategy draws atten-

tion to thé vulnerability ofsmall island

nations and emphasizes that SIDS arepart of thé most exposed régions in théworld in relation to thé intensity andfrequency ofnatural and enviromnental

disasters and their increasing impact, as

unfortunately highlighted by thé tragicéconomie, social and environmentalconséquences of thé 26 DecemberIndian Océan Tsunami and thé latest

cyclonic season in thé Pacifie and théCaribbean.

Regarding trade issues, thé MauritmsStrategy recognizes that "most SmallIsland Developing States, as a resultoftheir smallness, persistent stmcturaldisadvantages and vulnerabilities, facespécifie dif&culties in mtegrating mtothé global economy." Thé paper alsoacknowledges "thé importance ofintensifying efforts to facilitate thé fulland effective participation" of SmallIsland Developing States "in thé delib-erations and decision-making process

of thé Worid Trade Organization."

On climate change, thé Strategyindicates that "adaptation to adverseimpacts of climate change and sea-level rise remains a major priority" andalso promûtes eaergy efficiency and théincreased use ofrenewable energy.

On thé other hand, and among otherthings, thé Mauritius Déclaration callsupon ail thé international institutions to"pay appropriate attention to thé stmc-tural disadvantages" of Small IslandsDeveloping States.

By thé adoption of thèse two Docu-ments Thé Mauritius Conférence

confirmed thé strong willingness of ailthé participants to go ahead with thé Pro-gramme of Actions for thé SustainableDevelopment ofSmall Island Develop-ing States and in this way ensure them asustainable and promising future.

Référenceshttp://www.un.org/smallislands2005/http://portal. unesco. org/

Swami Vivekananda International Conférence Centre

(courtesy ofUnited Nations)

NSULA'S page

Ad memoriam

rancesco di Castri

lw

3i

INSULA deeply regrets thé unex-pected death of Francesco di Castri,eminent ecologist, first director of thé

MaB Programme, later coordinatorof UNESCO's Environmental Pro-

gramme. Francesco di Castri playeda créative and leading rôle in manyinternational activities on environ-

ment, at both non-govemmental andgovernmental levels. In thé récent

years, he took a deep interest in islandssustainable development and in thécontradictory issues opposing tour-ism and environmental quality. Hecollaborated thus with INSULA and

contributed to its International Jour-

nal of Island Affairs. Many of us, histravelling companions, will miss hisrigour, his creativity and also his smile.

End of thé OPET-OLAProject

Thé aim of thé OLA project was topromote clean and efficient Europeanenergy technologies and transportapplications in various parts of LatinAmerica and thé Caribbean. Thé

project was intended to respond toexisting political concern regard-ing energy efficiency and renewableenergy sources, to identify areas ofopportunity and market barriers in

each area in relation to thé European

Union's policy in thé région and to

facilitate technology transfer to this

région.

Leaded by thé Spanish Institutefor thé Diversification and Saving ofEnergy, INSULA and a consortium

of 15 European experts in relevanttechnologies put their skills together inorderto achieve thé set objectives. Thé

project, which started on thé Ist Janu-

ary 2004, completed successfully at théend ofFebmary 2005. Valuable resultswere obtained in areas such as projectpromotion and investment; science

and technology co-operation between

organisations and professionals in

Europe and thé countries involved in

thé project; dissémination oftechnol-

ogy R&D activities; and thé identifica-

tion ofproblems and solutions relatedto thé légal and institutional fi-amework

in each target country. This projectgreatly strengthened capacity-build-ing processes in energy & transport

organisations (both govemmental and

private) in LatinAmerica and thé Carib-

bean countries, taking advantage ofEuropean expertise and RTD results in

fields such as energy aspects ofurbantransport, clean fossil fuel technologies(natural gas), renewable sources ofenergy, rational energy use, and energyfrom waste.

Taiwan Conférence

In November 2004, INSULA par-ticipated to thé eighth "Islands of théworld" conférence, which focussed on

thé thème "Changing Islands - Chang-ing Worlds". Thé event was held on

Kinmen Island, Taiwan and gatheredover 250 scholars, researchers and

practitioners and covered most of thé

current island issues ranging fromculture and arts to économies and

GI)agln8lslamls-CI»nai«9W«Ms

environment. More than 30 countries

throughout thé worid were represented.Conférence présentations covereddiverse topics such as climate change,cultural and natural resource conser-

vation, globalization and biodiversitybut also social concerns, économie

perspectives, vulnerability, tourismand transport.

DSTSULAwas represented by its Vice-Chainnan, Professer Hiroshi Kakazu

fi-om Nihon University (Japan), whospoke about Networking Island Soci-eties under thé Globalizing Worldand presented thé Case of thé PacifieIslands.

Palermo ConférenceTowards a Sustainable and QualityTourism in thé European Islands

In October 2005, BSTSULAwas invited

to participate to thé INSULEUR

Forum, event organized in Palermoby INSULEUR, thé Network of thé

Insular Chambers of Commerce and

Industry of thé European Union. Thétopics approached during thé confer-

ence were dealing with sustainable

and quality tourism in thé EuropeanIslands. DSFSULA was represented byits Secretary Général, Dr. Pier Giovannid'Ayala who spoke abçut thé uncertainsustainability of island tourism.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0F ISLAND AFR

NESCO'S page

^ m lg0(

Map ofUtwe Biosphère Réserve (Courtesy ofMaB)

Bfe'-iea

Three new Biosphèreréserves in islands duringthé year 2005

2005 has seen thé approval of threenew Biosphère Réserves in islands,among which thé two first inscriptionsfi-om Small Island States in thé Pacifie,

both located in thé Micronesian area:

Utwe and Ngaremeduu Biosphère

Réserves.

Thé Utwe Biosphère Réserve, Feder-ated States of Micronesia, bas a high

biodiversity, with tropical rain forests,mangrove forest, sea grass beds andcoral reefs. Thé nomination was pre-

pared by Kosrae State communities,which hâve a long tradition ofnaturalresource conservation through custom-

ary laws.

Thé second one, Ngaremeduu Bio-

sphère Réserve, Palau, covers a largebay and coastal area with dense man-grave swamps. Thé conservation areais located in thé states of Aimeliik,

Ngatpang and Ngaremlengui, whichones prepared thé nomination using a

community approach.Marine core areas

protect economicallyimportant crab, fishand clam species. Firstdeclared in 1999, thé

Ngaremeduu Conserva-tion Area is one of thé

areas in Micronesia that

has thé most important

biodiversity and has25 différent types ofecosystems including:upland forests, savan-

nah, mangroves, sea grass beds andcoral reefs. Ngaremeduu Bay featuressome of thé highest zooplankton densi-ties in Palau, ranking it among one ofthé most important nurseries for manyspecies of fish and invertebrates. Itboasts Micronesia's largest côntinuous

mangrove stand, representing 44 per-cent of Palau's total mangrove cover-

âge and is a vital habitat for severalendangered species such as thé dugong,saltwater crocodile, and two species ofsea turtle.

After La Palma, Lanzarote and El

Hierro, Gran Canaria became thé fourth

island of thé Spanish Canary Archi-

pelago to host a Biosphère Réserve.Thé new Biosphère Réserve of GranCanaria covers some 40% of thé island

including entire water catchment areasfrom thé top of thé island's mountainsthrough valleys used by agriculture tobeaches and finally to marine areas.

Thé site is likely to be extended toinclude additional areas in thé near

future.

Jeju isiand9th Meeting of thé East AsianBiosphère Réserve Network"Conservation and Sustainable

Use of Insular BiosphèreRéserves"

Thé 9th Meeting of thé East AsianBiosphère Réserve Network (EABRN-9) "Conservation and Sustainable Useof Insular Biosphère Réserves" was

held from thé 30th ofAugust to 3rd oî

September in Jeju, Republic ofKorea(ROK). Among others, thé objective ofthis meeting was to exchange informa-tion and expérience on conservation

and sustainable use of thé insular

biosphère réserves and other protectedareas in thé East Asian countries in

light of thé Seville Strategy and multi-functions of thé biosphère réserve.

China, DPRK, Japan, Mongolia, ROKand Russian Fédération participated.Other EABRN priority issues such astransboundary biodiversity conserva-tion, conservation policies, capacitybuilding and thé linkage betweencultural and biological diversity hâvealso been addressed. In addition, thé

year 2005 marks thé lOth anniversary

of thé EABRN, which was ofRcially

launched in May 1995. Therefore, thémeeting took thé opportunity to iden-tify past achievements and design théfiiture activity plan.

UJ

lw

l

51

^O'-IIOA)^^

lw

l

^. PAW^0"

MexicoIslands and Protected AreasoftheGulfofCaliforniaon thé World Héritage Listsince 2005

Thé site comprises 244 islands, isletsand coastal areas that are located inthé Gulf of California in north-east-ern Mexico. Thé Sea of Cortez and

its islands hâve been called a natural

laboratory for thé investigation ofspeciation. Moreover, almost ail majorocéanographie processes occurringin thé planet's océans are présent inthé property, giving it extraordinaryimportance for study. Thé site is oneofstriking natural beauty in a dramaticsetting formed by mgged islands withhigh clifFs and sandy beaches, whichcontrast with thé brilliant reflection

from thé désert and thé surroundingturquoise waters. Thé site is home to

695 vascular plant species, more thanin any marine and insular propertyon thé World Héritage List. Equallyexceptional is thé number of fîsh spe-cies: 891, ninety of them endémie.

Thé site, moreover, contains 39% of

thé world's total number of speciesof marine mammals and a third of thé

world's marine cetacean species.

'World Héritage - Pacifie2009' Programme

Despite this extraordinary cultural andbiological diversity and richness, théPacifie is thé most under-representedsub-region on thé Worid Héritage List.East Rennell in thé Solomon Islands

is thé only World Héritage property

in thé Pacifie Sub-Region. To addressthé under-representation of thé PacifieRégion, World Héritage Global Strat-egy meetings were held in thé Pacifie

in July 1997 in Fiji and in August l 999in Vanuatu. As a result, many PacifieIsland countries havejoined thé WorldHéritage Convention. However, théPacifie Région still remains as highlyunder-represented on thé World Herit-âge List and most of thé Pacifie Island

Countries lack capacity and resources,human and fmancial to fully implementthé World Héritage Convention. Someof thé main stratégie objectives of théProgramme are to ensure full member-

ship of thé World Héritage Convention(WHC) in thé Pacifie to strengthen acollaborative sub-regional approach toimplementation and to raise awareness

about thé WHC in order to ensure thé

représentation of thé Pacifie cultural

and natural héritage on thé WorldHéritage List within thé framework

of thé Global Strategy for a crédible,balanced and représentative WorldHéritage List.

BO

î. -n

^

tnuîs Brigand

Les lies du Ponant:Histoires et géographie desîles et archipels de la Mancheet de l'AtlantiqueBY LOUIS BRIGAND

This work is thé editorial adaptationof thé PHD thesis presented by LouisBrigand in January 2000. It is also théresult of 20 years research on insularspaces and territories and more particu-larly those belonging to thé Channeland thé Atlantic French coast area. In

agreement with thé author, thé first

concem of thé éditer has been to ensure

that ail thé information and knowl-

edge gathered in this university workcould be accessible to most people, bysynthesizing thé content and reducingthé amount of highly scientific data.However nothing has been removedto thé rigour of thé research workundertaken by thé author, to whichseveral well known specialists hâvealso contributed.

Thé geographical area chosen, liter-ally speaking "thé islands of thé West",is detennining: it is thé first tim'e thatthé English Channel and thé Atlantic

are discussed simultaneously in a studyabout thé insular environment. Perhapssome islands will seem privileged:


Belle-Ile because ofits size. Sein for its

very rich and spécial imaginary, Bréhatthé very meditated island ; maybe théreader will consider it as regrettable,some islands are less frequently evokedthan some others but thé geography isnot équitable, and thé history enjoyssubjectivity.

In this book, thé "bridge-islands" arediscussed in détail. Was it necessary toinclude them in a larger division, not-withstanding thé concept of insularitythat bas disappeared, or was it morerelevant to highlight thé new stakesbom from thé permanent links? Formain islands such as Charentaises and

Vendéennes islands, Ré island, Oléron

and Noinnoutier, thé editors decided

that it was more judicious to hâve adoser look at thé singularities bomfrom their bridge-islaad statute and toevoke them in a spécial chapter.

Thé book has an exceptional ico-nography: old photographs not verywell known and amazing aerial viewsallowing a good visual perception ofthé islands, a rare set of photographsis complemented with old and récent

cartography for a better appréhensionof thé geography of thé islands of théWest. Paintings, old engravings, news-paper extracts, complément this set of

nearly 800 illustrative documents.

Pubiisher: Editions Palantines

[email protected]., Hardback, 81 ISBN 2-911434-22-6

Lecturer in geography at thé Universityof Western Brittany (UBO), Louis Brigandhas been carrying oui island research farmore than 20 years. Founding member ofINSULA, collaborator of UNESCO MaBPFograrnme and of thé Littoral Academy,

he dkected researcb and published for thèse organizationsseveral stuiiiss about islands. He is also CBrator of ihe NaturslRéserve of thé IroiseSea.

ENEHCV SUSTftiSABl.E

soMmunmES

Expériences, Success Factorsand OppnrtunWcs in thé EU-Î5

Sustainabie Communities

Energy SustainabieCommunitiesExpériences, Success Factors and

Oppportunities in thé EU-25

This guide is one of thé results of thé

project "Définition of thé Character-

istics of "Sustainable Communities".

Identification of Success Factors and

Dissémination of thé Concept". ThisFP5 project regroups seven partners,

technical and non-technical experts

from thé political and socio-economic

fields, as well as représentatives from

islands, rural areas, régions, communi-

ties and with a spécifie focus on Centa-aland Eastern European Countries. Théguide gives an overview of thé ben-efîts and barriers to thé developmentof Energy Sustainable Communities.

Designed as a helping tool, this guide

aims at supporting local communities

in developing sustainable and highlyenergy-efficient initiatives.

Thé publication can be downloaded

from thé website of thé project, whichcan be accessed at www. esc-fomm.

net. Thé web site combines informa-

tion about this guide, a partner fomm

containing a list of successful ESCs

examples, and a feedback section.

What is thé "Sustainable

Communities" initiative?

Thé Sustainable Communities ini-

tiative brings ail différent aspects ofsustainable communities together to

create a platform of information ex-change in order to define thé conceptof sustainable communities in more

détail and to foster thé implementationofthis concept in Europe and in Cen-tral and Eastem European Countries(CEECs).

This comprehensive guide of key-success factors and compilation ofsuccess stories of Energy SustainableCommunities (ESCs) has been pre-pared by experts in thé field ofrenewa-blés. Thé outcomes of thé key-actordiscussion groups served as a basis forwriting this guide. It informs about thétechnical, political and socio-economicaspects of ESC. More importantly itsambition is to be a guide for communi-ties that are on their way ofbecomingan ESC.

Thé first chapter provides an over-view of thé concept of SustainableDevelopment and links thé évolution

of thé concept (from thé Rio Confer-

ence, to thé World Summit on Sustain-

able Development in Johannesburgto today) with thé ESC approach. Itsecondly provides information aboutthé characteristics of ESC, thé RES

technologies, their application cost andtheir potential in Europe.

Thé second, third and fourth chaptersdeal with thé technical, thé political andthé socio-economic aspects of ESC andare presented in short form on thé web

page of thé web partner fomm.Finally thé chapter Central and East-

em European Countries' Characteris-

tics analyses thé obstacles forRES and

RUE development in thèse countries.Thé chapter however puts emphasison thé positive results achieved so farnot forgetting to also stress thé replica-tion Potential in Central and Eastem

Europe.

Partners invoived- EREC (co-ordinator), 0.0. Energiesparverband,Energy Centre Bratislava, Powys En-ergy Agency, ESTSULA (InternationalScientific Council for Island Develop-ment), ARMINES, Otto-von-GuerickeUniversitât Magdeburg, National Tech-nical University ofAthens (NTUA-RENES).

Qi

l

53

JOIN AND SUPPORT INSULA

Thé International Scientific Council for

Island Development (INSULA) was forma-

lly created in 1989 as a Non-Governmental

Organisation (NGO) which aim is to contri-

bute to shape island awareness and develop

islands' common future, supporting necessary

coopération and information actions in thé

scientific and technological fields.

By its actions, INSULA contributes to thé

économie, social and cultural progress of

islands throughout thé world, as well as ta

thé protection of island environment and thé

sustainable development of their resources.

Within such a context, INSULA coopérâtes

with UNESCO, thé European Commission

and other international organisations, as well

as institutions at thé national or régional level

sharing thé same goals and interests. Through

its international and multidisciplinary network

of experts and researchers, INSULA contri-

butes to sustainable development initiatives

undertaken by island peoples and authorities.

As a way ofconnecting ail those who consi-

der islands as an important part of mankind's

héritage deserving major attention, INSULA

publishes "Thé International Journal of Island

Affairs". Each issue focuses on a spécifie

aspect of islands development and culturallife.

Together with its journal and its various

publications, INSULA also promotes thé

dialog among islander through its web site

(www.insula.org).

Application form for membership of .

Surname:................................................................................................................ Firstname:

Institution:

Address:

City: Post code:

Country:

Téléphone:.............................................................................................................. Fax:

Email:

Annual membership: [_] Individual (70 euros)

Institution (190 euros)

Q Supporting member (300 euros or more)

. by:lampayingtheamountof

D Check (in Euros or équivalent payable to INSULA)

D Bank transfer with mention "INSULA Membership" (including bank charges)IBAN: FR76 30003 03301 00037270531 17 - BIC/SWIFT: SOGERFRPP

Signature: Date:

7'he International Journal of Island Affairs is sent, free of charges, to thé members of INSULA.Please visit our website for more information about our publications, projects and actions for which INSULA's membership is invited to play an active rôle.

Please print and return this form by fax or mail to:

insulaInternational Scientific Council for Island Development

c/o MAB -UNESCO House1, rue Miollis - 75732 Paris Cedex 15 - France

Ph: 33 1 45 68 40 56 / Fax: 33 1 45 68 58 04

E-mail : [email protected]

International Conférence

SUSB41 BLETOURISWITH SPECIALREFERENCE TOISLANDS ANDSMALL STATES

Malta: 25-27 May 2006

Venue:

Foundation for International Studiesof thé University of MaltaSt. Paul Street,Valletta VLT 07MALTA

Organised by thé

ISLANDS AND SMALL STATES INSTITUTEhttp://www.home.um.edu.mt/islands/

in collaboration with

*^w THE MALTA TOURISM AUTHORITY/^IALTA http://www.mta. com. mt

THE UNIVERSITY 0F MALTAhttp://www.um.edu.mt

with thé support of

THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATIONhttp://www.world-tourism.org/

OBJECTIVES 0F THE CONFERENCEThé objectives of thé conférence are to:. Develop and discuss orientations in tourism that promote thé attainment of

lasting économie and social development, giving due attention to environ-mental concerns.

. Facilitate exchange of ideas between scholars and practitioners in thé fieldoftourism

. Issue a statement for policy-makers and others involved in tourism, withthé aim of promoting sustainable tourism.

. Publish a book on sustainable tourism

Sustainable Islands - Sustainable Stratégies

July29-August4, 2006Kahului, Maui, hlawai'i

Venue: University of hlawai'i - Maui Community Collège

Pre-Registration: July 28Pre-Conference Excursions: July 29 & 30Conférence Sessions: July 31 -August 2

Post-Conference Excursions: August 3 & 4

Website: http://maui.hawaii.edu/isisa2006/index.html

This international event will attract

scholars and experts from around

thé world to discuss co-responsi-

bility and stratégies for sustainable

island development. Thé organ-

izers anticipate of a full cadre of

participants from around thé world.

Thé conférence will serve to show-

case Maui's rich cultural héritage,

strong économie drivers, and diverse

environment. Conférence participants will

hâve thé opportunity to présent research

papers and interact with, learn from and

engage in dialogue with their international

colleagues on pressing issues regardingisland sustainability.

.k*iî* ' ** *.à-

^

y

ff ch

Published byINSULA - thé International Scientific Council for Development

with thé support ofUNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)