Each time a medicine man dies, it is as if a library
has burned down.
Mark
Plotkin
LINKING
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION, TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SUSTAINABLE USE TO
COMMUNITY HEALTH
-
The Research Agenda of IWIM, the Interdisciplinary
Working Group on Indigenous Medicinal Plants of Indonesia -
Indonesia is one of the so-called megacenters of
biodiversity. Significant sections of the world’s species richness is found in
this archipelago nation. Conservation of this richness in plant and animal
species is part of the agenda to preserve the country’s wealth in natural
resources. This has been repeatedly stated, amongst others in such important
documents as the Indonesian Country Study
on Biological Diversity, the Biodiversity
Action Plan for Indonesia, and the Agenda
21 – Indonesia.
Conservation should also consider that natural
resources are used. Conservation and utilization are not mutually exclusive
concepts. Sustainable use has become one of the key issues in this context.
About 10 percent of the world's flowering plants occur in Indonesia. About 2500
plant species are presently used as medicinal plants in the country. Without
doubt, this is a significant aspect of the efforts to maintain or even improve
quality of life of the Indonesian society. As a consequence, to sustain this use
of the country’s richness in plants has since many years been considered of
vital importance by governmental and non-governmental institutions and
authorities alike. Emphasis on strengthening efforts towards a better
understanding of the uses of indigenous medicinal plants and the systems if
indigenous knowledge in Indonesia has gained momentum, particularly since the
last year when Indonesia was hit by one of the most severe economic and
political crisis in its young history as an independent nation.
It is estimated that over 80% of the Indonesian
population depends on traditional medicines to meet their primary health care
needs and, at the same time, Indonesian export figures for traditional medicines
continue to rise dramatically. The resulting overall intensified utilization of
medicinal plants, most of the species are collected from forests, has created
the need not only to protect some of the species more effectively but also to
cultivate them rather than taking them from the wild. An enormous potential for
Indonesia's export economy might be seen in the world-wide revival, particularly
in Europe, of interest in drugs and cosmetics
commonly referred to as "natural products”.
But significant research into plant uses by
indigenous people has also a long history in Indonesia, ranging from Heyne’s
classical publication De Nuttige Planten
Van Indonesie to the recent compilation of the medicinal herbs of Indonesia
by P.T. Eisai Indonesia, and the volumes on medicinal plants to be published in
the PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) series. Moreover,
commercialization of the Jamu system may be seen as an indicator of the
importance traditional herbal medicine has in Indonesia itself and for Indonesia
as an export commodity. In the last 10 years many national and international
meetings held in Indonesia have documented ongoing research activities in
ethnobotany in general or in medicinal plants in particular, e.g. the
International Congress on Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants in Bali 1990
and the national congresses on ethnobotany. Scientists who contributed to these
meetings have repeatedly expressed their concern about conservation of medicinal
plants in Indonesia. An enormous body of data has been accumulated, but
information is scattered and has not been given the priority needed within the
framework of preserving Indonesia's enormous richness in plant and animal
species. And this, as outlined above, despite the tantamount importance
traditional medicine has for the Indonesian society.
The use of plants for traditional medicine is
embedded in a complex network formed by Indonesia's different ethnic communities
- some 336 different cultures are distinguished in the country. Moreover, the
systems of traditional medicine are undergoing a process of rapid and permanent
change. This results from "information exchange" within Indonesia and
from reaction to the demands from international markets for plant products from
Indonesia. Implications of these changes can only be understood if some general
characteristics of traditional medicine in Indonesia are considered. These are:
Ø Traditional medicine in
Indonesia still relies to a large extent on plant materials taken from the wild.
Ø Most of the relevant species
are species typical for forest ecosystems without severe human impacts.
Ø Harvesting of these natural
resources needs to be on sustained levels for long term contribution of the
health care system of Indonesia.
Ø Lastly, efforts to sustain and
possibly even increase supply with materials for traditional medicinal practices
should be seen in a broader context with uses of wild plants other than for
medical purposes only. This way, a general agenda, action plan or national
strategy for conservation and sustainable utilization of the indigenous
medicinal plants of Indonesia should be formulated.
To address these complex issues, research methodologies of a number of different disciplines
need to be used. These comprise biogeography, phytochemistry and genetics,
pharmacy and pharmacognosy, and anthropology. In May 1998, the Indonesian Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
(INRIK) in Bandung hosted a group of scientists from the two major universities
in Bandung, Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD) and the Bandung Institute of
Technology (ITB). The group comprised the Director of INRIK, Prof. Dr. Kusnaka
Adimihardja, Prof. Dr. Sidik, Dept. of Pharmacognosy at UNPAD, Dr. Moesdarsono,
Dept. of Pharmacy at ITB, and Prof. Dr. Walter Erdelen, Dept. of Biology at ITB.
Prof. Adimihardja has long standing research contacts to Germany and the
Netherlands, Prof. Sidik and Dr. Moesdarsono are DAAD alumni and Prof. Erdelen
is long-term DAAD visiting professor at ITB. In the course of later meetings and
identification of joint research activities related to the topics outlined
above, these four scientists founded IWIM, the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Indigenous Medicinal Plants of
Indonesia. The group's major objective is to develop new conceptual
approaches for a better understanding and conservation of the traditional
medicinal systems in Indonesia. This will be implemented by using a
"dynamic networking approach" to address specific research issues.
Amongst others these include general questions like
Ø How are particular plant
species used for medicinal purposes by traditional societies in Indonesia?
Ø What are the underlying causes
for particular utilization patterns (e.g. traditions, biochemical
characteristics of the plants, etc.)?
Ø To what extent can a better
understanding of the traditional knowledge systems contribute to optimizing use
systems for the Indonesian society, both in terms of export of medicines in
traditional use as well contributing to improving health care in the country?
Trying to answer all these questions in a
comprehensive manner is certainly beyond the scope of a group like IWIM. This
group can only stimulate or catalyze the relevant research that is needed. In
addition, IWIM primarily works as a coordinating body. Nevertheless its members
carry out joint research programs on medicinal plants. Both activities need
external funding to meet the 'sustainability criterion'. The conceptual approach
of IWIM was presented at the 1998 National Congress of Ethnobotany in Bali. IWIM
is open to all individuals interested in contributing to improve our
understanding of the fascinating traditional societies of Indonesia, their
traditional knowledge and their close interrelationships with the natural
environment.
Fur further
information, please contact us under
