TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF SANTA CATARINA, BC, MEXICO

Abstract

Traditional knowledge (TK) integrates and shared local and cultural wealth by the members of a community. It includes information regarding beliefs, systems of values, respect and environmental care, as well as knowledge and management of native flora and the use of medicinal plants, like the mayority of the indigenous cultures of Latin America, which results in a viable resource management. Under this statement, the objetive of this paper was; to know, to collect and to analyze the TK of the medicinal plants of the indigenous community of Santa Catarina, B.C. Mexico and propose guidelines for their management. It was obtained a 36 medicinal plants record of the Mediterranean ecosystem, it was also identified the suffering for which the medicinal plants are used, as well as parts of the plant and its employment forms. It was concluded that the integration of TK to government management plans, represents an option for the conservation of ecosystem natural resources, in which the agricultural and livestock pressure constitutes a serious menace for the conservation of plant communities.

Keywords

• Medicinal plants
• Indigenous groups
• Resource management
• Mediterranean ecosystem