Intellectual and ecological traditional knowledge: can it be sustained through natural products development? Case studies from Thailand, Tibet, Ghana, and Guatemala

Abstract

Sustainability, as defined by Charles Peters (1994), means having a greater abundance of mixed ages of keystone plant species growing than being harvested within a forest. In this presentation, I hope to demonstrate, through case studies, not only how sustainability is indeed ecologically what Dr. Peters said, but also how it is enriched and further sustained by the ecological and intellectual knowledge held by the cultures and their economies dependant upon the specific geographic region in which they reside. Furthermore, when the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and intellectual property rights (IPR) are sustained, the result can be mutually beneficial to people when applied to natural products microenterprises. In this paper, I will describe four projects that have complemented sustainability with medicinal plant products from traditional sources.

Parent Publication

• Forest communities in the third millennium: linking research, business, and policy toward a sustainable non-timber forest product sector.

Citation

Flaster, Trish. 2001. Intellectual and ecological traditional knowledge: can it be sustained through natural products development? Case studies from Thailand, Tibet, Ghana, and Guatemala. In: Davidson-Hunt, Iain; Duchesne, Luc C.; Zasada, John C., eds. Forest communities in the third millennium: linking research, business, and policy toward a sustainable non-timber forest product sector, proceedings of the meeting; 1999 October 1-4; Kenora, Ontario, Canada. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-217. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station: 49-52.