Perceptions and Revitalization of Local Ecological Knowledge in Four Schools in Yasin Valley, North Pakistan

Aziz, Muhammad Abdul; Volpato, Gabriele; Fontefrancesco, Michele Filippo; Pieroni, Andréa

doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-21-00061.1

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Our research group has found some important strategies for revitalizing LEK in schools, which could provide a foundation for promoting these practices in other mountain territories. For example, together with the local community in the Yasin Valley of Pakistan, we identified some approaches that could help in the revitalization of LEK among young community members, such as study trips, traditional food day celebrations, developing WFP herbaria, art competitions, and the introduction of "food scouting" (ethnobiology-centered documentation of threatened local foods) into school curricula [52].…”

Section: Revitalization Of Local Plant Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional foraging for ecological transition? Wild food ethnobotany among three ethnic groups in the highlands of the eastern Hindukush, North Pakistan

Khan

Adil

Aziz

et al. 2023

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Background The Patrak Valley is home to communities, which have been inextricably linked with nature for generations, and local plant knowledge (LPK) represents an important part of their local cultural diversity. In general, globalization has come at the expense of local plant knowledge among several mountain societies, and therefore the current investigation has been undertaken to record the (possibly) last remaining wild food plant/mushroom foraging practices among Pathans, Kohistanis, and Gujjars living in the highlands of the Hindukush, North Pakistan. Methods Data on the uses of wild food plants and mushrooms (WFPs) were collected through 120 semi-structured interviews. The data were cross-culturally compared among the three linguistic groups. Venn diagrams were used to visualize the comparative analysis. To determine the patterns of similarities in plant use among the different ethnic groups, we used the Jaccard similarity index (JI). The recorded data were also compared with the existing Pakistani food ethnobotanical literature. Results A total of 68 WFPs were recorded, the majority of which were used as raw snacks and as cooked vegetables. Fruit was the most frequently reported plant part among the three researched groups. Cross-cultural comparison revealed that 37% of the used plants were commonly shared by the three studied groups. Pathans have retained rich knowledge on WFPs, and they show a comparatively closer affinity with Kohistanis is the use of WFPs compared to Gujjars. While we observed some idiosyncrasies for each of the researched groups, the distinctive plant uses among Gujjars provide insight into their food ecology, their particular human–ecological system centered on mobile pastoralism and their limited exchanges of local food/ecological knowledge due to endogamic patterns. A literature survey revealed some novel or little-known ingredients within Pakistani food ethnobotany/ethnomycology, such as Aesculus indica, Agaricus campestris, Apteranthes tuberculata, Duchesnea indica, Equisetum arvense, Eremurus himalaicus, Isodon rugosus, Morella esculenta, Sophora mollis, and Drimia indica. Conclusion The researched communities have retained important plant knowledge which could be implemented through future development programs considering that most of these traditional foraging practices fulfill environmental and social sustainability standards. Further field studies are required to thoroughly investigate the patterns of foraging among highland pastoral societies in other parts of the Hindukush region and especially their potential for the ongoing ecological transition.

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Section: Revitalization Of Local Plant Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional foraging for ecological transition? Wild food ethnobotany among three ethnic groups in the highlands of the eastern Hindukush, North Pakistan

Khan

Adil

Aziz

et al. 2023

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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“…The WEPs potential of the area may be transformed to for agricultural diversi cation. This practice would be effective for easy survival, economic development and food security of the arid province (Aziz et al, 2022). The remote communities are traditional and have limited socio-economical perceptions to change their life routines.…”

Section: Part(s) Used and Marketing Of Wepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A signi cant volume of traditional knowledge associated with food ethnobotany exists in the province and presented by all ethnic communities. But it is being limited to the aged people and cause low intergenerational transmission as reported in various studies (Aziz et al, 2022;Bibi et al, 2022). In the marginalized human societies the utilization and business of WEPs are perceived as laborious practice with low pro t (ARSHAD et al, 2022).…”

Section: Transmission and Fragmentation Of Traditional Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Documenting the wild edible plant’s resources used by Pushtoons, Balochis and Brahvis as survival strategy in the arid Province of Balochistan, NW Pakistan

Kousar

Khan²,

Abbas

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The current paper elaborates the wild edible plants’ (WEPs) diversity, and associated traditional knowledge among three ethnic groups of Balochistan Province, Pakistan. The field trips were carried out in 2018-2020 employing purposive sampling techniques for respondents. We used open ended semi-structured interviews for data collection. A total of 195 interviews reported 140 plant species in 44 families and 105 genera. Family Brassicaceae (10.17%) showed maximum representation along with Asteraceae (10%), and Apiaceae (6.42%). Eight (8) used categories were determined i.e. eaten fresh (47 spp. 33.57%), as vegetable (46 spp., 32.85%), vegetable and salad (15 spp, 10.71%), salad (14 spp, 10%), beverages only (8 spp, 5.71%), and flavor (7 spp, 5%). Leaves (54 spp., 38.57%) were the most used part followed by fruits (44 spp, 31.42%), tubers (13, 9.28%), bulb (11, 7.8% species), whole plant (8, 5.7%), flowers (4, 2.8%), seeds (4, 2.8), shoots (3, 2.14) young stem (2, 1.42). Seventy five (75) species (53.57%) were cited for mutual utilization and the rest 65 (46.42%) were used differently. Pashtuns hold comparatively significant traditional knowledge and exclusively utilize 44 (31.42%) plant species. Similarly, the Pushtoons and Balochis were sharing considerable species i.e. 13 (9.28%). Jaccard index (JI) discovered that 92 plant species were reported for the first time from the province as WEPs for instance Ferula costata, F. oopoda, Ferula assa-foetida, Allium zhobicum, Asphodelus tenuifolius, and Menoicus linifolius etc. Effect of age, gender and was observed in addition to inter-cultural knowledge heterogeneity. Several geo-climatic changes and anthropogenic factors are causing the fragmentation of existing knowledge. The promotion of these WEPs as crops would underpin the food security and socioeconomic development in the region.

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“…The classical ethnobotanical approach examines the reasons for changes in plant use. Numerous factors have been identified, including changes in the environment (Fernández‐Llamazares et al, 2015; Gómez‐Baggethun et al, 2013), climate (García‐del‐Amo et al, 2023), lifestyle (Cuerrier et al, 2019), economy (Mattalia, Sõukand, et al, 2021; Reyes‐García et al, 2007), policies (Ceuterick et al, 2008; Mattalia et al, 2023), education (Aziz et al, 2022; Nankaya et al, 2019), and so forth. Over time, long‐term changes in the use of wild food plants have been studied in Europe, and a decrease in usage has also been noted (Łuczaj, 2010; Łuczaj & Dolina, 2015) including on the islands (Dolina et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of the continuity of practice: Ethnobotany of Kihnu island (Estonia) from 1937 to 2021

Sõukand,

Kalle,

Prakofjewa

et al. 2023

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementLocal knowledge is highly endangered in the modern world, and therefore, it is important to understand the factors contributing to the preservation of biocultural diversity. Three major aspects were identified: continuity of the practice, support for the ritual related to the use, and external acknowledgment of the local use by an authoritative source. Moreover, strong centralization of current local knowledge in institutionalized domains (ethnomedicine) was identified, which has excluded unacknowledged or officially unapproved local knowledge from circulation. The inclusion of local ecological knowledge as a practice in school curricula and the highlighting of local historical uses in herbals and popularizing activities are recommended.Summary Plant use in local communities changes over time along with changing social, political, economic, and environmental conditions. The study aimed to understand the factors influencing the continuity of certain interactions between plants and people. To understand the drivers of resilience of the use of local flora, the historical (1930s) and current (2021) uses of plants on the small island of Kihnu in Estonia were compared, and the resilient uses were identified. Use resilience depended on the use domain. While the ethnoveterinary domain completely disappeared, the most resilient uses were those related to ritual (religious) activities, with 75% being retained (6 of 8 taxa used historically). This was followed by the wild food plant domain, in which 66% of taxa (21 of 32) have been retained, along with the highest proportion of taxa‐use combinations (57%, 21 of 37). Historically the largest domain, ethnomedicine showed low resilience: 18 of 73 taxa have been retained, with only eight emic (or local) plant uses (PU). Moreover, we observed that 75% of the retained emic PU (6 out of 8) were supported by a centralized medical system, while this proportion was 87% for current uses and only 15% for interrupted uses that were promoted or acknowledged in centralized herbals. As the most important aspects influencing the resilience of plant use are the continuity of practice, ritualization, and external support for usage, the inclusion of local ecological knowledge as a practice in school curricula and the highlighting of local historical uses in herbals and popularizing activities are strongly recommended.

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Perceptions and Revitalization of Local Ecological Knowledge in Four Schools in Yasin Valley, North Pakistan

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 13 publications

References 50 publications

Traditional foraging for ecological transition? Wild food ethnobotany among three ethnic groups in the highlands of the eastern Hindukush, North Pakistan

Traditional foraging for ecological transition? Wild food ethnobotany among three ethnic groups in the highlands of the eastern Hindukush, North Pakistan

Documenting the wild edible plant’s resources used by Pushtoons, Balochis and Brahvis as survival strategy in the arid Province of Balochistan, NW Pakistan

The importance of the continuity of practice: Ethnobotany of Kihnu island (Estonia) from 1937 to 2021

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