Book dossier

Applied ethnobotany

by A. B. Cunningham

This volume is a guide on how to manage wild plant species sustainably. Non-cultivated plants are crucial to the lives of a large portion of the world's population, providing low-cost building materials, fuel, food supplements, medicines, tools and sources of income. Despite their importance, their vulnerability to harvesting and other social impacts is not well understood. This manual on wild plant resources sets out the approaches and field methods involved in participatory work between conservationists, researchers and the primary resource users. It explains how local people can learn to examine the pressures on plant resources and what steps to take to ensure their continued availability.