The problem
There are two major threats to humankind today: the loss of biodiversity
and the loss of traditional knowledge about biodiversity. Both are issues
of utmost importance. Any species that becomes extinct is an option for
medicine, food, genes, etc., lost forever. Cultures with vast knowledge of
their plant resources also are threatened by extinction because of
acculturation. The traditional knowledge of plants has provided our
modern society with medicines, food, industrial materials and many other
advantages that we take for granted. Ethnobotanical research is providing
fundamental information in the search for new drugs, foods, pesticides,
natural products, genes and all kinds of chemicals. Ethnobotanical data
provides an extraordinary diversity of important questions for botanical,
ecological and anthropological research.
Purpose
To manage the complex information involved in ethnobotanical research, a database system is an excellent approach. Databases can be designed to incorporate many of the intricacies of the real world. For example, the relationships between scientific names and common names vary through time, space and culture. Names come in and out of use. Species referred to by a common name will change from one area to the next, from one time period to the next. Through the use of the right relational data tables and programming, it is possible to provide for those complexities. Furthermore, with relational databases, many individuals can work separately adding and correcting material that enhances the overall information system. Upon searches, people can then discover information and relationships novel to them from their own data entry and research.
For example, the biochemicals found in various species may be entered by various people. Other individuals could enter the medicinal uses made of various species in many different cultures. Still others could find through their data queries a list of biochemicals found in plants effective in the treatment of a certain disease. Further searches can find which ones would affect various aspects of the disease process.
The purpose of this project is to develop such a database focusing on the
ethnobotany of Kenya.
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