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Medicinal Plants and Health Sovereignty in Badakhshan, Afghanistan: Diversity, Stewardship, and Gendered Knowledge

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Abstract

Medicinal plants are fundamental to health sovereignty, providing vital healthcare and livelihood options for rural mountain communities. We conducted 284 interviews with 416 participants in Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan focusing on the collection, use, sale, and management of medicinal plants. Participants identified 48 plants within 45 categories of treatment and prevention. The greatest number of plants were used to treat hypertension (14 plants), followed by kidney aids (12), analgesics (11), gastrointestinal aids (11), and dermatological aids (9). Comparisons with hospital records suggest that medicinal plants treat common ailments and preempt the need for some hospital visits. In addition, medicinal plants provide a source of livelihood for approximately 25% of participants. Many gatherers are concerned about the impacts of harvesting on medicinal plant resources. Collaborative research and knowledge exchange are necessary to enhance health sovereignty and community-based stewardship that sustain medicinal plant diversity in the context of increasing commercialization.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the risk of commercialization without mutual benefit to the communities and individuals who contributed their knowledge, as well as to minimize risks associated with unsupervised use. Some data is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Notes

  1. We build on our previous study (Kassam et al., 2010) to discuss this notion that many medicinal plants also provide nutrition and some communities do not distinguish between plant use as food or medicine.

  2. Shughnan, Shignan, Shighnan, Shegnan, Sheghnan and Eshkashim are alternative transliterations. We use Shugnan and Ishkashim as these terms are linguistically accepted.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the many individuals who generously shared their time and knowledge of medicinal plants. The analysis and discussion in this article would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the villagers of Shugnan, Ishkashim, Zebak, and Wakhan districts of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. We appreciate the Ishkashim and Shugnan Area offices of the Aga Khan Foundation in Badakhshan for providing transportation, and logistical and facilities support during data collection. We are grateful to Dr. Michelle Baumflek at the US Forest Service who assisted with the comparison of previous studies in the region and Mr. Aziz Ali Khan of the University of Central Asia for providing support and facilitation during fieldwork and helping verify botanical names. We are thankful to Mr. Umed Bulbulshoev for verification of linguistic names of districts. We thank the managerial staff of the Pamir Biological Institute in Khorog, Tajikistan, for their support and encouragement and providing the opportunity to conduct this study in Afghanistan. We are indebted to Prof. Michael Keusgen of the Philipps University in Marburg (Germany) for his technical guidance as well as identification of species of medicinal and aromatic plants of the Pamir region.

Funding

This research was funded by a grant from the Central Asia and Afghanistan Research Fund through the Mountains Societies Research Institute of the University of Central Asia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pamir Biological Institute, Khorog, Tajikistan

    Munira Karamkhudoeva

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Central Asia, Khorog, Tajikistan

    Murodbek Laldjebaev

  3. International Development, Community and Environment, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA

    Morgan L. Ruelle

  4. Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Karim-Aly S. Kassam

  5. American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Karim-Aly S. Kassam

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Contributions

MK and KAK designed the interview guides. MK conducted all interviews and KAK supervised field work. MK and ML organized data for analysis. ML and MLR conducted data analysis, prepared figures and tables, and drafted the manuscript. All four authors contributed to revisions of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Murodbek Laldjebaev.

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Karamkhudoeva, M., Laldjebaev, M., Ruelle, M.L. et al. Medicinal Plants and Health Sovereignty in Badakhshan, Afghanistan: Diversity, Stewardship, and Gendered Knowledge. Hum Ecol 49, 809–829 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00270-9

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