Fostering greater recognition of Caribbean traditional plant knowledge

Ina Vandebroek; Jason West; Kenneth Otero-Walker; Steve Maldonado Silvestrini

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.007

Fostering greater recognition of Caribbean traditional plant knowledge

Trends Ecol Evol. 2024 Jan;39(1):9-12. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.007. Epub 2023 Nov 8.

Authors

Ina Vandebroek¹, Jason West², Kenneth Otero-Walker³, Steve Maldonado Silvestrini⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Sciences and Natural Products Institute, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica. Electronic address: ina.vandebroek@uwimona.edu.jm.
² Community of Windsor Forest, Portland, Jamaica.
³ The New York Botanical Garden, William & Lynda Steere Herbarium, Bronx, NY, USA.
⁴ Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

PMID: 37949793
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.10.007

Abstract

The Caribbean is a hotspot of biological and cultural diversity, manifested in traditional plant knowledge of Afrodescendant peoples and other ethnicities. To strengthen the visibility of this knowledge in research, education, and policy making, we propose an eight-step action plan centered on reciprocal relationships with Caribbean plant stewards, especially subsistence farmers.

Keywords: biocultural diversity; conservation; cultural heritage; ethnobotany; family farmers; local ecological knowledge.

MeSH terms

Caribbean Region
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Ethnobotany*
Plants

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding