Deforestation ruins Jambi's rich medicinal heritage
Deforestation ruins Jambi's rich medicinal heritage
SOROLANGUN, Jambi (JP): Deforestation in Jambi and Riau is not
only depriving jungle tribespeople of their natural habitat, but
also destroying plant species with potential medicinal value.
A study conducted in Jambi's Bukit Duabelas Biosphere and
Bukit Tigapuluh National Park documented more than 100 plants and
fungi traditionally used to fight disease by jungle dwellers and
those living near the forests.
The study was jointly conducted by a team of researchers from
the University of Indonesia, Bogor Institute of Agriculture,
Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the Ministry of Health.
The Medicinal Biota Expedition found Malay people use 183
species, the Talang Mamak tribe 110 and the Kubu tribe 101 of
medicinal plants and fungi to cure over 50 diseases.
The Kubu, who the government terms "Suku Anak Dalam" but they
themselves prefer to be known as "orang rimbo" or jungle people,
identify 27 medicinal fungi, the Talang Mamak 26 and Malay eight.
Leaves are the most usable part of medical plants after roots,
bark and sap. The most common preparation is to boil the various
parts of the plant, with the water drunk as a herbal extract.
They have long known the plants and fungi as effective cures
for common diseases such as rheumatism, dysentery, hepatitis,
respiratory ailments, malaria, goiter, skin rashes, coughs and
diabetes. Some plants are also considered natural contraceptives.
Among the numerous plants the study identified as having
potential medical value are Pasakbumi (Eurycoma longifolia) to
cure malaria, Marajokane (Ficus deltoidea) to improve fertility
and Cendawan jantung (Dyctiophora indusiata) to treat heart and
circulatory diseases.
Gintungan (Sloetia elongara) has long been known as effective
for contraception.
The researchers lament that while the tribal people are
undoubtedly an important source of knowledge about the medicinal
potential of plants, fungus and animals, their habitat is fast
disappearing.
The development of plantations, logging and resettlement of
people from other areas are the most common pressure on their
traditional way of life.
Talang Mamak and traditional Malay in Bukit Tigapuluh, for
example, could do nothing to stop a government project to convert
84 hectares of their ancestral forest into a housing complex for
transmigrants from other provinces in 1984. Thousands of trees
and medicinal plants were chopped down to make way for the
project after the native people's protests to the regent went
unheeded.
After several years, the resettlers realized they could not
work the land in their new home. They abandoned the area and sold
their property, leaving behind a trail of ecological degradation.
The researchers also note that resettlement of poor people
from Java and other provinces in Sumatra is threatening the
survival of the native Talang Mamak community in Indragiri Hulu,
Riau.
According to the study, within four years, the newcomers
controlled 30 percent of the indigenous people's 3,275 hectares
in Talang Lakat village. The transmigrants' activities are
environmentally destructive; they exploit the forest and have
taught the Talang Mamak to use chain saws to fell trees.
The 127,000-hectare Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, where the
Kubu and Talang Mamak live, is under serious threat because of
uncontrolled logging and land clearing for plantation projects.
The study recommends documentation of the locals' knowledge
about traditional medicinal plants and ensure that they benefit
from the development of natural assets.
Indonesia, home to about 146 million hectares of tropical
forests, has about 370 ethnic groups living in and near the
forests. They have passed down their knowledge of medicinal
plants from generation to generation mainly through the oral
tradition.
The researchers argue that, if properly managed, the medicinal
plants that abound in Indonesian forests may reduce the country's
dependence on foreign countries for the raw material for drugs.
"The current medicine crisis aggravated by soaring prices is
caused by the country's heavy dependence on imports," the report
noted. (pan)