Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33092623›Full record

ArticleJournal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine2020

Ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants used by Baka people in southeastern Cameroon.

Pascal Eric Billong Fils, Natacha Afiong Nana, Jean Lagarde Betti, Oumar Farick Njimbam, Stéphanie Tientcheu Womeni, Eva Ávila Martin, Guillermo Ros Brull, Robert Okale, Julia E Fa, Stephan M Funk

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Article in Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

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9citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

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  5. EndemicHeliyon · 2024
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Pascal Eric Billong FilsDepartment of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, BP, 24 157, Douala, Cameroon.
Natacha Afiong NanaDepartment of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, BP, 24 157, Douala, Cameroon.
Jean Lagarde BettiDepartment of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, BP, 24 157, Douala, Cameroon.
Oumar Farick NjimbamDepartment of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, BP, 24 157, Douala, Cameroon.
Stéphanie Tientcheu WomeniDepartment of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, BP, 24 157, Douala, Cameroon.
Eva Ávila MartinZerca y Lejos ONGD, c/Sambara 128, 28027, Madrid, Spain.
Guillermo Ros BrullZerca y Lejos ONGD, c/Sambara 128, 28027, Madrid, Spain.
Robert OkaleZerca y Lejos ONGD, c/Sambara 128, 28027, Madrid, Spain.
Julia E FaDepartment of Natural Sciences, School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK.
Stephan M FunkNature Heritage, St. Lawrence, Jersey, Channel Islands, UK. smf@natureheritage.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7992-4115

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundForest inhabitants worldwide, and indigenous people especially, have depended for generations on plants and animals harvested in these ecosystems. A number of Baka hunter-gatherer populations in south-eastern Cameroon became sedentarised in the 1950s, but still rely on hunting and gathering to meet their basic needs. The use of wild edible plants (WEP) by these communities remains largely undocumented. In this study, we record the diversity of WEP used by Baka people in dense rainforests in the Mintom region. The area still contains relatively undisturbed forest expanses, just south of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, one of the most important protected areas in the Congo Basin.

methodsWe conducted two ethnobotanical surveys in 2019 in four villages on the Mintom road. In the first survey, we interviewed a total of 73 individuals to determine WEP usage. In our second survey, we specifically quantified WEP harvested and consumed daily in a number of households over a 2-week period during the major rainy season, when use of forest products is highest. Specimens of all recorded plants were collected and identified at the National Herbarium of Cameroon.

resultsWe documented 88 plant species and 119 unique species/plant organ/recipes in 1519 different citations. A total of 61 genera and 43 families were noted. Excluding 14 unidentified wild yam species, 17 WEP species had not been reported in previous ethnobotanical surveys of the Baka. Our results showed that cultivated starchy plant foods make up a significant proportion of our study population's daily nutritional intake.

conclusionsA high diversity of WEP is consumed by the studied Baka communities. The study area is likely to be significant in terms of WEP diversity since 18 out of the 30 "key" non-timber forest products, NTFP, in Cameroon were mentioned. Documentation of the use of WEP by indigenous communities is vital to ensure the continuity of traditional knowledge and future food security.

Indexed as

EthnobotanyCameroonFemaleForestsHumansIndigenous PeoplesMalePlants, EdibleSeasonsAfricaBaka peopleDiversity indexesDja biosphere reserveEthnobotanyFood securityHunter-gathererWild edible plants

Identifiers

PMID33092623
PMCPMC7579891

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.