Masao Catherine Aloyce, Igoli John, Liwenga Emma T
Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O.Box 35097, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture PMB 2373, Makurdi, Nigeria.
Environ Manage. 2023 Jan;71(1):114-130. doi: 10.1007/s00267-022-01656-1. Epub 2022 May 12.
Neglected and underutilized plant species (NUS) in Tanzania are maintained by socio-cultural preferences. However, a majority remains inadequately characterized and neglected by research and conservation initiatives. Over long time ago, the NUS have been part of the major component in the food systems of local communities especially in the dryland areas to overcome challenges brought about by uncertain climatic conditions. This study documents the NUS diversity and indigenous knowledge on their availability, agronomic and cultural practices in the Semi-arid zones of Tanzania to verify their economic potentials and promote their sustainable utilization for climate change adaptation as well as natural resources conservation. The study involved field plant identification, quantification and participatory rural appraisals (PRAs). The results indicate that the study regions have very rich diversity of NUS contributing significantly to the people's adaptation to drought conditions and food shortages in the areas. The NUS in the studied regions had varied uses including food and medicine. A majority of the consulted farmers in the study area indicated that the NUS utilized in the areas were either minimally cultivated on farms, freely obtained from the wild or grew as weeds in the farmlands. Despite the potentials for NUS in contributing to climate change adaptation in the areas, so far there have been no efforts geared towards their sustainable utilization and conservation. It is observed that promotion of NUS through improved packaging and marketing could contribute to the economy of the local people who have access to NUS in the area and therefore enhance resilience of semi-arid communities.
坦桑尼亚被忽视和未充分利用的植物物种（NUS）是由社会文化偏好维系的。然而，大部分此类物种仍未得到充分表征，且被研究和保护举措所忽视。很久以前，NUS就是当地社区食物系统的主要组成部分，尤其是在旱地地区，以应对不确定气候条件带来的挑战。本研究记录了坦桑尼亚半干旱地区NUS的多样性以及关于其可用性、农艺和文化实践的本土知识，以核实其经济潜力，并促进其可持续利用，以适应气候变化和保护自然资源。该研究涉及实地植物鉴定、量化以及参与式农村评估（PRA）。结果表明，研究区域拥有非常丰富的NUS多样性，对当地人民适应干旱条件和粮食短缺做出了重大贡献。研究区域的NUS有多种用途，包括作为食物和药材。研究区域内大多数接受咨询的农民表示，当地使用的NUS要么在农场中种植较少，要么是从野外自由获取的，要么是在农田中作为杂草生长的。尽管NUS有潜力促进该地区适应气候变化，但到目前为止，尚未有针对其可持续利用和保护的努力。据观察，通过改进包装和营销来推广NUS，可为该地区能够获取NUS的当地居民带来经济收益，从而增强半干旱社区的复原力。
