Abstract:
Medicinal plants provide biodiversity-based ecosystem services including health to many
communities around the world and therefore, medicinal plant conservation is vital for sustainability. Here, we identify medicinal plants to be prioritized for conservation among the
Loita Maasai who are pastoralists in the extensive East African savannah. A botanical survey and interviews were conducted with 91 villagers; 49 women and 42 men drawn randomly from 45 households. A conservation priority list was developed based on (1) the
plant part harvested, (2) the species use value, and (3) its availability. These criteria were
evaluated independently for each species on a scale from 1 to 4 and their sum was taken as
the species’ score. The score for the species varied from 5 to 9. The higher the total score
value of a species, the higher its priority for conservation. Among the medicinal plants
used by the community, 20 species were shortlisted as regularly used and found around the
village. Out of these, 12 species that had scores above seven were considered top priority
for conservation. A total of 1179 use reports were obtained from the villagers and they
were placed in 12 use categories as defned in the International Classifcation of Primary
Care system. Plants used to treat digestive system disorder had most use reports (21%), followed by the muscular skeletal disorders (20%). This study identifed 12 medicinal plant
species that should be given conservation priority to make them available for the wellbeing of the people and sustainability of ecosystem products and services
