Sustaining Rainforest Plants, People and Global Health: A Model for Learning from Traditions in Holistic Health Promotion and Community Based Conservation as Implemented by Q’eqchi’ Maya Healers, Maya Mountains, Belize

Marco Otarola Rojas, Sean Collins, Victor Cal, Francisco Caal, Kevin Knight, John Arnason, Luis Poveda, Pablo Sanchez-Vindas and Todd Pesek
Additional contact information
Marco Otarola Rojas: Universidad Nacional, Escuela Ciencias Ambientales, Heredia, Apdo 86-3000, Costa Rica
Sean Collins: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
Victor Cal: Belize Indigenous Training Institute, Toledo, Punta Gorda, Belize
Francisco Caal: Q’eqchi’ Maya Healers Association, Toledo, Punta Gorda, Belize
Kevin Knight: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
John Arnason: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
Luis Poveda: Herbario Juvenal Valerio Rodriguez, Universidad Nacional, Escuela Ciencias Ambientales, Heredia, Apdo 86-3000, Costa Rica
Pablo Sanchez-Vindas: Herbario Juvenal Valerio Rodriguez, Universidad Nacional, Escuela Ciencias Ambientales, Heredia, Apdo 86-3000, Costa Rica
Todd Pesek: Center for Healing Across Cultures, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, CB 138, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA

Sustainability, 2010, vol. 2, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: The present work showcases a model for holistic, sustainable healthcare in indigenous communities worldwide through the implementation of traditional healing practices. The implementation of this model promotes public health and community wellness while addressing crucially important themes such as in situ and ex situ conservation of medicinal plant resources and associated biodiversity, generational transmission of knowledge, and the preservation of biological and cultural diversity for future generations. Being envisaged and implemented by Q’eqchi’ Maya traditional healers of the southern Maya Mountains, Belize, this model can be replicated in other communities worldwide. A ethnobotany study in collaboration with these healers led to collection of 102 medicinal species from Itzama, their traditional healing cultural center and medicinal garden. Of these 102 species, 40 of prior reported 106 consensus study plants were present in the garden. There were 62 plants not previously reported growing in the garden as well. A general comparison of these plants was also made in relation to species reported in TRAMIL network, Caribbean Herbal Pharmacopoeia (CHP), the largest regional medicinal pharmacopoeia. A relative few species reported here were found in the CHP. However, the majority of the CHP plants are common in Belize and many are used by the nearby Mopan and Yucatec Maya. Since these 102 species are relied upon heavily in local primary healthcare, this Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal garden represents possibilities toward novel sustainable, culturally relative holistic health promotion and community based conservation practices.

Keywords: Q’eqchi’ Maya; traditional healing knowledge; traditional botanical knowledge; medicinal plants; indigenous garden; biological conservation; cultural conservation; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/2/11/3383/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/2/11/3383/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:2:y:2010:i:11:p:3383-3398:d:10024

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().