Traditional knowledge rights being lost

With co-operation between communities, pharmaceutical companies and research organisations, however, the study says that traditional ecological knowledge could contribute to rural property alleviation through profit-sharing agreements.

The report, entitled Ecosystem Services in the Gariep Basin, is part of a four-year international initiative by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) to evaluate the state of earth's ecosystems, and the current capacity and future potential of ecosystems to deliver services of value to people.

The report highlights ecosystems in the Gariep Basin, covering most of South Africa and Lesotho, that have cultural significance for the region. These include the Cradle of Humankind site near Johannesburg, and the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. However, numerous other, lesser-known cultural services exist, in which the cultures of local people are interwoven with the ecosystems in which they live.

Local people know that deteriorating ecosystems make their cultural sites vulnerable, the report says. As a result, there is a shift towards community-based natural resource management in many parts of the Gariep Basin. However, it is still unclear whether this shift will reap adequate benefits for ecosystems.

Local communities, and especially their older members, have considerable traditional ecological knowledge. This relates to ecosystem management (for example, maintaining sacred pools and forests), but also includes knowledge about medicinal plants and their properties.

In the Fish River area of the Eastern Cape, Xhosa tradition and identity is strongly founded on interactions with ancestors and the spiritual world. In turn, there are strong links between the spiritual world and certain environmental features. Key among these are sacred pools, intact forests, medicinal plants, clan totems, and ancestors' graves.

The report investigated the condition and trends of ecosystem services and human well-being in the Gariep Basin from 1993 to 2003. The Gariep Basin is defined as the area of South Africa and Lesotho drained by the Senqu-Gariep-Vaal River system, as well as two primary catchments connected to this system by major water transfer schemes.

Extending over 665 000 square kilometres across south-central southern Africa, the catchment encompasses the entire mountain nation of Lesotho, the urban-industrial complex of Gauteng Province, the "grain basket" of the central plateau, the extremely arid western regions of South Africa, and two international biodiversity hotspots.