Conservation implications of ethnoveterinary knowledge : a Mongolian case study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Across the world, pastoralist livelihoods are centred on the health of livestock herds. In Mongolia, where herders rely on the well-being of their livestock and the vast rangelands they inhabit, pastoralism holds important economic and cultural significance. Through centuries of herding, Mongolian pastoralists have developed a rich heritage of traditional ecological knowledge, which includes local knowledge, beliefs and practices relating to animal health. This ethnoveterinary knowledge is the focus of the present study.Ethnoveterinary data were recorded from 50 semi-structured interviews, conducted with pastoralist families in the central northern region of Mongolia. Interviews included free listing opportunities, the use of photographs of plants in a reference book, and a questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions. In addition, participant observation schedules, journal keeping and travelling on horseback were used to gain a better understanding of the context in which the ethnoveterinary knowledge is embedded. The methods and approaches used to collect data for this study were critically reviewed by comparing theory and practice, culminating in a better understanding of the data, and the development of constructive recommendations for researchers in similar fields.This study demonstrates that Mongolian herders possess a wealth of ethnoveterinary knowledge. This includes the sophisticated use of a variety of medicinal plants. The use of 39 botanical species from 20 families, equating to 29 ethnospecies, was recorded in this study. Medicinal plant use and importance was analysed by means of use-values, free-listing salience index and fidelity levels. According to these, Urtica cannabina, Sanguisorba officinalis, Plantago spp., Rhodiola spp., Pulsatilla spp. and Cacalia hastata are particularly important ethnospecies, used in the treatment of various livestock ailments. The ethnoveterinary uses of twenty non-plant remedies and three techniques were also recorded.This study indicates that ethnoveterinary knowledge is held by both men and women, and is transmitted between generations as lived knowledge, experiential learning and by active teaching. Maintaining this traditional ecological knowledge requires the continuation of herding practices and herding culture as well as a family structure that allows for intergenerational connection across space and time.The ethnoveterinary knowledge of Mongolian pastoralists is embedded in the context of a social-ecological system with both biological and cultural components. Therefore, to determine the conservation implications of ethnoveterinary knowledge, the concept of biocultural diversity was used. To allow for a better understanding of biological and cultural diversity and the connections between them, a novel framework for biocultural diversity was developed. This framework was populated with examples from the Mongolian pastoralist context to describe the factors that influence conservation in this environment.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University