Traditional medicine is believed to constitute a crucial healthcare option for poor or remote households in developing countries that have limited access to allopathic medicine and/or a strong cultural attachment to traditional medicine. However, little research has been performed on medicinal plant reliance in developing countries, and the determinants of...

As pressure is increasing on diminishing medicinal plant sup- plies, constructive resource management and conservation actions must be identified, based upon a clear understanding of the surrounding medicinal plant use. This study seeks to respond to three cen- tral questions: (1) What are the causes behind the depletion of wild populations of...

Wild populations of the Afromontane forest tree Prunus africana (Rosaceae), known as the African Cherry or Red Stinkwood (sometimes called Pygeum africanum) are currently the sole source of bark and bark extract exported from Africa and Madagascar to Europe. This trade has taken place for nearly 30 years, for production...

Traditional medicine, based largely on herbs, still supports the primary healthcare of more people worldwide than ‘conventional’ or western medicine. According to the World Health Organisation, up to 80% of the population in Africa uses traditional medicine for their primary healthcare, and natural remedies are also popular in many western...

Forest schools are an innovative educational approach to outdoor play and learning. The philosophy of forest schools is to encourage and individuals of any age through positive outdoor experiences. Target group: children of all ages who have been excluded from mainstreams school or ones at risk through behavioural problems, attentional...

Botanical diversity provides value to humans through carbon sequestration, air and water purification, and the provisioning of wild foods and ethnomedicines. Here we calculate the value of botanical ethnomedicines in a rainforest region of Madagascar, the Makira Protected Area, using a substitution method that combines replacement costs and choice modeling....

For hundreds of years, people in China, Japan, Korea and other parts of Asia have recognized that wood is not only a critical building material, but that forests provide a number of other benefits. Asian physicians have long recommended walking or being in nature as an important way for people...

Multi-purpose Medicinal Plants (MMPs) remain a crucial element of human and livestock healthcare systems in many developing countries. Industrialized countries also use medicinal plants, as many pharmaceuticals are based on, or derived from plant compounds. Over-exploitation of medicinal plants, and lack of meaningful legislation to regulate harvesting, and trade is...

This report was commissioned as ‘a review’ of existing literature on public access to woodlands with the aim of identifying the extent of use, motivations and well-being benefits gained from trees, woodlands and forest and highlighting interventions that have been successfully applied to encourage public access and enhance public benefit....

The Forestry Commission, with its agency Forest Enterprise, represents the UK’s largest single controller of public land. At the same time, community forests are being developed in and around towns and cities, in recognition of the benefits of such initiatives in building social capacity, as well as to provide much...