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Food and Medicinal Plants of the Dzhango Community Native Forest: Problems and Prospects of Use

Traditional nature use, ethnobotany, food and medicinal plant, impact of the timber industry, forest ecosystems.

The Dzhango Community territories are located in the central part of Sikhote-Alin, in the Khor River watershed. This territory is attributed to the Far East broad-leafed-coniferous area, manchzhuria province, ussuri-amur district, which are characterized by high biodiversity. 800 species of vascular plants can be met here, that make 40 % of all Far East flora. The uniqueness of natural complexes manifests itself in a complete set of various forest products, which have freat economic value and easy access for the indigenous people of Udege.

It is possible to single out 90 food and 94 medicinal species of plants, the most valuable as for their biological and economic potential, availability and traditional use. It is difficult to find the analogues in the world for such soecies as Schizandra chinensis, Vitis amurensis, Actinidia kolomikta, Eleutherrococcus senticosus, Aralia elata, Gastrodia elata etc, if we take their food and medicinal properties.

However only small part of them is used in real economic practices according to the tradition, set during the last decades. There are a lot of for this: difficulties with gathering and processing, remoteness from the basic markets, low purchasing power of the majority of consumers in the territory. But the main reason is that the Khabarovsk Territory Administration prefer to use more favorable for using more expensive forest timber resources. The timber industry activity has the negative impact on the territory: inevitable destruction of forest ecosystems and deterioration of ecological condition, final fall of the ethnobotany, destruction of the ethnic economic complex and traditional way of living for indigenous people.

The decision of these problems lies in the traditional economy intensification, which has not yet opened its opportunities to the full extent. It includes the involving in economic activity of "non-traditional" kinds of raw material and resources: medicinal grasses, tea preparations, plant seeds and seedlings, tree juices, etc.

Catastrophic fires, biodiversity, bioresource, indigenous peoples, ecological tragedy

Paper by Svetlana D.Schlotgauer and Maria V. Kryukova

In 1998 the frontal fires were catastrophic in the Khabarovsk territory. The fire covered the area of 2,5 million hectares. Priamurye has lost enormous timber resources. But this territory is life environment and center of origin for ethnic cultures of a number of indigenous peoples. The analysis of catastrophic fire consequences has shown that in some areas there were irreversible changes of ecosystems. The negative tendencies in biodiversity dynamics, sharp drop of wild animal number (elk, boar, red deer), ichtyofauna (salmon) and ornithofauna (goose, duck), which play an important role in traditional food of indigenous peoples, can lead to ecological tragedy in the nearest future. Biological diversity of forest birds in recently burned-out forest drops by 80-90 %. Their species composition is reduced till 80-90 %, in comparison with native communities. The bioresource of food and medicinal plants has decreased to 30 % in 4 areas of the lower Priamurye.

Besides direct biota destruction, direct and indirect biomass reduction, the changes of routes and dates of animals and birds migrations are marked. They have to leave habitual stations and move far away.

As a result of this, the territory loses inherent specific natural features, the ecological frame collapses, bioresource potential is lost.

If not to take necessary measures, this area will become the leader of the lowest standard of living, early mortality and cancer diseases among other areas of the territory. General instability and intensity of social and political situation in the country, being imposed on regional (local) problems, will create a critical condition in social situation of this, before safe, territory.