traditional herbal knowledge is a well-
guarded secret and can only be passed
on to favourite sons and daughters in
the family. For the young to be able to
practice, they must go through a ritual
ceremony, and receive blessing through
spitting on their hands, those same
hands that will dig the potent herbs
and treat the sick. Unless such cere-
monies are performed the herbs will
not have potency.
Such strong cultural beliefs greatly con-
tribute to the preservation and enhance-
ment of biodiversity conservation in the
drylands. One may even wonder whether
these rules were not purposefully devised
by clever elders who— through taboos
and mystic beliefs—succeeded in making
individuals accountable to society for the
destruction of plants of medicinal and cul-
tural value. Unfortunately, such plants are
now being increasingly harvested and ris-
ing demand and cultural change seem to
be overpowering the traditional rules.
There are no known efforts to propagate
and process these plants for commercial
purpose with a view to alleviate poverty in
the region.
Rules and practices about water
and biodiversity conservation
Water forms the basis of life for the
nomadic Gabbra. It is available in plenty
only during the rainy season, while in the
dry season the Gabbra have to travel vast
distances to collect this precious resource.
During such times, women bear the brunt
of shortages more than men because it is
their responsibility to fetch water for the
household.^10 Water saving practices are
extreme. Clothes are only occasionally
washed and baths are rarely taken. Even
hands are not regularly washed, and
sometimes, if it becomes necessary to do
so, only with the urine of camels and
cows. Tea is prepared using minimal
amounts of water. Meat is roasted instead
of boiled, especially by foorapeople. To
cope with thirst while water is scarce peo-
ple drink only milk or livestock blood.
Young animals, (i.e. calves, kids and
lambs) unable to move to water points
with their mothers are usually kept in
thatched, dome-shaped kraal (waab)to
avoid exposure to the sun and minimise
the requirement for water. The availability
of water regulates the size of the herds
as, when the shallow wells dry up, only
limited numbers of goats and sheep are
allowed access to water. The rest of the
livestock are conditioned to move else-
where.
The water points consist of springs, wells,
surface pans, dams, and rock catchments.
Temporary waters such as seasonal laga,
rain pools, puddles or ponds are regarded
as a communal resource in the same way
as natural pasture, and they are subject
to rules and regulations as is the case for
natural pasture. Nobody has personal
ownership claims or control over them,
but hara(man-made pans), and some
natural pans (gottu or dholollo) and rock
catchments (qarsa)lasting more than a
month or two, are fenced and are gov-
History, cculture aand cconservation
Figure 6.The limited access to permanent water
points conditions the Gabbra to use the water
that collects on the ground surface after the
rains. (Courtesy of Chachu F. Ganya)
