Chapter 3
‘Chop, but no broke pot’: the case
of Prunus africana on Mount Cameroon
1Nouhou Ndam^2 and Mahop Tonye Marcelin^3ABSTRACT
P. africana is a tree occurring in some montane regions of Africa. The bark is
used by local peoples to treat many diseases and is known internationally as a
remedy to prostate disorder. It is exported to developed countries from a
number of African countries where it contributes to the economic and social
well-being of peoples of this continent. In the Mount Cameroon area where
this case study is based, initiatives have been made to sustain its use while
increasing its benefit to local communities. This paper outlines the ecological
and socio-economic context of the species focusing on its distribution,
harvesting, processing, marketing, and policy environment for sustainable use
and equity in benefit sharing. Lessons learnt from conservation and
development efforts are drawn from the case study.INTRODUCTION
Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman, formerly known as Pygeum africana
(Hook.f), is a tree belonging to the Rosaceae family distributed in montane
forest regions across Africa. Traditionally, it is used to treat malaria, stomach
ache, fever, urinary problems, sexually transmitted diseases, wounds, chest
pain and heartburn (Carter 1992; Tonye et al.1999). It is a purgative for cattle
and its fruits are consumed and disbursed by many birds and insects (Sunderland
and Nkefor 1997). Its bark is used in modern medicine to treat prostate disorder
that leads to uncontrolled urine release in elderly men (Bombardelli and
Morazzoni 1997). It is exported to developed countries from a number of
countries where it contributes to the economic and social wellbeing of African
peoples. Aside from medicinal use, it is also a source of timber for export orCommon names Part of the Management Degree of Scale of Geographic
resource used transformation trade range
Pygeum, Bark Wild High International Medium
Red stinkwood,
Wotango03prunus.p65 37 22/12/2004, 11:04