. Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in Ghana: conservation report. The last 50 years The past fifty years has seen a lot of changes in the vegetative cover of Aburi area. If one drives fi-om Aburi to Nsawam through Brekuso and back one sees a lot of changes in vegetation. This area used to have a luxurious forest cover abounding in flora and fauna. There have been a lot of human activities such as cutting down of trees for fire wood, farming, charcoal burning, lumber for housing and also quarrying. The result is the loss of many medicinal plants in the wild. The idea people
. Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in Ghana: conservation report. The last 50 years The past fifty years has seen a lot of changes in the vegetative cover of Aburi area. If one drives fi-om Aburi to Nsawam through Brekuso and back one sees a lot of changes in vegetation. This area used to have a luxurious forest cover abounding in flora and fauna. There have been a lot of human activities such as cutting down of trees for fire wood, farming, charcoal burning, lumber for housing and also quarrying. The result is the loss of many medicinal plants in the wild. The idea people had was that the forest would be there for generations to come forgetting that over population, drought, bushfires and housing projects would put pressure on the land. This specimen of Ceiba pentandra is the sole survivor of the original forest that once covered the Aburi In the early eighties, precisely 1983 there were bushfires all over the country due to severe drought. Aburi area was not left out. Most forests were burnt down resulting in the loss of most of the medicinal plants. It has taken about 10-20 years for some areas to recover. Trees like Milicia excelsa, Teclea verdoorriana, Garcinia kola and Dialium dinklaigei are very scarce. There is therefore the need to cultivate all the lost species. This has created secondary and open forests and one could count trees easily in the distance. Some important medicinal plants such as Cassia sieberiana, Trema orientalis, Treculia africana, Trichilia monadelpha and Antiaris africana have all disappeared around Konkonuru. KONKONURU - STORIES FROM A VILLAGE Konkonuru is a village in Aburi area just 5km away. Historically it is about 200 year old. The village used to be the home of the standing army of the chief of Aburi. During war time concoctions were prepared for the soldiers to fortify themselves against bullet shots, body injuries and to treat other ailments. After many wars of conquest, the people settled down as far
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