摘要
Tropical rainforests face serious threats of land-use conversion and increasing pressure of resource use and Kakamega forest was no exception.The forest was a biodiversity-rich unique ecosystem and supports high population.Poverty,prevalence of diseases and rising modern healthcare costs had increased dependence on herbal medicines from the forest.However,the effect of collecting medicinal plant materials and the related disturbances that contributed to habitat and biodiversity loss remained a little investigated.This paper examined the effect of ill human health on health of and Kakamega forest,western Kenya.A sample of 250 out of 2,100 households within 5-km distance around the forest was studied.A household questionnaire,observation schedule,digital camera and secondary literature were used to gather information.The study found a weak inverse relationship between usage of herbal medicine and health of and Kakamega forest.Also,binary logistic regression revealed that the health of the forest worsened with increased use of herbal medicine(at p<0.01 level)as demonstrated by debarking ceteris paribus.Thus,herbal therapy reduced the forest biodiversity population size and density.Understanding effects of harvesting herbal materials on the forest was critical for drawing up conservation priorities,and incentives which balance human and forest ecosystem health.
