Bio-resource Management of Medicinal Plants in Norogachi, Chihuahua, Mexico

AMOUNT: $15,000 US

PROJECT LEADERS: Roberto Arthur Bye Boettler, William Lewis Merrill

INSTITUTIONS: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and The Smithsonian Institution

Botanical resources represent an important source of income to the rural communities of Mexican temperate forests; wise management of them is critical. An indigenous group located in Guachochi, Chihuahua expressed interest in learning about the conservation and sustainability of ten medicinal plants that have in the past been overexploited for their commercial value. Some of the species, in addition to their significance within local markets, are also important to the larger border region. This project studied the biological characteristics of these plant species in order to provide recommendations on how to better manage their cultivation, and performed a feasibility study of their sale in the Mexican commercial herbal industry. Through workshops, the community was then trained to conserve these precious resources and to tap into their commercial potential in ways that will further rural development within the community that produces them in the long term.