Water Wheel May/June 2022: Wetlands And Medicinal Plants

Abstract

Protecting nature’s medicine cabinet: How research is upping the value of endangered aquatic ecosystems With support from Water Research Commission (WRC) funding, three indigenous aquatic plants are close to commercialisation and will be available on the market to treat skin disorders that include acne, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkles. It’s the latest step in decades-long attempts by the WRC to prove the value of wetlands, and to promote their conservation. One of the mechanisms to protect nature is to demonstrate how it benefits people, says Bonani Madikizela, WRC Research Manager. Rather than top-down mechanisms like fences, laws, policing and punishment this approach works from the bottom up, by motivating people themselves to protect a resource of value to them. “Plants worth money, are worth protecting,” he explains. Promoting research that allows for this value to be taken all the way to the shop shelves also creates numerous other opportunities along the way, many of which are more appealing to a youth that is not interested in dirtying their hands on ground level.

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