ABSTRACT
Over the years, women and men have developed and inherited important local knowledge in the management and processing of natural resources, particularly AMP. Although a great deal of knowledge is shared between the sexes, the roles, activities and responsibilities of women in the management, processing and use of AMP is more specialized than that of men (Maâni 2010). It was found that both men and women could identify 12 species of medicinal and culinary importance (Figure 11.3). However, women identified more varieties of AMP than men (20% of women against 2% of men for lavender, 58% of women against 20% of men for flax-leaved (Daphne) pigweed and mint) while men identified slightly more varieties of marjoram, thorny capers and thyme than women. Women and men all agree that knowledge related to the AMP has suffered
severe erosion highlighting more extensive use of AMP in the past for cooking, medicines and cosmetics than today. It was found that the degradation of forest resources has led to some attempts at domestication. Figure 11.4 shows growing interest in domestication and expectation of utilizing medicinal plants as a source of income in the future.This trend may be partly the increasing number of initiatives on medicinal plants which raised expectations among rural people. It also compares the knowledge of AMP for specific uses by men and women.
