Catalog Of Traditional Knowledge Related To Biodiversity Of Lahu Nationality And Case Study Of Traditional Medicine

China is a multi-ethnic country, people of each ethnic group create many traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity through long-term practice and development, which is the crystallization of their wisdom that has important ecomomic value and ecological and cultural significance. Currently, the protection of biodiversity-related traditional knowledge is gaining more and more attention from all over the world. However, many biodiversity-related tradional knowledge of many ethnic groups is being lost, such as the traditional knowledge of Lahu people. This is not only the loss of the local community, but the entire human being.Lahu is an ethnic group with long history, they create many biodiversity related tradional knowledge in the process of constant migration. But there are few related studies so far, more and more tradional knowledge is being lost. Therefore, this study carries on the investigation, catalog and analysis of the tradional knowledge of Lahu people by the method of literature review, field survey, key figures interviews and questionnaries. And does a case study of tradional medicine of Lahu Ethnic Group in Lancang County, Yunnan Province, summarizes the characteristics, protection and utilization of the traditional knowledge of Lahu people, analysis the threatening factors and existing problems, proposes the measures of development and protection to provide scientific and technical support of protecting and using the tradional knowledge of Lahu people.The main results from the study are summarized as follows:1. Lahu Ethnic Group create many traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity through long-term migration and practice, which formation and development is closely related with their history, culture, geograghy, food preferences, traditional festivals and religious practices and local economic development. This study collates and catalogs 360 biodiversity-related traditional knowledge of Lahu people by a lot of literature review and several field trips, including 96 traditional agriculthral species and genetic resources (26.67%); 187 traditional medicinal knowledge (51.94%); 30 traditional farming and lifestyle practices (8.33%); 33 traditional cultures (9.17%); 14 traditional local marker products (3.89%), which contains background information, basic description, characteristics of traditional knowledge, spatial and temporal distribution, access and benefit sharing status, protection and utilization status and so on to lay the foundation for the establishment of Lahu traditional knowledge database.2. There are many medicinal biological resources in Lancang County that Lahu people usually use, and most of them are wild medicinal plants. Among the medicinal plants Lahu people usually use in the survey, most of their life form belongs to herbs (59.97%), and then trees (14.89%), shrubs and vines are less. These plants are distributed in 33 families and 46 genera, and the local healers mainly use the whole grass and roots as medicine (28.79% and 21.21%), and then leaves and stems (18.18% and 15.15%). Arthritis and broken bones are common diseases in this study area, and the number of medicinal plants used to treat these diseases mentioned is very high. Due to excessive logging and destruction of the habitat, some of the wild plants Lahu people usually use are gradually reduced, and the protection and sustainable utilizeation of them should be strengthened.3. Among the 50 Lahu healers surveyed in Lancang County, most of them are men (74%). The age of them is mainly concentrated between 50-70 years old, young people are less. Most of them have low level of education, and nearly half of them have not recived formal education. Most of their medicinal knowledge is passed on from ancestors (68%), and up to 62% of the healers have no inheritors. Lahu healers are good at treating arthritis and broken bones, which are common disease in the study area. However, the number of local Lahu healers is decreasing, the traditional medicinal knowledge of Lahu people is in danger of losing.4. From the 200 residents surveyed by questionnaries in Lancang County, traditional medicine is no longer the only choice for Lahu people to treat disease today. Traditional knowledge is facing a serious challenge from introducing of modern medicine, lack of policy support, reducing of medicinal plants and limited traditional medicinal skills.5. Accroding to the characteristics and status of Lahu traditional knowledge and the case study of Lahu traditional medicine in Lancang County, main factors affecting the inheritance and development of Lahu traditional knowledge are analyzed and summarized, and some suggestions have been provided to further research and conservation of Lahu biodiversity related traditional knowledge.