| A body of research of an in-depth exploration of Prunus africana,following its multidimensional applications in medicine,has burgeoned.The woody-forest species has been scientifically proven for treatment of vast of healthy problems including but not limited to prostate edema,prostatic hypertrophy,accumulation of cholesterol and hemorrhoid;acting as deworming agent,and active ingredient in prostatitis-drug-manufacturing pharmaceutical industries.The demand of Prunus africana keeps increasing;4.000 tons of bark is annually harvested to subsist the world population growth and subsequently improve pharmaceutical products.The trade is currently amounting to US $ 220 million.Despite the large percent of Prunus africana contributed by the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC),the species remains ignored and thus,only little scientific research has been performed in the DRC,while several experimental studies are reported in the neighboring countries such as Kenya,Tanzania and Cameroon.In the current study,we therefore seek to extensively explore Prunus africana and to identify scale of their availability and exploitation in the DRC.We also examine DRC challenges in the Prunus africana's exploitation and compare these challenges with those in other countries.The study provides solid scientific–based suggestions to ensure optimization of the use of Prunus africana for ecological,financial and medical benefits.Our study reveals that Prunus africana widely flourishing throughout the DRC country contributes to 60% of the global reserve.Interestingly,abundant distribution of Prunus africana is within four provinces,in the region of the Rift Valley: Orientale(northeastern part),Katanga,North Kivu,and South Kivu.The DRC Prunus africana forest resources are associated by other resources such as Podocarpus milanjanus,P.usambarensis,Harungana Montana,and Hagenya abyssinica.Specifically,natives have distinct names for the species: "Muhumba-humba" by the Bashi in South Kivu;"Ngote" by the Nande in North Kivu;and "Tshikongokongo" by the Kaniama in Katanga.Similar to previous studies,the Prunus africana in DRC flourishes in afro-mountains volcanic soil and in cool altitude climate.In North-Kivu,our study area,the heterogeneity of the terrain brings a wide variety of climates.According to the K?ppen-Geiger classification,we have the predominant tropical forest climate(Af),the warm oceanic climate without dry season(Cfb),the tropical monsoon climate(Am),as well as the tropical savannah climate(Aw).All year round,the average temperature is 18°C and rainfall is 363.6 mm.Under 1000 m of altitude,this temperature is around 23° C.At an altitude of 1500 m,we record some 19° C and at 2000 m,about 15° C.The average rainfall varies between 1000 mm and 2000 mm.The lowest monthly precipitation is recorded between January and February and between July and August.The climate of North Kivu is characterized by four seasons: two wet seasons and two dry seasons.To carry out this study,a forest inventory was carried out.The method used is a combination of the traditional management inventory method and the Adaptive Clusters Sampling(ACS)method.Contrast to findings in other countries,the current findings show that ongoing exploitation in the DRC suffers much from environmental measures and long-term embargo on trade.These diminish scale of exploitation and the national revenues.The current study acts as an introduction to the series of scientific research to promote and encourage establishment of a more responsible,sustainable and equitable management to leverage Prunus africana and link the resulting benefits to the society.More Initiatives to encourage bark harvesting and resource's conservation are required,and can be achieved by effective participation of the society. |
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