By Ferdinand Mbonihankuye
The use of wild animal parts and plants in traditional medicine is common in Burundi but the implications on wildlife and biodiversity are now raising concerns.
Burundi is among countries with the highest rates of traditional medicine use in the world.
According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, around 80% of people in Africa rely on traditional forms of medicine to meet their health care needs.
''In countries for which more detailed data are available, the percentage of the population that uses traditional medicine ranges from 90% in Burundi and Ethiopia, to 80% in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa; 70% in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Rwanda and 60% in Tanzania and Uganda,'' the WHO says.
But there are concerns in Burundi where some people resort to illegal hunting of wild animals as well as deforestation in search of traditional medicines.
Hunters kill the animals in order to obtain their skins and organs, which traditional medicine practitioners buy especially in provinces located near forests and national parks.
Animals disappear
The animals' parts are sold in the open at local markets for the highly valued traditional medicines in the country.
The authorities often say some of the hunters burn down forests destroying the animals' natural habitats and that they kill the wild animals including tigers, pumas, pythons, giraffes, hyenas and antelopes for medical purposes. This is threatening wildlife in the country.
Traditional medicine practitioners in Burundi believe that the organs of these animals, which they use in the preparation of traditional medicines are potent in curing various deadly diseases and also works against poisons.
But even those involved agree that the populations of animals and plant species used for traditional medicines are dwindling.
''Some of these herbs and certain animals have disappeared from Burundi's forests,'' Ntakanan Irimana, a traditional medicine practitioner told TRT Afrika.
Aloys Ntakananirimana from the commune of Muruta in Kayanza province says they sometimes travel into forests in border areas before they could get some species of plants and animals.
Tradition vs authorisation
''A number of animal species are now rare, and certain birds are nowhere to be found in Burundi, notably the eagle and the ibis,'' Another traditional medicine practitioner told TRT Afrika.
In Burundi, hunting is considered a tradition and many ordinary Burundians do not see it as harmful even in the context of dwindling populations of wild animals. This is also supported by the popularity of traditional medicines in the country.
"We kill the animal whose skin is a medicine. We pull up the grass that is useful to us", says a traditional healer in Kayanza province, who doesn't want to be named.
Although there are laws governing wildlife, hunting and biodiversity protection in Burundi, they are rarely upheld.
Abel Nteziryayo, who is responsible for protecting the Kibira nature reserve, pointed out ''all traditional practitioners need authorisation'' before they can enter Burundi's nature reserves.
But he decried that illegal hunters regularly encroach into these vast forests and animal reserves sometimes escaping detection by the reserves guards who are not enough to cover the entire forests.
This situation leaves the wild animals and trees vulnerable to exploitation by the hunters.
Some of the hunters set parts of the forests on fire in attempts to kill the animals, which sometimes flee into nearby communities where they are not safe either.
Authorities act
Experts say the animals need protected areas to be able to reproduce and threatened plants need to be nurtured and protected with reforestation being one of the key measures that could be taken.
But the authorities have stepped up awareness campaign to discourage the practice. They have also been taking punitive measures against erring hunters.
For example, in September last year, at least six people were arrested on suspicion of illegally killing a chimpanzee in the village of Mpfunda near the Kibira Nature Reserve in Kayanza province.
The suspects were caught while sharing the meat of the animal they had just allegedly killed.
The head of the Kibira Nature Reserve protection services, Abel Nteziryayo told TRT Afrika that the people had broken environmental protection laws because chimpanzee is part of endangered species.
"If traditional healers need the skins of certain species of animals, they have to request authorisation from the ministry in charge of the environment", he says.
While the authorities make efforts to enforce environmental regulations, experts say there is the need for finding more ways of boosting the wind animals' populations and restoring lost forests.
However, they also point out that without viable alternatives to traditional medicines or their sources, the situation could remain difficult.
