Economic Botany

The Caribbean islands are considered a biodiversity hotspot, with high levels of endemism but also extreme levels of habitat loss. One factor causing local extinction or species scarcity is plant extraction by humans. Very few recent ethnobotanical studies exist for the Dutch Caribbean. We aimed to make a rapid sustainability assessment of wild plant harvesting on the island of St. Eustatius. A quantitative inventory of 11 plots (25 × 25 m) was carried out to obtain abundance data on wild plants, and 31 interviews were conducted to collect information on wild plant uses, extraction methods, and harvesting locations. In total, our respondents mentioned 181 useful plant species of which 66 were harvested exclusively from the wild. Four of these (Melocactus intortus (Mill.) Urb., Nectandra coriacea (Sw.) Griseb., Pilosocereus royenii (L.) Byles & G. D. Rowley, and Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc.) may encounter sustainability problems in the future or might suffer from overharvesting already, as they do not survive harvesting and occur in low numbers in protected areas only. For the majority of wild species on St. Eustatius, plant extraction does not form an immediate threat to their survival. Several wild species are cultivated in gardens. Further population studies on the four shortlisted species are needed to calculate sustainable harvest levels and design adequate management plans for their survival in the future.

Autopsy records (1936-66) show esophageal cancer to be the most common tumor for both men and women among the locally-born negroid population of Curafao. Crude incidence rate of 20.9 per 100,000, virtually constant over 30 years, is exceeded only by that of certain parts of Russia and the Transkel region of South Africa. The island of Aruba (42 miles distant) has a very low incidence. Drought conditions and food and water supply are virtually identical in both islands, also reverse smoking by ~vomen only. But there are striking contrasts in the use of plants for remedies. In Curacao, more than 100 species of local plants are employed for self-medlcatlon and for "tea." Interrogation of living esophageal cancer victims and survivors of deceased has revealed consistent use of these plants. Species cited most frequently in interviews are being collected, lyophilized, and supplied to the Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, for animal-testing