Current Threats to Traditional Medicine in the Andes (and elsewhere)
Just like traditional medicine throughout the world, current threats to the survival of the knowledge and practices of Andean medicine are very real today. Although it is true that it is becoming more legitimate and accepted throughout the world, there are still many issues that threaten to continuation of traditional medicine. Three of the most potent are environmental concerns, biopiracy issues, and cultural conflicts.
Environmental Threats
Lake Llanganuco, Mt. Huascarán National Park, Peru
From an environmental perspective, the Andes Mountains foster some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Different altitudes allow for different plants to thrive, and many of these plants have quite a few alternative uses. However, the advent and acceleration of global climate change threatens to destroy this biodiversity. The distinct, picturesque glaciers that have topped the tallest peaks in
the range are melting rapidly, and people are anxious about the future. As an elderly Peruvian man put it to
me, “We used to walk to those glaciers from my school. It would take six hours. Today I can walk there in two and a
half hours. Soon the glaciers will
be gone forever.” The natural fear is that climate change will have
catastrophic effects for the ecosystem and entire way of life of the Andean
people, who rely on different altitudes for different crops, in addition to their medicinal plants. What exactly are the effects of climate change in mountain regions? In a case study of the Alps completed in 1998, scientists Haeberli and Beniston found that the past 30-odd years have seen a reduction of at least 20% in glacial dimension. They also report that glacial regions are hyper-sensitive to temperature fluctuation and thus serve as reliable indicators of climate change. Some of the most lasting effects they have observed include erosion, high levels of sediment entering water systems, and variation in rockfall/avalanche patterns. Other expected effects include changes
in water system cycles both in the mountains and lowlands and changes in growth
conditions of vegetation (19). This change has only accelerated since
this study took place. In another
article by Beniston, he also cites a loss of biodiversity as a possible and
damaging side effect of climate change in mountain regions (2), an
issue with enormous consequences for the Andean method of poly-cropping and the herbal medicine market.
Cox also describes the deforestation in many areas of the world as leading to a decrease in biodiversity. This is relevant in the Andes, but also throughout the entire world, notably in rainforests, where droves of plant species are being destroyed. Conservative estimates put 12.5% of all plant species in danger of extinction, and there are even more species undiscovered (12). The environmental problems brought on by human actions are among the largest threats to the survival of traditional medicine.
Cox also describes the deforestation in many areas of the world as leading to a decrease in biodiversity. This is relevant in the Andes, but also throughout the entire world, notably in rainforests, where droves of plant species are being destroyed. Conservative estimates put 12.5% of all plant species in danger of extinction, and there are even more species undiscovered (12). The environmental problems brought on by human actions are among the largest threats to the survival of traditional medicine.
Biopiracy and Intellectual Property
(simbahayan.tripod.com)
Another big issue for traditional medicine today is that of intellectual property. There have been many problems of late concerning "biopiracy," or taking cultural knowledge (often about medicine) from an individual or group of people and using it without explicit consent or proper appropriation for personal gain. These issues have been intensifying over the past decades, with no real consequences for those who encroach on indigenous knowledge and the rights of those communities.
What measures have been taken to protect against biopiracy? According to a recent article by Drahos, "The international community has also recognised in the Convention on Biological Diversity ("CBD") that, at least in the case of indigenous and local knowledge related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, states are under an obligation to ensure the equitable distribution of benefits that flow from the use of that knowledge. At the national level, some developing states have enacted legislation that governs the use of indigenous and local knowledge. This right is a right that relates to an intangible--the use of knowledge. Access to biological resources is a separate matter that is being dealt with by states under national access laws, although these laws may also contain provisions that relate to the use of indigenous knowledge" (14, p. 1). It is very difficult to enforce these laws, and oftentimes people get away with exploitation. The victim side of biodiversity largely composes of "developing" countries, those that often have the highest levels of biodiversity coupled with traditional medicinal knowledge (14).
Vadi expands on this idea by explaining the idea of "intangible heritage" and its connection to traditional knowledge: "part of the practices, knowledge, skills—as well as the instruments, objects...associated therewith—that communities, groups...and individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their...interaction with nature...and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity" (23, p. 683).
She describes the ongoing international battle for intellectual property rights, proposing an approach steeped in understanding cultural values and moral rights of those in possession of traditional knowledge. They should be able to benefit from their knowledge, but only with their consent and comprehension of this sharing. In this way she hopes that both rights to privacy on behalf of the indigenous, and rights to health, on behalf of those who stand to benefit from traditional medicine, are protected and upheld (23).
In an ideal world, we could relegate the use and proliferation of traditional knowledge internationally, ensuring that those who share it are fully compensated and credited. This is one way that would both legitimize traditional medicine and benefit the larger society.
What measures have been taken to protect against biopiracy? According to a recent article by Drahos, "The international community has also recognised in the Convention on Biological Diversity ("CBD") that, at least in the case of indigenous and local knowledge related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, states are under an obligation to ensure the equitable distribution of benefits that flow from the use of that knowledge. At the national level, some developing states have enacted legislation that governs the use of indigenous and local knowledge. This right is a right that relates to an intangible--the use of knowledge. Access to biological resources is a separate matter that is being dealt with by states under national access laws, although these laws may also contain provisions that relate to the use of indigenous knowledge" (14, p. 1). It is very difficult to enforce these laws, and oftentimes people get away with exploitation. The victim side of biodiversity largely composes of "developing" countries, those that often have the highest levels of biodiversity coupled with traditional medicinal knowledge (14).
Vadi expands on this idea by explaining the idea of "intangible heritage" and its connection to traditional knowledge: "part of the practices, knowledge, skills—as well as the instruments, objects...associated therewith—that communities, groups...and individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their...interaction with nature...and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity" (23, p. 683).
She describes the ongoing international battle for intellectual property rights, proposing an approach steeped in understanding cultural values and moral rights of those in possession of traditional knowledge. They should be able to benefit from their knowledge, but only with their consent and comprehension of this sharing. In this way she hopes that both rights to privacy on behalf of the indigenous, and rights to health, on behalf of those who stand to benefit from traditional medicine, are protected and upheld (23).
In an ideal world, we could relegate the use and proliferation of traditional knowledge internationally, ensuring that those who share it are fully compensated and credited. This is one way that would both legitimize traditional medicine and benefit the larger society.
Cultural Conflicts: "Traditional" vs. "Modern"
Local church in the shadow of Mt. Huascarán (photo by Jack Lazar)
A third problem facing traditional medicine in the Andes (and elsewhere) is cultural conflict between certain populations (mainly indigenous) and outside health systems, such as Western healthcare. Belittled as "witchcraft," "voodoo," or "bogus," traditional medicine has faced continued stress in many regions.
In areas of the world trying to become more "developed," oftentimes Western healthcare programs are forced upon people who may not understand health and disease in the same way as Western medicine does. It is largely biological and separate from people's lives, with an emphasis on the clinical and chemical treatments, especially reliant on technology. There has been a large disconnect between this type of medicine and Andean (and other types of traditional) medicine, which is more nature-based, personal, and synchronistic, according to Bastien, a scholar in Andean medicine. He acknowledges that oftentimes governments that are removed from their populations force treatments in the Western tradition on them, and that this is not the answer. This is largely in an effort to "develop" and bring a country into the health and development status as other nations. Though he believes that ethnomedicine has many benefits, he makes the valid point that Western medicine does offer advantages to indigenous populations, including protection from malnutrition and preventable/curable diseases. To him, and many other scholars, the option is not traditional medicine OR western medicine, but rather how to best integrate the two (1).
How can integration work? To see a case study that I observed, go to my next page!
In areas of the world trying to become more "developed," oftentimes Western healthcare programs are forced upon people who may not understand health and disease in the same way as Western medicine does. It is largely biological and separate from people's lives, with an emphasis on the clinical and chemical treatments, especially reliant on technology. There has been a large disconnect between this type of medicine and Andean (and other types of traditional) medicine, which is more nature-based, personal, and synchronistic, according to Bastien, a scholar in Andean medicine. He acknowledges that oftentimes governments that are removed from their populations force treatments in the Western tradition on them, and that this is not the answer. This is largely in an effort to "develop" and bring a country into the health and development status as other nations. Though he believes that ethnomedicine has many benefits, he makes the valid point that Western medicine does offer advantages to indigenous populations, including protection from malnutrition and preventable/curable diseases. To him, and many other scholars, the option is not traditional medicine OR western medicine, but rather how to best integrate the two (1).
How can integration work? To see a case study that I observed, go to my next page!