46 while 4 others took jobs in other towns in addition to being healers (locally known as manghihilot and mananabang). In the study, about 73 plant species were identified belonging to 36 families and 63 genera. Out of the 73 plant species, plants from the Malvaceae, followed by the Fabaceae and Rutaceae were most frequently mentioned and therefore have a high importance index in all categories. According to Toledo and colleagues in 2009, medicine and foods among other plant uses have high importance because they are vital to human survival. (Toledo et al 2009). This was also observed in the result of the study as 41 species (55.4%) of plants were identified to have medicinal value, followed by 34 species (51.4%) obtained as food sources, 11 species (14.9%) used as cash crops, 10 plant species (9.5%) for construction and nine species used as sources of fuel. Most inhabitants of the area have their own kaingin or cultivated areas of land granted to the local people, which can be used for agricultural purposes. Some residents do not use these lands anymore because they work in the neighbouring towns and therefore do not have time to tend their kaingin. However, some also prefer to work as farmers and plant crops in their kaingin because the nearest markets are very inaccessible. They would have to travel to Lutopan or Tabunok, the neighbouring progressive barangays. They therefore need to plant their own crops in case they don’t have money to spend to go to neighbouring towns. Some plants are also readily available because they grow almost everywhere in the area. Plants consumed by the locals, planted and sold in the markets, and cash crops were mapped. Kamote (Manihot esculenta) is planted for food and sold as well. Saging or banana (Musa paradisiaca) and gabi (Colocasia esculenta) are plants that are almost ubiquitous in the area. Fruits of nangka or jack fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), lubi (Cocos nucifera), saging (Musa paradisiaca) and kamatis or tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) are sold by the residents in the sitio proper and are also sources of income. Generally, the locals rely on commercial and traditional medicine for treatment of diseases. Many residents still use herbal knowledge for treatment of common ailments, but some residents have also adapted to recent advancements in medicine and do not rely on herbal treatments anymore. Some residents also use medicine only if the herbal plants seem to have no effect against the ailments. Others who do not have easy access to the local markets, especially those on the remote sitios rely heavily on herbal medicine. Most of the plants identified in this study are used for medicine. The residents were able to name 41 plants that had medicinal value to them. Plants used for medicine were usually weeds, shrubs and trees. The most common plant part used are the leaves. Most common preparations of these plant medicinals was boiling or soaking parts or the whole plant in water. The plants were usually used for treatment of bughat (relapse from illnesses), wounds, stomach problems, diarrhea, fever and high blood pressure. Most of the plants are shrubs or trees and are available and abundant in the area. Tambuko (Kyllinga monocephala), dila-dila sa iro (Elephantopus scaber), mangagaw (Euphorbia hirta), sinaw-sinaw (Peperomia pellucida), cogon (Imperata cylindrica) and bila-bila (Eleusine indica) are very common weeds but were identified by some informants to have specific medical uses. The study also identified some plants with multiple uses in a variety of categories. Cocos nucifera is the plant with the most uses, as it is used in all categories. Gmelina arborea, Mangifera indica, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Musa paradisiaca and Sandoricum koetjape are utilised in at least three use-categories. Conclusion Today, the creation of community biodiversity registers (CBRs) is central to any biodiversity related intervention and it is a strategy that is being increasingly recognised by many National Biodiversity Authorities. It is also becoming an increasingly important component of Local Biodiversity Strategic Action Plans (LBSAP). Such systematic documentation gives precise data for preventing loss of biodiversity resources, their sustainable use, as well as protection of community knowledge from piracy. In this case, the study was able to identify a total of 73 species of plants belonging to 35 families. These plants were recognised as having numerous ethnobotanical uses. Plants used for food and medicine have the most frequency of identified species because they are important Ecosystem Servi ces and Sustainable Use
Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity
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