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Vats where the liquid from the steamed plants is reduced to the final essential oil stage; project leader Léopold Ntezurubanza. (IDRC Photo: E. Conway)

The Karisoke Research Centre, located in Rwanda's Volcano National Park, has long specialized in the study and protection of mountain gorillas. It was there, in 1974, that Léopold Ntezurubanza first became interested in the astonishing properties of medicinal plants. Working side by side with renowned primatologist Dian Fossey, the young professor of natural history carried out his field work on the slopes of the Visoke volcano.

Having been fascinated by the fact that gorillas turn instinctively to medicinal plants for their healing, he went on to study the Impunyu Pygmies living in the Gishwati natural forest, who themselves rely so heavily on medicinal plants that some stocks are now threatened with extinction.

Léopold Ntezurubanza had found his path: he proceeded to turn his passion for medicinal plants, nature, and traditional therapies into a career that would address problems linked to conservation and biodiversity.

The early years

After teaching for some years in the Petit Séminaire de Zaza and the Institut pédagogique national, Léopold Ntezurubanza undertook graduate studies in biological chemistry at the National University of Rwanda. His master's thesis dealt with medicinal plants, specifically the extraction and quantification of essential oils. During the 1980s, he worked as a researcher with CURPHAMÉTRA (a university research centre on traditional pharmacopoeia and medicine, located in Butare), then obtained a doctorate in natural products chemistry at the State University of Leiden, in the Netherlands.

Returning to Africa in 1987, he pursued his work within several multidisciplinary research teams, while concurrently heading the medicinal plants department of Rwanda's Institut de recherche scientifique et technologique. But in the conflict and upheaval of 1994, he and his family were forced to leave Rwanda. "We had to leave everything behind, including our research findings. Fortunately, a lot of the material had already been integrated into the data banks of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQÀC), the University of Clermont-Ferrand (France), and the University of Leiden."

Ntezurubanza settled in Togo, where he carried out research on plant extracts, supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He later settled in Canada where he was able to recapture some of his research at the LASEVE (UQÀC's Laboratoire d'analyse et de séparation des essences végétales). And in 2000, an old dream was realized when LASEVE published his book, Les huiles essentielles du Rwanda, with the collaboration of the IDRC-supported Network on the Valorization of Plant Material in Africa. This book, part of the IDRC-supported project on Rwanda’s national reconstruction, is the first directory of indigenous plants and plant-derived products of his native country, whose local uses are then compared with applications in other African, Asian, and South American countries.

The author is convinced of the importance of his work. Rwanda’s industrialization "must necessarily be based on a rational use of primary sector resources. In this connection, the valorization of plant products, and in particular of medicinal and aromatic plants, constitutes a very promising avenue in the agro-industrial sector."

Africa’s library of elders

In describing the "ideal plant," Léopold Ntezurubanza points to mint, which can be made into herbal teas, lozenges, candies, perfumes, cosmetics, or medicines. Others, such as geranium or basil, can also be used as biopesticides. Obviously, not all medicinal plants are as widespread as mint or geranium: "Medicinal plants are precious; and like all things precious, many of them are rare." Léopold Ntezurubanza therefore advocates a rational, sustainable use of such plants to maintain the ecological balance of both habitats and species.

Such plant management must not conflict with traditional medical applications. Traditional therapists or "tradipractitioner" use inherited methods passed on through the centuries. When Léopold Ntezurubanza attempts to convince people to adopt more sustainable practices in harvesting and using plants, he must thereofre do so in a manner respectful of religious, cultural, and social values.

In return, there is a tremendous amount to be learned from tradipractitioners. "We must not allow the disappearance of the "libraries," the elders who die without passing on their knowledge!" he exclaims. However, such ethno-pharmaceutical research can be tricky: first one must be able to recognize the true custodians from the fraudulent ones, then convince tradipractitioners to share their knowledge, and finally identify the active agents of a given traditional plant-based medicine.

"This brings us to a further problem, that of traditional and intellectual property rights. In giving us the recipe for a plant-based remedy, the tradipractitioner may fear losing his or her livelihood." For many years, the transmission of local medicinal plant lore was a one-way process: from the community to researchers. As Léopold Ntezurubanza remarks in his book, "local communities are increasingly frustrated by the fact that they are not benefiting from their compendium of expertise. (...) [Their contributions] should afford them advantages in the area of patenting and industrial property laws." He would also like to see the creation of information networks allowing tradipractitioners to exchange knowledge among themselves.

The road ahead

A possible solution is to involve communities in producing essential oils extracted from the local flora. Mr Ntezurubanza is especially proud of a project supporting local communities, for which he is technical manager. The project is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Guadeloupe Foundation. Since April 2002, the people of Dzogabegan, on Togo's Danyi plateau, have been managing a cooperative that produces essential oils and plant-based medicines from cultivated citronella, mint, basil, Gambian tea, oranges, and lemons. The cooperative generates income and the community has taken on managing resources. The cooperative's members are then, in turn, able to assist and advise surrounding communities.

In its reconstruction efforts, Rwanda could look for inspiration to Togo, which now ranks among countries exporting basil and citronella extract. But Léopold Ntezurubanza remains realistic: "Marketing essential oils and other aromatic products is a fairly complex business: the markets are difficult to establish and fiercely competitive, all the more so with the new rules governing international trade (...) It is possible to meet market requirements only if you can guarantee stable supply levels and high-quality products."

The tragic events of 1994 have played havoc with Rwandan society and its economy. Léopold Ntezurubanza has not been able to return to his country, although he spends as much time as he can in Africa. He currently pursues his research and development work as well as focusing on the technological transfer and production aspects. Whether here or there, in the field or in the lab, bent over a microscope or sitting among peasants, he continues to unveil the secrets of Rwandan and non-Rwandan medicinal and aromatic plants.

Geneviève-L. Picard is a freelance writer based in Ottawa.

For more information:

Wardie Leppan, Team Leader, Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (SUB), IDRC, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9; Phone: (613) 236-6163, ext. 2283; Fax: (613) 567-7749; Email: wleppan@idrc.ca

Léopold Ntezurubanza, LASEVE, 555 University Boulevard, Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada G7H 2B1; Phone: (418) 545-5011; Fax: (418) 545-5012; Email: lebanza@hotmail.com

2002-04-19

News 15 of 17