l The Bushbuckridge BCP: traditional health practitioners organise for ABS in South Africa 107
development of cosmetic products.
With increased awareness from government that local healers are not responsible
for extensive overharvesting, members
have also negotiated for limited access to
protected areas that were once completely
sealed off to them. They also feel that their
access to medicinal plants in their communally-held lands has improved as
overharvesting has diminished, primarily
due to greater awareness among members
of the importance of using traditional practices for harvesting plants. They also now
coordinate with farmers in their area to
harvest medicinal plants before fields are
ploughed.
The association has also extended its
BCP by drafting a code of ethics for its
members. They hope this will improve the
consistency of service to clients and help
members in the process of registering with
the South Africa Department of Health as
officially recognised traditional health
practitioners.
Throughout this process, members
have contributed to and supported the
democratic nature of the association, in
which regionally representative executive
and management committees are elected
to drive the process, whilst being required
to seek majority support of all members for
major decisions. In an interview with the
executive committee in August 2011, it
became clear that the impetus afforded by
the BCP to drive a collective effort towards
better integration and recognition is
valued. Rodney Sibuye, one the authors of
this article, was elected as Chairperson to
the executive committee.
While the executive committee is able
to meet regularly, the cost of bringing
together the 26 member management
committees and wider membership of 300
traditional healers, given the geographical
distances between the group, impacts on
how often they are able to meet. This in
turn has an impact on the democratic
processes within the association that they
have sought to foster.
Conclusion
The BCP of the Kukula Traditional Healers of Bushbuckridge has been an
important tool to assist the healers in defining themselves as a community with shared
values in an attempt to deal with their
concerns together. Their BCP clearly sets
out their combined views on conservation
and the sustainable use of medicinal plants,
including the use of their traditional
knowledge. What began as a small group
of people now involves approximately 300
members. The association is now engaging
with traditional authorities regarding land
allocations for their livelihood and conservation projects. In addition, through the
development of their BCP, the healers were
able to develop greater capacity in asserting
their rights over their resources and associated knowledge.
Through a process of in-depth discussion and consultation the healers agreed to
pool their traditional knowledge. This is
now widely seen as a leading example of a
traditional knowledge commons in which
benefits from the use of traditional knowledge return to the group as a whole.
Throughout the BCP process the
desired outcomes have been inextricably
linked to the integrity of the process and
tools of community engagement and representation. The process has ensured that all
the healers have full ownership over their
BCP and collectively embrace their aims of
conserved biodiversity, protected culture
and increased recognition of their values
and practices in the future. The healers
understand that their BCP is not the end
but one step in the process towards their
aim of sustainable livelihoods and healthier communities. The revising and
expansion of their BCP will continue to be
at the heart of this process.