The use of medicinal plants has continued as a long standing tradition in the
Haha communities of Southern Morocco. Our study is based on field surveys
and observations carried out over several time periods among the rural community
located near the Amsittene massif (Essaouira), in its north-eastern part. Thus,
two ethnobotanical surveys were carried out randomly in the field. The first one,
in 2004, dealt with 90 village dwellers north and east of Amsittene massif, the
second one, in 2005, was carried out on 92 village dwellers in the eastern part
of the Amsittene Massif. This choice was made in order to analyze the impact of
the local context (poverty, illiteracy, etc.) on the frequency of the utilisation of
plant resources, especially medicinal plants. The concerned rural communes live
in areas where poverty and illiteracy have reached a very high and alarming rate.
The survey was also carried out among salesmen of medicinal plants in the local
weekly markets, “Souks”, of Imi N’Tlit and Smimou. These surveys among the
users of medicinal plants resulted in important information. 41 medicinal plants
were identified during the survey. The study has shown that the pressure on the
medicinal plants is both endogenous, resulting from local practices of the population,
and exogenous, resulting from the practices of the commercial middlemen
who are strongly involved in the business network of medicinal plants.
The pressure levels on the medicinal genotype of our study area differ according
to many factors: the actors, the collecting technique and the parts of the plants
that are utilized. Among all the existing pressures, the opening of a new market in a
disorganized way, due mainly to a growing outside demand, appears to be the most
threatening factor to the Amsittene medicinal plant. A sustainable use of medicinal
plants is therefore necessary, and it is convenient to elaborate a global conservation
strategy in order to implement a sound and efficient management of these resources.