Species Use Database

African cherry, pygeum
Prunus africana

Used for Medicine and hygiene in Cameroon

A. Species

Scientific name: Prunus africana

Common name(s): African cherry, pygeum

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Cameroon

Country/Region:


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State

Name/Details of location: Tchabal gang Daba and Tchabal Mbabo areas


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2011

End Year: 2012


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: harvesting of tree bark

Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene

Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local private sector


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detriment findings

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: strict annual bark harvesting quotas as well as harvesting practices put in place which ensure sustainability if adhered to

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detriment findings

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: implicit as used commercially and ecological sustainability established through harvest quotas etc

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined

Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detriment findings

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Authors voice concerns about the current situation and suggest the following solutions: - address the issue of equity in the trade exchanges on Prunus africana. This should ensure that local communities are well motivated to conserve Prunus africana in their forests; - accelerate the implementation of the procedures for the attribution of the Prunus Allocation Units (PAU); - revise the modalities of access to the resource in terms of the selling price in accordance with the current forest law; - propose a better system of taxation of Prunus products. The current 10 FCFA/kilogram perceived by the Cameroon Government as the regeneration tax cannot ensure the activities required for the sustainable management of the resource; - develop and implement a fair tracking system to trace Prunus products from the forest till the exit points; - encourage local people to develop Prunus plantations; - assist local people in developing fair farming system that do not harm Prunus habitat.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

To ensure the conservation of Prunus africana in Tchabal gang Daba and Tchabal Mbabo areas, following actions should be taken: - Re-enforce capacities of all decentralised forest units found in the two areas in terms of human resources, logistics, and financial incentives in order to allow them to better control and monitor the exploitation, processing, and transport of Prunus products; - filter the number of companies who are working in the field of Prunus africana as to keep those who are interested in sustainable management of the resource; - address the issue of equity in the trade exchanges on Prunus africana. This should ensure that local communities are well motivated to conserve Prunus africana in their forests; - accelerate the implementation of the procedures for the attribution of the Prunus Allocation Units (PAU); - revise the modalities of access to the resource in terms of the selling price in accordance with the current forest law; - propose a better system of taxation of Prunus products. The current 10 FCFA/kilogram perceived by the Cameroon Government as the regeneration tax cannot ensure the activities required for the sustainable management of the resource; - develop and implement a fair tracking system to trace Prunus products from the forest till the exit points; - encourage local people to develop Prunus plantations; - assist local people in developing fair farming system that do not harm Prunus habitat.


Record source

Information about the record source: formal_data_stats

Date of publication/issue/production: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

AMOUGOU AKOA, BETTI J.-L., BILONG P., BEKOLO BEKOLO, EWUSI NJOMBE B.,
MBARGA N., AKAGOU ZEDONG H.C., FONKOUA C., NKOUNA ABIA C.: PRELIMINARY REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING OF PRUNUS AFRICANA
(ROSACEAE) IN THE MOUNTS TCHABAL GANG DABA AND TCHABAL MBABO
CAMEROON (August 2011)

Date of record entry: 2023-09-20