Should LEK be shared in a changing world? Evidences from an ethnobotanical survey in Morocco

Abstract

The Society for Economic Botany (SEB) was established in 1959 and the annual meeting brings together people interested in the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and human societies. SEB fosters and encourages scientific research and education in the transdisciplinary field of economic botany. With members from across the U.S.A. and more than 64 countries around the globe, SEB serves as the world’s largest and most-respected professional society for individuals who are concerned with basic botanical, as well as, with agronomical, anthropological, phytochemical, ethnological and many others studies of plants known to be useful or those which may have potential uses so far undeveloped. In 2017, the 58th SEB Annual Meeting was held for the first time in Bragança, Portugal, located in the Iberian Peninsula. The conference theme was Living in a global world: ethnobotany, local knowledge and sustainability. The 58th SEB Annual Meeting wass organized by the Mountain Research Centre (CIMO) of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), in Portugal, and the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) with the active involvement of local, national and international institutions. The 2017 meeting also highlighted previous collaborations with Hispano-Portuguese ethnobiologists and aimed to involve the global Hispanic-Portuguese-speaking communities to the greatest extent possible. Thus it combined two different events: the 58th SEB Annual Meeting and the 2nd Hispano-Portuguese Meeting on Ethnobiology. Bringing together the European community and a broader international community of scientists and stakeholders, this joint event created a unique opportunity for individuals and institutions to share experiences and to establish information and collaboration networks, taking advantage of a multicultural, friendly and pleasant environment.