Aborginals and Torres trait islander's knowledge in medicine

Question 1

List one thing that has been used to prevent illnesses

Answer 1

Tea tree oil

Melaleuca alternifolia
Used as an antiseptic to treat wounds, infections and to reduce inflammation
Tea tree leaves are grown in the the coastal areas of northern new south wales

Question 2

What is bio - piracy?

Answer 2

Bio - piracy refers to when indigenous knowledge and resources are extracted without legal authorisation. In this case, the kakadu plum is a natural resource that the indigenous and aboriginal people use to treat injuries. Whilst commercialization and the makeup industry such as ‘mary kay’ has intervened in using this resource to create products such as make up, it has taken a toll on lack of biodiversity and code ethics for the indigenous people. The demand for kakadu plum is high and has been overused by companies which has resulted in a decline of sustainability due to bio harvesting.

Question 3

What are the ethics involved in bio harvesting the Kakadu plum?

Answer 3

The kakadu plum has benefited indigenous people merely for injuries, many cosmetics industries etc. whilst this natural resource is credited to the indigenous people and has been shared to serve many purposes outside of the community, some ethics are parallel to its values, purposes and principles which are involved in these decisions before extracting this resource. An ethic that is involved is overly bio harvesting the resource; this is crucial as a decline of this produce can be driven to extinction.