#022 Interview with Salahuddin, the Founder of ethnobotanybd.com

Last year, I was truly impressed when I saw the site ethnobotanybd.com. Without expecting anything in return, Salahuddin has been building a database of Bangladesh’s plants on this site, driven purely by his passion for the work. There are quite a few organizations in Bangladesh that research plants and trees, with good funding and various types of research activities. However, what they have failed to achieve, Salahuddin has managed to accomplish alone, proving that it is possible. One day, we met at a coffee shop near my house to chat. I was truly amazed to see this young man working completely on his own, without any help or guidance from anyone. Encountering such dream-driven youth is truly uplifting. When asked for an interview for Biggani.org, he responded very quickly. Our country needs such individuals—those who let their actions do the talking, not just words. I wish Salahuddin and his initiative every success. I hope his interview will further inspire our young scientists.

1. Q: Please tell us in detail about your site. What are its objectives and goals?
A: The Ethnobotanical Database of Bangladesh (EDB) is an online plant database focusing on the flora of Bangladesh. Website: ethnobotanybd.com. This database provides comprehensive information about the plants found in Bangladesh. For each species, you’ll find the scientific name, Bengali name, indigenous/traditional names, English name, habitat and habit, classification, and descriptive characteristics. Additionally, it includes details about the plant’s chemical compounds, medicinal properties, and the locations where it can be found in Bangladesh. To make plant identification easier, colored pictures of flowers and fruits are also provided. This database will be useful to students, researchers, and scientists working in botany, ethnobotany, medical anthropology, forestry and environmental science, biochemistry, microbiology, herbal science, and other branches of biological science.
Goals and Objectives: Bangladesh, rich in biodiversity, is home to around five thousand angiosperm plant species, most of which are believed to have medicinal value. Sadly, there was no system in place for collecting and preserving information on these important plant resources. Botanical information in Bangladesh is scattered across books and journals. Many traditional and medicinal uses have been handed down orally from generation to generation without any written record. For various reasons, this important traditional knowledge is on the verge of disappearing. If not properly preserved, this invaluable information could be lost forever. The main goal of this database is to collect and preserve all plant-related data scattered in books and journals, as well as ethnobotanical and medicinal information transmitted by word of mouth.

2. Q: This is the first database of its kind in Bangladesh. How will it help us further?
A: Yes, this is the first online plant database in Bangladesh. It will play a significant role in the development of new drugs for all types of pharmaceutical industries, including Ayurvedic and Unani.

3. Q: Why did you personally take such an initiative?
A: During my MS thesis work in the Department of Botany at the University of Chittagong, even after extensive searching online, I couldn’t find any data-driven, information-rich website about the plants of Bangladesh. In contrast, neighboring India has already developed databases for antidiabetic, antidiarrheal, antiasthmatic, and anticarcinogenic plants. Still, there was no comprehensive plant database in our country. I took this pledge so that future generations of Bangladesh would not face this gap. With the help of teachers and researchers from various national and international universities, I spent two years gathering information from journals, thesis papers, books, and herbariums to create a comprehensive online plant database for Bangladesh: the Ethnobotanical Database of Bangladesh (EDB).
Someone had to start, and I was eager to take up that first step. In the beginning, I was excited by the idea that I was about to build the very first online plant database for Bangladesh. This excitement inspired and motivated me throughout the process. If we want to lead our country towards progress, we must enrich ourselves with knowledge, science, and technology—and everyone should contribute something for the nation. I want to be a traveler on the path of enlightenment, and that is the reason for my effort. You could say that love for my country gave me the courage to take such an initiative personally.

4. Q: Do you have any plans to extend the benefits of your site to remote areas?
A: Many people in remote areas lack access to the internet. In that case, publishing the data as books can help deliver the benefits of the database to people in those areas. However, scientific publishers need to step forward in this regard. Additionally, information about the plants can be published serially in daily, weekly, biweekly, and monthly newspapers and magazines to reach people in remote areas.

5. Q: How can the general public or school students help with your site?
A: The general public and school students can enrich the database by sending any information related to plants (such as local names or uses) along with color photographs (original photos taken by hand; internet-downloaded photos are not acceptable) to [email protected]. The photos should clearly show the leaf, flower, and fruit, which will help with plant identification. The sender needs to provide their full name and the name of the place where the picture was taken. After identification, the photo will be uploaded if it’s not already in the database. Contributors whose photos are included will have their names listed in the contributors’ section.

6. Q: What are your future plans?
A: The Ethnobotanical Database of Bangladesh (EDB) is a comprehensive plant database containing all information about the flora of Bangladesh. Based on practical information, we plan to develop additional category-based databases, such as Economic Plant Database and Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Database. The Medicinal Plant Database could be further specified—for example, Antidiabetic, Antidiarrheal, Antiasthmatic, Antibiotic, and Anticarcinogenic Plant Databases, etc. However, for this, we hope to get support from volunteer computer programmers and everyone else. With everybody’s cooperation, we believe our plans will soon come to fruition.

To know more about them, see the following sites.

• http://dhakareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=144:2011-01-18-16-54-51&catid=42:2011-01-18-09-24-20
• http://www.banglanews24.com/detailsnews.php?nssl=3680e8e70b3306a6a18479170f61c48f&nttl=2011012226299
• http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-01-16/news/123785
• http://www.cnewsvoice.com/DetailsNews.php?NewsID=N000005657
• http://www.ethnobotanybd.com/photos/docs/cnewsbangla.pdf
• http://jugantor.us/enews/issue/2011/05/07/news0827.htm