JRS Biodiversity Foundation

Botanic Gardens Conservation International US, Inc.

Organization: - Botanic Gardens Conservation International US, Inc. - BGCI US

Project Location: East African region: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

Web Address: www.bgci.org

Title of Grant: "East Africa Regional Project on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPS)"

Grant Amount: $200,000 over 3 years

Principal Investigator: Stella Simiyu

Organization Background:

BGCI was founded in 1987 to link botanic gardens as a co-operating global network for effective plant conservation. It now links over 800 institutions in over 120 countries, all working together to preserve and promote plant diversity for people and the planet.

BGCI has played an essential role in the development and the ultimate adoption by 188 governments of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), changing the political face of plant conservation and transforming th way biodiversity targets are set at the international level.
Networks supported by BGCI now exist in all the regions of the world, bringing together botanic gardens with an astonishing wealth of knowledge and experience to share.
BGCI runs a unique database on endangered plants, documenting over 80,000 species in cultivation in botanic gardens. More than 10,000 of these are under the threat of extinction in the wild.
BGCI has developed new models of interpretation and engagement which are being adopted by botanic gardens around the world.
BGCI’s work has had a significant impact in countries where botanic gardens reach massive audiences e.g. Brazil, China, India and Indonesia. With the growing importance of botanic gardens for raising awareness and developing a conservation and sustainable development agenda, impact in these areas cannot be underestimated.

Grant Description:

This three-year project focuses on establishing a baseline for plant biodiversity to drive public policy in the creation of effective programs to sustain the rural populations in East Africa.

Problem:

The rich natural heritage of plant biodiversity with over 35,000 species in the East African Region and the survival of the rural populations are inextricably linked. The flora is vital to local livelihoods and well-being, providing food, shelter, primary healthcare and income. However, various factors, including limited access to information, knowledge, technology and capital, compromise the ability of the people to derive maximum benefits from these resources. This, together with unsustainable resource use, overexploitation, poor farming practices, continuing land degradation and loss of soil fertility allow few options for rural populations to exit the trap of poverty. The outcome is damaged ecosystems, an increased threat of extinction and jeopardized access to natural resources.

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) provides a framework to halt the current and continuing loss of plant diversity. The Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan governments have ratified the Convention and agreed to its programs but implementation is constrained. One of the biggest challenges is the absence of a widely accessible working list of flora and fauna and in turn limited knowledge and information on the status of biodiversity. To implement the GSPC effectively, it is vital to collect and synthesize baseline data, build infrastructure for biodiversity informatics, and make information more widely available to end-users.

The Solution:

Working within existing regional initiatives, the project will address three identified constraints, 1) inadequate information on taxonomy, 2) status of biodiversity and 3) sustainable use. The Project will build capacity and infrastructure to ease regional implementation of the GSPC.

Regional workshop: Enhance understanding and build regional consensus on GSPC & Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) priorities
Training workshops: Build capacity and skills by holding training workshops on: information management; biodiversity informatics; conservation status assessments using the IUCN Red Listing Criteria; and sustainable usage prioritizing pants used for medicinal purposes.
Equipment and training: Increase regional capacity for biodiversity informatics by providing IT equipment and training to National Competent Authorities (NCAs).
Digitization initiatives: Build on existing digitization initiatives for plant specimens in the region to enhance availability of a widely accessible working list of plant biodiversity data.
Interoperable platform: Collate and synthesize existing sustainable use information on medicinal plants, creating an interoperable platform, which can be easily accessed by relevant and selected stakeholders and end-users, taking into consideration appropriate policies and guidelines generated by the CBD.
Red List: Produce a joint Red List of Threatened Plant Species and Conservation Assessment and Management Plans (CAMP) for medicinal plants in the region.
Networking: Strengthen networks and linkages between stakeholders.

Global Impact:

The project will provide the technical and scientific baseline and resources to allow further and wise investment in the sustainable use of biodiversity. Most rural populations in East Africa are highly dependent on their natural resources and enhanced access to information especially on the conservation status will enable them to conserve and use them sustainably. In addition, the knowledge generated by the project will provide useful baseline for strategic policy, legal and institutional development especially for threatened species and medicinal plant species which to date have only received limited support. One of the best strategies to reduce poverty is to enhance options for local communities to utilize their resources efficiently and effectively such as through value addition, product development and developing markets. The knowledge, networks and capacity generated by this project will seek to build a platform for these interventions. Overall, the local institutions will be strengthened and partnership developed not only at a national, but also a regional level, with benefits at global level.