www.prota.org
PEOPLE AND PLANTS
PLANT RESOURCES OF
TROPICAL AFRICA
• Tropical Africa houses one of the remaining
complexes of tropical plant diversity
• World major regions of plant diversity include:
– Humid forest zone of West and Central Africa
– Ethiopian Highlands
– Sahelian transition zone
• 30,000 higher plants recorded
• 16,500 endemic species
• About 8,000 have documented uses
PLANTS AND PEOPLE
• 44% of Subsaharan Africa’s 800 million population
earn less than a dollar a day
• Poverty is more pervasive in rural areas where 75%
of the poor live
• Poor people’s dependence on plant resources is
immediate
• Plants provide life supporting goods
(food, fuel, fodder, medicines, wood, etc)
• Also income, employment and services
INFORMATION AS
TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT
• FAO estimates the annual forest cover loss at 5.2
million ha
• This has profound influence on the livelihood of the
poor
• Key to development is knowledge and informed
people
• Relevant up-to-date information is
essential for decision-making
• Improved access to information on plant
resources would improve earning
opportunities for the poor
ENHANCING ACCESS TO
INFORMATION
The major problem facing information seekers is
the location of information sources corresponding
to their needs
PROTA Mission
Synthesis of the dispersed information on the
approx. 7,000 useful plants of Tropical Africa
and wide access to the synthesis (Webdatabase /
Books / CD-ROMs / Special Products / Small
Projects).
INFORMATION NEEDS
Botanical name
Protologue
Family
Chromosome number
Synonyms
Vernacular names
Origin and geographic distribution (map)
Uses
Production and international trade
Properties
Adulterations and substitutes
Botany
Description (line drawing)
Other botanical information
Anatomy
Growth and development
Ecology
Management
Propagation and planting
In vitro production active compounds
Management
Diseases and pests
Harvesting
Yield
Handling after harvest
Genetic resources and breeding
Genetic resources
Breeding
Prospects
Major references
Other references
Sources of illustration
FORMAT OF DATA
•
•
•
•
Fields organized in a standard format
Data encapsulated in a readable text
No systematic effort to standardize terminology
Many disciplines involved: human diseases, plant
pests and diseases, chemical compounds...
• Translation into French helps promoting
standardization
• Search by free text possible, but no complex
queries possible
DATA FOR CLOSED FIELDS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
uses
geographic distribution
chemical compounds
nutritional value
wood anatomy
yield
pests and diseases
Species per commodity group
Number of species
PU
SU
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cereals and pulses / Céréales et légumes secs (completed)
80
(155)
2. Vegetables / Légumes
(completed)
397
(396)
3. Dyes and tannins / Colorants et tanins
(completed)
129
(386)
4. Ornamentals / Plantes ornementales
533
(395)
5. Forages / Plantes fourragères
611
(715)
6. Fruits / Fruits
477
(502)
7. Timbers / Bois d’œuvre
(in progress)
820
(604)
8. Carbohydrates / Sucres et amidons
176
(154)
9. Auxiliary plants / Plantes auxiliaires
220
(491)
10. Fuel plants / Bois de feu
104
(448)
11. Medicinal plants / Plantes médicinales
(in progress)
1975
(2074)
12. Spices and condiments / Epices et condiments
130
(242)
13. Essential oils and exudates / Huiles essentielles et exsudats
240
(315)
14. Vegetable oils / Oléagineux
(completed)
54
(181)
15. Stimulants / Plantes stimulantes
53
(138)
16. Fibres / Plantes à fibres
(in progress)
377
(658)
-- Miscellaneous uses / Usages divers
-(890)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6376
(8744)
PREPARATORY PHASE
2000-2003
• Identification of core partners
• Establishment of Regional / Country / Network
Offices
• Compilation of ‘Basic list of species’
• Commodity grouping (16)
• Prototype of the information system (Precursor)
• International consensus (First PROTA
International Workshop in 2002)
FIRST IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
2003-2007
Target of the knowledge synthesis:
• 3,500 species in 8 Commodity groups
Achievements so far:
• 3 Commodity groups completed
PROTA 1: Cereals and pulses (82 species)
PROTA 2: Vegetables (356 species)
PROTA 3: Dyes and tannins (116 species)
• 3 Commodity groups under preparation
PROTA 7: Timbers - 1 (c. 900 species)
PROTA 11: Medicinal plants - 1 (c. 2,200 species)
PROTA 14: Vegetable oils (c. 60 species)
Synthesis
Webdatabase
www.prota.org
Books
Special products
Small projects
CD-ROMs
PROTABASE
(www.prota.org)
• 4,000 articles (now1,200)
• 7,000 species
• Standard format
(Eng/French)
• 1,300 drawings
• 6,500 photographs
• 1,300 distribution maps
2004
2005
2006
SUPPORTING DATABASES
* WORLDREFS:
* AFRIREFS:
* EXPERTISE:
* IMAGEFILE:
* TGA:
* BASELIST:
* SPECIESLIST:
389,000 records
18,600 records
1,150 records
1,560 records
710 records
6,400 records
7,800 records
CORE OUTPUT & TARGET GROUPS
Farmers
Forest Communities
Cottage Entrepreneurs
Rural Development
(extension)
Private Sector
Research Systems
Policy-makers
PROTA
Core Output
(Webdatabase/
CD-ROMs/
Books)
Vocational Training
Higher Education
SPECIAL OUTPUT & TARGET GROUPS
Farmers
Forest Communities
Cottage Entrepreneurs
Rural Development
(extension)
Private Sector
development
gaps
Research Systems
PROTA
Special
Output
research
gaps
conservation
needs
‘candidate’
technologies
‘candidate’
technologies
Vocational Training
conservation
needs
policy
measures
Policy-makers
thesis
subjects
Higher Education
SECOND IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 2008-2012
•
•
•
•
•
Targets
Completion of an additional 50% of the Databank (3,500 species in
8 commodity groups among which the medicinal plants, the
timbers, the fruits and the fuel plants.
Staff training to strengthen the network: the African nodes and
contact persons developing into focal points for plant resources
information.
Wide access of the target groups to the core output in electronic
and printed forms (webdatabase, books, CDs).
Making specific recommendations regarding these commodity
groups to the target groups for realizing impact on end-users
(special products).
Commissioning small projects on promising species and
technologies for direct impact on end-users.
AFRICAN UNION
(NEPAD / FARA)
‘Natural resources management’ is quite prominent as
focal sector at the regional and pan-African level
(Africa’s S & T Consolidated Plan of Action;
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Plan;
regional plans under the EDF).
PROTA’s knowledge synthesis on the 8,000 useful
plants of the whole of tropical Africa constitutes a sound
basis for these regional and pan-African programmes.
CBD / GSPC
PROTA’s knowledge synthesis, with ample
attention for the conservation status of the
African useful plants, affirms commitment to the
implementation of the CBD.
By documenting plant diversity, PROTA makes a
substantial contribution to the 16 targets of the
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).
MDG
Through its impact on food
production, nutrition, health, and
enhancement of income, it is a
pillar for the realization of the
Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) in tropical Africa.
Board of Trustees/Executive Board
WUR
Wageningen
University
Netherlands
RBG
KEW
AGROPOLIS
C.O.
United
Kingdom
C.O.
France
RBGKEW
AGROMU NHBGM PBZT
POLIS
CENAFORIG
REST
WUR-Node
at
ICRAF Kenya
Network Office
Europe
Global Network
of Editors
and Authors
CNSF
ICRAF PROSEA
Network Office
Africa
MU
Uganda
NHBGM
Malawi
PBZT
Madagascar
CENAREST
Gabon
FORIG
Ghana
CNSF
Burkina Faso
R.O.
East Africa
R.O.
Southern
Africa
R.O.
Indian Ocean
Islands
R.O.
Central
Africa
R.O.
West Africa
anglophone
R.O.
West Africa
francophone
Malawi
Zambia
Angola
Namibia
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Comoros
Mayotte (Fr)
Madagascar
Seychelles
Réunion (Fr)
Mauritius
Cape Verde
Gambia
Guinea Bissau
Sierra Leone
Liberia
Ghana
Nigeria
Mauritania
Senegal
Guinea
Côte d’Ivoire
Mali
Burkina Faso
Togo
Benin
Niger
Sudan
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Djibouti
Somalia
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
São Tomé &
Principe
Cameroon
Chad
Centr.Afr.Rep.
Equat. Guinea
Gabon
Congo
DR Congo
Rwanda
Burundi
PROTA
2000-2013
2000-2012
7,000
PROLAC?
?
11,000
Copyright©EUMETSAT2003
PROSEA
1987-2002
7,000