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Ecosystem services provided by palms in SE AsiaSE Asian ecosystems are among the most diverse in the World. They house high numbers of species that are useful to rural populations and provide economic profits at the local, regional and global scales. Palms are economically and ecologically among the most important in forest ecosystems and include some 600 species in SEA. Rural communities depend on palms for thatch, starch, fibres and many more products. At the same time, palms have been and are being domesticated and grown in home-gardens, as well as in small and large-scale plantations. Palms may represent the most underexploited and promising crops for the future, but are endangered by habitat loss, impacts of climate change and disruption of mutualistic interactions such as dispersal and pollination. The economic value and potential of palms are threatened by loss of local knowledge and overharvesting in rural communities. This project will capitalize on previous experiences gained through EU funded projects on palms in Latin America by facilitating south-south dialog and exchange of expertise between end-users and stake holders.
Henrik Balslev, Dennis Pedersen, Anders BarfodAarhus University – Department of Biology Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity Research Group Build. 1540, Ny Munkegade 114. 8000 Aarhus C, (Denmark)[email protected]@[email protected]
In collaboration with
Sayed Azam AliSchool of Biosciences Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Nottingham University - Malaysya Campus - Kuala Lumpur, [email protected]
Ahimsa Campos-ArceizTerrestrial Ecology Lab - Dept. of Biological SciencesNational University of Singapore14 Science Drive 4, Singapore [email protected]
Saw Leng GuanDirector, Tropical Forest Biodiversity Centre - Forest Biodiversity Division Forest Research Institute Malaysia - 52109 Kepong, Selangor, [email protected]
William J. Baker Royal Botanic Gardens, KewRichmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, [email protected]
Luis SantamaríaInstituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB) C/ Miquel Marquès 21, 07190 Esporles, Islas Baleares, [email protected]
Minh LeCentre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES)Vietnam National University (VNU), Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong StreetHanoi, [email protected]
Kongkanda Chayamarit Director, The Botanical Garden OrganizationQueen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim, Chiang Mai. [email protected]
Expected impactThis project will contribute to EU policies by ensuring optimization of ecosystem services for the maintenance and improvement of biodiversity and enhance human livelihoods. It also meets the objectives of EC climate change and resource management policies (e.g. EC Communication on horizontal integration of biodiversity into legislation and policies). Science based knowledge of sustainable management of natural resources derived from the project will be of benefit to both EU and SEA regions. It will also provide opportunities to strengthen collaborative links between researchers in both regions and other megadiverse environments.
auAARHUS UNIVERSITY
Use it or lose it ...Palms represent one of the best examples of “use it or lose it” for genetic resources provided by ecosystems and research into the value of these resources should:- Include rural communities’ use of palms- Explore potential new palm crops as future options for agroecosystems- Evaluate impact of rural communities’ harvest of palm products- Evaluate the potential of developing new palm products- Provide fundamental taxonomic and ecological knowledge concerning SEA palms- Model availability of SEA palms under future climate and land use change scenarios- Map agroecological potential, distribution and productivity of SEA palms
Approach The proposed project will optimise efforts to rescue and sustainably manage the resources represented by palms in SE Asian ecosystems. It will take a broad approach that covers non-cash based rural economies as well as agronomic cropping systems that are part of SE Asian national and regional economies. It will integrate local knowledge in the development process and provide strong fundamental bases encompassing taxonomy, ecology and agroecology of palms. It will also establish a firm understanding of the influence of ecological interactions of palms with their ecosystems, including dispersal and pollination mechanisms in the current condition and in the context of climate change
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