ITTO Project PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I)

TIMBERS OF TROPICAL AFRICA Part 1 Group 7(1) within PROTA programme

Completion Report

1 January 2006 - 31 December 2008

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ACROYNMS

CABI - Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International

CENAREST - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique

CNSF - Centre National de Semences Forestières

CTA - Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

FORIG - Forestry Research Institute of Ghana

GDP - Gross Domestic Product

GFIS - Global Forest Information Service

ICRAF - World Agroforestry Centre

ITTA - International Tropical Timber Agreement

ITTC - International Tropical Timber Council

ITTO - International Tropical Timber Organisation

IUFRO - International Union of Forest Research Organisations

PROSEA - Plant Resources of South-East Asia

PROTA - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

PSC - Project Steering Committee

UK - United Kingdom

UNCED - United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

WU - Wageningen University

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Preface The completion report of ITTO project PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I) Timbers of Tropical Africa Part 1

(Group 7(1)) within the PROTA programme has been prepared in accordance with the ITTO

format in Annex D of the ITTO Manual for Project Monitoring, Review and Evaluation of May

1999.

The PROTA Foundation, in particular the project’s lead executing institutions (Forestry Research

Institute of Ghana (FORIG), Wageningen University (WU) and Agropolis International (France)),

wish to express their gratitude to ITTO, the Netherlands Directorate-General for International

Cooperation (DGIS), the Government of Ghana, as well as data collectors, authors and editors for

their support in the implementation of the project.

Colleagues in the PROTA Network Office Europe are gratefully acknowledged for their comments

and inputs in the preparation of the report. Special thanks to Mrs. Stella B. Acquah of PROTA

Anglophone West Africa Regional Office for her help and support during the preparation of the

report.

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PROJECT IDENTIFICATION

TITLE:

TIMBERS OF TROPICAL AFRICA PART 1: GROUP 7(1) WITHIN THE PROTA PROGRAMME

SERIAL NUMBER: PD 264/04 Rev.3 (M,I)

COMMITTEE: ECONOMIC INFORMATION AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE

SUBMITTED BY: GOVERNMENT OF GHANA

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

EXECUTING AGENCY: PROTA FOUNDATION, IN COOPERATION WITH THE FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF GHANA (FORIG), WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY (WU, NETHERLANDS) AND AGROPOLIS INTERNATIONAL (FRANCE))

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Cover of the special stand-alone CD made for ITTO

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... i

Preface ........................................................................................................................................ ii

Project Identification ................................................................................................................. iii

PART 1: - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background information about project .................................................................... 1

1.1.1 Problem Identification .................................................................................... 1

1.1.2 Objectives and Outputs ................................................................................... 2

1.1.3 Implementation Strategy ................................................................................. 4

1.1.4 Project duration and overall cost ..................................................................... 4

1.2 Project Achievements .............................................................................................. 5

1.2.1 Outputs Achieved............................................................................................ 5

1.2.2 Specific objectives achieved ........................................................................... 6

1.3 Lessons Learned ....................................................................................................... 7

1.3.1 Developmental Lessons .................................................................................. 7

1.3.2 Operational Lessons ........................................................................................ 7

1.4 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 8

PART 2: - MAIN TEXT ............................................................................................................ 9

2.1 Project Content ......................................................................................................... 9

2.1.1 Development Objective ................................................................................ 13

2.1.2 Specific Objectives ....................................................................................... 13

2.1.3 Outputs .......................................................................................................... 13

2.1.4 The strategy adopted in carrying out the project .......................................... 16

2.1.5 Workplan ....................................................................................................... 17

2.1.6 Required Inputs ............................................................................................. 17

2.1.7 Project Adjustments ...................................................................................... 19

2.1.8 ITTO Context of the Project ......................................................................... 19

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2.1.8.1 Compliance with ITTA 1994 objectives ............................................. 19

2.1.8.2 Compliance with ITTO Action Plan ................................................... 20

2.2 Project Context ...................................................................................................... 21

2.3 Project Design and organisation ............................................................................ 23

2.3.1 Project Beneficiaries ..................................................................................... 23

2.3.2 Project Coordination ..................................................................................... 23

2.4 Project Implementation .......................................................................................... 24

2.4.1 The most critical differences between planned and actual project implementation……………………………………………………………..26

2.4.2 Measures and actions that could have avoided the variations ...................... 26

2.4.3 Project Sustainability .................................................................................... 26

2.4.4 Appropriateness of project’s inputs .............................................................. 27

2.5 Project Results ....................................................................................................... 27

2.5.1 The situation existing at project completion compared to pre project

phase……………………………………………………………………….27

2.5.1.1 Capacity building in wood anatomy .................................................... 28

2.5.1.2 Capacity building in editing ................................................................. 28

2.5.2 Extent to which the projects specific objectives were achieved ................... 28

2.5.3 Impact of project’s results ............................................................................. 29

2.6 Synthesis of results ................................................................................................ 30

PART 3: - CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................. 31

3.1 Development Lessons ........................................................................................... 31

3.2 Operational Lessons ............................................................................................... 31

3.3 Recommendations related to future projects ......................................................... 34

Responsible for the Report....................................................................................................... 36

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PART 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT PROJECT 1.1.1 Problem Identification PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) is a similar initiative for Tropical Africa as PROSEA

(Plant Resources of South-East Asia) was for South-East Asia in the 1990s. Both PROSEA and

PROTA are ‘information brokerage’ programmes.

Relevant up-to-date information is essential for informed decision making on forests and their

relevant values. The UNCED-Forest Principles acknowledged information as priority for the

implementation of agenda 21. Although enormous amounts of information on plants, forests and

natural resources are generated, substantial parts remain inaccessible to users. The major problem

facing information seekers is the location of information sources corresponding to their needs.

With the rapidly growing number of websites containing information on plant resources and

related information, it is a huge task to search for relevant information. Even the best search

engines are incapable of locating all pertinent sites.

PROTA aims to collect, collate and synthesize the existing wealth of dispersed information on

7,000 useful plants of Tropical Africa, and to make it available for education, extension work,

research and industry in the form of a web database, an illustrated multivolume handbook, CD-

ROMs and derived products in two languages- English and French. The 7,000 useful plant species

are subdivided into 16 commodity groups as listed and categorized in the PROTA ‘Basic list’. The

Timbers is one of the most important commodity groups and over 1,000 species will be described

in two volumes.

In Tropical Africa timber trees constitute a major element of the natural vegetation, and in a large

number of economies, exploitation of timber plays an important role. In Ghana for instance timber

accounts for 6-7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The present exploitation of natural

forest for timber, shifting cultivation and other human activities, may lead to the total destruction

of tropical forests if not properly complemented by programmes ensuring sustainable exploitation.

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Fortunately, efforts to protect and conserve tropical forests have worldwide support. Not only are

alternatives for the use of forest resources (e.g. fuel-wood farming) considered and developed, but

also generation of alternative sources of income for the local population is being promoted. Beside

improved silvicultural management of natural forests, cultivation of valuable timbers is being

encouraged. Commercialization of other products produced by timber trees (e.g. edible fruits and

nuts, resin and other exudates, medicines, fibres, essential oils, dyes and tannins) may give

additional income to forest village communities and may protect forests from destruction.

For trials on species cultivation, knowledge concerning ecological requirements, seed production

and longevity, methods of propagation, growth and development, productivity and diseases and

pests is a necessity. To promote the conservation of tropical forests or to decide on export and

exploitation restrictions of timber species, knowledge on the characteristics of the tree species

growth, natural regeneration and natural enemies is necessary.

All these efforts should start from the same sound base: up-to-date knowledge of the tree and its

habitat.

The development objective of PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I) was to improve access to interdisciplinary

data on the timbers of Tropical Africa as a basis for sustainable tropical forest management, and to

improve networking leading to better cooperation and information exchange between forestry

actors.

1.1.2 Objectives and Outputs

The two specific objectives as described in the project document were:

To gather, evaluate and synthesize the dispersed information on the ‘Timbers of Tropical

Africa’ through improved networking.

To facilitate wide access of target beneficiaries to the information on the ‘Timbers of

Tropical Africa’ in electronic and printed forms.

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The overall project outputs were achieved, although there were some variations to the initial

targets set. In most cases the targets were exceeded.

Specific objective 1: Information gathering, evaluation and synthesis through networking

- Output 1.1: WORLDREFS–TIMBERS: Supporting database of international literature on the

‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’ (Target – 25,000 records)

- Output 1.2: AFRIREFS–TIMBERS: Supporting database of ‘grey’ local literature on the

‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’ (Target – 1,500 records)

- Output 1.3: EXPERTISE–TIMBERS: Supporting database serving as Directory of Experts

on the ‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’ (Target – 100 records)

- Output 1.4: IMAGEFILE–TIMBERS: Supporting database with illustration material

(drawings, maps, photographs) on the ‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’ (Target – 1,200 records)

- Output 1.5: TEXTFILE–TIMBERS: About 350 state-of-the-art review articles (English

version) on the ‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’ (species in the more important timber-producing

taxonomic families)

- Output 1.6 TRANSLATION–TIMBERS: French version of Textfile

Specific Objective 2: Facilitating access to the information in electronic and printed forms

- Output 2.1: WEBDATABASE–TIMBERS (English & French): Webdatabase ‘Timbers of

Tropical Africa’: 350 Textfile, 1,200 Imagefile records (150 drawings, 150 geographic

distribution maps, 150 x 3 microphotographs, 150 x 3 habit photographs)

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- Output 2.2: HANDBOOK–TIMBERS (English & French editions): Volume PROTA 7(1) on

the ‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’: 600 pages, 350 Textfile, 750 Imagefile records (150

drawings, 150 geographic distribution maps, 150 x 3 microphotographs)

- Output 2.3: CD–TIMBERS (English & French): CD-ROM on the ‘Timbers of Tropical

Africa’: 350 Textfile, 1,200 Imagefile records (150 drawings, 150 geographic distribution

maps, 150 x 3 microphotographs, 150 x 3 habit photographs)

- Output 2.4: DERIVED PRODUCTS–TIMBERS: derived products in consultation with

‘grassroots’ organizations

1.1.3 Implementation Strategy

The commodity group approach used by the PROTA programme was employed in this project.

The approach allows for focusing both human and material resources available to the PROTA

programme on few commodities at any point in time. As a result considerable progress was made

and the number of species covered during the project exceeded the planned target. The project

also adopted a strategy of strict adherence to the project design and all proposed activities were

carried out during the project term.

1.1.4 Project duration and overall cost

The project was implemented over a three-year period as originally planned from January 2006

to December 2008. This is one of very few ITTO funded projects that have been completed as

scheduled. The total project budget was US$ 1,608,299. The ITTO contribution of US$ 577,886

(including US$ 66,806 ITTO monitoring and support costs) has been efficiently spent and yearly

audited financial statements have been submitted to ITTO headquarters in Yokohama. The funds

provided by ITTO and other donors as described in the project document are as follows:

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SOURCE CONTRIBUTION IN US$

ITTO 577,886

(511,080 nett)

PROTA 626,703

DUTCH GOVERNMENT (DGIS) 403,710

TOTAL 1,608,299

1.2 PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS

The project’s output achievements were strongly linked to the specific objectives as detailed in the

project document and presented as outputs 1.1-1.6 and 2.1-2.4.

The writing, editing and illustration process took off earlier than indicated in the workplan.

Project PD 264/04 Rev.3 (M,I) had a flying start. This was mainly due to the fact that the project

was part of the much larger PROTA programme on 7,000 useful plants of Tropical Africa.

Timbers of Tropical Africa Part 1 had its formal and informal structures firmly in place, prior to

the project start-up. Furthermore, the approval of the first Editors meeting by ITTO prior to the

official starting date greatly expedited the implementation of the project.

1.2.1 Outputs Achieved

Specific objective 1: Networking, information gathering, exchange and synthesis

The actual achievements compared to planned targets are presented below.

Output Target Actual

1.1 Worldrefs 25,000 34,000

1.2 Afrirefs 1,500 1,310

1.3 Expertise 100 178

1.4 Imagefile 1,200 1,638

1.5 Textfile (species) 450 511

1.6 Translation process 450 511

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Specific Objective 2: Wide access to the information in electronic and printed forms

280 Validated textfile review articles on 511 species (English and French) have been inserted in

the web database, Protabase. The sources of verification indicated in the logframe are the number

of records in the web database. At the homepage www.prota.org, information seekers can search

PROTABASE. A search in the Basic Search Screen for Timbers under the category ‘Uses’ would

find a total of 470 ‘Timber’ records: 280 on Primary Use Timbers which are part of this project,

and 190 Secondary Use Timbers which have been compiled under other commodity groups. The

280 review articles have also been published in an English book (704 pp.) and a French book (785

pp.), each in a print run of 1,200 copies. 100 copies of each have been shipped to ITTO for internal

distribution. The bilingual CD, which is normally distributed in combination with the books, has

been printed in 1,000 copies. A special stand-alone ITTO edition of 200 copies has been shipped to

ITTO for internal distribution.

The knowledge synthesis was discussed in a brainstorm workshop with about 20 stakeholders from

25-27 November 2008 in Kumasi, Ghana. It yielded a Conclusion and Recommendation Matrix

‘280 species × 6 topics’ which has been posted on the PROTA homepage for general access. It

deals with promising species, development gaps, research gaps, thesis subjects, conservation needs

and policy measures. Follow-up activities in dissemination and outreach will proceed beyond the

project’s term. The knowledge synthesis and the stakeholder consultation will now be followed up

(under different donor funding) by a special document called ‘PROTA recommends…..Timbers

1’, and market studies and pilot projects on promising species in due time and with adequate

funding. Results under the project have become available. The Core products (web database,

books, CD-ROM) have become available as well as a derived set of Conclusions and

Recommendations for the intermediate target groups.

1.2.2 Specific objectives achieved

The project two specific objectives were achieved in an admirable way. Information gathering,

exchange and synthesis were critical activities in the documentation process. The resulting web

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database, handbook (in English & French), CD-ROMs have increased access to information on

Timbers of Tropical Africa substantially.

1.3 LESSONS LEARNED

1.3.1 Developmental Lessons

A documentation project of the magnitude of PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I) is about different actors of

different levels (Coordinators, editors, authors, data collectors) and processes (writing, editing,

printing, translation) and their interaction. We have seen how one element can affect the other.

The varying response rate, the quality of output of different actors could somehow derail

schedules. Many of these can however be overcome when you have an experienced and tested

core team in place. This is the trump card of the PROTA initiative. As part of the larger PROTA

programme, PD 264/04 benefited and had a flying start due to the fact that the formal and

informal structures and processes for the documentation project were already in place prior to the

project start-up.

1.3.2 Operational Lessons

There was strict adherence to project design with minimum changes to the original plan. This strict

adherence to project plan and timelines ensured the project completion within the scheduled three-

year period. There were cases of delays in submissions of articles by authors but these were

resolved through timely reminders and expeditious editing by our in-house editors. Funding

dislocations on some of the budget lines were discussed by the project steering committee and

addressed through budget –neutral adjustments approved by the Executive Director of ITTO as per

his letter dated 10 January 2008.

The project steering committee has been quite serious with its role and ensured that all

bottlenecks likely to derail the smooth implementation of the project were addressed in a

timely manner. While major issues dealing with ITTO policies have been referred to the full

house of the steering committee in the annual meetings, relatively minor issues have been dealt

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with by members of the committee involved in the day to day implementation of the project

and reported in the annual meetings.

The approval of the Editors meeting in November 2005, prior to the official starting date of the

project (January 1, 2006) by ITTO paved the way for the writing, editing and illustration

process to take off earlier than indicated in the workplan.

Inspite of the generally smooth implementation, the project was influenced by external factors

that needed resolution. The transition of the larger PROTA programme from the First

Implementation Phase 2003-2007 to the Second Implementation Phase 2008-2012 exacted

heavy claim on manpower with respect to external review, international workshop, and

fundraising activities.

Also the transfer of project funds in dollars to the Euro zone and reconversion to dollars to

collaborating institutions sometimes affected the value of funds.

1.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of similar projects the following

recommendations are presented.

Documentation projects of such magnitude involving many authors and processes and their

interaction usually face delivery delays. While this project was largely successful, the delays

experienced could be avoided or minimised in future by identifying back-up authors.

Project implementation should start with a planning workshop involving all key personnel

during which project concepts, workplan, roles and responsibilities and schedule of activities

are discussed by all project partners and personnel. The devolution of responsibilities to others

in the course of the project implementation can cause uneasiness.

The project benefited exceedingly from the experience of the Network Europe team. Since

PROTA is largely an African programme, a structured capacity building plan should be

mapped out in the follow-up projects.

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Involvement of African scientists in the editing is limited by training. Efforts should be made

to train more Africans in editing in any follow-up project.

A number of factors accounted for the success of PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I). These could serve as

lessons for similar documentation projects

Pre-project consultative meeting of editors.

Preparation and distribution of comprehensive guide to authors.

Payments of honoraria to authors

Firm promise to list the names and affiliations of contributors in the products.

Strict adherence to workplan / timelines

Existence of basic infrastructure for project implementation

PART 2: MAIN TEXT

2.1 PROJECT CONTENT

Decision-makers, natural resource managers, students and educators, extension workers and

researchers in Tropical Africa still depend for an overview of the utilization of the plant resources

on a few botanically oriented and regionally focused handbooks. Most handbooks treat the plant

resources from a single-discipline angle. Research in tropical agronomy, horticulture, forestry and

economic botany is continuing and expanding rapidly, aided by new techniques. New information

on food values, properties, medicinal efficacy and applications, ecological relations between

cultivated and wild plants and related subjects are mounting. But the new information is dispersed

and not readily accessible to those who need them most. Even the best search engines are not able

to direct information seekers to all information sources. Moreover, the inadequacy of internet

services in many African institutions and countries presents its own difficulties.

What is urgently needed is a modern databank and handbook, providing up-to-date information

about the useful plants of the continent, both cultivated and growing wild. This is the development

objective of the PROTA Programme.

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PROTA has been preparing the ground for this ambitious programme since 2000. During the

Preparatory Phase 2000-2003, the format and content of databank and handbook were worked out

in sample products (www.prota.org, ‘Basic list of species and commodity grouping’, ‘PROTA

Precursor / Précurseur’). The PROTA Network was established (11 organizations in 11 countries),

international consensus was reached on organization and set-up through an international Workshop

(Proceedings Workshop Nairobi, 2002), and subsequently PROTA was registered as an

international non-profit Foundation in the Netherlands. Action is underway to extend the PROTA

Network through contact persons and data collectors in catchment countries of nodal countries.

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For the purpose of PROTA, Tropical Africa covers the 47 countries that for their greater part lie

within the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (the whole of Africa except 6 countries in North Africa

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and 3 countries in southern Africa, but including Madagascar and nearby islands in the Indian

Ocean).

A great majority of the population in Tropical Africa, a total of 800+ million people, largely

depends on the plant cover, the useful plants in particular, for their survival and well-being. Plants

also provide livelihood for over 90% of the people in extreme poverty. The current rate of forest

cover loss in Tropical Africa has tremendous consequences on the livelihood of the poor. In

Tropical Africa, the timber trees constitute a major element of the natural vegetation, and in a large

number of economies, exploitation of the timber plays an important role. But illegal extraction of

timber is also having a toll on the forests. For instance in Ghana, illegal timber extraction and

overharvesting account for over 65% of the cost of forest depletion, and 3% GDP. Fortunately,

efforts to protect and conserve tropical forests have worldwide support. Beside improved

silvicultural management of natural forests, cultivation of valuable timbers is being encouraged.

Commercialization of other products produced by timber trees (e.g. edible fruits and nuts, resin

and other exudates, medicines, fibres, essential oils, dyes and tannins) may give additional income

to forest village communities and may protect forests from destruction. For functional plantation

development, knowledge on ecological requirements, species characteristics, propagation

techniques, seed production and longevity, growth and productivity, diseases and pests, geographic

distribution, degree of threat and trade potential, is a necessity. All these call for up-to-date

knowledge on the useful and potentially useful timber species.

PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I) on PROTA 7(1): ‘Timbers 1’ targeted synthesis of information on the 350

species in the more important taxonomic families. It is to be complemented in due time by PROTA

7(2): ‘Timbers 2’ dealing with the 550 species in the currently less important taxonomic families,

in order to arrive at a complete overview of the ‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’.

The division of timber species over the 2 parts of PROTA 7 according to taxonomic families has

the advantage of publishing information on related species simultaneously. This is beneficial to

users, but also to the editors from the efficiency point of view. In the Web database, the artificial

subdivision will disappear.

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2.1.1 Development objective

The development objective of the project was to improve access to interdisciplinary data on the

timbers of Tropical Africa as a basis for sustainable tropical forest management, and to improve

networking leading to better cooperation and information exchange between forestry actors. Many

of the documentation on tropical Africa plants presents information from single-discipline angle,

e.g. silviculture and management, distribution and tree ecology, pests and diseases, processing and

utilization. The project brought together these different facets of timber species to aid sustainable

tropical forest management.

2.1.2 Specific objectives

The project had two specific objectives

1. To gather, evaluate and synthesize the dispersed information on the ‘Timbers of Tropical

Africa’ through improved networking.

2. To facilitate wide access of target beneficiaries to the information on the ‘Timbers of Tropical

Africa’ in electronic and printed forms.

The two activities were in line with the approach for documenting information on all PROTA

commodity groups.

2.1.3 Outputs

2.1.3.1 Specific objective 1: Networking, information gathering, exchange and synthesis. The

targets envisaged and the actual achieved are shown in table below.

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2.1.3.2 Specific Objective 2: Wide access to the information in electronic and printed forms

Output 2.1: 280 Validated textfile review articles on 511 species (English and French) have

been inserted in the web database, PROTABASE.

The sources of verification indicated in the logframe are the number of records in the Web

database. At the homepage www.prota.org, information seekers can search PROTABASE. A

search in the Basic Search Screen for Timbers under the category ‘Uses’ would find a total of

470 ‘Timber’ records: 280 on Primary Use Timbers which are part of this project, and 190

Secondary Use Timbers which have been compiled under other commodity groups.

Output 2.2: The 280 review articles have also been published in an English handbook (704 pp.)

and a French book (785 pp.), each in a print run of 1,200 copies. 100 copies of each have been

shipped to ITTO for internal distribution. The Desk-Top-Publishing of ‘Timbers 1’, English

edition, was completed in October 2008. The book was presented to ITTO and donors during

the 44th ITTC (3-8 November 2008, Yokohama, Japan).

The full reference to the book is:

Louppe, D., Oteng-Amoako, A.A. & Brink, M. (Editors), 2008.

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 7(1). Timbers 1.

PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, Netherlands.

Output Target Actual

1.1 Worldrefs 25,000 34,000

1.2 Afrirefs 1,500 1,310

1.3 Expertise 100 178

1.4 Imagefile 1,200 1,638

1.5 Textfile (species) 450 511

1.6 Translation process 450 511

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Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands.

CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.

704 pp.

The Desk-Top-Publishing of ‘Bois d’œuvre 1’, French edition, was completed in November 2008.

The full reference to the book is:

Louppe, D., Oteng-Amoako, A.A. & Brink, M. (Editeurs), 2008.

Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale 7(1). Bois d’œuvre 1.

[Traduction de: Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 7(1). Timbers 1. 2008].

Fondation PROTA, Wageningen, Pays-Bas.

Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, Pays-Bas.

CTA, Wageningen, Pays-Bas.

785 pp.

Both editions were printed in 1,200 copies. CTA will distribute 600 copies of each, ITTO 100

copies of each, PROTA 300 copies of each. The remainder of 200 is available for commercial

distribution by Backhuys Publishers.

Output 2.3: The bilingual CD, which is normally distributed in combination with the books,

has been printed in 1,000 copies. (A special stand-alone ITTO edition of 200 copies has been

shipped to ITTO for internal distribution). CTA will distribute 400 copies, PROTA

Foundation 200 copies and the remainder is available for commercial distribution (and for

future orders of CTA).

Output 2.4: The knowledge synthesis was discussed in a brainstorm workshop with about 20

stakeholders from 25-27 November 2008 in Kumasi, Ghana. It yielded a Conclusion and

Recommendation Matrix ‘280 species × 6 topics’ which has been posted on the PROTA

homepage for general access. It deals with promising species, development gaps, research

gaps, thesis subjects, conservation needs and policy measures.

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It also guarantees that follow-up activities in dissemination and outreach do not stop at the

completion of the project. The knowledge synthesis and the stakeholder consultation will now be

followed up (under different donor funding) by concrete formulation of conclusions and

recommendations in a document called ‘PROTA recommends…..Timbers 1’. If funding permits,

market studies and pilot projects on promising species will follow suit.

Results under the project have become available. The Core products (web database, books, CD-

ROM) have become available as well as a derived set of conclusions and recommendations for the

intermediate target groups.

2.1.4 The strategy adopted in carrying out project

The commodity group approach used in the publication of PROTA handbooks was employed in

the ITTO project. This enables one group to be handled at a time and allows group specialists

(editors) to be assembled and involved in an efficient way. Within the PROTA Programme, work

on 4 Commodity groups (PROTA 1: ‘Cereals and pulses’, PROTA 2: ‘Vegetables’, PROTA 3:

‘Dyes and tannins’, PROTA 14: ‘Vegetable oils’) has been completed. The electronic databank is

growing at a fast pace (PROTABASE at www.prota.org).

The framework of the PROTA Programme and the lay-out of the web database and Handbooks,

developed during the Preparatory Phase 2000-2003, are soundly based. The project on 'Timbers 1'

was carried out by experienced PROTA staff members in 7 African and 3 European countries and

an experienced team of editors from institutions linked to the PROTA programme, in this case

especially the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), Agropolis International (France) and

Wageningen University (the Netherlands).

The PROTA Programme is not overlapping but clearly complementary to various taxonomical and

flora projects on the continent. Cooperation is sought with relevant information initiatives such as

IUFRO (GFIS), CABI (Forestry Compendium) and Forestry Research Network of sub-Saharan

Africa (FORNESSA Information Service – FORNIS). About 60% of the authors of the articles are

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from African institutions. The project has enhanced their visibility to the international community.

The comprehensive guidelines made available to the authors facilitated delivery and improved the

writing skills of many authors. The number of hits on the PROTABASE increased steadily during

the implementation of the project as articles were inserted in the web database.

2.1.5 Workplan

The project agreement between the Government of Ghana and ITTO was signed by Mr. E. Otoo,

the then Executive Director of Ghana’s Forestry Commission and Manoel Sobral Filho, the then

Executive Director of ITTO. The first yearly workplan was prepared by the project secretariat and

approved by ITTO prior to official start-up. The first tranche of project funds of USD 136,080 was

received in November 2005. The implementation of the project started officially on 1 January

2006. A proposal for budget neutral adjustments submitted by the project’s General Coordinator

was approved by the Executive Director of ITTO as per letter dated 10 January 2008. The adjusted

amounts per budget lines as applied appeared in the project Financial statement submitted to ITTO.

The project workplan (output/activity/timelines) was strictly adhered to. The key components of

the work plan were the scanning of the international and grey literature; making Afrirefs and

expertise databases available to authors and editors; surveying and digitising illustration materials;

standardisation of wood anatomical descriptions, translation from English to French, insertion of

textfile / imagefile in Protabase (www.prota.org) and publication of the handbook, CD-ROMs and

special products. The entire project activities were completed as originally scheduled (36 months)

from January 1 2006 to December 30, 2008.

2.1.6 Required Inputs

The budget provided by ITTO in total of US$ 577,886 (including US$ 66,806 ITTO monitoring

and support costs) has been efficiently applied to cover the three-year project implementation. The

ITTO contribution constituted about a third of the total project budget of US$ 1,608,299 (US$

1,541,493 nett). Detailed budget and sources of funds is shown below:

18

SOURCE CONTRIBUTION IN US$

ITTO 577,886

(511,080 nett)

PROTA 626,703

DUTCH GOVERNMENT (DGIS) 403,710

TOTAL 1,608,299

(1,541,493 nett)

The administration of ITTO funds was in accordance with the prevailing ITTO regulations which

were integrated in the overall PROTA financial administration system. Below is the yearly

expenditure of funds over the three-year project term.

Source Year Expenditure ITTO 2005 EUR 2,750

ITTO 2006 EUR 83,199

ITTO 2007 EUR 115,892

ITTO 2008 EUR 167,518

Subtotal 2005-2008 EUR 369,359 = US $ 526,040

DGIS 2006 EUR 99,553

DGIS 2007 EUR 101,799

DGIS 2008 EUR 106,240

Subtotal 2006-2008 EUR 307,592 = US $ 432,558

PROTA 2006 EUR 149,069

PROTA 2007 EUR 137,018

PROTA 2008 EUR 162,675

Subtotal 2006-2008 EUR 448,744 = US $ 627,153

GRAND TOTAL EUR 1,125,695 = US $ 1,585,751

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2.1.7 Project Adjustments

A budget-neutral adjustment request to ITTO was approved by the Executive Director of ITTO

(Mr. E. Ze Meka) as per response dated 10 January 2008.

2.1.8 ITTO Context of the Project

2.1.8.1 Compliance with ITTA 1994 objectives

The primary goal of the project was to compile up-to-date knowledge on the timbers of Tropical

Africa and to publish it in electronic (Web database, CD-ROM) as well as in printed forms

(Handbook). Information on uses, trade, properties, anatomy, taxonomy, ecology, silviculture,

genetic resources, prospects have been presented. The project output is in compliance with all of

the ITTO Objectives laid down in the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA 1994).

Direct relationships can be found in the following objectives:

Objective c. To contribute to the process of sustainable development.

Objective f. To promote and support research and development with a view of improving forest

management and efficiency of wood utilization as well as increasing the capacity to

conserve and enhance other forest values in timber-producing tropical forests.

Objective g. To develop and contribute towards mechanisms for the provision of new and

additional financial resources and expertise needed to enhance the capacity of

producing members to attain the objectives of this Agreement.

The project complies with six of the criteria for project activities (ITTA, 1994):

Criterion b. Environmental and social effects: the comprehensive approach of the project in

complementing information on the timber aspects with ample attention for the by-

products of the timber trees, contributes to a well-balanced use of natural forests. As

20

such it contributes to conservation, but also to appropriate returns from sustainable

managed forests for local communities.

Criterion c. Maintaining an appropriate geographical balance: the project was a regional project

(Tropical Africa) in which producer countries closely work together with consumer

countries (European Union members).

Criterion d. Interests and characteristics of each of the developing producing regions: the

information resulting from the project will complement the ‘Timber’ project done

by PROSEA for South-East Asia. It will serve as an example for a similar

undertaking envisaged for South America.

Criterion e. Equitable distribution of resources among the priority fields: the project covered

diverse areas including wood use, natural forest management, reforestation

development, harvesting, and training of technical personnel and indirectly to the

area of institutional framework and national planning.

Criterion f. Cost-effectiveness: the project made use of the existing infrastructure of the

PROTA Programme including the operational network in Tropical Africa.

Criterion g. Avoid duplication of efforts: the PROTA programme, besides its formal network,

has built up an extensive informal network of contributing institutions and

specialists. Maximum use was made of existing expertise.

2.1.8.2 Compliance with ITTO Action Plan

Information on lesser-known timber species is basic for many aspects of the objectives formulated

in the ITTO Action Plan (1990) and Priorities (e.g. for sustainable forest management, sustainable

production of timber together with non-timber products, training, forest policy, rural development,

etc.).

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A priority ITTO objective related to the present project is to arrest the decline and degradation of

tropical forests by incorporating sustainable management practices. All export of tropical timber

products should originate ultimately from sustainable managed forests. Lesser-known timber

species constitute up till now a largely unknown element in sustainable management. PD 264/04

Rev. 3 (M, I) has contributed to the knowledge base on Lesser-Used species as many of the species

dealt with are categorised as LUS.

Another objective formulated in the ITTO Action Plan concerns the promotion of cooperation

between institutes through networks. The PROTA Network in Tropical Africa and Europe, in

which key research institutions are cooperating and are able to exchange information and

experience, was further expanded in the course of the project through involvement and

participation of many authors in Africa and elsewhere.

The ITTO Action Plan is also directed to enhancing the ability of local communities, particularly

those within or near the forest, to obtain appropriate returns and other benefits from sustainable

managed forests. Regulated collection, cultivation and trade of by-products of the timber trees will

provide employment and income to forest village communities. Up-to-date information on all

aspects of timber species, as was the objective of the project, will ultimately greatly contribute to

reach this goal.

2.2 PROJECT CONTEXT

PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) is a similar initiative for Tropical Africa as PROSEA

(Plant Resources of South-East Asia) was for South-East Asia in the 1990s. Both documentation

programmes were initiated in recognition of the difficulty in accessing information on plant

resources in the tropics by decision makers, researchers, students, consultants, environmental

groups, entrepreneurs, donors, landowners, forest managers, media and the general public.

PROSEA/PROTA are ‘information brokerage’ programmes.

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The aim of the PROTA Programme as a whole is to document the existing wealth of dispersed

information on the plant resources of Tropical Africa, and to make it available for education,

extension work, research and industry in the form of a Web database, an illustrated multivolume

Handbooks, CD-ROMs and derived products in two languages, English and French. About 7,000

useful species will be dealt with, subdivided into 16 commodity groups as listed and categorized in

the PROTA ‘Basic list’:

Bosch, C.H., Siemonsma, J.S., Lemmens, R.H.M.J. and Oyen, L.P.A. (Editors), 2002. Plant

Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources Végétales de l’Afrique Tropicale. Basic list of

species and commodity grouping / Liste de base des espèces et de leurs groupes d’usage.

PROTA Programme, Wageningen, the Netherlands. 341 pp.

The subdivision in Commodity groups is as follows:

PROTA 1: Cereals and pulses / Céréales et légumes secs (completed)

2: Vegetables / Légumes (completed)

3: Dyes and tannins / Colorants et tanins (completed)

4: Ornamentals / Plantes ornementales

5: Forages / Plantes fourragères

6: Fruits / Fruits

7: Timbers / Bois d’œuvre

7(1): Part 1 PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I) (completed)

7(2): Part 2 PD 479/07 Rev. 2 (M) (in progress)

8: Carbohydrates / Sucres et amidons

9: Auxiliary plants / Plantes auxiliaires

10: Fuel plants / Bois de feu

11: Medicinal plants / Plantes médicinales

11(1): Part 1 (completed)

11(2): Part 2 (in progress)

11(3): Part 3

11(4): Part 4

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12: Spices and condiments / Epices et condiments

13: Essential oils and exudates / Huiles essentielles et exsudats

14: Vegetable oils / Oléagineux (completed)

15: Stimulants / Plantes stimulantes

16: Fibres / Plantes à fibres (in progress)

The commodity group 'Timbers' is the second largest group distinguished by PROTA, comprising

over 1,000 primary use species. Another 650 species have ‘timber’ as secondary use, and are dealt

in other commodity groups.

Because of the large number of species, PROTA 7 was subdivided into two parts:

- 7(1): Timbers 1 (about 500 species in the more important timber-producing taxonomic

families)

- 7(2): Timbers 2 (about 550 species in the currently less important timber-producing taxonomic

families)

PROTA 7(1) has been completed as at 31 December 2008 (3 years); PROTA 7(2) took off in

January 2009. For the PROTA programme as a whole an implementation period of 13 years is

foreseen (2003-2015).

2.3 PROJECT DESIGN AND ORGANISATION

2.3.1 Project beneficiaries

At the national level, the key beneficiaries are the major timber-producing countries in Tropical

Africa such as Gabon, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire,

Liberia, but also the other countries in Tropical Africa will benefit.

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In these countries the direct beneficiaries of the electronic (Webdatabases, CD-ROMs) and printed

output (Books) are those professionally concerned with timbers (in government, research,

education, extension, industry). Within these broad target categories, the key actors have been

identified in the Target Group Address (TGA) system. Also existing directories of ITTO, ATO,

IUFRO were used to identify more beneficiaries.

The strength of the PROTA Programme is that the direct recipients are at the same time the

contributors: a large cross-section of the professionals engaged in the sectors described above

contributed to the core output of the PROTA Programme as editors or authors. For PROTA 7(1) on

the ‘Timbers’, over 80 authors, editors and associate editors were involved.

In due time information will be presented to the indirect beneficiaries (communities depending on

the forest) through specially prepared materials, such as brochures and leaflets, by the extension

service or through other means.

2.3.2 Project Coordination

The PROTA programme has a board of trustees with representation from each of the eleven

participating institutions, namely – The Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), Ghana;

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (CENAREST), Gabon ; Centre

National de Semences Forestières (CNSF), Burkina Faso; Makerere University, Uganda; National

Herbarium and Botanic Gardens (NHBG), (Malawi); Parc Botanique et Zoölogique de Tsimbazaza

(PBZT), Madagascar; Agropolis International, France; Royal Botanic Garden, UK; PROSEA

Foundation, Indonesia; World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kenya; and Wageningen University

(WU), Netherlands.

The lead institutions in the implementation of PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M, I) were the Forestry Research

Institute of Ghana, Wageningen University and Agropolis International. The project steering

committee made up of representatives of Ghana Forestry Commission, Forest Service Division

(Ghana), Ghana Timber Millers Association, Timber Industry Development Division (Ghana),

ITTO, General Project Coordinator, Editorial Coordinator, and Network Coordinator was chaired

25

by the Chief Executive of Ghana Forestry Commission. The Steering Committee met annually to

appraise the project progress and ensured that project implementation was in accordance with

project workplan. The regional offices, country offices, and the network offices gathered relevant

information for the PROTA databank which was made available to authors to assist in the write-up

of articles. The Editorial Coordinator in the PROTA Network Office Europe was responsible for

the editorial activities of the project, coordinating a large external network of editors and authors.

The General Project Coordinator dealt with policy issues relating to the project implementation

and ensured that project inputs were received and applied in the most efficient manner.

The key personnel in the project team were:

Dr. Joe Cobbinah (FORIG) - General Project Coordinator

Dr. Jan Siemonsma (WU) - Editorial Coordinator

Dr. Martin Brink (WU) - Internal Editor

Dr. Dominique Louppe (Agropolis) - Editor

Dr. Andrew Oteng-Amoako (FORIG) - Editor

Dr. (Mrs) Elizabeth Omino - Coordinator, Network Office Africa

Mrs. Stella Britwum Acquah - Regional Officer West Africa node

2.4 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

There were no serious implementation bottlenecks. Key project staff stayed on through out project

implementation. All donors (ITTO, the Dutch government and PROTA Foundation) met their

financial commitments in admirably way. In cases where authors had difficulty in meeting

timelines the editorial secretariat had to support or take up the write-up of the articles.

2.4.1 The most critical differences between planned and actual project implementation

The major differences were as follows

Timber species covered in the project increased from 350 originally planned to 511. 280

validated textfile reviewed articles on 511 species (English and French) have been inserted in

the webdatabase – PROTABASE

26

The project steering committee meetings originally planned twice a year were reduced to once

a year. The decision was taken at the first Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting to hold

cost within budget. This, however, did not have any negative effect on project as key project

personnel maintained close on-line links with the ITTO representative as well as other

members of the committee.

Budget adjusted: By a letter dated 10 January, the ITTO Executive Director approved a request

by the project steering committee for budget-neutral adjustments of the ITTO budget.

An overspending of ITTO budget amounting to US$ 9,927 (US$ 14,958 – 5,031 interest) was

borne by the PROTA Foundation.

100 copies of handbooks, 200 special stand-alone ITTO edition of bilingual CDs were shipped

to ITTO for distribution. The original plan was to make available to ITTO Secretariat a sample

of the products (Handbooks, CD-Roms, and derived products)

2.4.2 Measures and actions that could have avoided the variations

Generally, the difference between the actual and planned activities was positive and indicative of

the success of the project. The overrun of the ITTO budget (US$ 9,927) and the total project

budget could be explained by a number of interacting factors including continuous changes and

disparity between the United States dollars and Euros and changes in the cost of air travels and

printing. The project team was able to hold the variations within reasonable limits.

2.4.3 Project sustainability

A follow-up project proposal (Timbers of Tropical Africa 2) was submitted in November 2007.

Revision 1 of the follow-up project PD 479/07 was submitted in June 2008 by the Ghana Forestry

Commission to ITTO for funding. Timbers of Tropical Africa 2 would deal with the remaining

510 timber species of tropical Africa and would be anchored on the foundation built during phase

one of the project. The timbers are one of the 16 commodity groups in the PROTA programme.

The PROTA programme has made considerable progress since its inception in 2000. The

programme has moved from the preparatory phase (2000-2003) through the first implementation

phase (2003-2008) to the current phase (second implementation phase 2008-2012). All 11

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participating organizations, Netherlands government agencies, CTA, the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation and the COFRA Foundation have made commitments to the second implementation

phase (2008-2012).

The supporting databases (Worldrefs, Afrirefs, Imagefile and Expertise) on timbers have increased

substantially. Capacity building in wood anatomy and editing of African Scientists coupled with

strategic recruitments in the Network Office of Africa and phased transfer of responsibilities to

institutions in Africa would ensure the internalization of the programme in Africa and

sustainability beyond project term.

2.4.4 Appropriateness of project’s inputs

Project inputs (personnel, physical facilities and finances) were generally appropriate for project

implementation. The budget-neutral adjustment was to correct skewness in budget lines. The

slight over run on ITTO budget was due to currency changes and cost changes that could not be

predicted during the project formulation stage.

2.5 PROJECT RESULTS

2.5.1 The situation existing at project completion compared to pre project phase

Lack of access to interdisciplinary information (distribution, uses, properties, description, anatomy,

growth and development, propagation, management) on major timber species of tropical Africa

was the pre-project situation. PD264/04 Rev. 3 has synthesized existing knowledge on major

timber species of tropical Africa and made it accessible through web database, handbook and CD-

ROM to policy makers, education and extension workers, researchers and industry, small-scale and

commercial tree growers in two languages (English and French).

As a result of the project implementation the following has been achieved.

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2.5.1.1 Capacity Building in Wood Anatomy

A Wood Anatomy workshop was held as scheduled from 16-25 May 2007 in Montpellier, France.

The Workshop was hosted by Agropolis International and took place at the premises of CIRAD-

Forêt. For 203 Timber species new standardized wood-anatomical descriptions were made. The

training and production workshop had 14 participants: 6 experienced instructors (Baas, Detienne,

Wheeler, Beeckman, Gasson, Oteng-Amoako) and 8 trainees: Ebanyenle (Ghana), Mugabi

(Uganda), Uetimane (Mozambique), Ng’andwe (Zambia), Ngok Banak (Gabon), Mollel

(Tanzania), Masamba (Senegal) & Louppe (France). Three intended trainees did not make it in the

end for various reasons (accident, visa refusal): Dié (Côte d’Ivoire), Nduwamungu (Rwanda) and

Kikufi Batoba (DR Congo). They were replaced by Massamba Thiam (Senegal) and Louppe

(France).

2.5.1.2 Capacity building in Editing

From 28 October till 22 December 2008, Mr. Emmanuel Ebanyenle, staff of the Forestry Research

Institute of Ghana (FORIG), was attached to the PROTA Network Office Europe at Wageningen

University for an intensive editorial training, in anticipation of a possible role in the follow-up

project on PROTA 7(2): Timbers 2.

2.5.2 Extent to which the projects specific objectives were achieved

All the two project’s specific objectives were accomplished.

1. Objective 1: – To improve networking in order to gather, exchange, evaluate and synthesize

the dispersed information on the ‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’. Networking during the project

implementation expanded beyond the 11 core organisations. A number of data collectors from

catchment countries of nodes joined. Also as many as 60 authors many of which are affiliated

to institutions in Africa participated in the timber synthesis.

29

2. Objective 2: - To organize wide access of the target beneficiaries to the information on the

‘Timbers of Tropical Africa’ in electronic and printed forms. 280 validated textfile review

articles on 511 species in English and French have been inserted in webdatabase –

PROTABASE. Copies of desktop publication of ‘Timbers 1’ in English and French have been

sent to partners, authors and all major stakeholders. CTA is distributing 600 copies to mainly

ACP countries. ITTO has received 100 copies for distribution and 200 are being distributed by

a commercial publisher Backhuys. The bilingual CD-ROMs are being distributed by CTA,

PROTA Foundation, ITTO and Backhuys publishers. A derived product (a matrix with

conclusions and recommendations on ‘280 species x 6 topics’) in line with PROTA format for

publication of PROTA Recommends Series has been posted on PROTA homepage for general

access. It deals with promising timber species, development gaps, research gaps, thesis

subjects, conservation needs and policy measures. Perhaps the only unfinished activity in

respect of objective 2 is pilot projects on promising species – an activity the Project Steering

Committee (PSC) felt would be better organized after covering the entire spectrum of Timbers

of Tropical Africa in the follow-up project.

2.5.3 Impact of Project’s Results

Key to development is knowledge and informed people. The ultimate impact sought is improved

access to interdisciplinary data on timbers of tropical Africa as a basis for sustainable tropical

forest management. The project has used varied carriers (webdatabase, handbook, CD-ROM) to

reach out to different information seekers.

There is now increased knowledge amongst forest managers, researchers, extension officers,

educationists on best practices for propagating and ensuring healthy stands, for substitute species

for major species overexploited in the past. Knowledge gaps have heightened researchers and

students interest in some of the species.

30

A survey conducted by PROTA indicates that hits on PROTABASE have increased substantially

since the insertion of information on timbers on the web database.

2.6 SYNTHESIS OF RESULTS

a) Specific objectives achievement

b) Outputs

c) Schedules

d) Actual Expenditure

e) Potential for Replication

f) Potential for scaling up

Realised

Partly realised

Unrealised

Realised

Partly realised

Unrealised

In advance / on time

Delayed but not seriously

Seriously delayed

Below planned

More than 10% above planned

More than 20% above planned

High

Medium

Low

High

Medium

Low

Actual expenditure exceeded planned by 1.7%

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PART 3: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 DEVELOPMENT LESSONS

Mobilisation, synthesis and dissemination of information on over 500 timber species distributed

throughout tropical Africa in three years is a daunting task in every respect. The success is

attributable to a number of interacting factors including: sound and well-defined objectives, project

planning, commitment of project key personnel including editors, authors, data collectors and

timely release of project funding by donors (ITTO, Netherlands government agencies and the

PROTA Foundation). The project had a smooth take off because it was part of a much larger

PROTA programme that had its formal and informal structures and processes firmly in place five

years prior to the commencement of the project.

3.2 OPERATIONAL LESSONS

a) Project organisation and management

The project team adhered strictly to the project’s workplan. The project key staff stayed on

throughout the project implementation. The project steering committee (PSC) played a

proactive role in directing the project. Although not all members of PSC were actively

involved in the day to day implementation, the annual meeting addressed a number of issues

that emerged during project implementation. The operational processes for Timber 1 replicated

earlier processes employed for the publication of the other PROTA commodity groups

(Vegetables, Cereals and pulses, Dyes and tannins, Vegetable oils) published in 2004, 2005,

2006 and 2007. To iron out difficulties arising from imbalance in the distribution of project

funds, the project Coordinator sought the approval of the Executive Director of ITTO for a

budget-neutral adjustment of project funds. The Executive Director’s approval expedited

project implementation.

b) Dissemination of Results

Project key output – synthesis of information on 511 timber species of tropical Africa – has

been disseminated through web database (PROTABASE), Timbers 1 handbook, CD-ROM and

32

a derived product – PROTA recommends. Project reports to ITTO were all prepared and

dispatched as per the agreed schedule. A special poster announcing the publication of the

handbook and CD-ROM has been circulated through regional nodes and data collectors

throughout tropical Africa.

33

34

c) Monitoring and Evaluation

Project monitoring and evaluation was conducted through half-yearly progress reports to ITTO

and annual presentations at the PSC meetings. In November 2007 the ITTO representative on

the PSC, Dr. Amha Bin Buang paid a working visit to Network Europe Office in Wageningen

to observe the editorial and publishing processes.

3.3 RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO FUTURE PROJECTS

In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of similar projects in the future, the following

recommendations are made:

Documentation projects of such magnitude involving many authors and processes and their

interaction usually face delivery delays. While this project was largely successful, the delays

experienced could be avoided or minimised in future by identifying back-up authors.

Project implementation should start with a planning workshop involving all key personnel

during which project concepts, workplan, roles and responsibilities and schedule of activities

are discussed by all project partners and personnel. The devolution of responsibilities to others

in the course of the project implementation can cause uneasiness.

The project benefited exceedingly from the experience of the Network Europe team. Since

PROTA is largely an African programme, a structured capacity building plan should be

mapped out in the follow-up projects.

Involvement of African scientists in the editing is limited by training. Efforts should be made

to train more Africans in editing in any follow-up project.

A number of factors accounted for the success of PD 264/04 Rev. 3 (M,I). These could serve as

lessons for similar documentation projects

Preproject consultative meeting of editors.

Preparation and distribution of comprehensive guide to authors. This served as framework

for authors.

Payments of honorarium to authors

35

Firm promise to list the names and affiliations of contributors in the handbook and other

products.

Strict adherence to workplan / timelines

Existence of basic infrastructure for project implementation

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RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPORT

Project General Coordinator - Dr. J.R. Cobbinah

Signature -

Date - 10 September 2009