www.prota.org

PEOPLE AND PLANTS

• 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

PLANT RESOURCES OF TROPICAL AFRICA

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 MissionSynthesis 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).

Botanical name ManagementProtologue Propagation and plantingFamily In vitro production active compoundsChromosome number ManagementSynonyms Diseases and pestsVernacular names HarvestingOrigin and geographic distribution (map) YieldUses Handling after harvestProduction and international trade Genetic resources and breedingProperties Genetic resourcesAdulterations and substitutes Breeding Botany Prospects Description (line drawing) Major references Other botanical information Other references Anatomy Sources of illustration Growth and developmentEcology

INFORMATION NEEDS

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

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)

Species per commodity group

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

Webdatabasewww.prota.org

Special productsBooks

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

* WORLDREFS: 389,000 records* AFRIREFS: 18,600 records* EXPERTISE: 1,150 records* IMAGEFILE: 1,560 records* TGA: 710 records* BASELIST: 6,400 records* SPECIESLIST: 7,800 records

SUPPORTING DATABASES

PROTACore Output

(Webdatabase/CD-ROMs/

Books)

FarmersForest Communities

Cottage Entrepreneurs

Research Systems

Higher Education

Rural Development(extension)

Private Sector

Policy-makers

Vocational Training

CORE OUTPUT & TARGET GROUPS

FarmersForest Communities

Cottage Entrepreneurs

Research Systems

Higher Education

Rural Development(extension)

Private Sector

PROTASpecial Output

Policy-makers

Vocational Training

developmentgaps

‘candidate’technologies

‘candidate’technologies

thesissubjects

policymeasures

conservationneeds

conservationneeds

researchgaps

SPECIAL OUTPUT & TARGET GROUPS

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.

‘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.

AFRICAN UNION(NEPAD / FARA)

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).

CBD / GSPC

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.

MDG

Board of Trustees/Executive Board

WUR RBGKEWAGRO-POLIS

MU NHBGM PBZTCENA-REST

FORIG CNSF ICRAF PROSEA

WageningenUniversity

Netherlands

Network OfficeEurope

WUR-Nodeat

ICRAF Kenya

Network OfficeAfrica

RBGKEW

AGRO-POLIS

Global Networkof Editors

and Authors

C.O.United

Kingdom

C.O.France

MUUganda

NHBGMMalawi

PBZTMadagascar

CENARESTGabon

FORIGGhana

CNSFBurkina Faso

R.O.East Africa

R.O.Southern

Africa

R.O.Indian Ocean

Islands

R.O.CentralAfrica

R.O.West Africaanglophone

R.O.West Africafrancophone

SudanEritreaEthiopiaDjiboutiSomaliaKenyaUgandaTanzania

MalawiZambiaAngolaNamibiaBotswanaZimbabweMozambique

ComorosMayotte (Fr)MadagascarSeychellesRéunion (Fr)Mauritius

São Tomé &PrincipeCameroonChadCentr.Afr.Rep.Equat. GuineaGabonCongoDR CongoRwandaBurundi

Cape VerdeGambiaGuinea BissauSierra LeoneLiberiaGhanaNigeria

MauritaniaSenegalGuineaCôte d’IvoireMaliBurkina FasoTogoBeninNiger

Copyright©EUMETSAT2003

PROSEA 1987-2002

7,000

PROLAC??

11,000

PROTA 2000-2012

7,000

PROTA 2000-2013

7,000