By supporting young African researchers, both financially and scientifically, the Foundation wishes to actively achieve its goals.
Over 2000 new species are being published every year; most are coming from the tropics. Here a photo of Thunbergia atacorensis, a newly discovered species from Benin during a recent flora project there.
Africa: our great concern
Nearly every country in tropical Africa was a European colony until around 1960 and it were these colonists who took care of the botanical exploration. The plants that were collected we can now find in the botanical institutes of these former colonists, and rarely in an institute of the country of origin.
Time is pressing. In order to curb the advancing deforestation we need arguments, we need to be able to tell what there is to protect and threatens to become lost forever.
After the countries gained independence a break occurred, both in the exploration and in the conversion of the data in useful handbooks and floras. Local botanical institutes did rarely exist or did not have sufficient trained staff and resources to take over this heavy task. The old rulers from Europe however remained active in this field to some extent, but at a much lower intensity: after all, it wasn't their colony any longer.
In other continents in the tropics the situation is generally much better because botanical exploration started there much earlier, and the local institutes are of higher quality. Africa however, is our great concern.
Plant collectors at work: knowledge transfer in the field.
A herbarium is an essential tool for the description of botanical diversity.
Ahead at own strength
A good example is Gabon where an extensive inventory took place in 2001 of a large number of areas that potentially needed protection. O basis of numbers of rare plants and animals and the vulnerability of the environment in which the occurred, argumenst could be produced to convince the authorities to protect a number of these areas. this had great success. Thirteen new areas could be added to the already protected ones, resulting in about 10% of the vegetation being protected!
Now a detailed inventory is needed on to provide a solid scientific basis for their management and protection. Who should do that? We feel the Africans themselves: they should develop the expertise and establish institutions to study and preserve their own flora. MOABI want to support them as much as possible in this task.
MABO and the people behind it have excellent contacts with all botanical institutions in Africa and cooperate with them. Recently the Flora of Benin appeared, have the woody plants and lianas of West Africa been described, and at present we work hard to finish the Flora of Gabon. In this work we stimulate contributions from African partners as much as possible.