All
the SABONET herbaria, except the Peter Smith Herbarium (PSUB), have now
had their programmes updated with the latest versions of the PRECIS Specimen
Database. Five years ago the PRECIS database was run on Access 2, followed
by an upgrade to Access 97 with a Delphi front-end (BDE-link). The database
has recently been upgraded to an ADO-link between the Delphi front-end and
both Access 97 and 2000.
SABONET
IT has visited all the participating countries in the region at least twice
and has upgraded the data capturing computers at the participating herbaria.
Once all the countries have each received one more new computer and the
latest office software as part of the Project’s Exit Strategy, we hope that
the computerisation rate will increase even further.
The Way Forward
Once we are
set for the Exit Strategy with all the latest software and hardware in place,
we can adhere to Decision 7 of the Tripartite Review Recommendations of
April 1999, and become more pro-active in biodiversity issues (Minutes
of the Ninth SABONET Steering Committee meeting). As SABONET countries
we should find ways to use our newly acquired knowledge to address issues
surrounding plant diversity, such as manipulation of our databases for conservation
actions, compilation of Red Lists, regional planning, research proposals,
and networking. The development of future in-country projects can
be based on a country’s computerised herbaria. Relevant comparative statistical
data sets will assist us to identify key plant
groups that need to be computerised to ensure that outputs match the requirements
of the stakeholders in the region.
Computerised
information will, however, only have relevance in future for data manipulation
techniques if serious thought is given to georeferencing. At the moment,
attention is focused on attaching quarter-degree grid square references
to specimens that have none. This task is the responsibility of individual
SABONET herbaria, where time and money are spent on developing capable staff
to complete the work. The Poaceae is the first group prioritised in this
regard. The main idea is to link the distribution data of this family with
the MAPPIT programme, or a GIS system, in order to run specific queries
that will be of use to end-users in the region (Fish & Steyn 2001).
These value-added products will be one of the foremost future projects to
flow from the computerisation process. The captured locality data can then
be used to plot the distribution of specific taxa (see Henderson (2002)
for an example of a direct implementation of this tool). A database on a
compact disk with all the electronic distribution data of a specific plant
group in southern Africa can also be produced. A second step would be to
link these plant distribution databases to habitat information, plant uses,
flowering times, and so on.
Conclusion
SABONET is striving
to enhance the outputs of the computerisation process and to illustrate
the relevance of the encoding process through quality publications and databases.
Improved collaboration and partnerships in the region are needed to implement
the widespread application of the herbarium specimen databases among all
stakeholders, such as research institutions, universities, the private sector,
governments, and networks. We hope that the SABONET computerisation effort
has contributed considerably towards the task to inventory our region’s
plant diversity and to prepare southern Africa for even more ambitious botanical
endeavours in the future.
To
conclude—and to emphasise its importance—the following points of the Chairman’s
Text for Negotiation of the Commission on Sustainable Development Acting
as the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit for Sustainable Development
(Fourth Session) are directly met by the SABONET computerisation process:
Provides affordable local access to botanical information
to improve and strengthen monitoring and early
warning related to desertification and alien plant invasions.
Improves
the use of science and technology for environmental monitoring, assessment
models, accurate database, and integrated information systems.
Incorporates
and mainstreams the objectives of the CBD into regional and national sectoral
and cross-sectoral programmes, in particular that of the donor funding agencies.
Supports international, regional, and national actions
in implementing programs to address and invest in applied research and capacity
building.
Assists
southern African countries in building capacity to access more equitable
multilateral and global research and development programmes.
Promotes
knowledge transfer to Africa as part of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) and further develops knowledge available in African
centres of excellence.
Promotes
and supports initiatives of stakeholders for the conservation of hotspot
areas and promotes the development of national and regional networks.
Urges
countries to become parties to biodiversity
related international agreements to encourage the exchange of data.
Enhances environmental responsibility and accountability,
including workplace-based partnerships, and training programmes.
—by Trevor Arnold & Stefan Siebert
SABONET News 7.2: 92
