The Swaziland National Herbarium (SDNH)

The history of plant collecting in Swaziland dates back to 1886 when Ernest E. Galpin made collections soon after the start of gold mining in the eastern Transvaal. He entered Swaziland at the narrow pass in the Bulembu Mountains near Barberton.

In 1956, Professor R.H. Compton, formerly a Professor of Botany at the University of Cape Town and Director of the National Botanical Gardens in South Africa, arrived in Swaziland to do a botanical survey. His work was wrapped up in 1966 and eventually led to the publication of the Flora of Swaziland in 1976. His herbarium was located where the veterinary offices are today, in Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland. In 1968, Professor Compton left Swaziland and his collections were taken to the Botanical Research Institution in Pretoria where they were kept until 1975, when Mrs Ellen Kemp—an American Peace Corps volunteer—was asked by the Swaziland Government to re-establish the Herbarium. The collections were returned from Pretoria and the new Herbarium offices were housed in Millers Mansions in Mbabane. The work of Mrs Kemp continued until 1979, when she had to return to the United States to attend to some family matters. She returned in 1983 and resumed her work, finally accumulating more than 1,500 specimens and publishing A Flora Checklist for Swaziland.

The current Curator, Mr Gideon Dlamini, joined the herbarium in 1979. In 1984, he moved the Herbarium to the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture. In the late 1980s it was moved to the Malkerns Research Station, where it is today.

Purpose and Functions
The mission statement of the Swaziland National Herbarium is: “To accumulate and disseminate botanical knowledge, to promote sustainable utilisation of Swaziland’s Plant heritage, and to protect the ecosystems in which plants occur through research, awareness campaigns, and displays in herbaria, botanical gardens, and publications”.

The Swaziland National Herbarium currently holds more than 8,000 specimens of higher plants, representing about 3,400 species in 771 genera and 135 families. The classification system follows Dyer (1976) and Engler’s numbering system of families and genera, which is elaborated by De Dalla Torre and Harms (1958). Under each genus, the species are arranged alphabetically.

Activities and Services
The purpose of the herbarium is to collect and identify all plants occurring in the Kingdom of Swaziland. As a service to the scientific community and general public, SDNH also identifies plants collected by individuals and institutions. For expert identification of difficult taxa, SDNH relies on larger herbaria outside Swaziland; the main institution used for this purpose is PRE.

In recent times, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Comprehensive Mitigation Plans (CMP) procedures have been adopted by Swaziland as standard practice for major development works, such as road construction, dam excavation, and agricultural expansion. Therefore, in development activities, one of the purposes of collecting (sometimes, but not always undertaken by SDNH) is to identify threatened plants so that proper mitigation measures for them are outlined in the EIA reports. The Red Data List work done for the SABONET project has had a very significant impact in this respect.

The Herbarium is engaged in several collaborative efforts within Swaziland, working closely with the Plant Genetic Resource Centre, National Trust Commission, Environmental Authority, University of Swaziland, and the Forestry Section of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

The Herbarium is participating in the development of a national strategy for the control of alien invasive plants, as well as the formulation and implementation of the criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry management in Swaziland, under the auspices of the National Forest Policy and Legislation Project.

In addition, the Herbarium is part of the Swaziland National Biodiversity Databank Unit (NBDU), which is one of the components of the national Clearing House Mechanism, an information-sharing facility supported by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Other institutions involved in the NBDU are the Swaziland Environmental Authority and the University of Swaziland.

Policy and Legislative Support
Various policy documents support the work of the Herbarium, including the Forest Policy now awaiting approval from the Cabinet. In addition, the New Flora Protection Act of 2002 empowers the Minister responsible for Flora to take certain measures to conserve plants, including selecting particular areas as Flora Reserves, Botanic Gardens, and Special Habitats.

SDNH Administration and Staffing
Administratively, the Swaziland National Herbarium falls under the Forestry Section of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Permanent staff members:
Mr G.M. Dlamini—Herbarium Curator
Mr T.S. Dlamini—Assistant Herbarium Curator
Mr B.A. Dlamini—Herbarium Technical Assistant

Temporary staff members funded by SABONET:
Mr C.V. Shabalala—Research Officer
Mr C.Z. Nhleko—Technician/Data Capturer

Future Plans
The following activities have been identified as goals and objectives to be targeted for the near future in Swaziland:

Establish a permanent Herbarium and a Botanical Garden.

Promote studies and research on plants in the country by having a Botanical Garden.

Update the Herbarium library.

Collect plants from the various eco-geographical areas of Swaziland.

Review information on plants threatened with extinction (Red Data List) so as to protect them.

Compile an updated list on plants in Swaziland (Checklist).

Participate in national and international programmes of the control of invasive alien plants.

Continue the botanical survey of the flora of Swaziland to facilitate publication of a revised version of Compton’s Flora of Swaziland.

Conclusion
The Swaziland National Herbarium is a small institution both in its number of staff and the size of the herbarium and library. Efforts are underway to increase the staff and establish a permanent Herbarium and Botanical Garden. Collaboration with various botanical institutions within and outside continues to provide technical and other support. Participation in regional projects, such as SABONET and SECOSUD has played a vital role in improving the situation at the herbarium.

—by Christopher Shabalala, Gideon Dlamini & Titus Dlamini

SABONET News 7.2: 134