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Press Release

Plant Diversity Hotspot Discovered in Tropical Africa

Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Herbarium of Cameroon have discovered a new centre of plant diversity in Tropical Africa. Findings made by a recently returned RBG Kew expedition show that the Kupe-Bakossi area of Cameroon is the top centre for documented plant diversity in mainland Tropical Africa with a total of 2,440 species*. Specimens from the expedition are expected to arrive at Kew from Yaounde in the next month. RBG Kew's work in Cameroon has been greatly supported by Earthwatch Institute (Europe) and the Darwin Initiative.

This richly diverse area, previously not recognised for its great significance for biodiversity and conservation, has been under threat both from illegal logging and encroaching farmland. Part of RBG Kew's ten-year programme in Cameroon has focused on persuading local people of the importance of conservation. Following Kew's work with local partners, much of Kupe-Bakossi is now in the process of being formally protected by the Cameroon Government, including four key sites covering a combined total of over 80,000 hectares.**

Kew botanist Martin Cheek says, ‘When we began surveying Kupe-Bakossi, we had no idea that it would be anything like as diverse as it has proved to be. Even more unexpected is the sheer number of plant species that we have found to be new to science. One in every 10 plants that were encountered at the beginning of the survey was new to science'.

Among the new species discovered and documented by Kew scientists is a new Cola species, still unnamed, and an orchid species and genus not seen since it was discovered c. 30 years ago on a tree that had just been felled in a logging operation, Ossiculum aurantiacum, as well as a new mint, specific to waterfalls, Plectranthus cataractarum, and a new shrimp plant, Justicia leucoxiphus. (Further information and images available.)

A conservation checklist, The Plants of Kupe, Mwanenguba and the Bakossi Mountains, Cameroon , recently published by RBG Kew, reveals that this area of c. 2390 km2 contains 2,412 vascular plant species (updated to 2,440 following the recently returned RBG Kew – National Herbarium of Cameroon expedition), of which 82 are strictly endemic to the checklist area and 232 are Red Data taxa, ie threatened with extinction according to IUCN 2001 criteria. This is the fourth conservation checklist to have been compiled by Kew scientists in Cameroon to document the plants and enable identification and better management of threatened plant species by local inhabitants.***

Kew's survey results have become the world's most comprehensive database of information on plants in the area and, in turn, Kew is now using the information to train Cameroonian botanists to do their own surveys and conservation assessments. Nhon ‘ Mbwog Alexander Ngome NTOKO, Paramount Chief of Bakossi, says, ‘We can only be successful in preserving the rich variety of plant species if we know them.' Of RBG Kew's new plant checklist of Kupe-Bakossi, he continues, ‘This book is a very valuable resource not only to the Bakossi people but to all those who share the same common goal of preserving the rich natural heritage of mankind.'

Kew's work in the highland forests of western Cameroon has been assisted by more than three hundred Earthwatch volunteers and much of the field research carried out in Bakossi was completed through the assistance of Earthwatch African fellows and volunteers. Roger Mitchell, Chief Scientist and Head of Research and Education at Earthwatch Institute (Europe), says, ‘Not only is the area studied now being formally protected by the Cameroon Government but local people have been trained via our African Fellowship programme in plant conservation, raising awareness of the necessity of sustainable plant use and protection at the community level.'

RBG Kew plans to continue the survey work in Cameroon, cover new areas, formally describe more of the new species and help local partners to document information and local knowledge.

For Further Information

Please contact Anna Quenby, Lauren Bird or Oliver Basciano in the RBG Kew Press Office on 020 8332 5607 or contact pr@kew.org

Notes to Editors

* Centres of Plant Diversity Among the 84 such centres listed for Africa in IUCN-WWF's Centres of Plant Diversity (Davis, Heywood & Hamilton, 1994), no other centre in Tropical Africa apparently has documented as many strict endemics, as many Red Data species or as many plant species in total. In 1994 Kupe-Bakossi was not even considered as such a centre, largely because no-one had any idea of its importance. Kew did not begin its inventory work there until 1995. Since about half of Kupe-Bakossi remains unexplored for plants, this total is likely to be surpassed. This unexpected turn of events partly reflects the poor documentation of plant species of many `Centres of Plant Diversity', several of which, such as the Crystal Mts of Gabon or Cross River National Park of Nigeria, might otherwise contend with Kupe-Bakossi.

** Protected areas being set up in the Kupe-Bakossi region to which Kew's work has contributed significantly include the Integral Ecological Reserves of Mount Kupe and Lake Edib and the Bakossi Mountains National Park . Elsewhere in Cameroon, Kew's work has contributed to the recognition of the Lake Oku plant sanctuary.

*** The Plants of Kupe, Mwanenguba and the Bakossi Mountains, Cameroon

M. Cheek, B.Pollard, I.Darbyshire, J. M. Onana and C. Wild

Kew Publ; ISBN 1 84246 074 9, £40,00

Published by RBG Kew, www.kewbooks.com

***Further plant conservation checklists in the RBG Kew Cameroon series

Mt Cameroon (Cable & Cheek 1998)

Mt Oku and the Ijim Ridge (Cheek, Onana & Pollard 2000)

Bali Ngemba Forest Reserve (Harvey et al 2004)

The Darwin Initiative contributed to the programme through the ‘Conservation of the Plant Diversity of Western Cameroon Project' from 1999-2004, which supported the identification and databasing of all the spms that were collected in the fieldwork, some of the field costs and workshops in Cameroon and the description of the new species.

Partner Organisations in RBG Kew's ten year programme in Cameroon include CRES, WWF Cameroon and BirdLife International. Kew 's plant inventory and data work has been used by on-the-ground organisations to get areas protected.

Earthwatch Institute (Europe) engages people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Earthwatch is a registered charity with offices in Australia and Japan, and a head office in Boston, USA. Earthwatch makes grants of over £2.5 million in support of around 140 projects each year. Earthwatch recruits volunteers from the general public and partner organisations to share the costs of a research project, and to join it as research assistants. In the past 30 years, Earthwatch's field assistants have contributed 10 million man-hours to research internationally. Earthwatch Institute (Europe) welcomes proposals for long-term support. Around 18% of Earthwatch's projects have been supported for over 10 years. For further information please visit www.earthwatch.org.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. For further information please visit www.kew.org.

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