Drylands: Tropical America
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS (2001-2005)
- Significantly increased access to Kew’s collections achieved through the repatriation of data and type specimen images for 50% of Northeast Brazil herbarium specimens and Richard Spruce’s collections (available online), and the provision of 87 fellowships for Latin American researchers and artists to visit the Herbarium
- Knowledge of Neotropical plant families significantly increased through the production of taxonomic, phylogenetic, morphological, ecological and floristic accounts for Araceae, Cactaceae, Chrysobalanaceae, Compositae, Labiatae, Leguminosae, Meliaceae, Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Sapotaceae, Verbenaceae and others (141 publications)
- Access to information on the flora of Northeast Brazil significantly advanced through the completion of the Information, Dissemination and Training (IDT) project, including database and checklist of the plants of the Northeast
- Capacity for botanical research in Tropical America developed through the provision of supervision and/or financial support for 45 PhD and two MSc theses
- Conservation and sustainable use of Tropical American flora promoted through technical support for in situ conservation projects in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, species evaluations/recommendations for priority taxonomic groups, local language publications on sustainable use, and applied research into sustainable fuelwood management in Northeast Brazil.
KEY ELEMENTS OF FUTURE PLANS (2006 onwards)
- Development of international, web-based access to Kew’s herbarium data and resources, including digitisation of Neotropical type specimens and procurement of funding for a third Kew Latin America Fellowships programme
- Completion/continuation of major ongoing taxonomic and floristic projects, and development of an online, user-friendly identification key to the flowering plant families of the Neotropics
- Development of Kew’s role in the promotion of in situ conservation in Tropical America, focusing on the provision of capacity building and technical support/information for local conservation and sustainable use initiatives in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru