Eastern African Plant Red List Authority Quentin Luke, Chair, National Museums of Kenya Henk Beentje, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK James Kalema, Makerere University, Uganda Roy Gereau, Missouri Botanical Garden, USA Salvator Ntore, Jardin Botanique Meise, Belgium Mike Maunder, Florida International University and NTBG, USA
Shea Butter Gum Arabic Charcoal Timber The EAPRLA is a voluntary network of botanists mandated by the IUCN/SSC to undertake plant conservation assessments in Eastern Africa.
We have members in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, South Sudan, UK and USA.
To date we have Red Listed 670 taxa since 2005 The initial focus of the group was the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Hotspots Current work is focused on the Lake Victoria Drainage Basin and the Afro Montane Habitats of South Sudan
Gigasiphon microsiphon Critically Endangered
Euphorbia tanaensis Critically Endangered
Our Formula
•Regular in-country workshops (annual) •Taxonomic expertise •Expert field botanists •Dedicated leadership •Experienced team •Strategic support from regional and global herbaria •Social cohesion
Our Process • Select target taxa (potentially threatened taxa) • Record specimen label data for taxa on Excel spreadsheet • Use a variety of data sources-herbarium specimen labels, floristic literature, field notes, databases etc.
• Map distribution data for each taxon (initially we used ArcView now we use ArcMap) • Calculate area parameters (EOO and AOO) for each taxon • Record occurrences in protected areas, land use plans and potential KBAS • Review information and agree Red List category
The Challenge
•Decline in field collecting •Fragility of herbaria in the region (eg Burundi) •Poor sampling and under collected areas •Many taxa known from type only •Many lost taxa not seen for fifty or more years •Consistent FUNDING
Next
•Partnership with Global Tree Campaign •East African Tree Assessment •Horn of Africa?
Thanks
•Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) for funding work in the Eastern Arc and South Sudan •MacArthur Foundation for funding current work in the Lake Victoria Basin •Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund SSC/IUCN •My colleagues of the EAPRLA