The Prosea Programme (Plant Resources of South-East Asia)

The Third PROSEA International Workshop was held in Bogor, Indonesia, 15-17 November 1999 and was attended by about 80 participants from 12 countries. A keynote address was presented by Prof. Dr. Y. Koswara on behalf of His Excellency, the Minister of National Education of the Republic of Indonesia. The main subject of the Workshop was ‘PROSEA beyond 2000’ and numerous recommendations were presented after preceding discussions by 4 working groups. The overall PROSEA Vision and Mission Statement was presented as follows: “In view of the importance of plant information for mankind and biodiversity conservation, and the unique position of PROSEA in this respect, PROSEA strives to be a leading information provider and disseminator on the plant resources of South-East Asia for their efficient and sustainable use. Emphasis will be on lesser-known useful plants, and information services will be demand-driven.” Some of the recommendations are: – The PROSEA volumes on Fungi (15(3)) and on Ornamental plants (20) will be published but the PROSEA Head Office in Bogor is responsible for sourcing the funding for those volumes; – Instead of a full-fledged second edition of the Handbook, an update or supplement is an option; – PROSEA should continue to be a non-profit foundation beyond 2000 and membership of other SE Asian countries such as Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore should be encouraged; – The Network Office in Bogor becomes Head Office; – The Country Offices should become much more visible as national focal points for information exchanges on the plant resources of SE Asia; they are responsible for designing and producing ‘demand-driven’ derived materials; – PROSEA should strive to be 50% self-financing by the year 2010; – The Head Office should provide internet access to users of the PROSEA Information Base; – For more information: see the forthcoming Proceedings of the Workshop. During the workshop there was also a ceremony at the graveyard in the Bogor Botanical Garden to inaugurate the tombstone at the grave of Prof. Dr. A.J.G.H. Kostermans, who was formerly scientific advisor of PROSEA.