The PROSEA project (Plant Resources of Southeast Asia)

The task force, headed by Salleh Mohd. Nor (FRIM), was appointed by the Multilateral Steering Committee (Board of Trustees) of PROSEA to make proposals concerning the legal framework, organizational structure, manpower, and total funding requirements of PROSEA for the Implementa- tion Phase 1991-1995. It completed its work and submitted its report in January 1990. The Board unanimously took over the proposals of the task force at its meeting in February 1990 in Kuala Lumpur. The main recommendations are: 1) Legal framework — To obtain a ‘legal status’ for the purposes of securing international funding and protection of copyrights, it is decided to establish PROSEA as a non-profit foundation (NGO) under Indonesian law, with an international charter, taking domicile in Bogor, Indonesia. Meanwhile the PROSEA Foundation has been established. To ensure international stature, recognition by governments, and to facilitate participation by national institutions, the PROSEA Foundation seeks linkages with existing international organizations in the form of collaborative programs. Discussions are going on with ESCAP and UNESCO. 2) Organizational structure — Controlled by the Board of Trustees, two offices are established: a) The PROSEA Network Office. Located at Bogor, Indonesia, coordinating 5 country offices in S.E. Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand). This is principally a data bank network, of permanent character, becoming gradually the most valuable asset of the project. b) the PROSEA Publication Office. Located at Wageningen, the Netherlands, organizing the publication of the handbook. This component has a definite time-table and will be finished as soon as publication of the handbook is completed. 3) Manpower and funding requirements — To realize the ambitious publication schedule for the period 1991-1995 and to improve the visibility of the dissemination/extension tasks, manpower should ideally be increased from the present 22 to about 36 staffmembers. The total budget requirement for this period has tentatively been set at US$ 9,000,000. Meanwhile fact-finding missions for potential donors have been active in the U.S.A., Japan, the E.E.C., Denmark, and Sweden. Contacts with numerous institutions and organizations are ongoing.