Herbaria, gardens, organisations

Dr. E.A. Widjaja and K. Kartawinata (BO) are preparing a CD-ROM on the Flora of Malinau using Lucid. Herbarium in Honiara (BSIP) — Because of the present civil unrest and deteriorating economic conditions in the capital, the Herbarium Officer, Mr. M. Kusa, has left his post. There is presently no one working regularly at the Herbarium, nor are there security guards on the premises. Fortunately, despite some signs of vandalism in the gardens outside, the interior offices and main storage room are still intact. The air-conditioning is still turned on, but frequent power cuts mean that ideal humidity levels within the building are no longer maintained. A new government should be in place by the end of the year, and hopefully funding will become available to carry out essential maintenance to the buildings. In the meantime, we can only hope that vandals will not enter any of the storage rooms and do damage to the precious specimens kept there.