Plant Resources of Tropical Africa
Wageningen University | |
Dissolved | 2013 |
---|---|
Type |
|
Legal status | Foundation |
Purpose | To improve access to information about useful plants in Africa |
Headquarters |
|
Region | Tropical Africa |
Products |
|
Fields | International Development |
Official language | English, French |
Key people |
|
Affiliations | University of Wageningen |
Website | https://www.prota4u.org/database/ |
Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, known by its acronym PROTA, is a retired NGO and interdisciplinary documentation programme active between 2000 and 2013. PROTA produced a large database and various publications about Africa's useful plants.
Purpose
PROTA was concerned with increasing accessibility to
PROTA's database and various publications are considered unique in their
Some of PROTA's other goals included:[6][7]
- to promote the sustainableuse of plants to the public and private sectors
- to facilitate socially inclusive, collaborative research about African plants from experts in Africa and elsewhere
- to make research about African plants more accessible
- to support intellectual property rights related to the commercial use of African plants
- to help graduate students and researchers identify research gaps
- to provide research-driven educational materials to vocational and farmer education programs in Africa
Current status
Funding
PROTA retired in 2013 while facing large operational costs after its funding expired. At the point of its retirement, about 50% of PROTA's encyclopedia series was complete. During its operation, PROTA received funds from the European Union's
Preservation
As of 2022, the PROTA database Prota4U is still online in an archive-like capacity at Wageningen University with articles written in English and French. Information in the PROTA database can also be accessed at the website Pl@ntUse–though in a different format. As of 2019, Prota4U had about 1,500 daily visitors and 500,000 unique visitors each year.[12] All of the PROTA's encyclopedia volumes have been digitized and are available for free as Open access publications from the Wageningen University library. It is uncertain how much of the PROTA Recommends Series has been digitized.
Partners
The programme operated through an international network of institutional partners and collaborators of the PROTA Foundation. PROTA had representatives in 20 African countries and dual headquarters in Wageningen, Netherlands and Nairobi, Kenya. PROTA also had regional offices with institutional partners in Burkina Faso, France, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Uganda, and the United Kingdom.[13] In Wageningen, PROTA also partnered with the EU funded, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the now-retired Agromisa Foundation to help distribute its various publications. Agromisa and PROTA were considered suitable partners because they were both committed to bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge and were open access publishers of books with practical information about sustainable agriculture for small-farmers in Africa.[14]
Affiliation | Institution | Country |
---|---|---|
Francophone Regional Office | Centre National de Semences Forestieres | Burkina Faso |
France Country Office | Acropolis International | France |
Central Africa Regional Office | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique | Gabon |
West Africa Regional Office | Forestry Research Institute of Ghana | Ghana |
Indian Ocean Islands Regional Office | Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza |
Madagascar |
Southern Africa Regional Office | National Herbarium and Botanical Gardens of Malawi | Malawi |
East Africa Regional Office | Makerere University | Uganda |
UK Country Office | Kew Gardens | United Kingdom |
Europe Headquarters | Wageningen University |
Netherlands |
Africa Headquarters | World Agroforestry Centre | Kenya |
Publications
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PROTA Handbook Encyclopedia Series
Description
The PROTA Handbook Series is a large illustrated encyclopedia series of utility
Content
Species articles in the PROTA encyclopedia series were written by hundreds of authors from around the world and in Africa, and cover a range of information including:[21][13][22]
- plant uses
- geographic distribution by African country
- cultivation information
- wild-collection data
- production and international trade data
- chemical properties
- botanical characteristics
- ecological information
- conservation status
Digitization status
Currently, all published PROTA encyclopedias volumes have been digitized and are available as Open access publications from the Wageningen University library.[23] Several encyclopedias in the series were planned but not started at the time of PROTA's retirement in 2013.
Title | Status | Year | Editors | Language |
---|---|---|---|---|
PROTA 1: Cereals and pulses | Published | 2006 | Brink, M. and Belay, G. | English, French |
PROTA 2: Vegetables | Published | 2004 | Grubben, G.J. and Denton, O.A. | |
PROTA 3: Dyes and tannins | Published | 2005 | Jansen, P.C. and Cardon, D. | |
PROTA 4: Ornamentals | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 5: Forages | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 6: Fruits | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 7(1): Timbers | Published | 2008 | Louppe D., Oteng-Amoaka A.A. and Brink, M. | |
PROTA 7(2): Timbers | Published | 2012 | Lemmens, R., Louppe, D., Oteng-Amoako, A.A. | |
PROTA 8: Carbohydrates | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 9: Auxiliary plants | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 10: Fuel plants | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 11(1): Medicinal plants | Published | 2008 | Schmelzer, G.H. and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim | |
PROTA 11(2): Medicinal plants | Published | 2013 | Schmelzer, G.H. and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim | |
PROTA 12: Spices and condiments | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 13: Essential oils and exudates | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 14: Vegetable oils | Published | 2007 | van der Vossen, H.A. and Mkamilo, G.S. | |
PROTA 15: Stimulants | Planned | — | ||
PROTA 16: Fibres | Published | 2012 | Brink, M. and Achigan-Dako, E.G. |
PROTA Recommends Series
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Other PROTA Publications
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Title | Status | Year | Digitized | Editors | Language |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plant Resources of Tropical Africa: Precursor | Published | 2002 | Yes | Oyen, L.P.A. and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. | English, French |
PROTA: Basic list of species and commodity groupings | 2002 | Yes | Bosch, C.H. | ||
PROTA: Updated list of species and commodity groupings | 2010 | Yes | Chauvet, M. | ||
Promising African Plants: A Selection from the PROTA Programme | 2010 | Yes | — | ||
Proceedings of the First PROTA International Workshop | 2002 | No | — | ||
PROTA: African Ornamentals: Proposals and Examples | 2011 | No | — |
Reception
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PROTA2: Vegetables
- According to Google Scholar PROTA 2: Vegetables has been widely cited, receiving more than 367 citations as of October, 2022.[18]
- Nigerian ethnobotanists reported in 2004 that PROTA 2: Vegetables included contributions from over 100 authors and detailed cultivation practices for 280 indigenous vegetables.[22]
- A 2004 report from the University Of Ile-Ife in Nigeria referenced PROTA 2: Vegetables to emphasize the importance of indigenous vegetables such as Solanum macrocarpon and Telfairia occidentalis in providing employment opportunities in informal economies and in incorporating indigenous vegetables into plant breeding programs.[22]
- A 2004 book review in the Kew Bulletin regarded PROTA 2: Vegetables as being well cited, with over 1500 references.[24]
- A 2004 book review in the Nordic Journal of Botany commented that PROTA 2: Vegetables "should be found on the bookshelves of every institution dealing with tropical botany, nutrition, health, and agriculture" [25]
- A 2004 book review from the ethnobotanical knowledge about both domesticated and wild-harvested vegetables in Africa.[17]
PROTA3: Dyes and Tannins
- A 2006 book review of PROTA 3: Dyes and tannins published in Economic Botany noted that "the information contained in this volume highlights a number of lesser known species, and is a rich source of interesting information for anyone working at the interface of ethnobotany and domestication, and as such is a must have."[21]
- About 64% of the 24 authors of PROTA 3: Dyes and tannins were from Africa.[9]
PROTA11: Medicinal Plants
- A 2014 book review of PROTA 11(2): Medicinal Plants noted that about 30% of the contributions were written by African ethnobotanists.
PROTA4U Database
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2022) |
The PROTA 4U Database was conceived to improve access to information in PROTA's printed publications. The PROTA web database PROTA4U is a combination of PROTA’s highly standardized expert-validated review articles (PROTAbase) and yet-to-be-validated ‘starter kits’ for all other useful plants. These ‘starter kits’ are pre-filled with basic information from PROTA’s databases SPECIESLIST (important synonyms, uses, basic sources of information) and AFRIREFS (‘grey’ literature).
Furthermore, the records contain the results of a meta-analysis from a large collection of
Debate
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2022) |
Some believe that the
See also
- Afrotropical realm
- Ecology of Africa
- International Tropical Timber Organization
- International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service
- Neglected and underutilized crops
- African Languages
- Traditional African Medicine
- Pharmacopeia
- Bioprospecting
- Convention on Biological Diversity
- Hamilton's Pharmacopeia
- The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies
Others
References
- ISBN 978-92-9081-434-4.
- ^ a b "About PROTA4U". www.prota4u.org. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ "Sustainable Forest Management Tool Details: Plant resources of tropical Africa (PROTA)". FAO. Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa/Ressources Végétales de l'Afrique Tropicale). New innovative research partnership". www.gfar.net. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "PROTA: Plant Resources of Tropical Africa- Relevancy for Sustainable Development (Presentation)". Slideshare. Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Foundation. 2012. Retrieved 2 Nov 2022.
- ^ Bosch, C.H.; Borus, D.J.; Siemonsma, J., eds. (2009). Vegetables of Tropical Africa: Conclusions and recommendations based on PROTA: 2 'Vegetables' (2nd ed.). PROTA Foundation.
- JSTOR 3997617– via JSTOR.
- ^ "Project to document plant resources of tropical Africa". CORDIS European Commission. 4 October 2002. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ ISBN 90-5782-159-1.
- ISBN 978-92-9081-481-8.
- ISBN 978-90-5782-209-4.
- ^ a b "Keep the PROTA and PROSEA portal in the air!". Wageningen University. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Schmelzer, G.H.; Gurib-Fakim, A., eds. (2008). Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 11(1). Medicinal plants 1. Wageningen, Netherlands: PROTA Foundation / Bacchus Publishers. p. 791.
- ISBN 978-90-8573-142-9.
- ISBN 90-77114-02-5.
- JSTOR 4120640.
- ^ a b Robinson, Jonathan (2004). "Book Review: Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Volume 2, Vegetables". Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter (140): 62 – via Biodiversity International.
- ^ a b "Google Scholar Search: "Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2: Vegetables"". Google Scholar. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Grubben, G.J.H. (1977). Tropical Vegetables and Their Genetic Resources (PDF). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- ^ "IUCN Headquarters' Library". IUCN. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ a b Van Damme, P., 2006. Book review - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 3: Dyes and tannins. Economic Botany 60: 296-306.
- ^ a b c Adebooye, O.C.; Opabode, J.T. (2004). "Status of conservation of the indigenous leaf vegetables and fruits of Africa". African Journal of Biotechnology. 3 (12): 700, 701. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Siemonsma, J. & Omino, E., 2003. PROTA State of the art. Pp. 90-100. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Omino, E.A. Proceedings of the First PROTA International Workshop, 23–25 September 2002, Nairobi, Kenya. Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
- JSTOR 4110929.
- .
- ^ Gomba, Joash (2010). "Authoring and editing of articles made simple". Prota.co.ke. PROTA: Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ Chauvet, Michel (2012-03-07). "PROTA 16 - Plantes à fibres". Tela Botanica (in French). Retrieved 2022-10-21.
External Resources
- Refer to the Wageningen University library for open access versions of some PROTA publications
- Refer to the Agromisa Foundation for open access publications about sustainable agriculture with a focus on small-farmers in Africa