SEAMEO BIOTROP and CRC990-EFForTS   held the 2nd Training Workshop on Tropical Plant Identification for 26 participants from Indonesia and the Philippines on 31 October - 5 November 2022. The CRC990-EFForTS project is a large international and interdisciplinary research program involving Göettingen University, Germany; UNJA (Universitas Jambi), UNTAD (Universitas Tadulako), and Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB University) and funded by DFG (Deutsche Forshungsgememeinschaft). 

In 2017 SEAMEO BIOTROP and CRC-990EFForTS organized the First Training Workshop on Plant Identification for the Indonesian Participants from IPB, UNJA, UNTAD, UNIPA (Universitas Papua), LIPI (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia/Indonesian Institute of Sciences), Harapan Rainforest, and SEAMEO BIOTROP. There weRe 22 participants involved in the First Training Workshop. 

During the First Training Workshop Dr  Jess Fernandez, at that time the Deputy Director for Program of SEAMEO BIOTROP approached Dr  Katja Rembold, the coordinator of the training workshop, and Dr  Tim Uterich from the Kew Garden Herbarium, UK for the possibility to conduct the same training in 2019. Dr  Fernandez proposed that the training workshop could be expanded for the ASEAN member countries, not only for Indonesian participants.  With time, Dr Katja got a new position at the Bern Botanical Garden in 2018 and her position is replaced by Dr Fabian O. Brambach.  However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Second Training Workshop could not be conducted in 2019.

After being delayed during the pandemic, the Second Training Workshop was conducted in 2022.  Through the Second Training Workshop, SEAMEO BIOTROP aimed to disseminate knowledge on plant morphology and terminology as well as the skills of identifying tropical plants using identification keys up to the family level and to enhance professional linkages among participants engaged in plant taxonomy and identification.

During this 6-day training workshop, the participants were involved in lecture-discussions, practical works, and field trips to Mount Gede Pangrango National Park, Cibodas Botanical Garden, and Bogor Botanical Garden. The topics presented in this workshop included: 1) Introduction to plant taxonomy and identification; 2) Plant morphology and terminology; 3) Keys to plant’s families; 4) Identification to family level through herbarium specimens; and 5) Identification of plants in the fields.

The participants of this workshop were provided with an overview of about 40 of the most commonly encountered tropical vascular plant families, as well as an introduction to plant morphology and identification tools. The lecturers demonstrated the key characters of each family, sharing their tips for identification, and participants joint identification session focused on Tropical Southeast Asia plants. A field visit provided the participants with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and information gained during the workshop.

“Identification of plants is very important in sustainable plant diversity management, especially in developing botanical inventory database. The completion of a botanical inventory in the tropics is very important because it is necessary for assessing the conservation status of the plant species that have not been evaluated,” said Dr Zulhamsyah Imran, the Director of SEAMEO BIOTROP, in his opening remarks for this workshop.

The lecturers for this workshop were Dr Alex Sumadijaya, Dr  Deby Arifiani, and Mr. Wisnu H. Ardi, MSi from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Indonesia; Dr André Schuiteman, Dr Carmen Puglisi, and Ms. Laura Jennings, BA from the Royal Botanic Gardens, KEW, UK; Dr Fabian Brambach from the University of Göttingen, Germany; and Mr. Wendy Achmmad Mustaqim, MSi from Universitas Samudra, Langsa, Aceh.

Besides the lecturers, the facilitators of this workshop also assisted the participants in this workshop. The facilitators came from BRIN Indonesia, namely Dr Decky Indrawan Junaedi and Prof Dr Sri Rahayu, and from     CRC-990 EFForTS SEAMEO BIOTROP, namely Dirga Shabri Pradana, Mei Linda Mardalena, and Saiful Bachri.

This training workshop was attended by 27 selected participants from Universitas Jambi (UNJA), Universitas Tadulako (UNTAD), Universitas Syiah Kuala (UNSYIAH), Universitas Mataram (UNRAM), Universitas Hasanuddin (UNHAS), Universitas Papua (UNIPA), Universitas Samudra, Universitas Belitung, Universitas Nusa Cendana, Universitas Pattimura, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB University), Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN), SEAMEO BIOTROP, and from the Mindanao State University, Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU TCTO) of the Philippines.

The Training Workshop was coordinated by Dr  Sri. S. Tjitrosoedirdjo and Dr Fabian Brambach. (sst, hcn).