PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 4:29 PM by Luigi

Guggenheim Award Supports Ethnobotanical Study of Pohnpei

On May 4, 2005, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation held a reception to honor their new 2005 Guggenheim Fellows. Among the new fellows is Dr Michael J. Balick of The New York Botanical Garden, whose fellowship will support the preparation of a comprehensive manuscript on the ethnobotany of the Micronesian island of Pohnpei.

Working with local ethnobotanists, the Pohnpei Council of Traditional Leaders, The Nature Conservancy, The College of Micronesia, and other international and local groups, Dr Balick has been documenting people’s traditional uses of plants on the island for eight years. This data will be compiled into a complete synthesis of ethnobotanical knowledge of Pohnpei. The Guggenheim award will enable Dr Balick to produce a first draft of this manuscript in 2006, for publication in 2007.

Pohnpei, the highest and second largest of the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific, is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is one of the wettest and, until recently, most fully forested of the Caroline Islands. It contains the lowest elevation cloud forest in the world and is rich in rare and endemic species of plants and animals. The diversity of habitats, high rainfall, and deep weathered soils support more than 1,000 species of vascular plants.

Since the first botanist visited in 1822, botanical and ethnobotanical information gathering on Pohnpei has been uncoordinated and sporadic. Today, as in other parts of the world, much of traditional knowledge, including an understanding of biodiversity, and its use and management, is being lost as modern culture spreads around the world.

The book will contain introductory chapters on the botany of the island, agroforestry and food production, traditional forest management practices, traditional healing, ecosystem conservation, and the loss of specific knowledge about plants and their uses. This will be followed by an encyclopedic section on Ponapean flora, with detailed scientific nomenclature, common names, local and regional uses, and color photography. The book is planned to be the most detailed study of the traditional use of plants on any Micronesian island. It will support biodiversity research, conservation, and anthropological studies and be used in public health programs and local teaching. It will also help safeguard the intellectual property interests of the Pohnpei people.

Dr Michael J. Balick is a senior scientist, curator, and research director at The New York Botanical Garden. He is the Philecology Curator and Director of the Botanical Garden’s Institute of Economic Botany and Vice President for Research and Training. He is the author of numerous books and scientific papers in ethnobotany and plant systematics, and serves as an advisor and trustee on the board of a number of organizations dedicated to ethnobotany and herbal medicine. Dr. Balick serves as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, New York University, Yale University, and City University of New York. Internationally, he has established numerous collaborations between communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and institutions in the United States and Europe, all working towards the common theme of discovering plants with potential therapeutic uses and was recently awarded the Award for International Scientific Cooperation by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.



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PAPGREN coordination and support IPGRI ACIAR NZAID CTA SPC PAPGREN CEPaCT Click on the thumbnail to see a map of the locations of Pacific genebanks. Click here to download a regional directory of genebanks in the Pacific, including information on their location, contact details and holdings. PAPGREN partners Mr William Wigmore Director of Research Ministry of Agriculture Department of Resources & Development P.O. Box 96 Rarotonga Cook Islands Tel: (682) 28711-29720 Fax: (682) 21881 Email: cimoa@oyster.net.ck Mr Adelino S. Lorens Chief Agriculture Pohnpei Office of Economic Affairs P.O. Box 1028 Kolonia Pohnpei 96941 Federated States of Micronesia Tel: (691) 3202400 Fax: (691) 3202127 Email: pniagriculture@mail.fm Dr Lois Englberger Island Food Community of Pohnpei Research Advisor P.O. Box 2299 Kolonia Pohnpei 96941 Federated States of Micronesia Email: nutrition@mail.fm Mr Apisai Ucuboi Director of Research Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forest Koronivia Research Station P.O. Box 77 Nausori Fiji Islands Tel: (679) 3477044 Fax: (679) 3477546-400262 Email: apisainu@yahoo.com Dr Maurice Wong Service du Developpement Rural B.P. 100 Papeete Tahiti 98713 French Polynesia Tel: (689) 42 81 44 Fax: (689) 42 08 31 Email: maurice.wong@rural.gov.pf Mr Tianeti Beenna Ioane Head, Research Section Division of Agriculture Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development P.O. Box 267 Tarawa Kiribati Tel: (686) 28096-28108-28080 Fax: (686) 28121 Email : agriculture@tskl.net.ki; Beenna_ti@yahoo.com Mr Frederick Muller Secretary Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 1727 Majuro 96960 Marshall Islands Tel: (692) 6253206 Fax: (692) 6257471 Email: rndsec@ntamar.net Mr Herman Francisco Director Bureau of Agriculture Ministry of Resources & Development P.O. Box 460 Koror 96940 Palau Tel: (680) 4881517 Fax: (680) 4881725 Email: bnrd@pnccwg.palaunet.com Ms Rosa Kambuou Principal Scientist PGR NARI Dry Lowlands Programme Laloki Agricultural Research Station P.O. 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DIVA-GIS	Sunday, May 08, 2005 Posted 4:29 PM by Luigi Guggenheim Award Supports Ethnobotanical Study of Pohnpei On May 4, 2005, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation held a reception to honor their new 2005 Guggenheim Fellows. Among the new fellows is Dr Michael J. Balick of The New York Botanical Garden, whose fellowship will support the preparation of a comprehensive manuscript on the ethnobotany of the Micronesian island of Pohnpei. Working with local ethnobotanists, the Pohnpei Council of Traditional Leaders, The Nature Conservancy, The College of Micronesia, and other international and local groups, Dr Balick has been documenting people’s traditional uses of plants on the island for eight years. This data will be compiled into a complete synthesis of ethnobotanical knowledge of Pohnpei. The Guggenheim award will enable Dr Balick to produce a first draft of this manuscript in 2006, for publication in 2007. Pohnpei, the highest and second largest of the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific, is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is one of the wettest and, until recently, most fully forested of the Caroline Islands. It contains the lowest elevation cloud forest in the world and is rich in rare and endemic species of plants and animals. The diversity of habitats, high rainfall, and deep weathered soils support more than 1,000 species of vascular plants. Since the first botanist visited in 1822, botanical and ethnobotanical information gathering on Pohnpei has been uncoordinated and sporadic. Today, as in other parts of the world, much of traditional knowledge, including an understanding of biodiversity, and its use and management, is being lost as modern culture spreads around the world. The book will contain introductory chapters on the botany of the island, agroforestry and food production, traditional forest management practices, traditional healing, ecosystem conservation, and the loss of specific knowledge about plants and their uses. This will be followed by an encyclopedic section on Ponapean flora, with detailed scientific nomenclature, common names, local and regional uses, and color photography. The book is planned to be the most detailed study of the traditional use of plants on any Micronesian island. It will support biodiversity research, conservation, and anthropological studies and be used in public health programs and local teaching. It will also help safeguard the intellectual property interests of the Pohnpei people. Dr Michael J. Balick is a senior scientist, curator, and research director at The New York Botanical Garden. He is the Philecology Curator and Director of the Botanical Garden’s Institute of Economic Botany and Vice President for Research and Training. He is the author of numerous books and scientific papers in ethnobotany and plant systematics, and serves as an advisor and trustee on the board of a number of organizations dedicated to ethnobotany and herbal medicine. Dr. Balick serves as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, New York University, Yale University, and City University of New York. Internationally, he has established numerous collaborations between communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and institutions in the United States and Europe, all working towards the common theme of discovering plants with potential therapeutic uses and was recently awarded the Award for International Scientific Cooperation by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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