Identification services for Africa

Extract

I can say with absolute conviction that all taxonomic institutions in the world ought to welcome unreservedly the move that is proposed at this meeting, to expand taxonomic services in Africa. Speaking on behalf of my own organisation, the Centre for Overseas Pest Research, one of the Scientific Units of Britain's Overseas Development Administration, I can point out that we have since our foundation done our best, in the ways open to us, to help taxonomists in Africa as in all other parts of the world. COPR has as its brief the study of pests of agriculture, veterinary and public health, of regional importance in developing countries. We have a set of target pests and crops, and in general work within those limits. Two of our targets are grasshoppers and locusts combined, and termites, and for those we provide taxonomic service on a worldwide basis. More specifically, our staff have run or participated in training courses for groups and for individuals, to enable them to learn to recognise insect pests. Our training programmes have been at all levels, from technicians up to post-graduate specialists. Indeed, in the last few months we have had with us in my own research group in South Kensington Dr A. G. A. Salman from Assiut University, Egypt, and Mr Phillip Nkunika from the Livingstone Museum, Lusaka, Zambia, both working alongside our specialists to learn their expertise.