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Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL)

Data being entered into SEPASAL at the National Museums of Kenya, the first of two SEPASAL nodes established in 2002. Photo: Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, National Museums of Kenya.

SEPASAL, the world’s most comprehensive online source of information on useful ‘wild’ and semi-domesticated tropical and subtropical dryland plants, began in 1981 with the intention of becoming a “world-wide data bank on economic plants, bringing together scattered published information … into a usable source of information”.  SEPASAL documents uses and related properties of more than 6,700 species.  Data are recorded using Taxonomic Databases Working Group standards (e.g. uses, distribution) and in other searchable data fields (e.g. environmental data), supplemented by extensive free-text notes.  Individual data items are referenced wherever possible.

SEPASAL went ‘live’ on the internet in 1999.  Users register once, then have free access.  They include international aid and development organisations, government departments and NGOs engaged in sustainable use and conservation programmes.  SEPASAL is used to identify target species for germplasm collection in the Millennium Seed Bank Project.

The internet has brought a step change to data accessibility and dissemination.  For example, in 1995 (pre-internet), 63 reports were prepared by staff in response to enquiries, whereas in 2004 over 1,000 species data sheets were downloaded by external users of SEPASAL’s web interface.  Since 2002, summary information has been available via ePIC, external searches rising from 73,155 in 2003 to over 133,000 in 2005, and over 110,000 in the first four months of 2006 taking into account web “crawlers”.  SEPASAL staff continue to respond to enquiries on dryland species from individuals and NGOs who may not have ready access to the internet, or where more specialist information (requiring further library research) is required.

SEPASAL at Kew cannot, on its own, realise the goal of providing all data on all uses of tropical dryland plants.  However, recently established nodes in Africa (the main focus of SEPASAL’s work) at the National Museums of Kenya (in 2002) and the National Botanical Research Institute of Namibia (2004), demonstrate the potential of such partnerships for expanding data capture and regional dissemination.  Using Global Editing software, developed at Kew to enable remote users to edit and contribute data to SEPASAL, nine local staff are employed at the nodes to assist with data research, validation and input.  They also provide direct lines of communication with local conservation and development organisations (e.g. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and Millennium Seed Bank partners in Kenya and Namibia, and Centre for Research Information Action in Africa (CRIAA) in Namibia), schools (e.g. Arya High School in Nairobi), farmers, and community groups.  The target is to update information on 600 Namibian and 1500 East African species by the end of 2006 and 2007, respectively.  Moreover, links with PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), for which SEPASAL is a data source, ensure that text-based PROTA species overviews can supplement the detail provided by SEPASAL and vice-versa.

The future lies in maintaining and strengthening links with existing country nodes and developing new ones.  Achieving greater efficiency of data capture, and building capacity in developing country partner institutes, will enable nodes to establish their own identities within a SEPASAL network.  Subject to demand, SEPASAL software may be adopted and adapted by those working elsewhere and in other biomes.

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