A project led by a team of Edinburgh botanists gets under way this month with the aim of helping Nepal develop a detailed catalogue of its extraordinarily diverse but threatened flora. With huge variation in altitude and environment, Nepal is one of the most plant-rich countries in the world with about 6,000–7,000 species.

The project Building Capacity for Plant Biodiversity, Inventory and Conservation in Nepal is funded by the British Government's Darwin Initiative. The project involves three partner institutes within Nepal: the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, the government's Department of Plant Resources, and the Department of Botany at Tribhuvan University.

High-tech technologies are being used to document a twenty-first century flora of Nepal. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) will be used to define the location and altitude of every specimen recorded. The team will also carry laptop computers, to record any botanical or other notes to accompany specimens, and digital cameras. The project has already trained 16 local botanists in Nepal to carry out the task.

The project is expected to complete in 15 years. It is a long period but when the project is finished the new floral record will be the first official account of Nepal's rich plant environment and an invaluable aid for conservationists. Although only funded for three years at present, the team hopes funds will be made available for the estimated 15 years it will take to complete the project.

Excerpts from Nigel Williams' article in Current Biology, Vol 15, Issue 24. December 24, 2005.