The Bolivian Darwin Project

From 2002 to 2006 Oxford has collaborated with four Bolivian herbaria in a project funded by the Darwin Initiative to investigate plant endemism in the central Andean valleys of Bolivia. The project involved field and herbarium work in Bolivia and UK with significant inter-institutional collaboration, particularly with the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. Around 5000 specimens were collected and deposited in Bolivian herbaria at Kew.

Project outputs

• The discovery of many new, endemic species in a wide range of families. Some of these have already been published while others are under active research with a view to publication.
• Scientific publications by Bolivian colleagues as a result of project training in Bolivia and the U.K. including papers on Mimosa, Acacia, Scutellaria, Eryngium, Gomphrena and Iridaceae
• Report for the Bolivian authorities with recommendations for additional conservation areas in the Inter-Andean valleys.
• Databasing of all material collected through the project using BRAHMS.
• A series of posters prepared from original paintings for use in schools together with an associated teachers guide with the aim of increasing knowledge and conservation consciousness amongst younger Bolivians.
• A full colour field guide illustrating over 500 species is obtainable from our Bolivian collaborators listed below. This aims to make the flora of the inter-Andean valleys accessible to wider audience.

Collaborating Institutions in Bolivia

• Herbario Nacional de Bolivia (LPB), Casilla 10077, La Paz. E-mail.
• Herbario Forestal Nacional “Martin Cardenas” (BOLV), Casilla 538, Cochabamba. E-mail.
• Herbario del Oriente Boliviano (USZ), Casilla 2489, Santa Cruz. E-mail.
• Herbario de Chuquisaca (HSB), Casilla 1046, Sucre. E-mail.