Introduction 

On the September 22, 2023, the National Herbarium of Benin was honored by the visit of Mr. Matthew CASSETTA, Executive Director (ED) of the JRS Biodiversity Foundation. The Bryoben project coordination team, the Director and members of the National Herbarium of Benin, researchers from other laboratories, ACCES NGO, and the media were present at this session. 

The National Herbarium of Benin team and other participants (Photo: Communication service of BryoBen Project)

The purpose of the meeting was to inform the ED on the progress of the Bryoben Project. Two talks were given: (i) the initial report of Bryoben project by the Principal Investigator, and (ii) overview on JRS Biodiversity Foundation by the ED. 

Activity 1: Presentation of the initial report of the BryoBen Project by the PI and presentation of the JRS Biodiversity Foundation by the ED

Presentation of the initial report of the BryoBen Project by Hospice

Presentation of the JRS Biodiversity Foundation by the ED

The talks were followed by a question-and-answer session, notably on the types of projects funded, the criteria for applicants, the application timeline, and much more, allowing participants to find out more about the foundation.

Activity 2: Visit to the laboratory and presentation of the equipment purchased for the implementation of the project. 

Matthew observing a bryophyte specimen collected during the field mission with the partners Lova Marline (Madagascar) and Terry Hedderson (South Africa) (Photo: Communication service of BryoBen Project)

Activity 3: Visit to the collections of the National Herbarium of Benin and the Botanical and Zoological Garden Edouard Adjanohoun of UAC. 

Visit of the collections of the National Herbarium of Benin by Matthew (Photo: Communication service of BryoBen Project)

Hospice (Left) and Matthew (Right) in the Botanical Garden of the University of Abomey-Calavi (Photo: Communication service of BryoBen Project)

Activity 4: Gift of a copy of the Analytical Flora of Benin as a token of thanks to the JRS Biodiversity Foundation.

Donation of the book "Flore Analytique du Bénin" to the DE JRS Biodiversity Foundation (Photo: Communication service of BryoBen Project)

Activity 5: Meeting with the Vice-Chancellor in charge of the University Research 

Matthew also met the Vice-Chancellor in charge of the University Research who welcomed and thanked JRS Biodiversity Foundation for the financial support. Other discussions were done on perspectives of future collaborations between JRS and University of Abomey-Calavi.

Family photo after session with Vice Chancellor. From left: Hospice DASSOU (Principal Investigator), Matthew CASSETTA (Executive Director, JRS Foundation), Aliou SAIDOU (Vice-Chancellor in charge of the University Research) (Photo: Communication service of BryoBen Project)

An important BryoBen project meeting was held on June 14, 2023, at the Conference of Polytechnique School of Abomey-Calavi (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin) to mark the official launch of the project. In total, 75 participants attended the project inception meeting (hybrid mode). Among those who joined virtually were Dr Lova MARLINE, from the Kew Madagascar Conservation Center, one of Bryophyte Experts of the project, and other students while physical attendance gathered the university authorities (Vice-Chancellor in charge of research, the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, the Head of Department of Plant Biology), the project team, students, Civil Society Organizations, stakeholders including media ‘’La Nation’’. 

The workshop was officially opened by the Vice-Chancellor in charge of University Research, Prof. Aliou SAIDOU after some keynote addresses successively delivered by the Project Coordinator (Dr. Hospice DASSOU), the Curator (Prof. Hounnankpon YEDOMONHAN) and the Director (Prof. Monique TOSSOU) of the National Herbarium of Benin, and the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques (Prof. Alice KPOTA HOUNGUE).

Official launch by authorities

Family picture with other participants

The details of their addresses are as follows:

1. Welcome Remarks and presentation of project: 

Dr. Hospice DASSOU, Project Coordinator, welcomed and thanked all the participants for their presence and engagement from the initial stage of the project. He also thanked JRS Biodiversity Foundation for the grant. Afterwards, he presented a brief overview of the project, rationale and the framework for the project formulation and the implementation mechanism.

2. Main keynotes

(i) Curator the National Herbarium of Benin 

He highlighted two main periods of plant inventory: (i) 1970-1997 where 10,000 plant samples were collected and (ii) 1997-2002 where 20,700 plant samples were collected. Today, the inception of the new project ‘‟Mobilizing and making data available for identification, taxonomy, socioeconomic importance, and conservation assessment of Bryophytes in Benin (BryoBen)” will add another milestone in plant conservation at the National Herbarium. 

The Curator giving his speech
 

(ii) Director of the National Herbarium of Benin 

She underlined the importance of this project as it will strengthen the human and material capacities of her institution. 

Director of the National Herbarium giving her speech

(iii) Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques 

She stressed the traditional importance of bryophytes for local people. She also informed that unfortunately, the lack of scientific data in Benin does not make it possible to exploit the full potential of these plant resources and to establish a policy for their responsible and sustainable management.

The Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques giving her speech
 

 (iv) Bryophyte Expert of the project

Dr. Lova MARLINE, congratulated the Benin team and the Prof. Terry HEDDERSON, the second Bryophyte Expert for this joint project. She also thanked JRS Biodiversity Foundation for the financial support and confirmed her availability for in the project implementation.

 (v) The participants 

They questioned on how to ensure their involvement in the implementation of the project. They added that, building the capacity in Bryology in Benin is essential for informed decision-making on prioritizing what interventions will be relevant for their context. 

The participants

The Executive Director of the NGO SOS Biodiversity

The Executive Director of the NGO NATURE Tropicale

3. Official launch 

Prof. Aliou SAIDOU, the Vice-Chancellor in charge of University Research, welcomed and thanked all the participants for their availability. He also thanked JRS Biodiversity Foundation for the grant. He highlighted that Biodiversity Inventory and Conservation is a teamwork, an everyone’s responsibility and collectively working together for the common goal can achieve more and make meaningful contributions to society in meeting the country’s goals and the aspirations.

Welcome speech of the Prof. Aliou SAIDOU, the Vice-Chancellor in charge of University Research