National herbarium of the Republic of Guinea
The Herbier National De Guinée (Index Herbariorum Code HNG.[1]) is the national herbarium of the Republic of Guinea. Attached to the Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry it was established in 2009 to house a collection of plant specimens found within the country.[2] Its mission is to research and conserve Guinea's botanical heritage and create a network of regional herbaria and botanical gardens and is responsible for contributing to the implementation of the Government's national research policy in the field of plant knowledge.[2] The number of specimens currently housed is 9800 plant and mycological specimens.[1] Since its foundation the HNG has partnered with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, a relationship which will continue until at least 2021.[3][4]
Projects
In 2013 HNG launched a Masters course in Biodiversity and Sustainable Development to address the lack of botanical courses in Guinea.[5]
in 2018 the national herbarium was lead in a project to select a nation flower for Guinea. A nationwide competition was held with citizens voting between critically endangered species. The winning flower, Vernonia djalonensis, now awaiting government approval.[6]
Other recent projects have included repatriation of data from overseas herbaria for use in IUCN Red List assessments for threatened species in Guinea through the BID programme (BID-AF2015-0042-NAC),[7] and identification of threatened habitats and Tropical important Plant Areas financed by the Darwin Initiative (project no: 23-002)[8]
References