AIBIS embarks on a taxonomy exercise in its conservation area in Kyankwanzi District. 

The African Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (AIBIS), has embarked on an exercise of identifying and documenting all the plant species (taxonomy) on its reserved conservation area in Kiranganzi and Kigoma villages in Kyankwanzi District. 

The Executive Director Allan Kalangi said that the taxonomy/plant catalogue exercise is aimed Identifying and naming the different species in the conservation area to provide a point of reference for those interested in conserving them or using them for social and economic purposes. 

“We want to Identify species that are mostly threated by extinction due to human activities or climate change and we get best ways of conserving them,” Kalangi said.

“We are also interested Identifying and documenting the medicinal values of the different plants in the conservation area so that conserving them remains a top priority of the target host communities,” he added. 

The exercise is being done in a participatory manner where qualified botanists are working hand in hand with local community members highly knowledgeable about the plant species in their locality.

By the end of the exercise, a complete plant catalogue will be produced and availed to members of the public at the AIBIS Agroecology Demonstration Farm in Kyankwanzi district. The findings of the study will be partly used to boost the reforestation exercise that AIBIS and its community partners have already embarked on.