The Agricultural Research Council (ARC), in partnership with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), through the Biodiversity Economy and Sustainable Use Directorate in the Biodiversity and Conservation branch, is implementing Output 1.2 (Bioprospecting Research and Development in the Northern Cape is supported, boosting the local bioprospecting economy and establishing a strategically located 'Bioproducts Development Hub') of the United Nations Development Programme-Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) funded project entitled 'Development of Value Chains for Products derived from the Genetic Resource in compliance with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing and the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy' Project number: PIMS #5686.
This output seeks to establish a Bioprospecting Research and Development Hub in the Northern Cape Province to boost the local bioprospecting economy in the Province. The R&D Hub will focus on germplasm collection, characterisation and maintenance, as well as propagation and cultivation research aimed at developing techniques/technologies to be implemented in local communities interested in cultivating selected priority indigenous species.
The distribution of many indigenous medicinal plants is declining due to habitat loss, amongst other factors, which is mainly caused by the expansion of land use for agricultural, settlement, and other developmental purposes. The increasing harvesting pressure is exacerbating the population decline, especially in the case of species where the underground parts are unsustainably harvested.
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Cancer bush
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