Chasing the African Dream

　　When Robert W. Gituru， a 32-year-old Kenyan researcher， embarked on a journey to the Far East topursue his doctoral studies in 1999， his ambition was tofurther his learning and experiencing Chinese culture. Butlittle did he realize what fate had in store for him.

　　Eleven years later， he is an associate professor of botanyand founding director of the Directorate of Sino-AfricanBiodiversity Resource Conservation， which was establishedat Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture andTechnology (JKUAT) in 2010.

　　Chinese connection

　　When Gituru planned to further his studies abroad in the1990s， he had opportunities to travel to Europe or theUnited States， but instead he chose to study in China， becauseChina， like Kenya， was a developing country. “Chinais quite different from those developed countries， and Ithink I can relate my Kenyan experience more closely withmy experience in China，” he said.

　　Yet， he didn’t expect that he would be rejected by manygraduate schools he applied to， as he could not speak theChinese language. He was eventually enrolled for doctoralresearch at Wuhan University with the help of professorWang Qingfeng， who later became his tutor.

　　Gituru feels that meeting Wang was an act of God， andappreciates his help， encouragement and guidance. “It wasWang who guided and inspired me in the studies of biodiversity，”Gituru said， adding that he learned determinationand persistence from Wang. “Every time when things weredifficult， or research looked like it would never yield results，my tutor would say， try it again or let’s do it again. Heencouraged me a lot.”

　　After three years of study， Gituru graduated from WuhanUniversity in 2002. He returned to Kenya and becamea lecturer in the Department of Botany at JKUAT.He fully understood and shared Wang’s passion forpromotion of joint research in biodiversity conservationbetween China and Africa. He was also well versed withChina’s accumulated knowledge on flora. Once back inKenya， he maintained close contact with Wang， who iscurrently assistant director of the Wuhan Botanical Garden(WHBG) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).Their joint efforts accelerated the process of cooperation.In 2010， WHBG and JKUAT formally signed a collaborativeagreement and established the Directorate ofSino-African Biodiversity Resource Conservation. Giturubecame the founding director.

　　Conserving biodiversity

　　While in China， Gituru had learned first-hand the benefitsof biodiversity when he studied the sweet wormwoodplant that grows wild throughout China and can beused to treat malaria. The plant’s extract has been madeinto medicine and is now saving thousands of people’slives throughout Africa. “I was motivated to do research inbiodiversity， as it can bring immense benefits to humanlife，” he said.

　　“Nature has endowed upon Africa one of the richestbiodiversity in the world. My dream is that my generationwill not be the generation that destroys that gift， butthe one that preserves it for the future generations，” saidGituru.

　　Gituru feels biodiversity conservation is critically importantfor Kenya， as “agriculture and tourism， the two pillarsof the economy， are heavily dependent on biodiversity.”

　　Apart from conserving plants， Gituru explains that hehopes the research in biodiversity can boost the developmentof African countries and bring benefits to the Africanpeople. “From our biodiversity we can develop productsthat can be commercialized. We conserve biodiversity notjust to have plants， but also use them to improve humanlife， because plants not only have ornamental value， butalso have medicinal and commercial value，” he said.

　　In addition， biodiversity conservation also has culturalvalue， as African culture is closely intertwined with biodiversity.

　　According to Gituru， almost every community inAfrica has its own sacred trees under which they conductreligious rituals. “If we fail to conserve biodiversity， suchtrees will disappear， and our own culture will be eroded，”he said.

　　Gituru believes that there is great potential for cooperationin biodiversity conservation between Kenya andChina， because both are developing countries and facesimilar challenges in biodiversity conservation.

　　Currently， Chinese and Kenyan researchers are workingon a joint research endeavor. Cooperation started withfield work， and is progressing through laboratory analysis，to the final publication of the group’s research findings.

　　“We share our strengths and weaknesses， exchangeideas and then cooperate to publish papers to disseminateour findings，” Gituru said.

　　Building capacity

　　“Chinese researchers not only conduct joint researchwith us in biodiversity conservation， but also pass on theirknowledge and skills to Kenyans， so that we are betterplaced to conduct research by ourselves in the future.

　　Kenya can benefit greatly from the cooperation.” he said.“Capacity building is critical，” Gituru said. “In Africa，many projects collapse after foreign supporters withdraw，because there is no trained manpower to carry on. It’s aterrible waste of resources，” he said. “From the onset， theChinese researchers from CAS involved in the biodiversityproject have insisted on training of both old and youngAfrican researchers and technicians， to ensure continuity.”

　　Biodiversity conservation is field-based rather thanclassroom-based. Hence， field research， in Gituru’s opinion，is the ultimate teaching technique， as it allows more experiencedresearchers to share their knowledge with theiryounger colleagues. Under the current research projectthat began in 2011， eight joint field research expeditionshave been conducted across Kenya focusing on biodiversitydocumentation and identification. The sites ofthese expeditions have included Mount Kenya， AberdareNational Park， Nngaongao Forest， Kilimambogo Forest andseveral other locations.

　　Laboratory techniques play a big role in botanicalstudies. In 2011， Gituru joined a group of researchers fromseveral African countries including Kenya， Malawi， Rwanda，Tanzania and Zambia， who traveled to China for a trainingcourse in modern laboratory techniques. “Since in Kenyaand in Africa in general we lack sufficient equipment andresources， this project has been very helpful for Africanresearchers and has offered them the rare opportunity tolearn the latest laboratory techniques，” he said.

　　Researchers at the Directorate of Sino-African BiodiversityResource Conservation can now identify plants moreaccurately using advanced technology including molecularmarker techniques and genetic diversity analysis.

　　Talking about his future plans as the institution’s director，Gituru said he hopes that the Directorate of Sino-AfricanBiodiversity Resource Conservation can develop to bethe focal point for Sino-African cooperation in biodiversityconservation.

　　He said that although African countries have in thepast lagged behind in biodiversity research， they are nowmaking great strides with China’s help. “My dream forthe future is that a time will come when our biodiversityresearch will be at the same level as that of the developedcountries，” he said.