Lifestyle

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

Eleven years later, he is an associate professor of botany and founding director of the Directorate of Sino-African Biodiversity Resource Conservation, which was established atKenya's Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in 2010.

Chinese connection

When Gituru planned to further his studies abroad in the 1990s, he had opportunities to travel to Europe or theUnited States, but instead he chose to study inChina, becauseChina, likeKenya, was a developing country. "Chinais quite different from those developed countries, and I think I can relate my Kenyan experience more closely with my experience inChina," he said.

Yet, he didn't expect that he would be rejected by many graduate schools he applied to, as he could not speak the Chinese language. He was eventually enrolled for doctoral research at Wuhan University with the help of professor Wang Qingfeng, who later became his tutor.

Gituru feels that meeting Wang was an act of God, and appreciates his help, encouragement and guidance. "It was Wang who guided and inspired me in the studies of biodiversity," Gituru said, adding that he learned determination and persistence from Wang. "Every time when things were difficult, or research looked like it would never yield results, my tutor would say, try it again or let's do it again. He encouraged me a lot."

After three years of study, Gituru graduated from Wuhan University in 2002. He returned toKenyaand became a lecturer in the Department of Botany at JKUAT.

He fully understood and shared Wang's passion for promotion of joint research in biodiversity conservation betweenChinaand Africa. He was also well versed withChina's accumulated knowledge on flora. Once back inKenya, he maintained close contact with Wang, who is currently 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 collaborative agreement and established the Directorate of Sino-African Biodiversity Resource Conservation. Gituru became the founding director.

Conserving biodiversity

While inChina, Gituru had learned first-hand the benefits of biodiversity when he studied the sweet wormwood plant that grows wild throughoutChinaand can be used to treat malaria. The plant's extract has been made into medicine and is now saving thousands of people's lives throughout Africa. "I was motivated to do research in biodiversity, as it can bring immense benefits to human life," he said.

"Nature has endowed upon Africa one of the richest biodiversity in the world. My dream is that my generation will not be the generation that destroys that gift, but the one that preserves it for the future generations," said Gituru.

Gituru feels biodiversity conservation is critically important forKenya, as "agriculture and tourism, the two pillars of the economy, are heavily dependent on biodiversity."

Apart from conserving plants, Gituru explains that he hopes the research in biodiversity can boost the development of African countries and bring benefits to the African people. "From our biodiversity we can develop products that can be commercialized. We conserve biodiversity not just to have plants, but also use them to improve human life, because plants not only have ornamental value, but also have medicinal and commercial value," he said.

In addition, biodiversity conservation also has cultural value, as African culture is closely intertwined with biodiversity. According to Gituru, almost every community in Africa has its own sacred trees under which they conduct religious rituals. "If we fail to conserve biodiversity, such trees will disappear, and our own culture will be eroded," he said.

Gituru believes that there is great potential for cooperation in biodiversity conservation betweenKenyaandChina, because both are developing countries and face similar challenges in biodiversity conservation.

Currently, Chinese and Kenyan researchers are working on a joint research endeavor. Cooperation started with field work, and is progressing through laboratory analysis, to the final publication of the group's research findings.

"We share our strengths and weaknesses, exchange ideas and then cooperate to publish papers to disseminate our findings," Gituru said.

Building capacity

"Chinese researchers not only conduct joint research with us in biodiversity conservation, but also pass on their knowledge and skills to Kenyans, so that we are better placed to conduct research by ourselves in the future.Kenyacan 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 a terrible waste of resources," he said. "From the onset, the Chinese researchers from CAS involved in the biodiversity project have insisted on training of both old and young African researchers and technicians, to ensure continuity."

Biodiversity conservation is field-based rather than classroom-based. Hence, field research, in Gituru's opinion, is the ultimate teaching technique, as it allows more experienced researchers to share their knowledge with their younger colleagues. Under the current research project that began in 2011, eight joint field research expeditions have been conducted acrossKenyafocusing on biodiversity documentation and identification. The sites of these expeditions have included Mount Kenya, Aberdare National Park, Nngaongao Forest, Kilimambogo Forest and several other locations.

Laboratory techniques play a big role in botanical studies. In 2011, Gituru joined a group of researchers from several African countries includingKenya,Malawi,Rwanda,TanzaniaandZambia, who traveled toChinafor a training course in modern laboratory techniques. "Since inKenyaand in Africa in general we lack sufficient equipment and resources, this project has been very helpful for African researchers and has offered them the rare opportunity to learn the latest laboratory techniques," he said.

Researchers at the Directorate of Sino-African Biodiversity Resource Conservation can now identify plants more accurately using advanced technology including molecular marker techniques and genetic diversity analysis.

Talking about his future plans as the institution's director, Gituru said he hopes that the Directorate of Sino-African Biodiversity Resource Conservation can develop to be the focal point for Sino-African cooperation in biodiversity conservation.

He said that although African countries have in the past lagged behind in biodiversity research, they are now making great strides withChina's help. "My dream for the future is that a time will come when our biodiversity research will be at the same level as that of the developed countries," he said.

∗ liujian@chinafrica.cn