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TOWARDS THE FLORA OF MALAYSIA<br />

For the Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak we have also worked out the rates using similar<br />

formulation (Table 8). The project with 5 full-time staff will take over twelve years to complete.<br />

Table 8. Revision rates based on about 2,500 species of tree species for the Tree Flora of<br />

Sabah and Sarawak<br />

Number of Full-time Staff<br />

5 10 15 20<br />

Revision 20 25 12.5 8.3 6.3<br />

Rates/ 30 16.7 8.3 5.6 4.2<br />

Staff/ 40 12.5 6.3 4.2 3.1<br />

Year 50 10 5 3.3 2.5<br />

60 8.3 4.2 2.8 2.1<br />

FINANCES AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT<br />

One of the constant challenges in any flora project is to ensure long-term commitment and<br />

sustainability in funding for the continuity of project. Projects are financed in fixed timeframe,<br />

e.g., it is fortunate that we have funding for 5 years for the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia.<br />

Following which it is often difficult to obtain extension. The Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak<br />

project went through a number of funding changes over the last 15 years — ODA, ITTO,<br />

Government of Malaysia until 2006 (Intensification of Research and Development Priority<br />

Areas (IRPA) funding), the IRPA funding ceased in 2006 and from then on, the project is<br />

dependent on research development fund from the Ninth Malaysian Plan for the next five<br />

years. In future, we are not certain how we can continue but it is up to the project to develop<br />

different ways to maintain the funding continuity. It is therefore important that such a project<br />

must have strong institutional commitment, failing which it would be almost impossible to<br />

secure continuity in finances and manpower commitment. Similarly, we expect the Flora of<br />

Peninsular Malaysia to go through different funding challenges as the project develops. We<br />

are fortunate that for the first five years we have quite generous funding coming from IRPA.<br />

It is essential funding bodies would want to see good products from the project. There is a<br />

need to be creative in selling the products from the project outside the standard flora volumes<br />

which projects like this deliver. More innovative methods must be used to make the results of<br />

the projects become pertinent or relevant to both national and scientific needs.<br />

The Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak now has produced five volumes, FRIM is currently<br />

making information from the project available in the internet thus disseminating the results of<br />

the project to the wider public. The Flora of Peninsular Malaysia is being implemented together<br />

with a conservation project of threatened plants of Peninsular Malaysia, thus extending the<br />

taxon information with distribution to be used in conservation.<br />

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