141-172 - SABONET

groups was often held up by a couple of boxes of
specimens needing translation of their data; the
company helps us all by allowing us to vent. We
have also obtained the assistance of Ms Anabela
Almeida in translating our Portuguese-English
labels.
Another notable milestone will be the publication
of our new species list, devotedly edited by Pat
Craven. This will be a boon to many biologists
working in Namibia and we already have a waiting
list for the limited number of copies we plan to
publish.
Our next most pressing need is for a researcher to
concentrate on the useful plants that are being
overharvested in Namibia at present, with
Harpagophytum procumbens being the worst
affected thus far. We feel that this rapidly growing
problem needs someone’s undivided attention
(although we would forgive them for looking at
effects of fire in the northeast of Namibia too).
Well, that’s it for now. Regards to all
SABONETers from us here at WIND.
Coleen Mannheimer
News from South Africa
Ted Oliver, from the
Compton Herbarium
in Cape Town (NBG
& SAM), received his
PhD from the University
of Cape Town
during June 1999. His
thesis was entitled
“Systematic studies
in the tribe Ericeae
(Ericaceae-Ericoideae)”.
Anna Fellingham
(also from NBG &
SAM) received an MSc at the same ceremony. Her
study was on inflorescences in the genus
Cliffortia.
Information supplied by Ted Oliver
SABONET News Vol. 4 No. 2 August 1999
Southern African Society of Aquatic
Scientists conference
The Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists
(SASAQS) held its 35th conference at
Swakopmund, Namibia, from 27 June to 1 July
1999. The delegates were from Namibia, South
Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya,
Uganda, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Belgium, the
United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
The theme of this years conference was research,
conservation, and the management of aquatic
resources in southern Africa. The scientific sessions
were held at the Auditorium of the Ministry
of Fisheries and Marine Resources and at one of
Swakopmund’s holiday resorts—the Alte Brücke
Conference Centre. The two auditoria were within
(brisk!!) walking distance of each other so it was
possible to attend presentation at either of the
parallel sessions.
The venue was idyllic—for us South Africans
(especially from Pretoria and Johannesburg) it was
wonderful to be in such a peaceful and friendly
town. The only hazard of walking between the two
venues was the “urbanised” pelicans who used the
street lights as their perches—it was advisable to
give the lamp posts a wide berth. Seeing these
wetland birds every day and hearing the waves
crashing against the rocks in front of the Fisheries
and Marine Resources building reminded one that
this whole conference was all about the management
of our wetlands in southern Africa.
The conference was officially opened by the
Namibian Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Mr Helmuth Angula. In his opening
speech he highlighted some of the institutions that
were actively involved in research on the aquatic
resources in Namibia and also water resources that
they share with neighbouring countries. Many of
their research efforts are envied by other countries,
especially in the field of fisheries research and
management, but they regard themselves as “data
poor” when it comes to fully understanding their
aquatic systems. This statement can be applied to
all the southern African countries, certainly from a
botanical point; we do not know what plants occur
in our wetlands. We all know that the plants in any
wetland are the primary producers and form a vital
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