1. Background

The Protea Atlas Project (PAP), executed under the leadership of the National Botanical Institute, and funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEA&T) and WWF SA, has been one of the most comprehensive atlassing projects undertaken in South Africa. The ten-year phase of data collection, with the involvement of atlassers, came to an end in March 2001 but the processing of data and writing up the Atlas will continue. It is appropriate, at this stage, to evaluate the outcomes of the PAP and to provide an objective assessment of the added value obtained through the use of a relatively large number of amateur atlassers instead of a few dedicated scientific staff.

The Protea Atlas Project piloted the involvement of amateurs in plant data collection in South Africa. Historically amateurs have not been involved in plant research and conservation in South Africa. This project aimed to build skills among amateurs so that they could be capacitated to continue to contribute to both scientific and conservation related projects. Proteas were chosen as an appropriate group to initiate amateur involvement, as they are a suitably widespread plant group in South Africa and have considerable public appeal. Furthermore, the distribution of Protea species richness is strongly correlated with that of other major plant taxa making them good indicators of diversity patterns.

 The main objectives of the PAP were:

·        To stimulate public awareness and enjoyment in the veld, engender a conservation ethic and encourage participation in other conservation activities

·        Obtain distributional data to ascertain species distributions and conservation status

·        Obtain distributional and seasonal data on pollination, growth, flowering, fire-survival strategies and age to maturity, so that guilds of species requiring similar conservation strategies could be identified

·        Obtain data on threats to specific species such as alien invasives, agriculture and flower harvesting, so that priority conservation strategies can be ascertained.

The scope of this assessment was to consult with PAP staff and persons involved with the project in order to assess the extent to which the project fulfilled its aims, and to identify successes, limitations, and shortcomings of the project. This assessment aims to achieve the following:

·        Evaluate the effectiveness of PAP in conveying its conservation message to the general public

Who did it reach?

What did they learn?

What value was provided for atlassers? (e.g. access to remote areas, involvement)

·        Evaluate the effectiveness of PAP in providing training and new skills to conservation officials (note that this was not part of the original contract and only applies to the last 18 months of the PAP)

How many conservation officials attended training courses?

How have skills been used since officials attended courses?

How could this have been improved?

·        Determine how contributors to the project felt about their participation (i.e. was it worthwhile)

·        Determine what value the scientific community places on the importance of the PAP data for research and conservation planning (e.g. CAPE, VEGMAP, Lowlands conservation) and how PAP data contributed to the leveraging of additional funds (e.g. NSF funds).

·        Provide a cost-benefit analysis of the estimated cost of obtaining the same coverage using a few trained field botanists versus a group of unpaid atlassers

·        Identify any significant steps that could have improved the PAP given its goals and resources

2. Approach:

A series of interviews were conducted with the atlassers, the PAP staff, and the scientists and conservation planners who have and are in the process of using the PAP data. Wherever possible, face to face interviews were conducted but atlassers were sampled from around the country so telephone interviews were also conducted. A total of 34 interviews were conducted including:

·        15 experts (atlassers who submitted over 50 Sight Record Sheets)

·        10 novices (atlassers who submitted less than 50 Sight Record Sheets),

·        5 Conservation officials

·        4 Scientists

Further details of the project achievements were obtained by speaking to the staff of the PAP and by reviewing annual progress reports, Protea Atlas Newsletters, and the scientific papers already produced using PAP data.

3. Did the Protea Atlas meet its aims?

3.1 Primary objective

Interviews with atlassers indicate that, among active atlassers, the Protea Atlas was very successful at meeting its primary goal which was to stimulate public awareness and enjoyment in the veld, engender a conservation ethic and encourage participation in other conservation activities.

3.1.1.  Who did it reach and how much awareness was created?

During the course of the PAP, 478 people contributed data and PAP staff estimate that, with the addition of people who participated in atlassing teams, over 1000 people contributed to the project (excluding ancillaries who joined walks and trips). Of the atlassers who were interviewed, 70% said that their immediate families and friends had become more aware of Proteas and Fynbos through involvement in the PAP.

Table 1: Breakdown of groups involved in the Protea Atlas (% of total)

Occupation	Novices  (N = 383)	Experts  (N = 100)
Farmers	3	2
Reserve rangers and managers	23	22
Retirees	4	11
Students	10	7
Biologists, Lectures, Horticulturists	13	12
Other (e.g. Doctor, Engineer, Housewife)	26	31
Working for Water	1	0
Unknown occupation	20	14

The majority of the active atlassers were English speaking, white South Africans and many were retirees. Only a small proportion of atlassers were biologists (Table 1) indicating that the PAP was successful at involving amateurs in the collection of sound scientific data. Most atlassers, especially expert atlassers (those who collected over 50 Site Record Sheets), came from a range of professions not in anyway related to botany or conservation e.g. engineers, doctors, housewives, lecturers (category other in Table 1). Reserve managers and rangers also contributed significantly to the PAP and a reasonable proportion of both Novice and Expert atlassers were students.

The majority of atlassers were recruited by targeting special interest groups e.g. the Botanical Society, the Mountain Club, and the Wildlife Society of South Africa. Given this recruitment strategy, it is not surprising that most of the atlassers interviewed said that they did have an awareness of fynbos and conservation issues before they started atlassing. Nonetheless, a significant amount of additional awareness was created during the programme with all the atlassers who were interviewed reporting that they gained a significant understanding of conservation issues through the PAP, such as the threats facing fynbos. A sound understanding of Protea ecology was also obtained by many of the atlassers. More than 80% of interviewed atlassers stated that they became aware of the importance of fire cycles and the other ecological processes such as seed dispersal and pollination through the PAP. The atlassers identified the PAP staff, especially the scientific coordinator A. Rebelo, as the main source of their improved awareness. All atlassers interviewed commented on the wealth of information they learnt from A. Rebelo and some of the coordinators while in the field.

All atlassers interviewed, claimed to have developed valuable skills including observational skills, the ability to identify many of the Protea species, and an ability to work with maps.

In addition to the awareness created among atlassers, the PAP staff also contributed information on indigenous flora and conservation issues to a wider audience through:

·        The production of a comprehensive SASOL fieldguide to Proteas (two editions)  and 8 pocket guides to the Proteas of the different sub-regions

·        The publication of numerous popular and scientific articles e.g. in Getaway, African Geographic, Veld and Flora, and Plantlife.

·        The presentation of 150 talks and identification courses, and posters or displays at 68 flower shows around the country (Table 2).

Table 2: The number of talks and identification courses, and the number of flowershows where posters or other PAP material were displayed.

Year	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Identification talks  and id courses	9	17	15	15	13	4	3	14	35	21	4
Posters on display at flower shows	7	1	0	0	9	10	11	13	5	11

One of the key mechanisms used by the PAP to encourage amateur involvement and maintain enthusiasm was the publication of quarterly newsletters. Over the ten years, 52 newsletters were produced and all of the atlassers interviewed felt that these newsletters were important for providing information that kept them interested and motivated.

Atlassers commented that the PAP didn’t lead them to be become more involved in other organisations owing to the fact that most were already very involved in such organisations before starting atlassing. Nonetheless, atlassing did maintain and increase levels of passion for the environment and hence most members remained committed to their respective interest and activist groups.

3.2 Additional Objectives:

How successful was t he PAP in meeting its additional objectives to:

·        Obtain distributional data to ascertain species distributions and conservation status

·        Obtain distributional and seasonal data on pollination, growth, flowering, fire-survival strategies and age to maturity, so that guilds of species requiring similar conservation strategies could be identified

·        Obtain data on threats to specific species such as alien invasives, agriculture and flower harvesting, so that priority conservation strategies can be ascertained.

Over the course of the project, 58 811 Site Record Sheets were submitted, amounting to 244 068 records of Proteas. These records provided comprehensive data on the distribution and ecology of all the protea species, and with these data it will be possible to ascertain the conservation status of each species.

During data collection, the PAP staff provided constant feedback to the atlassers on what errors were made when filling in Site Record Sheets. This practice improved the quality of the data received by the project with the end result that after 10 years of data collection, an extremely comprehensive and reliable data set for Proteas now exists.

These data are considered by scientists to be one of the best data sets on species distributions in the world. Evidence to this fact is the value that the local and international scientific community places on the Protea Atlas data.

To date the Protea Atlas data has contributed to the following conservation plans:

·        The Cape Action Plan for the Environment, a systematic conservation plan for conserving representative biodiversity pattern and process in the entire Cape Floral Region

·        The Cape Flats Project to identify core remaining fragments of  natural vegetation on the Cape Flats

·        The C.A.P.E. Lowlands Programme to identify core remaining fragments of  natural vegetation in the CAPE Lowlands

·        The Working for Water Project for designing a management plan for the Riviersonderend Mountain Catchment Area

On the Theoretical Research side the Protea Atlas data has and is in the process of being used to:

·        Determine the effects of Climate Change on Proteas using Generalised Linear Modeling and climate models

·        Interpolating plant communities in the Fynbos Biome for the new Vegetation Map of South Africa produced by the NBI

·        Compile a phylogeny for the genus Protea and determine a biogeography of speciation for this genus

·        Determine the potential distribution of species before vegetation transformation took place using Bayesian Modeling techniques. This work is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Connecticut, USA.

The four scientists interviewed during this assessment stated unequivocally that the PAP data had been invaluable for their research. Two example of why this data is so important are given below.

 3.2.1.Protea Atlas data and climate change:

The Climate Change unit based at the NBI has been highly reliant on the PAP data to carry out their research in the past few years. Climate Change research requires using accurate georeferenced data, with a saturation of species distribution data so that reliable plant species ranges can be determined. There is no other plant database in South Africa where such accurate data exists. Climate Change researchers have used the PAP data to determine the ecological requirements of each Protea species and to model a current distribution envelope for each species. Using various climate change scenarios they are then able to determine how this envelope of required climatic growth condition will change i.e. to what extent ranges will change. Using the dispersal data collected for each protea species during the PAP they are then able to predict whether species will be able to disperse to their new predicted ranges. Current findings for the most extreme climate change scenario predict that by the year 2050 a third of all fynbos protea species could lose their range completely and only 5% could retain more than 2/3^rds of their range. These findings are being extrapolated to other Fynbos species.

3.2.2.Protea Atlas and the Cape Action Plan for the Environment:

The PAP data formed a vital component of the Cape Action Plan for the Environment (C.A.P.E.). This plan used surrogates for biodiversity called Broad Habitat Units (BHUs) as planning units. BHUs were used because there were insufficient data on species distributions for all of the vegetation units in the Cape Floral Region (CFR). The PAP data were used to check how reliable the Broad Habitat Units were as surrogates for species distributions in those habitats where Proteas do occur. The PAP data were also used as an additional planning layer to pick up important areas of Protea diversity that were not prioritised through the use of the Broad Habitat Units. C.A.P.E. has become the key conservation strategy for all conservation work in the CFR.

4. How effective was the PAP in providing additional skills to conservation officials?

Over the course of the project the PAP staff presented ca 22 atlassing courses to WCNCB and related organisations, including WESSA, Working for Water (mainly high altitude teams), and South Africa National Parks. Although no specific record of the number of people attending courses were kept, the PAP staff estimate that around 300 people were trained.

A substantial number of conservation officers, 90 novices and 22 experts, contributed data to the PAP, together accounting for around 1/5^th of the atlassers (Table 1.). Western Cape Nature Conservation Board considered this project important and senior level scientific management gave all reserve managers and field rangers instructions to atlas from the start of the PAP. Despite this request, involvement was not obligatory and ended up being concentrated in certain areas, especially the Swartberg, Kogelberg, Anysberg and Cedarberg regions.  Whether or not atlassing took place in reserves depended largely on the level of commitment and passion of the reserve managers and their willingness to train their reserve staff to atlas. One manager reported that more of his field rangers would have atlassed had the atlassing material been in Afrikaans, the language spoken by the majority of rangers.

Reserve managers and field rangers who were involved in atlassing throughout the project implementation reported that the skills they learnt have continued to be used. These mostly included getting to know areas of their reserves that had never been accessed before (these areas are still regularly visited), and learning to identify and observe Proteas and other plants. The PAP also introduced many previously animal-focused conservation officials to the world of plants. It generated awareness and enthusiasm for fynbos and other vegetation types where Proteas occur and an understanding of threats and their effects, e.g. the effects of frequent burning on Protea recruitment.

Additional funding obtained in the last 18 months of the project from the Table Mountain Fund was provided on condition that more training courses were given to conservation officials. As a result, the number of training courses given during this time increased. Despite this increase in courses, few active atlassers were recruited. Managers of teams attending courses reported that most conservation officials trained during this period were not able to atlas due to budget and time constraints, but that the courses did build important observation level skills among conservation officials.

With the major restructuring of WCNCB, some of the conservation officials originally employed by WCNCB have taken severance packages. Three of the managers interviewed, reported that the loss of these rangers combined with shrinking budgets, has meant that there are fewer officers in the field and therefore limited opportunities to use to the PAP training to maximum benefit.  One positive spin-off of shrinking budgets is that managers are developing tourism in their reserves to help increase income. Rangers are using the knowledge they gained from PAP courses to act as field guides for tourists.

5. What value was provided to the atlassers from atlassing and how did they feel about their contributions:

Of the 25 atlassers interviewed, 24 (96%) atlassed mainly because they enjoyed getting to places that they would otherwise never have visited and because it was an opportunity to learn about new fields e.g. Protea identification, Fynbos ecology and geology. Many atlassers commented that atlassing changed the way they looked at natural vegetation around them. Before joining the PAP, they never noticed the diversity or the complexities of interactions taking place in the vegetation around them. Atlassing literally opened their eyes! One atlasser, atlassed mainly because is was a social outing with other atlassers. Only five of the atlassers who were interviewed worked alone, the rest (80%) atlassed either on organised PAP field outings with A. Rebelo or one of the co-ordinators, or they atlassed in groups from their respective areas. 25% of the atlassers interviewed stated that a main factor that drove them to continue to atlas was that they felt they were contributing significantly to a worthwhile project; a project that was well thought out and designed, and one where the science behind the design was sound. All 25 atlassers interviewed felt that their efforts were well worth it. The constant feedback by PAP staff to atlassers after they submitted SRS´s and the recognition provided in the newsletters and during the Annual Atlas gatherings kept atlassers encouraged and motivated. Most importantly, all atlassers interviewed said that they thoroughly enjoyed the PAP. A few comments given by the atlassers are:

“It was a wonderful project that introduced us to a vast new world of plants and natural history”

“ The project was marvelous - the ideal thing to do with your retirement”

“I feel that my contribution to this project is one of the most worthwhile things I’ve done in my life.”

“ The PAP was very successful, I greatly enjoyed it and now that its over miss it terribly”

“ A brilliant project that got me seriously into botanising in my spare time”

6. Cost Benefit Analysis:

Based on information provided by A. Rebelo, a cost benefit analysis, of how much the PAP cost using Atlassers and how much it would have cost had full time staff been employed to gather data, is provided in Tables 3 and 4.  The analysis indicates that the difference in expenses incurred would have been marginal had full time scientists been involved instead of atlassers. The total costs incurred by the PAP were R 1,734,242 (Table 4). Under a model where two full time botanists with honours degrees were employed, the cost would have been ca R 1,408,868 (Table 5 5.). A. Rebelo estimates that a reasonable data input from this model would be that employed staff would have spent half their time in the field and half their time writing and working up data.  About 20-40 SRS per day would be reasonable input per (each SRS requiring a 500m walk - about 10 minutes.  Any increased efficiency would be taken up by time to and from sites).  This works out to between 200 and 400 SRS per person per month, or 400-800 SRS per month.  Under this model the project would have yielded somewhere between 48 000 and 96 000 SRS. The PAP realised 58 811 SRS and involved 478 atlassers. The differences in cost are thus not substantial when considering the amount of awareness created and the number of people (478) the project capacitated. 

Table  3: Summary of Expenses and income for PAP as reflected on Annual Progress Reports.

Year (Sept-Sept)	Salary	Daily Paids	Consultn	Travel & Subsistence (& Vehicles)	Capital Equipment & Vehicles	Running Expenses	Education & Training	Printing & Publicatn	Unallocat	NBI & UCT	DEA&T	WWF-SA	TMF	Other
1991	5619	1000	0	187	4887	1122	0	46194	0	41824	56000	25000	0	2458
1992	43790	1912	0	3689	18248	9104	416	50730	0	46471	74000	26000	0	6464
1993	59180	7200	0	16103	8098	12283	213	17024	0	51635	79800	15000	0	4192
1994	78603	1193	0	8155	1824	12892	210	12813	0	57372	152389	5700	0	6117
1995	76837	4991	0	28154	5836	18330	2105	27381	0	63747	42900	25000	0	3818
1996	82690	0	0	23408	12820	35385	1052	21771	0	70830	97800	39050	0	11072
1997	46195	0	0	1903	15600	25146	0	5170	0	78700	126198	89046	0	1876
1998	46491	0	0	3259	22243	45485	0	17274	0	87400	29526	89046	0	12872
1999	112716	0	0	30292	16728	38051	0	29493	0	97200	248536	147014	0	11009
2000	119839	0	0	80993	0	38724	0	28051	19574	108000	0	7000	235727	3797
2001	109102	0	6750	56129	0	32728	1500	13728	7629	120000	150400	0	209640	15745
TOTAL	781062	16296	6750	252272	106284	269250	5496	269629	27203	823179	1057549	467856	445367	79420
										(29%)	(36%)	(16%)	(16%)	(3%)
Sum Tots	1734242									2873371
Balance	261950

Table 4: Estimated costs associated with employing two scientists to collect data (versus a secretary and co-ordinator for an atlassing programme

Year (Sept-Sept)	Salary	Travel & Subsistence (& Vehicles)	Capital Equipment & Vehicles	Running Expenses
1991	5619	187	4887	1122
1992	43790	3689	18248	9104
1993	59180	16103	8098	12283
1994	78603	8155	1824	12892
1995	76837	28154	5836	18330
1996	82690	23408	12820	35385
1997	46195	1903	15600	25146
1998	46491	3259	22243	45485
1999	112716	30292	16728	38051
2000	119839	80993	0	38724
2001	109102	56129	0	32728
TOTAL	781062	252272	106284	269250
TOTAL	1408868