IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Southern African Plant Specialist Group

Group leadership

Ms Suvarna Parbhoo MOHAN

Co-Chair

I have extensive experience coordinating plant conservation projects with multiple institutions and stakeholders. Based in South Africa, I'm responsible for promoting citizen science species monitoring across the region. I have been working in the role of secretary for the Southern African Plant Specialist Group (SAPSG) since 2020 and became co-Chair in 2023 whereby I coordinate the activities of the members of the SAPSG. I have a particular interest in human capital development and mentoring young scientists in plant conservation work.

I have extensive experience coordinating plant conservation projects with multiple institutions and stakeholders. Based in South Africa, I'm responsible for promoting citizen science species ...

Ms Frances CHASE

Co-Chair

As Director of Programmes at the Namibian Nature Foundation (NNF), I lead a dynamic and multidisciplinary team working across six strategic areas: Community-Based Organisational Strengthening (CBOS), Combating Wildlife Crime, Freshwater and Inland Fisheries, Marine and Coastal Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture, and Sustainable Forestry. Our work centres on sustainable development and conservation by integrating community empowerment, and policy innovation. My passion lies in forestry and landscape-level conservation, where I focus on sustainable forest management, bridging biodiversity data gaps, and co-developing non-timber forest product (NTFP) value chains with local communities. I hold an MSc in Plant Diversity from Reading University and a degree in Environmental Science and Geography with an honours in Physical Geography from Rhodes University.

The mission of the Southern African Plant Specialist Group (SAPSG) is to assess the conservation status of plants endemic to Southern Africa and to ensure their sustainable use and adequate protection through mainstreaming of information pertaining to threatened plants into government policies and development planning.

Specialist Group work

The Southern African Plant Specialist Group aims to focus on the eastern part of its domain, ensuring that assessments for all species endemic to Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa are conducted and that Mozambican botanists are trained to conduct Red List assessments.