LESSONS LEARNED BY THE INTERNATIONAL NEEM NETWORK

Many achievements have been obtained by the International Neem Network. They include the establishment of more than 30 provenance trials with a common set of provenances representing the full range of the distribution of the species, and successful exchange of seed and of information, experiences and knowledge between more than 20 countries. This constitutes a basic pool of materials, knowledge and know-how that can pave the way to further developments in conservation, tree selection and improvement, and plantation establishment. Capturing the potential offered by neem is a contribution to the overall development and to meeting the requirements of rural people.

Possible reasons for success include:

• Problems and requirements are identified and shared by all collaborators, allowing the finalisation of common, realistic, agreed upon objectives.
• The enthusiasm and dedication of individual collaborators have never diminished.
• The principles have been agreed among collaborators as one of the first steps taken by the network.
• All partners have been identified properly (e.g. relevant national institutes, research institutes, regional and national organisations).
• Many personal contacts and very good collaboration between institutes, regional projects, national and international organisations, NGOs have helped the network function in harmony.
• Frequent meetings have been held to get an overview of the status and progress of work in each country, to exchange information and experience, to discuss and eventually agree upon the next operations to be undertaken.
• This step-by step, pragmatic and realistic approach has been recognised and appreciated by many collaborators.
• The many booklets and practical guidelines have streamlined the procedures; few serious problems have been recorded during implementation.
• All data and information have been thoroughly documented. This is extremely important as provenance testing is a long term task which results rely on precise and accurate records of operations and activities.
• FAO has provided a neutral forum for the exchange of information, experience and know-how; the framework of the international organisation has contributed to smoothen initial difficulties due to language barriers.

The key constraints identified have been the following:

• It has been difficult to get financial support for all activities that collaborators were keen to undertake; even funding of core activities had to be provided at short notice. The Network is grateful to various projects and programmes for their contribution.
• Communication between countries can be a lengthy and difficult process. The Network has collaborators from English, French and Spanish speaking countries. The Network quickly decided to use only two languages, namely French and English, as communications with the Centre de Majoramiento Genetico de Semillas Forestales of Nicaragua the only Spanish speaking country, could be held in English. Translation and interpretation are expensive and time consuming operations.
• Travel costs for participants in meetings, training courses etc. are high when the Network is operating at a global scale.
• The end uses and also the importance of neem differ from country to country. Therefore, the Network needs to be flexible in order to accommodate all collaborators with different interests and capacities. Flexibility is also needed to accommodate new members, and to take new requirements and needs into consideration.

The International Neem Network has been active for 6 years. After a promising and successful start, it now faces new challenges such as the conservation of genetic resources and the selection, improvement and breeding of neem. Considering the under-utilised potential offered by the multipurpose tree, further work could be realised within the framework of the International Neem Network and in collaboration with other institutions and programmes. All information, knowledge, methods and skills are now assets of the collaborators who will decide the next steps. The guiding principle in the activities of the International Neem Network is that full responsibility rest with the Network collaborators. The majority of the activities is undertaken using the collaborators own funds and the activities are to a large extent integrated into the work programme of the organisation. This guiding principle is thought to be a key factor in the long term sustainability of the Network.