What we do: Past

EAFRINET was initiated by a group of dedicated Eastern Africa taxonomists who drew up a document that was subsequently signed and endorsed by the governments of the member countries. Fellowships have been provided for training in, for example, modern curation techniques, the taxonomy of various organisms, and the use and management of a web-based databases.

What we do : Present

EAFRINET has been actively involved in various regional and national taxonomic initatives in its portfolio

• The LOOP was the main driver behind the development of GEF proposal on the Botanical and Zoological Network for Taxonomy in Eastern Africa (BOZONET) to cover Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)
• EAFRINET is an active participant in the GEF funded International Pollinators project through FAO and the German funded BIOTA Project among others.
• EAFRINET is implementing the SWEDBIO funded UVIMA Project (mobilizing vital Taxonomic information to support Human Well-being and Ecosystem Health in Eastern Africa) focusing on alien invasive species, pests and pollinators in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Aspirations

• Create a network of institutions and people, providers and users of taxonomic information
• Build required taxonomic capacity and skills to identify, classify and understand the relationships between organisms that constitute the subregion's biodiversity
• Develop subregional taxonomic resources for the identification of organisms including pests and diseases, and access to information on these organisms
• Provide a subregional-wide taxonomic services to support national programmes for sustainable development and
• Reach out for collaborative activities with existing regional networks, e.g. the East African Community (EAC), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU) to meet mutual goals.