This programme was successfully completed four years later, laying the groundwork for a three-year follow-up programme, Empowering the rural poor by strengthening their identity, income opportunities and nutritional security through the improved use and marketing of neglected and underutilized species, which started in 2007. The foundation for these studies is a firmly held and increasingly recognized belief that biodiversity is important for people's lives, and that one way of protecting biodiversity is by supporting the use and appreciation of plant species