The Missouri Botanical Garden  hosted a number of leading individuals and organizations in early May to evaluate and share information on how ethnobotany and economic botany can contribute to a greater global strategy for plant conservation.

“The role of this workshop is to determine what needs to be done to ensure the world’s wild plants species of known and potential importance are conserved for the future,” said Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, President of the Missouri Botanical Garden. “We are honored to host some of the leading individuals in the fields of ethnobotany and economic botany.”

In 2002, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Updates were made in 2002 with the goal of halting the loss of plant species by 2020 through the use of 16 specific targets. The Missouri Botanical Garden is active in international efforts to support the implementation of the GPSC on a worldwide scale. Additional information on the GSPC can be found on the CBD’s website https://www.cbd.int/gspc.

The workshop will offer leaders in ethnobotany and economic botany an opportunity to evaluate and share information to consider whether new international initiatives should be undertaken to further advance the goals of the GPSC. Dr. Rainer Bussmann will serve with Dr. Wyse Jackson as the co-chair for the workshop. Bussmann heads the Garden’s William L. Brown Center which is dedicated to the study of useful plants and their relationship between humans and the environment.  

Participants in the workshop include representatives fromRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden in China, Bioversity International in Italy, Hanoi University of Pharmacy and The New York Botanical Garden among others.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the three largest plant science programs in the world. The Garden’s work focuses its work on areas that are rich in biodiversity yet threatened by habitat destruction, and operates the world’s most active research and training programs in tropical botany. Garden scientists collaborate with local institutions, schools and indigenous peoples to understand plants, create awareness, offer alternatives and craft conservation strategies. The Missouri Botanical Garden is striving for a world that can sustain us without sacrificing prosperity for future generations, a world where people share a commitment to managing biological diversity for the common benefit. Learn more at www.mobot.org.