Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is not only a kingdom of tropical plants but also a vital platform for international scientific exchange and cooperation. Since its establishment in 1959, XTBG has placed great emphasis on academic collaboration with the global science and technology community. Through extensive international partnerships, it has achieved high-quality development and earned a reputation as an international "science island."
XTBG has signed dozens of agreements covering various cooperative activities of mutual interest with numerous countries. It has been actively developing various kinds of collaborations with universities, botanic gardens and research organizations in developed countries like USA, UK, Germany, and France, such as scientific information exchange, exchange visit, joint investigation, joint laboratories, cooperative research, inviting foreign experts as advisors, and holding international workshops, etc.
XTBG particularly prioritizes building strategic relationships with developing countries, especially those in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos, in the fields of biodiversity research and personnel training.
XTBG has successfully organized and hosted several international conferences and workshops, including the “International Workshop on China-Laos Trans-boundary Biodiversity Management and Development,” the “International Symposium on Biodiversity Management and Sustainable Development in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin,” the “Regional Training on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Tropical Asia,” the Xishuangbanna International Symposia, and the Third Open Science Meeting (OSM) of the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER).
To promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in Southeast Asia, the Southeast Asian Biodiversity Research Institute (SEABRI) was established by CAS in Nay Pyi Taw in 2015, in collaboration with Myanmar’s Forest Research Institute under the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry. SEABRI has also set up offices in Lao PDR and Thailand to strengthen scientific research, capacity building, and personnel training between CAS and partners such as the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Lao PDR and Kasetsart University in Thailand.
SEABRI has conducted numerous large-scale field investigations in Myanmar and Laos, contributing significantly to biodiversity conservation in the region.
Moreover, XTBG leads major international scientific initiatives such as the "101° East Forest Belt Community Pattern and Formation" project and oversees a network of large-scale forest dynamic plots across the region—including sites in Thailand’s Sakaerat, Khao Yai National Park, and Klong Naka—which play a crucial role in studying climate change and ecosystem functions.
XTBG also serves as the base for the Global Research Network of Ficus and Fig Wasps and the Global Conservation Consortium for Dipterocarps.
XTBG hosts a diverse international community, with more than 100 international students from over 40 countries and regions pursuing degrees here. It also employs foreign staff and postdoctoral researchers. Since 2009, XTBG has continuously organized the Advanced Field Course in Ecology and Conservation Biology - Xishuangbanna (AFEC-X), which has attracted over 1,200 applications from 55 countries and trained participants from 39 nations.
In 2006, XTBG successfully hosted the Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) along with five satellite workshops in Kunming, China. In 2025, it won the bid to host the ATBC Annual Meeting again in 2026.
XTBG warmly welcomes communication and collaboration with international colleagues and is committed to advancing its work in scientific research, species conservation, and landscape development to even higher levels.
