Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) organized a discussion meeting in Beijing on March 12 to determine the best way to constructing the Chinese Union of Botanical Gardens (CUBG). CAS academicians Xu Zhihong, Hong Deyuan, and Chen Xiaoya, Director Yan Qing and deputy director Duan Ziyuan of CAS Bureau of Science & Technology Promotion and Development, and director Chen Jin of XTBG were present at the meeting.

Prof. Chen Jin, director of XTBG and chairman of CUBG, introduced the program assignment. Experts listened to report on implementation plan, task partitioning, time nodes, budgets, and management mechanism. After questioning and answering, the experts had serious discussion and filled out justification forms. The panel was composed of experts from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), State Forestry Administration, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Beijing University.

The Chinese Union of Botanical Gardens (CUBG) was officially launched on June 6, 2013. The State Forestry Administration, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly established the union to integrate plant protection plans.

The program of Chinese Union of Botanical Gardens (CUBG) is aimed at building an information-sharing system for all the member botanical gardens (including arboreta and medicinal botanical gardens) to use, and to encourage personnel exchanges among different botanical gardens.

The CUBG plans to conduct protection of native plant species in some pilot regions，organize participatory science popularization in botanical gardens, form and improve the ability of development, enhance capability of protecting native plant species, promote standardized construction and management of botanical gardens, improve informatization level of botanical gardens. Meanwhile, the CUBG will train and cultivate a batch of professional technical personnel to manage botanical gardens, increase public awareness of plant protection, so as to contribute to the development of ecological civilization.

XTBG director Chen Jin introducing CUBG program assignment

Expert panel