Since the launch of the “Full-cover conservation plan of native plant species in China” in 2014 by the Chinese Union of Botanical Gardens (CUBG), much progress has been made. The participating 8 botanical gardens are on the way of achieving full coverage of native plant species conservation in their regions respectively.

At the mid-term meeting of the program on February 9, the participants reported their progress. They have assessed the status of endangered and threatened plant species in their respective regions and carried out field surveys based on the assessment inventory. The inventory was worked out by following the standard of endangered species by Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG): extinct in the wild (EW), critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), vulnerable (VU), least concerned (LC), and data deficient (DD).

The participating institutions are as following: XTBG, Kunming Botanical Garden, Guilin Botanical Garden, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Beijing Botanical Garden, Nanjing Botanical Garden Memorial Sun Yat-Sen, Shenyang Arboretum, and Turpan Desert Botanical Garden.

The pilot program is aimed to explore effective ways and means for protecting plant species in China, and improve capacity of botanical gardens to conserve native plant resources. After finishing the implementation of “Full-cover conservation plan of native plant species in China”, a book named “List of Chinese Native Plant Species” is expected to be published.

CUBG chairman Chen Jin speaking at the meeting