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MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN HOSTS WORKSHOP ON WORLD ETHNOBOTANY AND ECONOMIC BOTANY

(ST. LOUIS): The Missouri Botanical Garden will host a number of leading individuals and organizations this week 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 from Royal 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.

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NOTE: Digital images available by request or via Flickr. Download media materials at www.mobot.org/media. 

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 154 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis, just south of I-44 at Vandeventer-Kingshighway (exit #287B). Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Closed Christmas Day. Grounds open at 7 a.m. most Wednesdays and Saturdays (exception: special admission rate events). Admission is $8; free children ages 12 and under and Garden members. St. Louis City and County residents are $4 and free most Wednesdays and Saturdays until noon (exception: special admission rate events – third weekend of May, Memorial Day 2012, Labor Day weekend and first weekend of October). Park for free on site and two blocks west at the Shaw-Vandeventer intersection. The Garden is accessible via public transportation by taking the MetroLink commuter rail line and picking up a Metro bus (www.metrostlouis.org). For general information, log on to www.mobot.org or call the 24-hour recording at (314) 577-5100 or 1-800-642-8842. For membership information, visit www.mobot.org/membership call (314) 577-5118 during weekday business hours. For volunteer opportunities, visit www.mobot.org/volunteer or call (314) 577-5187. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a tobacco-free environment.