全 文 ：Safeguarding China忆s Botanical Heritage*
———BGCI忆s integrated conservation programme in China
Xiang鄄Ying WEN1**, Joachim GRATZFELD1, Sheng鄄Ji PEI2
(1 China Program Office, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Guangzhou 510520, China;
2 Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China)
Abstract: China忆s rich floral diversity includes more than 33 000 vascular plant species, representing approximately
10 percent of all known plant species. Over half of these species are endemic to China. However, China忆s rapid eco鄄
nomic development in the last 30 years and continuous population growth have seriously damaged plant resources in
the wild and the ecological environment, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of endangered species.
There are nearly 4 000 to 5 000 higher plants that are now threatened or on the verge of extinction. To help halt the
loss of Chinese plant diversity, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has developed a China pro鄄
gramme and opened its first office based in Guangzhou in 2008. This office works along with Chinese partners aiming
to secure Chinese plant diversity through integrated conservation approaches with reintroduction / population reinforce鄄
ment, engagement of local communities in conservation activities, capacity building in horticulture and environmen鄄
tal education and public outreach.
Key words: Integrated conservation; Capacity building; Reintroduction; Environmental education; Public outreach
CLC number: Q 16摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 Document Code: A摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 Article ID: 2095-0845(2011)01-080-05
Introduction
China忆s rich floral diversity includes more than
33 000 vascular plant species, representing approxi鄄
mately 10 percent of all known plant species in the
world. Over half of these species are endemic to
China. However, China忆s rapid economic develop鄄
ment in the last 30 years and continuous population
growth have seriously damaged plant resources in the
wild and the ecological environment, resulting in a
dramatic increase in the number of threatened spe鄄
cies. It is estimated that nearly 4 000 to 5 000 higher
plants are now threatened or on the verge of extinc鄄
tion (Huang, 2010).
The tremendous diversity of the native flora in
China and a strong history and interest in botanic
garden development within the country form the main
grounds for one of BGCI忆 s largest regional pro鄄
grammes of work. BGCI忆 s engagement in China
spans almost a decade of plant conservation action.
Initially, BGCI忆 s work mainly concentrated on ca鄄
pacity building for professionals from botanic gardens
and public education. A series of training courses in
botanical gardens management and plant conserva鄄
tion was held in various Chinese botanical gardens
and, through a collaboration with Kadoorie Farm and
Botanic Garden (KFBG-Hong Kong), a scholarship
programme was established in 2003.
Building from education and capacity building,
BGCI忆s China programme has expanded to also encom鄄
pass environmental policy and practical conservation
action. BGCI opened its first office in China in 2008 to
help halt the loss of Chinese plant diversity. A broad
overview of how we operate is provided by this paper.
A diverse conservation programme
At a policy level, BGCI supported the develop鄄
植 物 分 类 与 资 源 学 报摇 2011, 33 (1): 80 ~ 84
Plant Diversity and Resources摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 DOI: 10. 3724 / SP. J. 1143. 2011. 11014
*
**
Foundation item: BGCI忆S Program in China
Author for correspondence; E鄄mail: xiangying. wen@ bgci. org
Received date: 2011-01-20, Accepted date: 2011-01-25
ment and launch in 2008 of, China忆 s Strategy for
Plant Conservation (CSPC). This provides the over鄄
arching national guidance framework for the botanic
garden community and conservation organizations to
devise their plant conservation programmes. Increa鄄
singly, the Strategy enjoys support by a wide range
of organizations and institutions in China including
the corporate sector, thereby demonstrating a grow鄄
ing concern for safeguarding China忆s botanical herit鄄
age for future generations. From then on, BGCI忆 s
activities in China have concentrated on Targets 7,
8, 14, 15 and 16 of the CSPC. Operating through
this small office hosted by South China Botanical
Garden, CAS, BGCI忆 s China Programme works a鄄
long with numerous Chinese botanic garden members
and conservation partners (see Table 1) towards the
objectives of BGCI忆s Five Year Plan 2007-2012:
摇 摇 Securing plant diversity: Securing this rich
natural heritage through various collaborative actions
in areas linking practical field projects to maintain
species and ecosystem functions that provide a vital
basis for livelihoods of rural communities.
Enabling people and botanic gardens: Ca鄄
pacity building in horticulture, botanical gardens man鄄
agement, environmental education and public outreach
to enhance proficiency and capacity of stakeholders to
implement practical conservation initiatives.
Influencing decision鄄making and policy: Link鄄
ing practice and policy, as well as replicating and
scaling up successful conservation interventions.
Securing plant diversity
BGCI忆s practical efforts on conserving threat鄄
ened tree species mainly focus on Magnolias and Ma鄄
ples, groups of woody plants that have a high num鄄
ber of threatened and endemic trees in China
(Cicuzza et al., 2007; Gibbs and Chen, 2009). Cer鄄
tain other threatened tree species have also been se鄄
lected for conservation attention including represent鄄
atives of Euryodendron, Bretschneidera and Davidia.
Table 1摇 BGCI忆s current partners and projects in China, including priority species
(chosen for combined ex situ and in situ projects)
BGCI institutional partners Partner organizations involved in field conservation activities Threatened species of treeschosen for conservation action
Institute of Botany, CAS,
Beijing
Cangshan Mountain Protection & Administration Bureau, Dali,
Bai Autonomous Prefecture (BAP) Acer yangbiense, A. leipoense
South China Botanical Garden,
CAS, Guangzhou, Guangdong
1. Nan鄄kun鄄shan Nautre Reserve (NR), Longmen, Guangdong
2. Dongguan Institute of Forestry, Dongguan
3. Ehuangzhang Nature Reserve, Yangchun Forestry Bureau,
Guangdong
4. Shimen National Forest Park
1. Bretschneidera sinensis,
Magnolia longipedunculata
2. Bretschneidera sinensis
3. Eurodendron excelsum
4. Magnolia longipedunculata
Kunming Botanical Garden,
CAS, Kunming, Yunnan
1. Malipo Forestry Station
2. Wenshan Forestry Bureau
3. Cangshan Mountain Protection & Administration Bureau,
Dali, Bai Autonomous Prefecture
4. Yunlong Forestry Bureau, Caojian Forestry Station, BAP
1 & 2. Magnolia coriacea,
M. phanerophlebia
3. Acer yangiense
4. Woody flora conservation of
Zhi鄄Ben鄄Shan
Lushan Botanical Garden,
CAS, Jiangxi
Lushan Nature Reserve
Jiujiang City Forestry Institute
Ex situ conservation of threat鄄
ened Chinese Taxus
Hubei University for Nationalities,
Enshi, Hubei
1. Qizmeishan National Nature Reserve, Enshi, Hubei
2. Xingdoushan National Nature Reserve, Enshi Davidia involucrata
Yunnan Institute of Environmental
Science, Kunming, Yunnan Da鄄wei鄄shan National NR, Pingbian, Yunnan
Dipteronia dyeriana, Magnolia
odoratissima, M. aromatica
Kadoorie Farm and Botanic
Garden, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
Hong Kong Park
Kowloon Park
Training in plant conservation
techniques and botanic garden
management
181 期摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 Xiang鄄Ying WEN et al. : Safeguarding China忆s Botanical Heritage摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇
Recovery projects are designed in a novel way within
the Chinese context by linking ex situ and in situ
conservation activities. The principal activities have
included comprehensive field survey, propagation of
the targeted species in ex situ nurseries and subse鄄
quent re鄄introduction of young plants into the wild.
Institutionally, the work has involved collaboration
between botanical gardens, research institutes or
universities with organizations concerned with the in
situ management of plants, notably protected areas
agencies and forestry departments. In all cases ef鄄
forts have been made to engage with local communi鄄
ties. Table 2 summarises the recent progress made
in the conservation of the selected woody species.
BGCI seeks to promote the active involvement
of all relevant stakeholders in its conservation pro鄄
grammes. Local level stakeholder workshops are
held to help decide on and sanction appropriate con鄄
servation action. Fostering dialogue among local
communities as the ultimate natural resource custodi鄄
ans, and authorities from local to national levels (e.
g. protected area personnel, forestry department
staff) is considered essential to define locally appro鄄
priate conservation and management approaches.
BGCI supports its project experts from botanic gar鄄
dens to facilitate and strengthen this dialogue, capi鄄
talizing on both their botanical expertise and public
outreach skills.
Building on the work with single species rein鄄
troductions that involve local communities, BGCI is
exploring new opportunities for interventions that en鄄
deavor to meet both plant conservation and livelihood
development objectives. A task shared by every con鄄
temporary conservation organization, this entails the
conception and testing of novel functional links be鄄
tween species conservation and ecosystem manage鄄
ment that will both guarantee ecological services and
enhance human well鄄being.
Table 2摇 Summary of Progress Made in Ex Situ & In Situ Conservation between 2008-2010
Plant Species Location of Project Site Propagation ofSeedlings
Ex Situ
Planting Reintroduction
Bretschneidera sinensis Nan鄄Kun鄄Shan Nature Reserve 3 600 3 000 500
Taxus spp. Lushan Bot. Garden Arboretum 200 200 —
Eurodendron excelsum
1. South China Bot. Garden
2. Yunnan University
3. EhuangZhang NR
80
11 000
80
500
—
—
—
160
Dipteronia dyeriana Da鄄Wei鄄Shan NR 5 000 — 1 296
Magnolia odoratissima, Da鄄Wei鄄Shan NR 2 000 — 500
M. aromatica Da鄄Wei鄄Shan NR 500 — 120
M. hebecarpa South China Bot. Garden — 200 —
M. longipedunculata South China Bot. Garden 2 200 200
1 000 in Nan鄄Kun鄄Shan NR,
1 000 in Shimen National
Forest Park
M. angustifolia South China Bot. Garden — 200 —
M. ingrate South China Bot. Garden — 200 —
Davidia involucrata Hubei University for Nationalities 12 500 10 000 1 500 in Xindoushan NR and800 in Qizimeishan NR
30 spp. of Red listed plants
and ornamental plants from
Zhi鄄Ben鄄Shan Mt.
Kunming Botanical Garden 15 000 — 500
M. coriacea Kunming Bot. Garden — 1 500 174
M. phanerophlebia Kunming Bot. Garden 800 — 50
Acer yangbiense Kunming Botanical Garden 1 700 1 700
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Enabling people and botanic gardens
Advancement of conservation knowledge and
dissemination of related information is at the core of
BGCI忆s mission to engage its members and partners
in securing plant diversity. To the extent practica鄄
ble, BGCI works in China with botanic garden staff
and other conservation practitioners to promote the
latest plant conservation knowledge and techniques.
Through the BGCI鄄KFBG Travel Scholarship Program
for example, mid鄄level botanic garden staff have been
trained in concepts and techniques for native plant
conservation, ecological restoration, in vitro conser鄄
vation, ethnobotany and botanic garden management.
KFBG helps to develop professional relationships be鄄
tween the staff of botanic gardens and exchanges of
information on practical techniques. So far, 50 staff
from around 34 Chinese botanical gardens or conser鄄
vation organizations have been trained via this pro鄄
gramme. More broadly BGCI connects Chinese ex鄄
perts with botanic gardens worldwide through its
global network to facilitate continued capacity build鄄
ing in plant conservation鄄related disciplines.
BGCI has also been involved in training protec鄄
ted area staff. Working with Fauna & Flora Interna鄄
tional ( FFI ), BGCI provided a six day training
course in Huaping National Nature Reserve in Guan鄄
gxi province in December 2010, mainly focusing on
threatened plant conservation and monitoring skills
for protected area technicians. The course provided
training for 30 individuals from 21 nature reserves in
Chongqing, Hubei, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guan鄄
gxi Provinces.
Advances in environmental education and new
approaches to public outreach are also promoted and
are so important at a time of rapid global change.
BGCI works with its members and partners to en鄄
hance environmental awareness through a variety of
public outreach activities. These include the incor鄄
poration of conservation messages into signs and
printed materials, facilitation of web鄄based informa鄄
tion platforms, or support for the organization of ex鄄
hibitions, lectures and special events at botanic gar鄄
dens and other venues of public interest. Strong
public environmental awareness is key to a continu鄄
ally evolving conservation rationale, and to gaining
political support for its implementation.
Influencing global policy
China忆s Strategy for Plant Conservation (CSPC)
is the national response to the Global Strategy for
Plant Conservation ( GSPC) developed under the
Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD). BGCI
significantly contributed to the development of GSPC
and its revision that was adopted at the CBD Confer鄄
ence of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan in October
2010. BGCI continues to assists in the promotion and
further advancement of this globally important strategy
through various means. Case studies and examples of
best practice from China can be of great value inter鄄
nationally. This is of particular importance as BGCI
is developing an online global toolkit for the imple鄄
mentation of the GSPC with its new 2020 targets.
Table 3摇 Distribution of Conservation Promotional Materials during the local stakeholder workshops (2008-2010)
Target Plants Type of Materials No. of Prints No. of PublicDistribution
Bretschneidera sinensis Conservation Promotional Materials 800 630
Arboretum Transfomation Lushan Bot. Garden Public Education 640 420
Euryodendron excelsum Conservation Education 1 000 650
Dipteronia dyeriana & M. odoratissima, M. aromatica Conservation Demonstration Materials 900 700
4 Magnolia spp:
M. hebecarpa; M. longipedunculata; M. angustifolia; M. ingrate Conservation Materials 400 400
Davidia involucrata Conservation Materials 400 400
Zhi鄄Ben鄄Shan Mt. Woody Flora Conservation Woody Flora 1 500 500
BGCI鄄China Programmeme Brochure Programmeme Briefing Materials 4 000 2 500
381 期摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 Xiang鄄Ying WEN et al. : Safeguarding China忆s Botanical Heritage摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇 摇
Looking to the future 鄄 BGCI忆s China Pro鄄
gramme 2011-2013
Rapid global change presents a major challenge
in devising future biodiversity management respon鄄
ses. It calls into question established conservation
rationales and demands innovative thinking for sus鄄
tainable solutions to environmental problems. Cou鄄
pled with a still fast鄄growing population which legiti鄄
mately seeks to participate in the global economic
welfare, the pressure on biological resources in Chi鄄
na as elsewhere in the world is expected to persist
and with this our conservation conundrum. With
modest resources, BGCI continues to address this
challenge by working with botanic gardens and other
conservation institutions in China and abroad that
share a common concern for biodiversity and human
well鄄being. BGCI忆 s programme in China has re鄄
cently been subject to review. Based on this, BGCI忆s
actions and strategies for the future are designed to
explore new models of facilitating and implementing
adaptive changes in practice and policy that will
guide informed, cost鄄effective conservation action
and human development. Membership of BGCI忆 s
global network is open to all botanic gardens, the
business community and individuals who value plants
and the services they provide.
References:
Cicuzza D, Newton A, Oldfield S, 2007. The Red List of Magnoli鄄
aceae [R]. Fauna & Flora International, UK
Gibbs D, Chen Y, 2009. The Red List of Maples [R]. Botanic Gar鄄
dens Conservation Internaitonal
Huang H, 2010. Ex situ plant conservation: a key role of Chinese bo鄄
tanic gardens in implementing China忆s Strategy for Plant Conser鄄
vation [J] . BG Journal, 7 (2): 14—19
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