Conserving wild plants for food and medicine - the work of botanic gardens.

摘要

Botanic gardens play an important role in conserving plant diversity making a major contribution to the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). This strategy, agreed under the auspices of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in 2002, has 16 ambitious targets to be met by 2010. The targets are currently being revised to reflect the reality of climate change and to make explicit their links to the Millennium Development Goals. An important component of the GSPC is the conservation of wild plants for food and medicine. This paper addresses both the overall achievements and challenges of the GSPC and the practical ways that botanic gardens are supporting the conservation of plants important for rural livelihoods. It emphasises the potential for stronger collaboration between botanic gardens and other agencies for the conservation and sustainable use of plant diversity.