CBCN Newsletter
incorporating Plant Collections
Newsletter: Canada
Vol. 5, N. 1, June, 2000
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Major Canadian Botanical Gardens Form Consortium for Biodiversity Projects
Jointly released June 23, 2000
Five of the major botanical gardens in Canada have announced the formation of a new co-operative effort for the identification, study, preservation and recovery of Canadian rare plants, and for the sustainable management of plant biodiversity in Canada.
Representatives from University of Alberta Devonian Botanic Garden (Edmonton, AB), University of British Columbia Botanical Garden (Vancouver, BC), Royal Botanical Gardens (Hamilton/Burlington, ON), Montreal Botanical Garden (Montreal, QU) and Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden (St. John's, NF) met in Edmonton on June 5-6, 2000. The meeting, hosted by Devonian Botanic Garden, and sponsored by the Alberta Science and Research Authority (ASRA), looked for ways that the research-based botanical gardens of Canada could cooperate in the identification, study, preservation and recovery of rare and endangered plants, and plants of significance for sustainable forestry and other practical uses.
The five botanical gardens agreed to each work as regional centres for plant diversity, under the name "Canadian Botanical Gardens Consortium for Biodiversity." The purpose of the Consortium is to promote and facilitate the sustainability of plant diversity and conservation in Canada by coordinated projects in research, education and information services, including a national seed bank program for native plants and training courses in plant identification.
The Consortium will make use of networking services provided by the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network, a registered charitable organization based at Royal Botanical Gardens.
Canada has approximately 3,200 species of native vascular plants, of which over 1,000 are considered rare and over 100 are presently at risk of extinction. Fewer than a dozen of these species are presently included in formal endangered species recovery plans.
Because of large annual visitorships and broad public support, botanical gardens are very well placed to promote concepts of conservation and sustainable use with the general public.
For more information, contact:
In the Prairies:
Dr René Belland, Director of Research
Devonian Botanic Garden
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1
Phone: (780) 987-3054
Fax: (780) 987-4141
Email:
In Atlantic Canada:
Ms. Madonna Bishop, Research Liaison
Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden
St. John's, NF A1C 5S7
Tel: (709) 737-3328
FAX: (709) 737-8596
Email:
In Quebec:
M. Michel Labrecque, Curator
Montreal Botanical Garden
4101 rue Sherbrooke Est
Montreal, QC H1X 2B2
Tel: (514) 872-1862
Fax: (514) 872-3765
Email:
In Ontario:
Dr David A. Galbraith, Coordinator, Canadian Botanical Conservation Network
Royal Botanical Gardens
P.O. Box 399
Hamilton, ON L8N 3H8
Tel: (905) 527-1158, ext. 309
Fax: (905) 577-0375
Email:
In British Columbia:
Dr Iain Taylor, Director of Research
University of British Columbia Botanical Garden
6804 S.W. Marine Drive
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Tel: (604) 822-2340
FAX: Fax: (604) 822-6089
Email:
Editor's Note: At the 1999 International Botanical Congress in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, a group of eminent botanists agreed to create a declaration on the urgent need for a global initiative on plant conservation. Fourteen world-leading botanists met in Gran Canaria in April, 2000, and created the following declaration. This document has now been printed as a stand-alone document and is available from Botanic Gardens Conservation International. It has been forwarded to the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity to urge the formation of the proposed global initiative.
Watch for more coverage of global plant conservation news in the next issue of CBCN Newsletter.
The Gran Canaria Declaration
on the need for a
Global Program for Plant Conservation
Plants are universally recognized as a vital part of the world’s natural heritage and an essential resource for the planet. In addition to the small number of crop plants we use for our basic food and fibres, many thousands of wild plants have great economic and cultural importance and potential, providing food, fuel, clothing and shelter for vast numbers of people throughout the world. Plants supply many important medicines, especially in developing countries where hundreds of millions depend on wild plants for their traditional health systems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that up to 80% of the world's people rely on plants for their primary health care. Finally, plants play a key role in maintaining the planet's basic environmental balance and ecosystem stability and provide an important component of the habitats for the world's animal life.
As many as two-thirds of the world's plant species are in danger of extinction in nature during the course of the 21st century, threatened by population growth, deforestation, habitat loss, destructive development, the spread of alien invasive species and agricultural expansion. Further loss of plant diversity is predicted through genetic erosion and narrowing of the genetic basis of many species. The disappearance of such vital and massive amounts of biodiversity provides one of the greatest challenges faced by the world community: to halt the destruction of the plant resources that are so essential for present and future needs. For example, all the world’s major food crops now possess genes from wild relatives, which are vital for food production.
Major efforts throughout the world are being undertaken by international agencies and national governments, supported by a great diversity of institutions, organizations and other groups at all levels to develop practical actions to safeguard plant diversity. Despite such efforts the number of plant species facing extinction continues to rise and a significant proportion of the genetic diversity of the world’s estimated 300,000 vascular plant species is being lost.
Recognizing the critical situation and their particular responsibility to alert the global community, the botanists of the world, convened at the XVI International Botanical Congress in St Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., in August, 1999, attended by over 5,000 botanists from all parts of the world, noted in a resolution that as many as two-thirds of the world’s plant species are in danger of extinction in nature during the course of the 21st century. They recognized that this threatens our expectation of using plant diversity to build sustainable, healthy and better lives for the future.
The Congress called for plant conservation to be recognized as an outstanding global priority in biodiversity conservation.
Responding to the Congress resolution, an ad hoc group drawn from major international and national organizations, institutions and other bodies involved in biodiversity conservation from 14 countries came together in Gran Canaria, Spain on 3-4 April, 2000 to consider the need for a global initiative for plant conservation. The group resolved that a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and associated program for its implementation should be urgently developed, within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The aim of this strategic program would be to support and facilitate appropriate plant conservation initiatives at all levels, aimed at halting the current and continuing unacceptable loss of plant diversity.
Such a Strategy should develop effective mechanisms to enhance collaboration and networking, which will strengthen and support plant conservation locally, regionally, and internationally; to formally and informally link different partners such as government ministries, institutions, NGOs, and local community initiatives. This Strategy should link existing efforts of the many significant international and national programmes that are already active in this area. It should draw on and extend the experience and resources of bodies already active in implementing global conservation programmes, such as the FAO Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, supported by over 150 countries, the UNESCO Man and Biosphere program, Diversitas, the Millennium Assessment of the World’s Ecosystems, the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation and the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Plants Programme. The Strategy should also be developed in full harmony with other initiatives currently under development, such as the global strategy on the sustainable conservation and use of forest genetic resources.
An element of this Strategy should be to integrate efforts in different disciplines (social, economic, and biological) towards plant conservation so that all appropriate and available resources, technologies, techniques and sectors are brought together in support of plant conservation. It should establish a means to gather and manage effectively the information required to support plant conservation actions, by means of a global electronic information system on plant diversity, its status, use and the threats it faces. This Strategy should also highlight the need for international programs in research and public education, to raise greater awareness of the importance of plants and the threats they face. The group agreed that such an initiative would require a coordination mechanism for information gathering, processing, and dissemination at appropriate levels, and especially to support capacity building for plant conservation, especially in areas rich in plant diversity. Some major elements for a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation were agreed by the group and are outlined in an annex to this document.
At the meeting in Gran Canaria, the group resolved to forward this document to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2000, to consider the development and subsequent implementation of a new global integrated plant conservation programme, as an important component in achieving the objectives of the Convention.
Gran Canaria Declaration - Participants
Stephen Blackmore
Director, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland
David Bramwell
Director, Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,
Spain
Peter Crane
Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, U.K.
Braulio Dias
Director, National Programme for Biodiversity Conservation, and Genetic
Resources, Brasilia, Brazil
David Given
Chairman, Plants Committee, IUCN Species Survival Commission, and Manager,
International Centre for Nature Conservation, Lincoln University, Canterbury,
New Zealand
Toby Hodgkin
Principal Scientist, Genetic Resources Science and Technology Group,
International Plant Genetics Resources Institute, Rome, Italy
Angela Leiva
Director, Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba, La Habana, Cuba
Nancy R. Morin
Chair, Conservation Committee, American Association of Botanical Gardens and
Arboreta, and Director, Flagstaff Arboretum, Arizona, U.S.A.
P. Pushpangadan
Director, National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India
Peter H. Raven
Director, Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
Cristián Samper
Director General, Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá Colombia
José Sarukhán
Diversitas, International Biodiversity Observation Year and Professor, Institute
of Ecology, National University of Mexico, UNAM, Mexico
Jameson Seyani
Director, National Botanic Gardens and National Herbarium, Zomba, Malawi, and
Commonwealth Science Council, London, U.K.
Stella Simiyu
Chair, East African Plants Specialist Group, IUCN Species Survival Commission,
and National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
Igor A. Smirnov
Chair, Moscow Division of Botanic Gardens Conservation International, and Moscow
Main Botanical Garden, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Peter Wyse Jackson
Secretary General, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Kew, Richmond,
Surrey, U.K.
Annex: The Elements of a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation should include and combine a range of different elements relating to conservation practice, social and economic factors, information, monitoring and research, education, capacity building and public awareness.
It must have well defined and achievable goals for integrated (ex situ and in situ) conservation of plant diversity, linked to targets for research, information management, public education and awareness to attain these goals. It should have a mechanism to monitor and coordinate its implementation and to link and maximise available resources for plant conservation.
The main elements of such a Strategy would be:
Integrated ex situ and in situ conservation:
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Set agreed levels and standards in plant conservation and services worldwide to be achieved within a defined time frame
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Give special attention to the conservation of the world´s most important centres of plant diversity
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Support the maintenance of genetically diverse and accessible samples of the world´s plant species in botanical collections throughout the world
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Pay special attention to the conservation of plant species of direct economic importance to human societies, especially crops and their wild relatives, forage plant species, agroforestry and forest species, medicinal plants and species used in other ways.
-
Control invasive alien plants and animals, which pose one of the greatest threats to plant diversity in natural habitats
-
Develop and implement best practices in plant conservation which will ensure the fullest community and institutional participation at all levels
Research, Monitoring, and Information Management
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Undertake an ongoing international program of research on plant biology and interactions with social, cultural, and economic factors that impact biodiversity, so that the genetics and ecology of plants, both in the wild and in the context of human activities, can be well understood and utilised to support conservation action
-
Document the plant diversity of the world, including up-to-date information on its distribution in the wild, its conservation status and trends, and its use and preservation in protected areas and ex situ collections
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Develop an integrated, distributed, interactive information system to manage and make accessible information on plant diversity
-
Monitor the status and trends in global plant diversity and its conservation and produce regular reports
Social and Economic Benefits of Plant Diversity: Products and Services:
-
Identify and assess the socio-economic value and the cultural value both of particular species of plants and of plant diversity itself
-
Identify and assess the existing and potential products and services provided by plant diversity
-
Ensure that benefits derived from the use of plants are fairly and equitably shared
-
Identify the underlying causes of plant diversity loss and assess the potential risks and constraints on its conservation, particularly in countries that are rich in plant diversity.
Education and Public Awareness
-
Articulate and consistently emphasize the benefits of conserving plant diversity, to raise awareness of the importance of plants and the threats they face, thereby encouraging active participation in their conservation
-
Inform citizens and policy makers in every country about conservation priorities and policy options for plant species and their ecosystems
-
Use relevant botanical institutions, such as botanic gardens, museums, colleges, universities and research centres in every country, as shop windows for plant conservation by demonstrating the interdependence of human beings and plants within all ecosystems
-
Incorporate the importance of plants and plant conservation into formal and informal education.
Implementing the Strategy
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Within the context of the United Nations, develop a comprehensive world-wide multi-institutional programme for conservation action
-
Create a coordinating mechanism operating at various levels to oversee and monitor the achievement of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the implementation of the programme of plant conservation action
-
Build the capacity of institutions and organizations worldwide to enhance their effective contributions and role in plant conservation
-
Link, integrate and support efforts undertaken by a diversity of organizations, institutions, communities at all levels for plant conservation
-
Identify and apply existing and new resources for plant conservation
Printed copies of the Gran Canaria Declaration can be ordered from Botanic Gardens Conservation International:
Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Descanso House
199 Kew road
Richmond, Surrey
TW9 3BW, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)181 332-5953/4/5
Fax: +44 (0)181 332-5956
Email:
COSEWIC Releases Updates to Species at Risk in Canada for 2000
On May 8, 2000, COSEWIC, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, released updates to its list of species at risk of extinction in Canada. The prsent changes to the list of species at risk in Canada are the results of the annual COSEWIC meeting, held in April. In all, the status of 141 species of plants and animals were reviewed at this year's meeting.
This year, the species specialist groups that review individual status reports and the actual committee itself have been particularly busy as they have reviewed the status of many species that have been listed in the past. This activity is to ensure that the list is up-to-date when the federal Species At Risk legislation hopefully becomes the Species At Risk Act later this year.
Of the 18 species which were listed for the first time by COSEWIC in 2000, six are plants:
Status: Threatened
Tubercled Spike-Rush (NS)
Status: Special Concern
Large-headed Woolly Yarrow (SK)
Turner's Willow (SK)
Felt-leaf Willow (NU, SK)
Sand-dune Short-capsuled Willow (SK)
Floccose Tansy (SK)
Many plant species that have been previously listed by COSEWIC were reassessed. Most of these reassessments did not result in any change to the listed status of the species involved. The status of ten plant species were changed by the reassessment:
Status Uplisted to Endangered:
Apple Moss (BC)
Blunt-Lobed Woodsia (ON, QC)
False Hop Sedge (ON, QC)
Few-flowered Club Rush (ON)
Goat's-rue (ON)
Golden Paintbrush (BC)
Status Uplisted to Threatened:
Phantom Orchid (BC)
Soapweed (AB)
Western Silver-leaf Aster (MB, ON)
Species Downlisted to Threatened:
Slender Mouse-ear-cress (AB, SK)
The complete list of updates to the COSEWIC list can be found on the COSEWIC web site at:
The function of COSEWIC in listing species at risk of extinction in Canada is evolving/ Changes are taking place both because of the pending Species at Risk Act and also because of changes in the international community's approach to endangered species management. Recently, COSEWIC reviewed its use of extinction risk categories. The present categories being used by COSEWIC include:
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Extinct - a species no longer exists anywhere
- Extirpated - a species that no longer exists in the
wild in Canada, but still occurs elsewhere.
- Endangered - a species that is in imminent risk of
extinction or extirpation.
- Threatened - a species that is likely to become
endangered if present limiting factors are not reversed.
- Special Concern - a species that exhibits characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Position Available:
Director, Research and Natural Lands
Royal Botanical Gardens, Canada’s largest botanical garden, is seeking a Director, Research and Natural Lands. Reporting directly to the CEO, this senior management position will direct the planning and management of RBG’s natural areas as well as directing environmental, botanical, and horticultural research programs.
This position will play a key strategic role in developing collaborative research programs with post-secondary institutions to strengthen RBG’s leadership in environmental conservation, plant taxonomy, and horticulture. The Director, Research and Natural Lands provides the CEO and Board of Directors with expertise and guidance in scientific matters and acts as an expert advisor to staff, volunteers, outside agencies, and the public as needed.
RBG’s holdings include 1100 ha of formal gardens, woodlands and wetlands extending from Lake Ontario to the Niagara Escarpment. Research facilities include a 70,000-specimen herbarium, research space for visiting scientists in plant biology, and an in-house wildlife laboratory for the study of fisheries science and terrestrial wildlife biology. RBG currently has academic affiliations with McMaster and Queen’s Universities.
The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated background in academic research (including publication in peer review journals), hold a degree at the doctoral level, have 7 – 10 years experience in managing staff, and demonstrate a commitment to making science accessible to the public.
Please forward your resume in confidence by 17 July 2000 to:
Susan Ingram
Director, Human Resources
Royal Botanical Gardens
P. O. Box 399
Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3H8
We thank all applicants; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. RBG is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Coming Events
Thanks to Lorna Allen, Natural Heritage Planning and Evaluation, Edmonton, Alberta for her regular "Plant Happenings" updates! You can contact Lorna at:
July 12 - 15, 2000
Corner Brook, Newfoundland
The Other West Coast - CNF 2000
Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Canadian Nature Federation
http://www.swgc.mun.ca/cnf
July 15 - 19, 2000
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
CSHS and AIC Annual Meeting
For information please contact 16 Lowell Place, Winnipeg, MB R3T 4H8;
(204)275-3721; fax (204) 261-6565 or visit the website
http://www.aic.ca/members/cshs.html
July 17-21 2000
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
International Herb Conference
July 22-23, 2000
Herbfest 2000, Outlook, SK.
Celebration of value-added herb and spice products from the prairies.
July 23-25, 2000
Botany BC 2000
Reynolds Ranch, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, west side of the
Fraser River near Big Bar Ferry, BC.
Please check with the ranch at 250-459-2333 regarding accommodation before
contacting Katie Stewart at 250-386-4792. Early registration and deposits are
required.
September 17 - 20, 2000
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Global Land Reclamation / Remediation: 2000 And Beyond
25th Annual Meeting of the CLRA/ACRSD in conjunction with the 4th Biennial
Meeting of the International Affiliation of Land Reclamationists (IALR).
October 16 - 20, 2000
St. Louis, Missouri
Managing the Mosaic
27th Natural Areas Conference
stressing the importance of human interaction in conservation and management
www.conservation.state.mo.us/nac
18-22 Sept. 2000
Taormina and Giardini-Naxos, Sicily, Italy
Conference on Plant-pathogen interactions, Disease resistance and Biocontrol
agents
Contact Local Organiser: Prof. Antonino Catara, University of Sicily Instituto
di Patologia vegetale, Via Valdisavoia 5, 95123 Catania phone: +39 95 351422
fax: +39 95 361487 or visit the website:
http://www.ipo.dlo.nl/ipowww/efpp/events.htm
July 1 - 15, 2001
Denver, Colorado, USA
AABGA Annual Conference
For more information, please contact Susan O'Leary at +1 (610) 925-2500
August, 2002
AABGA Annual Conference
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Hosted by the Gardens of the Greater Toronto Area.
More information to be announced shortly.
11-17 August 2002
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
XXVI International Horticultural Congress
For more information, contact Dr Norm Looney at call 1-604-494-6361
2004
Barcelona, Spain
Second World Botanic Gardens Congress
Organized by Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Details will be announced later.
