Partnerships for Plants: Proceedings of CBCN's 1996 Workshop
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, Ontario hosted the first workshop of the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network (CBCN) on September 6, 7 and 8, 1996. The workshop, Partnerships for Plants: Conservation, Biodiversity and Botanical Gardens in Canada (P4P) examined priorities and opportunities to develop new, cooperative approaches to plant conservation and plant biodiversity issues in Canada. Thirty-nine participants from botanical gardens, universities, government agencies and the private sector discussed problems facing plant conservation and the potential for botanical gardens to be involved in multisectoral cooperative efforts through CBCN.
1.1 CONTEXT
Botanical gardens and related organizations represent an irreplaceable opportunity for public contact and education about biodiversity and conservation, as annual visitorship at Canadian gardens is in the millions. The horticultural expertise, living collections, land holdings, and associated herbaria and taxonomic facilities of botanical gardens are important components of recovery programs that could be developed for many threatened plant species. These opportunities represent our best hope for the conservation of some components of biological diversity in Canada.
Unfortunately, botanical gardens have also been the source of many invasive alien plant species. By emphasizing the most beautiful and well-manicured plant displays as an aesthetic ideal, they also may have contributed to the public appetite for exotic plants and heavily-managed landscapes.
Canadian botanical institutions have shown a willingness to increase their effectiveness in conservation for decades. In the 1970s an attempt was made to establish the National Botanical Garden System for Canada (NBGSC), including symposia at Montreal Botanical Gardens in 1970 and Royal Botanical Gardens in 1971. The Organizing Committee of the NBGSC proposed to the Federal Government for funding to develop a national botanical garden network. The NBGSC would have had a national office and a system of grants to increase the work of individual institutions. The proposal was not acted upon by the federal government, and the NBGSC was abandoned.
In the 1980s the importance of botanical gardens to plant conservation initiatives received wide recognition because of efforts of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). Canadian participation included the development of the Canadian Plant Conservation Program (CPCP), organized by botanists and ecologists working at botanical gardens. CPCP operated from 1985 to 1989, and ceased operation when sufficient funds could not be found from within individual institutions.
The effect of the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been to refocus national attention on a variety of institutions which can participate in the conservation of biological diversity. The Canadian Biodiversity Strategy (CBS) has furthered Canada's participation in the CBD process by identifying significant national goals.
1.2 CANADIAN BOTANICAL CONSERVATION NETWORK
Participants in the 1994 ex situ Focus Group for recommendations to the CBS suggested that Canada needs a system to prioritize efforts for the conservation of organisms in ex situ facilities, and that "botanical gardens in particular should be encouraged to work together in a national ex situ conservation program focussed on native Canadian rare and endangered plants". (Biodiversity Focus Groups, 1994, pg 27).
Following on the ex situ Focus Group meetings, some participants worked with their respective institutions to establish a new conservation program for plants in Canada, termed the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network (CBCN). Development of the network was undertaken in 1995 by Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, (RBG) under a Memorandum of Agreement with Environment Canada. Financial support for implementing the network was provided in the form of funds from RBG, Environment Canada and its Environmental Conservation Branch, Ontario Region, with additional support from McMaster University, Merck-Frosst Canada Inc., and Glaxo-Wellcome Canada, Inc. to establish the Botanical Conservation Office (BCO).
The Botanical Conservation Office undertook the development of CBCN in 1995. Following on two mail-in surveys of potential members, the BCO established preliminary networking functions for stakeholders, including a newsletter and World Wide Web site.
1.3 PARTNERSHIPS FOR PLANTS, SEPTEMBER, 1996
The P4P workshop was organized to bring together individuals from the botanical garden and plant conservation communities to share ideas and discuss the development of the network.
The objectives of Partnerships for Plants were to:
-
Refine the objectives and mission of the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network in a facilitated workshop atmosphere
- Identify key conservation needs that the Canadian plant ex
situ community can address
- Inform participants of biodiversity programs and services
- Provide a forum for exchanging concerns over plant
conservation issues in general
- Provide a medium for exchanging ideas and concerns over multisectoral partnership development for conservation programs
The workshop was organized into three theme days, each of which featured invited 90-minute workshop sessions. Each session was started by an invited presentation of approximately 20 minutes. Participants were then challenged to consider a series of focus questions and to report their findings after approximately an hour.
During a total of fifteen 90-minute workshop sessions, participants contributed ideas, recommendations and discussion on the pressing problems surrounding plant conservation in Canada. The workshop sessions each focussed on a specific issue, ranging from the practical problems of organizing and funding the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network through to the problems of endangered Canadian plant species and the implications of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity for botanical gardens.
Key Themes from
Partnership for Plants
Go to Appendix I:
Workshop Agenda
Go to Appendix II:
Acknowledgements
Go to Appendix III:
Participants
Go to Appendix IV:
Poster Abstracts
Latest update: 30 April 2003
