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Historically, scientific explorers who visited the tropics to perform
their research and collecting did not leave behind any acknowledgment
or benefit to the country in which they did their work. They did
not submit reports, field notes, photographs, or specimens from
their work, leaving the source country ignorant of any research
or information on their country's biodiversity. The Convention
on Biological Diversity attempts to remedy this situation. It
is based on the premise that the biodiversity (living organisms)
within a certain country belong to that country, and anyone, from
pharmaceutical companies to botanical gardens, who wants access
to that country's biodiversity, must work out a mutual agreement
with that country. The CBD also calls for sharing of benefits, and
San Francisco Botanical Garden does this in a non-monetary way, funding the costs of expeditions,
and offering opportunities for capacity-building
of partner institutions.
From a global perspective, it is not only important but critical
for botanical gardens to establish ties with other gardens and institutions
around the world that have similar goals of education and conservation.
Such partnerships should be considered extensions of San Francisco Botanical Garden's
own mission of education and conservation.
Black Tai Village, Vietnam
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VIETNAM
In 2000, former San Francisco Botanical Garden Plant Collections Manager Bian Tan began corresponding with Dr. Daniel Harder, head of
the Vietnam Program of the Missouri
Botanical Garden. The Vietnam Program is an ongoing partnership
between the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Institute
of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi. Through this partnership,
MBG was able to include Bian on a field
expedition in 2001 as a visiting scientist. In addition to Bian
assisting with collecting, identifying, and processing of the expedition's
specimens, San Francisco Botanical Garden also paid for a portion of the expedition costs,
including the salary of one of the field botanists during the expedition.
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VIETNAM EXPEDITIONS PARTNERS
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| Dr. Nguyen Tien Hiep, Botanical Conservation
Program Coordinator, Institute of Ecology and Bioresources,
Hanoi |
Dr. Phan Ke Loc, collaborating botanist,
Vietnam University, Hanoi |
Dr. Leonid Averyanov, collaborating botanist,
Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg |
Dr. Dan Harder, Botanical Conservation Program
Leader, Missouri Botanical Garden |
Temple Entrance,
Bali, Indonesia
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INDONESIA
From 1995 to 2002, former San Francisco Botanical Garden Collections Manager Bian Tan worked
with the Ethnobotanical
Conservation Organization for South East Asia (Eco-Sea). Eco-Sea
Director Jeanine Pfeiffer has been instrumental in facilitating
a collaborative project between San Francisco Botanical Garden and the Indonesian
Botanic Gardens. In exchange for hosting Bian in Indonesia and
organizing joint plant collecting in cloud forests, San Francisco Botanical Garden and
Eco-Sea hosted Mr. Ida Bagus Ketut Arinasa, head of the Bali
Botanic Gardens, for a study tour of California in October 1998.
Since the partnership began, Bian visited Indonesia three times,
bringing back seeds and cuttings from cloud forests and botanical
gardens in Indonesia.
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INDONESIA EXPEDITIONS PARTNERS
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| Ms. Jeanine Pfeiffer, Executive Director, Ethnobotanical
Conservation Organization for SE Asia, Davis, California |
Mr. Ida Bagus Ketut Arinasa, Head, Bali Botanic
Gardens, Indonesia |
Ms. Irene Wibawa, Director, Ethnobotanical
Conservation Organization for SE Asia, Davis, California |
Igorot Women, Luzon, Philippines
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THE PHILIPPINES
In 1998, former San Francisco Botanical Garden Plant Collections Manager Bian Tan initiated a partnership with
the Philippine
National Museum through Dr. Domingo Madulid, head of the Philippine
National Herbarium. This has resulted in two expeditions to
the Central Cordilleras of Luzon island, and a study tour of California
for Dr. Madulid and Ms. Maribel Agoo, Plant Conservation Officer
of the Biodiversity Information Center.
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