China is one of the richest countries in plant biodiversity in the world and also has a high level of endemism.  However, plant diversity in China is increasingly threatened due to rapid industrialization, extensive urbanization, and explosive economic growth.  Twenty percent of China's total higher plants are threatened with extinction.  As a result, effective protection of plant diversity is a major problem and challenge that has to be faced.  Part of this meeting will focus on an assessment of China’s existing plant conservation policy and the state of implementation.  It will also discuss current problems, how to develop a plant conservation programme that takes into account the special characteristics of the Chinese situation and context, and ways of promoting cooperation between plant conservation research institutions and nature reserves, with a view to ensuring the conservation of Chinese plant resources through the adoption of efficient and effective procedures and protocols.  These concerns are also faced by the rest of the world, and we warmly welcome leading plant conservation experts and researchers from abroad to share with us their experience, and join with key Chinese experts and with the leaders and plant protection specialists from the State Forestry Administration, provincial and municipal forestry bureaus in exploring these issues and proposing solutions.

Theme of the Conference: Reassessment of China's strategy for plant conservation

Topics include:

Ÿ   Analysis and assessment of the state of plant conservation in China

Ÿ   Developing a plant conservation network that integrates protected areas with botanical gardens

Ÿ   Proposing a conservation strategy suited to the Chinese situation and context and the formulation of the key elements of a revised national strategy for plant conservation and an implementation plan

Time: November 8-11, 2016

Address:  Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden / Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (3888 Chenhua Road, Songjiang, Shanghai, China 201602)

Hotel：Dazhong International Conference Hotel

　　      (1515 Shetiankun Road, Songjiang, Shanghai, China 201602, Tele：86-21- 57795555)

Language: English or Chinese

Keynote speakers:

Prof. Vernon Heywood, President of IABG; University of Reading, UK

Prof. Hongwen Huang, General Secretary of IABG, South China Botanical Garden, CAS, China

Prof. Xiaoya Chen, Academician, Director of Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, China

Prof. YuangangZu, Northeast Forestry University, China

Invited speakers:

Dr. Mora Aronsson, Chair of the Plants Europa network, Swedish Species Information Centre, Sweden

Dr. Linda Broadhurst, Director of Australian National Herbarium, Australia    

Prof. Jiakuan Chen, Fudan University, China

Prof. Xiaoyong Chen, East China Normal University, China

Dr. Tim Entwisle, Director of Royal Botanical Garden, Australia

Dr. Patrick Griffith, Executive Director of Montgomery Botanical Center, USA

Dr. Kayri Havens, Medard & Elizabeth Welch Director of Chicago Botanical Garden, USA

Prof. Yonghong Hu, Executive Director of Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, China

Dr. Juan Jiménez, Head of the Wildlife Service Autonomous regional government of Valencia, Spain

Prof. Haining Qin, Institute of Botany, CAS, China

Prof. Hai Ren, Director of South China Botanical Garden, CAS, China

Dr. Paul Smith, General Secretary of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), UK

Prof. Weibang Sun, Director of Kunming Botanical Garden, Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, China

Prof. Sergei Volis, Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, China   

Prof. Zhixiang Zhang, Beijing Forestry University, China

Provisional Programme and Schedule:

13:00-21:30  Registration at hotel

18:00-20:00  Dinner at hotel

8:00-9:30      Registration and setting up posters at the Symposium

9:30-10:00    Opening Ceremony

10:00-10:30  Tea break and Group Photo

10:30-11:30  Keynote Speech: Plant conservation – challenges and future prospects

by Prof. Vernon H Heywood

11:30-12:00  TBD by Prof. Jiakuan Chen

12:00-13:30  Lunch and Poster Presentation

13:30-14:30  Keynote Speech: TBD by Prof. Hongwen Huang

14:30-15:00  Maintenance and management of botanic garden living collections

by Dr. Patrick Griffith

15:00-15:30  Tea and Coffee Break

15:30-16:00  Reintroduction of rare and endangered plants in China by Prof. Hai Ren

16:00-16:30  Getting Plant Conservation Right (or not): the Case of the US?

by Dr. Kayri Havens

16:30-17:00     Rescuing PSESP (Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations) in China: its past, present and future by Prof. Weibang Sun

17:00-17:30  A critical assessment of Plant Micro-reserves (PMR) by Dr. Juan Jimenez

17:30-19:30  Welcome Dinner

8:30-12:00    Keynote Speech: The sustainable use of plant resources

              by Prof. Xiaoya Chen

9:30-10:00    Adapting a world-renowned botanical garden landscape to climate change

by Dr. Tim Entwisle

10:00-10:30  Tea and Coffee Break

10:30-11:00     Development of protected areas on protection of wild plants in China

by Prof. Zhixiang Zhang

11:00-11:30  Developing and agreeing protocols for seed banking of wild species

by Dr. Paul Smith

11:30-12:00  Some lessons from the red list assessment of China flora by Prof. Haining Qin

12:00-13:30  Lunch and Poster Presentation

13:30-14:30  Keynote Speech TBD by Prof. Yuangang Zu

14:30-15:00  Australian experience of threatened plant species conservation & recovery

by Dr. Linda Broadhurst

15:00-15:30  Tea and Coffee Break

15:30-16:00  TBD by Prof. Xiaoyong Chen

16:-0-16:30   Quasi-in situ and other intermediate approaches by Prof. Sergei Volis

16:30-17:00     Current status and strategy of plant species with extremely small population in eastern China by Prof. Yonghong Hu

17:00-17:30  Integration of species-based and habitat based approach by Dr. Mora Aronsson,

17:30-19:30  Dinner

9:00-11:.30   1. Tour Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

2. Round-table discussion：Chinese Plant Conservation Strategy

11:30-13:30  Lunch and Poster Presentation

13:30--17:00 Round-table discussion：Chinese Plant Conservation Strategy

17:00-19:00  Dinner

9:00-10:.30   Presentation of outline of revised Chinese Strategy for Plant Conservation

Speech by the leader of State Forestry Administration of China

Concluding remarks by Prof. Heywood

IABG International Symposium on Plant Conservation in China is organised/supported in collaboration with the following institutions:

International Association of Botanic Gardens, IABG

Chinese Union of Botanical Gardens, CUBG

Department of Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management

State Forestry Administration of China

Shanghai Municipal Administration of Afforestation & City Appearance

Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden (Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center, CAS)

IABG-Asian Division

South China Botanical Garden

Chinese Academy of Sciences