SCBG Cnducts International Strategic Review and Designs for the Future Development

On November 19-20, a strategic review team composed of 11 international botanic garden professionals convened in Guangzhou, China to assess the recent progress of the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) and to evaluate the a draft ten-year strategic plan for the institution. The 11 international botanic garden experts are Dr. Peter H. Raven (Director of Missouri Botanical Garden, USA), Ms. Sara Oldfield (Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International), Prof. Stephen Blackmore (Director of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Britain), Dr. Philip Moors (Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Australia), Dr. Tim Entwisle (Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia), Dr. Mustaid Siregar (Director of Bogor Botanic Gardens, Indonesia), Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson (Director of National Botanic Gardens, Ireland ), Dr. Scot Medbury (Director of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, USA), Dr. Pat Raven (Missouri Botanical Garden, USA), HE Shanan (Honorary Director of Nanjing Botanical Garden, China), and SHEN Yungang (Academician，Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, CAS). In addition, there are two observers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS): SHI Bing (Section Chief of Bureau of Planning and Strategy, CAS) and LOU Zhiping (Section Chief of Bureau of Life Science and Biotechnology, CAS).

On November 19, there were about 80 people attending the review meeting, including the international review team, leaders of SCBG, principal investigators of six research fields and all research groups, and some scientific researchers. Professor HUANG Hongwen, director of SCBG, firstly gave a primary introduction to scientific researches, conservation and cultivation of plants, popular science, and construction of hardware facility, and then he expatiated the development direction and strategic plan in the future. Subsequently, Drs. LIAO Jingping, MO Jiangming, ZHANG Dianxiang, JIANG Yueming, WU Guojiang, ZHOU Guoyi and FU Shenglei gave reports on behalf of Horticulture Center, Dinghushan Arboretum, and six research fields, respectively; they all responded positively to the questions from international botanic garden professionals. In the following section, the review team investigated 30 specific gardens including Longdong Magic Forest，Palm Grove, Cycad Garden, Guangzhou Oldest Village, and the Greenhouse Conservatory, or the World of Plants.

On the morning of November 20, the review team carefully inspected Herbarium, Central Laboratory, representative special laboratories, and 28 research groups. In the afternoon, the team had a thorough discussion and came into being a primary assessment report, in which SCBG is considered to be one of the leading botanical gardens and research institutions globally, based on the importance of the living collections, their standards of care, and the excellent labels for the plants, combined with a number of flourishing research programs. The report also gave lots of recommendations. For example: 1) based on current performance levels and trajectories, the Visiting Group expects and encourages SCBG to increase its international involvement and play a leading role in the world botanical garden community; 2) provision should be made for members of staff to participate fully in pertinent international activities and to have suitable opportunities for further training during the course of their careers; 3) adequate samples of seeds of these species should be secured preserved under conditions in which they will survive over the long run; 4) develop cooperatively a comprehensive sustainability plan for Guangdong Province and work to implement it; and so on.

The international strategic review was successfully held in SCBG, which settles a strong base for SCBG to conduct further international cooperation, and will increase its international involvement and continue to play a leading role in the world botanical garden community.

The review meeting

Professor HUANG Hongwen, director of SCBG, introduce the general situation in SCBG

Professor Fu Sheng Lei and other researchers give reports on the situation

The review team visit garden

Group photo for all participates

The review team carefully inspect herbarium

The team give a thorough discussion

 Dr. Peter H. Raven reads out the review report.