China To Set Up Five National Botanical Gardens By 2025

Xinhua/APP

Beijing: China announced a plan on Thursday to establish five national botanical gardens by 2025 as part of the country’s drive to build a national botanical garden system for better protection of plant diversity.

According to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration plan, the proposed gardens will place more than 70 per cent of the country’s key state-protected wild plants and more than 55 per cent of rare and endangered wild plants under ex-situ conservation by 2025.

Under the plan, the country will aim to bring the number of national botanical gardens to around 10 by 2035. They are expected to provide ex-situ conservation for over 80 per cent of the country’s key state-protected wild plants and over 70 per cent of rare and endangered wild plants, basically establishing a national botanical garden system.

Currently, China has two national botanical gardens, one each in Beijing and Guangzhou –provincial capital of Guangdong.

With 38,000 different varieties of higher plants, China is one of the top five countries in terms of plant diversity. The administration claims that it presently has nearly 200 botanical gardens where 60 per cent of the country’s native plant types are under ex-situ conservation.