Botany 2000
Encyclopedia
Botany 2000 is the name for a scientific program, organized under the auspices of UNESCO
. While a similar UNESCO program, ASOMPS, focus on promotion of collaboration and co-operation between scientists in Asia, Botany 2000 is composed of activities in Asia
and Africa
. Activities in Europe
are confined to support of herbaria in countries in transition and reconstruction e.g. Georgia
.
The Botany 2000 program was accepted by the UNESCO General Conference in 1989.
Activities in Africa and Asia subsume activities in predecessor networks such as the:
The Botany 2000-Asia program is the new name for the former Southeast Asian Cooperative Program on Descriptive Botany (SEABOP) and of the work being carried out by the majority of the other organizations involved in the Asian Coordinating Group for Chemistry (ACGC).
Botany 2000-Asia is implemented by UNESCO's New Delhi Office and focuses on the taxonomy
, and biological and cultural diversity
of medicinal and ornamental plants, and their protection against environmental pollution, as well as ethnobiological classification and biological systematics
and the correct documentation of useful plants through collection of voucher specimens. Within the framework of the project Botany 2000-Asia, UNESCO
supports also the computerization of holdings and locations in herbaria throughout Asia.
Under the Botany 2000-Asia program some conferences were held:
Neville Marchant, Director of the Western Australian Herbarium
in Perth
, has been involved in the Botany 2000-Asia programme since its inception.
The UNESCO Office, New Delhi also published the Botany 2000-Asia Newsletter four times a year. A typical issue contains news on workshops, training courses, databases, projects and forthcoming meetings as well as reports on unauthorized collection and export of medicinal plants from the region. The editor requests one to two page articles and reports of seminars and meetings of general relevance to botany
and ethnobotany
in Asia. Apart from producing the newsletter, the UNESCO Botany 2000-Asia program sponsors occasional workshops on the taxonomy
, ethnobotany
and chemistry
of various plant families, as well as training courses in herbarium techniques and curation.
Botany 2000-Africa is implemented by UNESCO's Nairobi Office and deals with the conservation and use of the medicinal flora of Africa.
Some of the activities of the Botany 2000-Africa program are published in: S. Edwards and Z. Asfaw (Editors): The Status of Some Plant Resources in Parts of Tropical Africa. Botany 2000: East and Central Africa; NAPRECA Monograph Series No. 2. Published by Natural Products Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa (NAPRECA), Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, 1992.
The UNESCO Botany 2000 program is different from the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America (BSA), who organised an annual scientific conference named Botany. This Botany 2000 : New Frontiers in Botany conference was held in Portland, Oregon on 6-10 August 2000.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. While a similar UNESCO program, ASOMPS, focus on promotion of collaboration and co-operation between scientists in Asia, Botany 2000 is composed of activities in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Activities in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
are confined to support of herbaria in countries in transition and reconstruction e.g. Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
The Botany 2000 program was accepted by the UNESCO General Conference in 1989.
Activities in Africa and Asia subsume activities in predecessor networks such as the:
- Botany 2000-Asia
- Botany 2000-Africa
The Botany 2000-Asia program is the new name for the former Southeast Asian Cooperative Program on Descriptive Botany (SEABOP) and of the work being carried out by the majority of the other organizations involved in the Asian Coordinating Group for Chemistry (ACGC).
Botany 2000-Asia is implemented by UNESCO's New Delhi Office and focuses on the taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
, and biological and cultural diversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
of medicinal and ornamental plants, and their protection against environmental pollution, as well as ethnobiological classification and biological systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
and the correct documentation of useful plants through collection of voucher specimens. Within the framework of the project Botany 2000-Asia, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
supports also the computerization of holdings and locations in herbaria throughout Asia.
Under the Botany 2000-Asia program some conferences were held:
- Botany 2000-Asia: Herbarium Curation Workshop (15-20 October 1990, Point Walter, Bicon, Western Australia)
- Botany 2000-Asia: Zingiberaceae Workshop (15-18 October 1991, Hat Yai, Thailand)
- Botany 2000-Asia: Rutaceae Workshop (2-7 February 1992, in conjunction with ASOMPS VII, Manila, Philippines)
- Botany 2000-Asia: International Botanical Congress (28 August-3 September 1993, Tokyo, Japan)
- Botany 2000-Asia: International Seminar and Workshop : taxonomy and phytochemistry of the Asclepiadaceae in tropical Asia (June 1994, Malacca, Malaysia)
- Second Symposium on The Family Zingiberaceae (9-12 May 1995, Guangzhou, China)
- Botany 2000-Asia: Workshop on the Family Apocynaceae (6-8 February 1996, Chittagong, Bangladesh)
Neville Marchant, Director of the Western Australian Herbarium
Western Australian Herbarium
The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia. It is part of the State government's Department of Environment and Conservation, and has responsibility for the description and documentation of the flora of Western Australia.The Herbarium is...
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, has been involved in the Botany 2000-Asia programme since its inception.
The UNESCO Office, New Delhi also published the Botany 2000-Asia Newsletter four times a year. A typical issue contains news on workshops, training courses, databases, projects and forthcoming meetings as well as reports on unauthorized collection and export of medicinal plants from the region. The editor requests one to two page articles and reports of seminars and meetings of general relevance to botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
in Asia. Apart from producing the newsletter, the UNESCO Botany 2000-Asia program sponsors occasional workshops on the taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
, ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
and chemistry
Phytochemistry
Phytochemistry is in the strict sense of the word the study of phytochemicals. These are chemicals derived from plants. In a narrower sense the terms are often used to describe the large number of secondary metabolic compounds found in plants. Many of these are known to provide protection against...
of various plant families, as well as training courses in herbarium techniques and curation.
Botany 2000-Africa is implemented by UNESCO's Nairobi Office and deals with the conservation and use of the medicinal flora of Africa.
Some of the activities of the Botany 2000-Africa program are published in: S. Edwards and Z. Asfaw (Editors): The Status of Some Plant Resources in Parts of Tropical Africa. Botany 2000: East and Central Africa; NAPRECA Monograph Series No. 2. Published by Natural Products Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa (NAPRECA), Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, 1992.
The UNESCO Botany 2000 program is different from the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America (BSA), who organised an annual scientific conference named Botany. This Botany 2000 : New Frontiers in Botany conference was held in Portland, Oregon on 6-10 August 2000.
External links
- UNESCO New Delhi Office: annual report, 1996: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001499/149902eo.pdf
- Abstracts of some Botany 2000 seminars on Family Zingiberaceae: http://www.curcuma.net/interests/Proceedings-Symposium-Family-Zingiberaceae.html