STAFF REPORT PSR: Botanic gardens are uniquely positioned to help address the issues relevant to restoring ecosystems. They provide knowledge and expertise in plant taxonomy, horticulture, biodiversity inventory, conservation biology, and restoration ecology and ethno botany – all key elements for achieving successful restoration.
These views were expressed by speakers at a recently organized three-day conference on the Role of botanical gardens in biodiversity conservation and sustainable management at the summer camp university of Peshawar.
The conference, organized by the Center of Plant Biodiversity, University of Peshawar, had three main objectives; education, conservation, ethno-botanical study.
In his remarks on the occasion, Prof. Dr. Amin U. Khan Dean Faculty of Science and Technology and Director, Sustainable Development Study Centre, said that the noble mission of conversation and sustainable use of Pakistans unique environmental, biological and cultural heritage was meant to cultivate links with botanic gardens.
Prof. Amin U. Khan said that in our experiences in conservation and restoration of natural ecosystem we are proposing a new role for the Pakistan Botanic Garden Network Secretariat (PBGN); to act as an advisory body to select and manage proposed sites of special botanic interest (SSBI) from a research prospective.
Veronika Utz, Advisor of GIZ, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international legally-binding treaty with three main goals: conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of biodiversity; fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.