How botanic gardens changed the world Stephen Forbes Director, Botanic Gardens of Adelaide Director, Science & Conservation Department for Environment & Heritage South Australia 2 nd World Botanic Gardens Congress Heritage Round Table: Environmental reconciliation: a vision for botanic gardens

How botanic gardens changed the world Drivers for change, HISTORICAL describing biodiversity – Linnaean ‘natural’ system ‘planting’ colonies – plant diaspora ‘… glorifying the works of God’ – commodification? CONTEMPORARY conserving biodiversity

Opening Pandora’s Box ‘natural’ taxonomic systems –loss of specialised linguistic resources & environmental specificity –relationship with loss of biodiversity Harmless, Useful, Interesting & Ornamental –‘planting’ colonies –plant diaspora within a monocultural framework

Pandora’s Box & Hope relationship between environmental & cultural reconciliation intellectual investment in development & environmental exploitation cf environmental reconciliation –‘The kind of thinking that has gotten us into this situation is not the kind of thinking that will get us out of it.’ Albert Einstein

Strategies for environmental reconciliation Botanic garden policy & strategy to incorporate, two-way partnerships with the main currents of communities multiculturalism (- beyond exhibitory multiculturalism) prudence with cultural heritage acknowledgement of privilege as cultural & scientific institution

Plants, people, culture cultural & scientific institutions IDEAS cf PLANTS Oxford Botanic Gardens mission - To promote learning and glorify the works of God

How botanic gardens changed the world Stephen Forbes Director, Botanic Gardens of Adelaide Director, Science & Conservation Department for Environment & Heritage South Australia