User:Botsad/EAST ASIA BOTANIC GARDENS NETWORK (EABGN)

""EAST ASIAN BOTANIC GARDENS NETWORK (EABGN)""

On the 14th April 2005, representatives of the Japanese Botanic gardens Association, Korean Association for Botanic Gardens and Arboreta, newly formed Chinese National Botanic Gardens and Arboreta Network, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Gardens (Hong Kong) and Botanic Gardens Conservation International met in Osaka, [[Japan] and recommended the formation of an East Asian Botanic Gardens Network.

Introduction to the EABGN:

The purpose of the East Asian Botanic Gardens Network will be to: Encourage and enhance information exchange and cooperation to improve education, research and conservation work in botanic gardens Assist in the interpretation and implementation of the 2010 targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation drawn up to assist botanic garden. Assist efforts for East Asia plant conservation through training and staff exchange.

The membership of the Network should include botanic gardens from People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan, China, Japan, Mongolia, Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea. The inclusion of Eastern Russia was also suggested.

All botanic gardens that are members of the in-country organizations are automatically members of the regional network. For countries where no national organization exists, all of the botanic gardens there will be individually invited to be members.

Each country represented in the Network will have an in-country co-ordinator as a part of their national association or at an individual garden if a national association does not exist.

Each country will be responsible for EABGN coordination for a period of 2 years. The meeting discussed and agreed that Dr. Huang Hongwen, Wuhan Botanical Gardens, China, serves as the first general coordinator of EABGN for 2005-07 until the next country and country's representative is nominated and agreed for taking the responsibility at the BGCI World Congress in Wuhan, China, April-May 2007.

The Network will have an Advisory Board consisting of 1- 4 members from each country represented.

A meeting of the EABGN is to be held once every two years. The first meeting is to be held in August, 2006 at the Kunming Botanic Gardens, China. The purpose of the first meeting will be to discuss the future development of the East Asia Network and the 2010 GSPC targets. The Republic of Korea has offered to hold the next meeting in 2008. English is to be the language used at meetings but all powerpoint presentations will be made available to delegates in Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

The development of the East Asian Botanic Gardens Network (EABGN) was supported by Mitsubishi Corporation.