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Worldwide > BGjournal Special 20th Anniversary Editions
BGjournal Special 20th Anniversary Editions
2007 was BGCI's 20th Anniversary year and also the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, father of modern taxonomy. To commemorate these events the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation enabled BGCI to publish special editions of BGjournal. We are making these special editions available in full, for free, at the time of publication - normally BGJournal is only available to non-members one year after publication.
The Father of Taxonomy |
| "God made the world a flowering tapestry and put man thereupon to stroll, live and be happy" |
The first, the Taxonomy issue (PDF 1.6MB), features a range of articles looking at Linnaeus' legacy and how the 'Prince of Flowers' set up the naming process that allows us to understand the natural world in a systematic way.
He was also a true nature lover and was a controversial figure with many original ideas. But above he all he wanted to celebrate nature and life.
Climate Change
The second of the special editions is dealing with climate change (PDF 1.6MB) and how botanic gardens are finding solutions to the crisis.
Conserving Forest Diversity
Deforestation is now recognised as the second leading contributor of carbon emissions worldwide, after the burning of fossil fuels.
Conversely the protection of forests is increasingly seen as a major response in mitigating the impacts of climate change – a fact recognised recently at the political level at the UNFCC Conference in Bali in December 2007.
But, of course, the world’s forests are so much more than just carbon sinks. They are major repositories for biodiversity – tropical forests alone, which cover six percent of the earth’s surface, harbour over 50 percent of all known species.
These same forests provide essential livelihood resources for millions of people who live within them or in surrounding areas. They are also a major source of income for governments through timber revenues. Added to this, forests are crucial in regulating the world’s water supplies. Despite all these values, global deforestation continues.
Botanic gardens have a major role to play in conserving forest biodiversity. Work to document and catalogue the flora of forest areas is ongoing with support from botanic gardens around the world.
Management and restoration of forests are key activities for a range of gardens and education and raising awareness of the values and threats to forests are undertaken by botanic gardens worldwide.
Thanks
BGCI is very grateful to the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation for making the publication of these special issues possible.
BGCI – Celebrating 20 Years of Securing Plant Diversity
Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) was first established in 1987 as the Botanic Gardens Conservation Secretariat. In a mere 20 years, BGCI has grown to become the leading international organisation working to save the world’s imperilled flora.
BGjournal Archive
BGjournal began in 2004. Before that, BGCI produced BGCNews, which is also archived here. Articles are published online one year after print publication.
Support BGCI
We are working to create a world in which plant diversity is valued, secure and supporting all life. None of our achievements would be possible without your support. Find out how you and your organisation can get involved.
