News published: 16 February 2026

Last November, BGCI was invited to participate in the Temu Pengelola Kebun Raya Indonesia (“Indonesian Botanic Gardens Managers Forum”) hosted by Indonesia’s Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN; “National Research and Innovation Agency”).

The event took place in the Sumitro Djojohadikusumo Auditorium of the BRIN Office in Jakarta, bringing together around 70+ administrators and researchers from across the country. Opening remarks were given by Dr. R. Hendrian, Deputy for Utilisation of Research and Innovation, as well as by BRIN’s chairman, Prof. Arif Satria.

A major highlight of the forum was the ceremonial signing of cooperation agreements between BRIN and BGCI (represented by Southeast Asia Programme Manager Greetha Arumugam, on behalf of Secretary-General Paul Smith), as well as between BRIN and the Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN).

BGCI’s MOU with BRIN will last 3 years and focus on supporting collaboration and capacity building among Indonesian regional botanic gardens as they continue participating in the Southeast Asia Botanic Gardens (SEABG) Network and contributing to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Greetha later delivered a plenary talk on the role of BGCI and the SEABG Network in maintaining international standards for botanic garden management. Other presentations explored how local governments and higher education institutions could work together with botanic gardens towards synergistic and effective plant conservation.

Several regional botanic gardens in attendance (including Banua, Balikpapan, Indrokilo, ITERA, Mangrove Surabaya, and Sriwijaya) were also awarded for their outstanding management and contributions to research, public engagement, and community building. The gardens were provided booths within the hall to showcase their activities, products, and research outputs to fellow attendees.

The event served as an optimistic reflection on both the recent achievements of Indonesia’s botanic gardens as well as the new chapter that BRIN has started together with BGCI.