News published: 17 February 2026

As part of a three-year programme funded by Fondation Franklinia that started in 2025, BGCI is working with partners in 14 countries around the world to deliver in situ and ex situ conservation for some of the world’s most threatened tree species called “Global Trees: Action for All Tree Species”. This includes work in Indonesia conserving Cinnamomum sulavesianum and C. subaveniopsis.

In November 2025, Dr. Wawan Sujarwo of Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional or BRIN), together with Dr. Greetha Arumugam and David Ples of BGCI Southeast Asia, visited Hasanuddin University in Makassar City, South Sulawesi to speak on global plant conservation and the importance of preserving endemic species in Sulawesi.

Dr. Sujarwo, who also serves as Executive Director of the Ethnobiological Society of Indonesia (Perhimpunan Masyarakat Etnobiologi Indonesia or PMEI), delivered a presentation on PMEI’s current Fondation Franklinia-funded project entitled, “Conserving Cinnamomum sulavesianum and Cinnamomum subaveniopsis of Sulawesi, Indonesia”, which includes Hasanuddin University as a collaborator.

Additionally, Dr. Arumugam as BGCI’s Southeast Asia Programme Manager delivered a public lecture on the role of botanic gardens in plant conservation, with a focus on initiatives in the region.

The event was attended in-person and online by around 100 students and staff of the university’s Forestry Engineering study program, under the Faculty of Forestry. Master’s student Windi Isnaini served as moderator, while Prof. Syamsu Rijal, Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, gave the opening remarks.

While on the island, BGCI SEA staff were also provided the opportunity to visit the university’s special “Educational Forest”, located in the Cenrana Subdistrict, Maros Regency, a few hours east of the campus. Iswanto, a lecturer of the Faculty of Forestry, accompanied the team around some of the area’s trails and facilities, including its main and mess halls as well as the traditional Bugis houses. Students and researchers from the university conduct fieldwork in the surrounding forests, which also contain various Cinnamomum species.

Overall, the visit served to promote the importance of conserving threatened plants such as the project’s Cinnamomum species, highlight the activities of BGCI Southeast Asia and the Southeast Asia Botanic Gardens (SEABG) Network in the region, and strengthen ties between PMEI and Hasanuddin University, paving the way for new and continued collaborations in the future.

Find out more about BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme here.