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Convention on Biological DiversityPlant Conservation Report Page 38TARGET 14:THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANT DIVERSITY AND THENEED FOR ITS CONSERVATION INCORPORATED INTOCOMMUNICATION, EDUCATIONAL AND PUBLIC-AWARENESS PROGRAMMESIntroductionPlants are often under-represented in theconservation debate and neglected in effortsto engage the public in environmentalaction. Furthermore, increasing urbanization andpopulation movements are resulting in a growingdisconnect between people and nature, a trendthat is especially notable amongst the young.Plant conservation targets will only be achievedif changes are made at all levels of society, frompolicy makers through to the general public.For this reason, communication, education andpublic awareness programmes are essential inunderpinning the Strategy. This is a cross-cuttingtarget, relevant to all targets of the Strategy andindeed to the implementation of the Conventionitself. However, because of the speciic need toraise awareness of the importance of plants asthe basis of all life on Earth, an explicit target onthis has been articulated in the GSPC. There is alack of quantitative baseline data against which tomeasure progress, but it is generally recognizedthat there is a very low level of understandingamongst the general public of ‘biodiversity’ andmore speciically, the important role of plantsin supporting human well being. This target isunderstood to refer to both informal and formaleducation at all levels including primary, secondaryand tertiary levels. In the formal sector, there is aneed to engage with Ministries of Education as wellas Ministries of Environment and Conservation.Botanical school trip at Cibodas Botanical Gardens,Indonesia (Photo: Bian Tan , BGCI).With regard to the general public, a stakeholderconsultation on this target in six countries(Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia, UK and USA)identiied similar issues across countries, but theresponses to these would differ, according to alllocal needs and cultural differences. Issues to beaddressed include the over-emphasis on animalsand neglect of plants in environmental educationprogrammes, a need for increased teacher-trainingrelative to plant diversity, a lack of opportunity toexperience nature irst hand and messages beinglost under an overwhelming level of advertisingin all media.ProgressThe publication of the GSPC brochure and itstranslation into 10 languages, going beyond theoficial UN languages is a key achievement allowingeasy access to the text of the Strategy for policymakers. However, although a growing number ofcountries are developing national responses tothe GSPC, there is still a lack of awareness of theGSPC at the policy level in many countriesAn information board on the kiwi fruit, its history, useand conservation, for public awareness and educationat Wuhan Botanical Garden, China(Photo: Junko Oikawa, BGCI).
Botanic GardensBGCI, with the support of HSBC through theInvesting in Nature Programme, supportedteacher training environmental educationprogrammes in botanic gardens in Brazil andIndonesia. At least 150,000 children were reachedthrough this programme and the teachers weretrained on how to use the gardens as outdoorclassrooms.Oxford Botanic GardenThis Garden was established in 1621 ‘ to promotelearning.’ The GSPC has been incorporatedinto the teaching in all years of the BiologicalSciences degree course at the Oxford University.The Strategy itself has become the syllabus for amodule in the Plant Conservation course. Everyone of the 12,500 school children who visit thisGarden is shown how they can contribute to atleast one of the targets of the GSPC. Every visitorto the Garden & Arboretum is given a guideto the GSPC that takes the visitor through thesixteen targets.The University of OxfordBotanic Garden andHarcourt ArboretumSaving theWorld’sFloraThe world’s botanic gardens, which togetherreceive over 300 million visitors per year, are agateway to information on plant diversity andthis community has largely taken forward theeducation and public awareness elements of thistarget. Almost all botanic gardens are involved ineducation activities and many focus speciicallyon educating children.FutureEducationalists have not always been includedin stakeholder consultations on the GSPC andthere is a need for greater engagement with thiscommunity. There is an opportunity to beneitfrom the increasing awareness and understandingof the public on climate change issues and theassociated educational opportunities should becapitalized upon.Plants are of great importance in relation to bothmitigation and adaptation to climate change,and it will be essential to mobilize support forplant conservation through education and publicawareness programmes to avoid mass extinctionsin the future. Engaging the public in new andinnovative ways is key to raising awareness ofplant conservation issues. Examples include theincreasing popularity of citizen science projectsfocused around plant monitoring in a changingclimate. Indeed, botanic gardens have the challengeto showcase the importance of plant conservationfor ecosystem services and safeguarding usefulspecies given the uncertain future.National Botanic Gardens of IrelandProgrammes on the theme of plant conservation,sustainability and climate change are a keycomponent of many botanic gardens educationalactivities (Photo: Peter Wyse Jackson).School Children on an educational visit to KirstenboschBotanic Gardens, South Africa (Photo: SANBI).Plant Conservation ReportPage 39 Convention on Biological Diversity
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