Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is a plant

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

based in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, Surrey, England. It is a membership organisation, working with 800

botanic gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

in 118 countries, whose combined work forms the world's largest plant conservation network. Founded in 1987, BGCI is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and its members include the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

and the

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

, as two of its key supporters. The founder and director from 1987 to 1993 was Professor

Vernon H Heywood Vernon Hilton Heywood (born 24 December 1927 - died 2022) was a British biologist. He specialised in medicinal and aromatic plants, and the conservation of wild relatives of plants. Heywood was appointed as lecturer at University of Liverpool, ...

. He was followed in 1994 by Dr.

Peter Wyse Jackson Peter Sherlock Wyse Jackson (born 7 June 1955) is an Irish botanist and environmentalist. He is president of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and holder of the George Engelmann chair in botany at Washington University in St. Louis. Early life W ...

(as Secretary-General) who led BGCI till 2005 when

Sara Oldfield Sara Felicity Oldfield has been Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) since May 2005. Previously she worked as Global Programmes Director for Fauna & Flora International. She has worked for a wide range of other ...

succeeded him. She was then followed by Paul Smith in 2016 (current acting Secretary-General of BGCI). BGCI's patron is Charles III. Lady Suzanne Warner was Chair of BGCI from December 1999 to December 2004. She received an OBE in the Queen's 2006 New Year's Honours for her services to plant conservation. Dedicated to plant conservation and environmental education, the charity works to support and promote the activities of its member gardens. Its official stated mission is to "mobilise botanic gardens and engage partners in securing plant diversity for the well-being of people and the planet." As a global organisation BGCI has projects in a variety of different countries, with major ongoing projects in China (where half of the wild magnolias are threatened), North America, the Middle East and Russia. Two of its major projects are the creation of on-line searchable databases listing the world's botanic gardens (Garden Search) and plants in cultivation among participating botanic gardens (Plant Search). On 18 January 2008, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (representing

in 120 countries) stated that "400 medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, from over-collection and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

, threatening the discovery of future cures for disease." These included

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

s (the bark is used for cancer drugs,

paclitaxel Paclitaxel (PTX), sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer ...

); ''

Hoodia gordonii ''Hoodia gordonii'', also known as Bushman’s hat, is a leafless spiny succulent plant supposed to have therapeutic properties in folk medicine. It grows naturally in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The species became internationally known ...

'' (from

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, source of

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...

drugs); half of ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

s'' (used as Chinese medicine for 5,000 years to fight cancer,

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

and heart disease); and Autumn crocus (for

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

). The group also found that 5 billion people benefit from traditional plant-based medicine for

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

. In 2017 Botanic Gardens Conservation International published a list of 60,065 tree species worldwide obtained from information supplied by its member organisations. The aim of the project was to identify trees that are in danger of extinction and promote efforts to conserve these trees. In 2021 BGCI published a landmar
State of the World's Trees report
The report, compiling work led by th
Global Tree Assessment
(GTA), is the culmination of five years of research to identify major gaps in tree conservation efforts. It is one of the first assessments of the world's threatened trees. Examining the globe's 60,000 tree species, it reveals that 30% (17,500) of tree species are currently at risk of extinction. That means there are twice the number of threatened tree species globally than threatened mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles combined. The State of the World's Trees report brings together research from over 60 institutional partners, including botanic gardens, forestry institutions and universities worldwide, as well as more than 500 experts who have contributed to tree assessments in the last five years.

Notes

External links

Botanic Gardens Conservation International
{{Authority control Conservation in England Botanical gardens Charities based in London Plant conservation Environmental organizations established in 1987 1987 establishments in England