Google Earth helps Kew put ‘lost forest’ of Mount Mabu on the conservation map
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Scientific conferencePlant conservation for the next decade: a celebration of Kew's 250th Anniversary
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The Great Plant Hunt
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Sedge rediscovered on St HelenaThe chance rediscovery of a plant - a type of sedge not seen for over 200 years and feared extinct - has delighted botanists working on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena |
Rhizotron & Xstrata Treetop WalkwayClimb high into the tree canopy and explore underground at the latest addition to Kew's landscape. |
CITES Orchid Checklist 4 and CITES and Slipper Orchids |
Tropical AmericaKew's research programme in Latin America is primarily focused on the promotion of in situ conservation and sustainable use of plants. We are working in close collaboration with a range of local institutions and communities, and contributing towards local capacity building through our fellowships and data repatriation programmes. |
Wet Tropics AfricaThe great tropical rainforests of Africa are some of the most species-rich
natural habitats in the world. New pages outline the research Kew
is undertaking in these areas. |
The CBD for BotanistsAn introduction to the Convention on Biological Diversity for people working with botanical collections. Version 2 now available. |
Phenology database now onlineIn 2000 a new initiative began with the aim of recording annually the first-flowering and mid-flowering dates of 100 plants in the Gardens in perpetuity. Version 2 now available. |
Would you like to help set plant and fungus conservation priorities in the UK over the next seven years? |
Conservation and Sustainable Use
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is widely recognised as one of the leading centres for advice and action on aspects of plant and fungal conservation. Conservation programmes are undertaken on a wide range of endangered and threatened plants and their habitats. An advanced range of techniques, including storage and cryopreservation of seeds, embryos and pollen, and micropropagation, are used to support both ex situ and in situ conservation projects. We are increasingly called upon for advice and to help with the development of international conservation strategies.
Our activities and initiatives in the field of conservation include:
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acting as the UK CITES Scientific Authority for Plants
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seed conservation at the Millennium Seed Bank
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training courses in plant conservation techniques
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research on the commercial use of wild and traditionally managed plants in the UK
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participating in collaborative research throughout the world
- restoration ecology
Many of our activities also contribute to the implementation of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) , namely the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from access to genetic resources.
In August 2003, Kew’s CBD Unit produced ‘The CBD for Botanists’, a user-friendly manual for botanical institutions on the CBD and practical implementation. In July 2008 Kew's CBD Unit published an Access and Benefit Sharing Bibliography,
On 6 March 2001, Kew endorsed the Principles on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing developed by 28 botanic gardens and herbaria from 21 countries worldwide (also available in Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish). Please see the list of institutions that have endorsed the Principles, and an explanatory text which provides some background information on the project, and may be of assistance to institutions wishing to develop access and benefit-sharing policies based on these Principles. In line with these Principles, Kew has now developed its 'Policy on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing' (pdf).
Conserving Wildlife Habitats
We have fascinating collections of very different native wildlife at both Kew and Wakehurst Place; why not visit Wakehurst Place and see for yourself, by taking a guided walk around the Loder Valley Nature Reserve or a wildlife tour?
We also have some interesting conservation links
and Economic Botany Links
