Reinforcing cooperation between the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan and the European Research Area (BOT-ERA)

Wadi Rum, Jordan (Image: S.A.Ghazanfar, Kew)

The overall aim of the BOT-ERA project is to integrate the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan (BOT) into the European Research Area (ERA), by developing cooperation with European research organisations in 3 key botanical research topics:

A) Plants and Seed Conservation,
B) Genetic Diversity and Biotechnology, and
C) Utilisation and Access Benefit Sharing.

The BOT-ERA project will build upon RBG Jordan’s existing strengths as a high-quality research institution via capacity building activities with the following three European research organisations:

1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Kew),
2. School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham (Bham),
3. Innoveo Consulting S.à r.l (Innoveo)

The capacity building activities will involve twinning and training development for RBG Jordan researchers focused on Plants and Seed Conservation, Genetic Diversity and Biotechnology, Utilisation and Access Benefit Sharing, and the FP7 programme. Also, it will involve dissemination and strategy development to support the RBG Jordan organisation.

The BOT-ERA project will be overseen by a steering committee involving the consortium partners plus members of the Jordanian government.

Outcomes of the project:

• Preparation of an up-to-date checklist of the flora of Jordan in collaboration with taxonomic/flora experts from Jordan.
• Preparation of plants lists of nature reserves and conservation areas in Jordan with conservation status of the species therein in collaboration with local experts.