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In 2004, North Carolina Zoo made a commitment to support a global initiative in plant conservation when zoo Curator of Horticulture Gin Wall signed the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation.
Plants are the basis for life on earth, yet two-thirds of the world’s plant species are under threat of extinction – a worldwide environmental crisis. Plants provide food, fiber, medicine, timber and fuel. They help to maintain an ecological balance by regulating climates and binding soils.
Eighty percent of the world’s population relies on plants to provide their primary healthcare. The potential disappearance of vital plant resources is considered to be one of the greatest challenges presently facing the world community.
Public botanical collections, like those at the N.C. Zoo, play a key role in plant conservation. More than six million samples of up to 100,000 species are grown in over 2,300 institutions around the world. These plant collections include around one-third of the world’s threatened species.
The N.C. Zoo operates a variety of plant conservation programs, including: sustainable daily zoo operations that include recycling of plant materials; management of key North Carolina plant ecosystems such as the Caraway Piedmont Prairie and the federally-protected Schweinitz's sunflower; management of an important and unique wetland and upland pool habitat on Ridges Mountain in Randolph County; water quality testing on zoo grounds; propagation and protection of rare ecosystems and plants on zoo grounds, including both wild and cultivated native species.
The International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation was prepared by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) in response to the urgent threat of plant extinction. The Agenda provides a global framework for botanic garden policies, programs and priorities in biodiversity conservation. It was launched in June 2000 at the 1st World Botanic Gardens Congress. In signing the Agenda, the N.C. Zoo becomes one of only two North American zoos to join with more than 300 botanic gardens around the world that have already registered their support for the Agenda.
The International Agenda has been included as a major contribution to the achievement of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), a plan to rescue and conserve the world’s plants, which was adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in April 2002. The signing of the International Agenda by the zoo represents a formal commitment to the global mission of botanic gardens worldwide for conservation and highlights the N.C. Zoo’s contribution to the implementation of the GSPC.
The mission of BGCI is to build a world network for plant conservation. BGCI is a registered United Kingdom Charity, founded in 1987 and now includes over 500 members in more than 116 countries. BGCI is the world’s largest botanic garden organization and the only international body concerned primarily with conserving wild plant resources.
For more information on BGCI, the International Agenda or the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, visit: http://www.bgci.org.
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