Plant Conservation in National Botanical Gardens of South Africa

Abstract

The destruction of forests has led to plant diversity and species being lost at an unprecedented rate and a decrease in ecosystem services. Plant conservation strategies are important to support the development of livelihoods based on the sustainable uses of plants and promote the understanding and sharing of the benefits and functions of plants. Botanical gardens allocate most of their resources to plant conservation and the development of educational activities such as making plant species diversity known to the public. These gardens can also play an essential role in human well-being and provide in human needs. In this article, we review the history of the development of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and the development of other national botanical gardens in South Africa. We will discuss conservation through cultivation, discovering and documenting diversity of plants, indigenous plants, threatened plants, me-dicinal plants, extinctions and rediscoveries, environmental education, con-servation science, citizen science, horticulture, research and creating a haven for biodiversity. Future challenges and responsibilities of botanical gardens will be discussed including in-situ and ex-situ cultivation, promoting aware-ness, creating partnerships, increasing capacity building and training activities, sharing information and making gardens sustainable.