Botanical garden of Jammu University Gets International recognition from BGCI, United Kingdom
Last Updated on : 28 Dec,2017 | Source :
UNT News Desk
Jammu:The Botanical Garden of the Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu has got international recognition in the form of membership of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London. To celebrate the occasion, a simple but impressive function was organized by the Department of Botany in which Prof R D Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu was the Chief Guest while Prof Keshav Sharma, Dean Academic Affairs was the Guest of Honour. Prof Rajni Kant, Director, CDC, Prof Geeta Sumbali, Dean Life Sciences and Prof Namrata Sharma also shared the dais. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. R D Sharma congratulated the Department of Botany, and expressed his satisfaction for getting the international recognition of the botanic garden and hoped that this would help us in building positive perception by the stakeholders about the University of Jammu and the State of Jammu and Kashmir at the global level. He also expressed his gratitude to the faculty members, research scholars, students of the Department, educational institutions of the state and the country, environmental experts, members of the civil society, media and others for their overwhelming support in spreading awareness regarding all aspects of conservation and their relevance to the human society. He hoped that more educational institutions of the State and the country would be benefited from the conservation activities being undertaken in this Garden. During the proceedings, a membership certificate received from Dr. Paul Smith, Secretary General, BGCI was handed over to Prof R D Sharma and Ms. Ginny Dogra, the Deputy Director, DIQA, University of Jammu by the faculty of the Department of Botany. Earlier, while extending a warm welcome to the dignitaries, Prof Yash Pal Sharma, Head of the Department of Botany informed that the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has conferred the membership keeping in view the co-ordinating efforts and building plant conservation capacity in the botanic garden and for spreading awareness amongst the masses. BGCI is the largest plant conservation network in the world that aims to collect, conserve, characterise and cultivate world’s flora to ensure their survival against their extinction in the wild and as a source of plant material for human innovation, adaptation and resilience. In fact, it is a global voice for all botanic gardens, championing and celebrating their inspiring work. It is an organization that represents a network of over 500 botanic gardens in more than 100 countries, including the largest and most influential gardens of the world, said Prof Sharma. The registration of the Botanical garden with BGCI, United Kingdom, has brought International recognition to the University of Jammu. Besides, it would help in securing funds from various agencies/Institutions of the world. In addition, it is also a step towards a Green India Mission that would help bringing all the Institutions including civil society together and the availability of expert advice and literature pertaining to biodiversity conservation and germplasm storage would be more prompt and easier. It is pertinent to mention here that with a humble beginning in the year 1974, the botanical garden is now flanked in an area of 6.2 acres. This is one of the best Botanic gardens of the North India where the plants have been systematically arranged as per the Bentham and Hooker’s system of classification. Botanical garden is housing more than 500 species of angiosperms, gymnosperms, pteridophytes, bryophytes and macrofungi. Garden is having the experimental beds for researchers of the department, besides succulents, medicinal plants, and RET species. The botanical garden is also having the facilities of green house, glass house and a registered Herbarium cum museum housing more that 12000 herbarium specimens.
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