About Us

The Inaugural Climate Change Summit

From 3 - 6 December 2018, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Gardens hosted an inaugural Botanic Gardens Climate Change Summit. Ten botanical organisations from around the world, as well as three peak botanic gardens bodies, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, the International Association of Botanic Gardens and Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand, attended the summit.

During the Summit, a series of public talks were held, featuring influential experts in the field of climate change and botanic sciences. These public talks discussed the future of botanic gardens and the solutions they can offer for a warming world. They are all now available to view online at the bottom of this page. The outcome of the Summit was the formation of the Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens. The Alliance aims to use global collaboration to tackle the climate change threats facing plant species. The co-creators of this Alliance signed a declaration "to safeguard life by protecting landscapes" and agreed that "the time for action is now."

Click here to find out more about the Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens and how to become a member.

The purpose of the summit was to share expertise and to build a platform for international partnerships in the knowledge gap area of climate change adaptation for living collections and landscapes. As part of this the delegates attended a number of sessions and talks, which aimed to develop a strategy to mitigate the threats of climate change.

Other objectives included:

Establishing an Alliance and laying the foundation for the establishment of a worldwide alliance into the future;
Share and develop expertise, strategies and methodologies for dealing with climate change and management of living collections;
Create a roadmap for ongoing engagement within botanic organisation networks and ensure momentum is maintained.

This summit was developed as a result of the Landscape Succession Strategy objective to ‘lead and facilitate networks and partnerships with relevant organisations in landscape-related conservation of biodiversity, human health, urban greening and water management.’

Delegates in attendance of the Summit include:

Nanshan Botanic Garden, China
Jerusalem Botanic Garden, Israel
Beijing Botanic Garden, China
Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand
South African National Biodiversity Insititute (SANBI), South Africa
Morton Arboretum, USA
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Australia
City of Melbourne - Urban Forest and Green Infrastructure
Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI)
University of California Arboretum, USA
Buenos Aires Botanic Garden, Argentina
Royal Botanic Gardens CSIC Madrid, Spain
Eden Project International, England

During the summit, a series of public talks were held at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Gardens, presented by influential international speakers in the field of Botanic Gardens and Climate Change.

These engaging talks delved into the role of gardens in the survival of humanity and how previous botanic sites can offer solutions in a warming world.

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria have now made those talks publicly available online, and can be viewed below.

Dr Paul Smith, Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International discusses how Botanic Gardens are essential for humanities survival in an ever-changing world. Introduction from Prof Tim Entwisle, Director and Chief Executive at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.

David Harland, Chief Executive of Eden Project International discusses how Botanic Gardens may be the answer and how they offer solutions for a warming world.

A public Q&A with Dr Paul Smith, Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Prof Tim Entwisle, Director and Chief Executive at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and David Harland, Chief Executive of Eden Project International.

The Alliance

The Secretariat is hosted by Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) and since foundation the Alliance has grown to over 500 members from 100 countries around the world, representing diverse cultures, contexts, and climates.

RBGV had the honour of hosting the 7th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Melbourne, Australia, in 2022, at which the Alliance launched two of its flagship projects.

The Climate Assessment Tool as a collaboration between the Alliance, RBGV, BGCI and the University of Tasmania with additional funding from the IABG.
The Landscape Succession Toolkit as a collaboration between the CCABG and BGANZ.

Further information about these products can be found here.

The Alliance runs quarterly Horticulture Forums the attendance of which is free and open to the public. The Forums are an opportunity for various members of the Alliance present on climate adaptation and landscape succession work they are undertaking as well as way to connect and build relationships with other organisations by sharing their efforts.

During the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress hosted by Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore in 2024 the groundwork was laid for a gentle restructure of the Alliance. A Steering Committee was formed to guide the Secretariat in how to best serve a diverse and varied membership with representatives from around the world, including:

South African National Biodiversity Institute, South Africa
Botanic Gardens Conservation International, United Kingdom
Jardín Botánico de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires "Carlos Thays", Argentina
Real Jardín Botánico-CSIC, Spain
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland
Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Melbourne, Australia
Botanical Horticulture Consultancy, Australia
Longwood Gardens, United States of America
University British Columbia Botanic Gardens, Canada
Morton Arboretum, United States of America

Today the Alliance continues to share its information and resources, all of which are available publicly and for free. The Alliance recognises that climate change affects everyone, everywhere, regardless of their financial situation, and seeks to democratise accessibility to the tools that will help adaptation to climate change impacts. The Alliance encourages and enables mutual support and collaboration between our members and peers, celebrates achievements great and small, and recognises that the only way through is together.