Strategies for Plant Conservation: Progress Since 2011 and Targets for 2030

Abby Meyer, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, U.S.

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) mobilizes the global botanic garden community to conserve plant species. BGCI reports to the United Nations on progress made toward the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). The GSPC, as well as the North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation, serve as road maps to guide effective plant conservation across countries, and are composed of a series of outcome-oriented targets aimed at documenting, conserving, sustainably using, educating and building capacity for plant diversity. Both strategies will need to be renewed at the end of 2020, and BGCI and partners have been assessing global progress and potential new GSPC targets. In North America, BGCI-US and the American Public Gardens Association have developed a Plant Conservation & Biodiversity Benchmark tool that connects conservation actions to strategy targets. We are working in 2020 to represent every garden in our dataset, in order to guide the next targets of the North American strategy.