The Third International Symposium on Mapping Asian Plant Diversity was Successfully Convened

Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

19 12, 2024

The Third International Symposium of Mapping Asia Plants, co-organized by the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (BC-CAS) and the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, was successfully conducted at the Institute of Botany, CAS from November 25th to 26th. The event attracted more than 30 representatives from 15 institutions in 7 countries, including Uzbekistan, Russia, India, Indonesia, Oman, Israel, and China, as well as over 50 participants online. Together, they discussed and presented their findings and progress in the research, conservation, and digitization of Asian plant diversity. The symposium was generously supported by the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO).

The opening ceremony was moderated by Prof. MA Keping, Secretary General of the BC-CAS. He briefly introduced the background, objectives, and achievements of the Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) project. Prof. YANG Wenqiang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Botany, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a welcome speech.

The symposium focused on the current status, distribution patterns, compilation of floras, digitalization of plant information, and the conservation of threatened plants at various scales. Experts discussed the plant diversity in Central Asia, tropical islands, and the Pan-Himalayan region, highlighting the lack of geographic distribution information for plant species and the insufficient regional floras. They also summarized the history, current status, and challenges of plant taxonomy in China, as well as explored the plant diversity and its driving mechanisms in Indonesia, Myanmar, and India. In terms of plant information digitization, experts presented the current state of digitalization in the Middle East, Temperate Asia, and the Chinese National Plant Database, emphasizing the importance of data sharing and filling the gaps. Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) shared the status of threatened plants in China, the Arab region, and Indonesia, and proposed conservation strategies. Presenters also introduced the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its implementation in China. MAP project members reported on the progress of flora compilation and dataset updates in 6 subregions including North Asia, Northeast Asia, and Central Asia, showcasing the latest achievements.

During the symposium, Prof. MA on behalf of BC-CAS signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with representatives from the Institute of Botany of the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Water and Ecological Problems of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the IUCN SSC West Asia Arabian Plant Specialist Group, committing to jointly advance the Mapping Asia Plants Initiatives.

Prof. MA wrapped up and emphasized that this symposium marks a new starting point for future plant diversity research, calling for enhanced cooperation and data sharing to promote the in-depth development of Asian plant diversity research.