From 14 to 18 May 2024, the XVII Congress of the Ibero-Macaronese Association of Botanical Gardens (AIMJB) took place at the Torretes Biological Station – Botanical Garden of the University of Alicante (UA), and the CIBIO Research Institute, in Alicante and Ibi. The congress focused on “Living collections: reservoir of genes and traditional knowledge related to Biodiversity”.
During these five days, several sessions related to the management of living collections, historical and popular gardens, botanical garden networks, ethnobotany, biodiversity and sustainability, education and dissemination, as well as knowledge transfer were held.
Pere Fraga, chief scientist of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden, offered two significant conferences: “The use of extracts as an alternative to chemical phytosanitary products in a botanical garden” and “Living plant collections and their importance in botanical garden management: practical case at the Marimurtra Botanical Garden”, providing perspectives on strategies to mitigate the environmental impact in the management of botanical gardens and highlighting the relevance of living collections in this management.
Anna Sans, head of scientific outreach at Marimurtra, presented the conference “Bringing botany closer and promoting scientific vocations to the Marimurtra Botanical Garden”, where she shared strategies to bring botany closer to the general public and foster interest in science.
In addition, all attendees enjoyed an enriching guided tour of the Torretes Botanical Garden, in Ibi, led by Segundo Ríos, a prominent expert in botany, and visited the Biodiversity Museum, thus complementing the content of the congress with practical experiences.
The event was an excellent opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the management and conservation of botanical gardens, as well as for the generation of collaborative proposals and projects, strengthening networks between the various botanical gardens in the Ibero-Macaronesian region.
The Ibero-Macaronesian Association of Botanical Gardens (AIMJB) was established in 1985 by different Spanish and Portuguese institutions related to the aims and objectives of a botanical garden. Among them, the promotion of Botanical Gardens as centres for the conservation of biodiversity, environmental education, research, culture and heritage; as well as their dissemination in society stand out. This philosophy is completely linked to the statutes of the Carl Faust Foundation, manager of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden and member of the AIMJB, whose main objective is the protection and promotion of studies of Mediterranean biology, especially in botany, […] seeking international cooperation and relations for the benefit, all in all, of scientific research and dissemination. It is for this reason that Marimurtra’s participation in these congresses adds a lot of value to its work, as well as the enrichment of knowledge so that we can all move forward in the same direction.