Ancillary Botanic Gardens in Lebanon

Empowering Local Contributions to Plant Conservation

Authors

  • Salma Talhouk Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Yaser Abunnasr
  • Matthew Hall Monash University
  • Tony Miller Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
  • Asaad Seif Directorate General of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2014.27

Abstract

Botanic gardens are integral to the process of plant conservation and development, but international conservation targets set down in the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation are unlikely to be met in countries such as Lebanon, where land is limited, real-estate value is high, conservation as a national priority is low and scientific botanical knowledge is not prevalent.
This paper proposes the recognition of a complementary category of gardens, ancillary botanic gardens (ABGs), which formalise local garden initiatives and facilitate options to tackle space limitations. ABGs are informal, deregulated gardens for the conservation of plant diversity and cultural plant knowledge; they are established by local communities in open sites which have existing levels of land protection owing to their primary purpose as archaeological sites, educational institutions, religious landholdings, private institutions and touristic sites.

Author Biographies

Salma Talhouk, Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Associate Dean and Professor

Yaser Abunnasr

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

Matthew Hall, Monash University

Researcher

Tony Miller, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Director of Centre for Middle Eastern Plants

Asaad Seif, Directorate General of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture

Coordinator of Archaeological Research and Excavations

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Published

2014-10-29

How to Cite

Talhouk, S., Abunnasr, Y., Hall, M., Miller, T., & Seif, A. (2014). Ancillary Botanic Gardens in Lebanon: Empowering Local Contributions to Plant Conservation. Sibbaldia: The International Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture, (12), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2014.27

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