Kunming Institute of Botany and Korea Arboreta sign cooperation memorandum
On January 29th, Kwangsu Ryu, the director of the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute, Shinkoo Kang, the department director, Keehwa Bae, the director of the Seed Conservation Center, and Joohwan Kim, a professor at Korea University, visited the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. They were received by Puno Baimadan, the director of the Kunming Institute of Botany, Sun Weibang, the director of the Kunming Botanical Garden, and Yi Tingshuang, the director of the Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species. A discussion was held, chaired by Zhu Weidong, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation.
During the meeting, Director Puno Baimadan and Director Kwangsu Ryu signed a memorandum of cooperation on behalf of their respective institutions. Through the signing of this memorandum, the Kunming Institute of Botany and the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute will collaborate on plant biodiversity conservation and utilization, personnel exchange, technical training, organization of academic conferences, joint research projects, and other forms of cooperation. This aims to promote the establishment and exchange of a global network of seed banks and botanical gardens, and increase public awareness of the importance of plant resource conservation and sustainable utilization.
The Korean delegation also conducted in-depth exchanges with the Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species and the Kunming Botanical Garden on aspects such as germplasm collection and preservation, plant translocation, and in situ conservation.
It is reported that the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute was established in 2017 and is a subordinate unit of the Korea Forest Service. The institute's mission is to protect and utilize forest biological resources, and it includes four botanical gardens - Baekdudaegan National Arboretum, Sejong National Arboretum, National Botanic Garden of Korea Native Plant, and National Saemangeum Arboretum - as well as a global seed vault (Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault).
