Botanical gardens has new chief

BOGOR: Irawati has been appointed as chief of the Bogor Botanical Gardens, the first woman to occupy the position.

"This could be a present for women on Women's Day," botanical gardens spokeswoman Sugarti told Antara in a release made on Monday.

Women's Day was observed on Dec. 22, which fell on Monday.

Irawati replaced Dedy Darnaedi, who was appointed as head of the planning and financial bureau at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) on Dec. 18.

Irawati, born on Jan. 21, 1950, is a researcher. She graduated from Bogor Agriculture Institute, obtained her masters degree from the University of Birmingham, UK, and her doctorate from Putra University, Malaysia.

She said she would focus her programs on conservation, research and education. "The botanical gardens' other function as a recreational site is only a sideline of the whole program."

Since 2001, the botanical gardens has also been a center for botanical conservation. -- Antara