Botanical gardens has new chief

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