Botanical gardens revel on birthday

BOGOR (JP): The famed Bogor Botanical Gardens, a flora research center which celebrated its 181st anniversary yesterday, is merely recreational park to most visitors, its manager Dedy Darnaedi said yesterday.

"Most visitors just come, take a look around the gardens, relax and then go home," he said. "Few bother to find out more about what the numerous plant species are all about."

To arouse visitors' curiosity and provide them with basic knowledge on plants, the gardens' management is planning to hold four exhibitions every year.

The first exhibition started May 16 and will close May 24 and focuses on palms. A seminar is being held during the exhibition and pamphlets on palms are also available.

Widyatmoko, a senior official of the Bogor Botanical Gardens, said Indonesia boasted 576 of an estimated 2,800 palm species known in the world today.

"These botanical gardens have 286 palm species," he said.

The botanical gardens also held a seminar on biodiversity in Indonesia last Saturday featuring Mien A Rifai, an assistant to the research and technology minister; Pasril Wahid, chief of the Indonesian Biodiversity Association; and Agus Pakpahan, a former official of the National Planning Board. (24)