Conservationists build more gardens

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post/Bogor

The Center of Flora Conservation at the Bogor Botanical Gardens plans to develop more gardens in West Java's Kuningan district, East Kalimantan's Balikpapan, South Sulawesi's Enrekang and Leuser in Aceh.

Coordinator of flora conservation and research Sutrisno said another 10 provinces across the country had also requested cooperation from the institute to help them establish their own botanical parks.

"But the project in Aceh has been delayed due to the post- tsunami condition," he said.

The country's four main four botanical gardens -- Bogor, West Java's Cibodas, Central Java's Purwodadi and Eka Karya in Bali -- were not enough to accommodate the rich variety of Indonesian flora, he said.

The center had since 1997 supervised the development of the Bukit Sari Botanical Garden, and since 2002 helped create the Baturaden Botanical Garden, both in West Java, he said.

"Each garden has a different ecosystem type ... there is a need to have at least one botanical garden in each province so we can conserve all the Indonesian flora. Indonesia has at least 28,000 species of flowers, but only 3,000 can grow in Bogor," he said.

Head of ex-situ conservation, Sudjati Budi Susetyo, added that as of December, the Bogor Botanical Garden has collected at least 13,563 species of plants, of which 11 had yet to be classified.

Management in Bogor has also been cultivating wild plants and developing ecotourism, an adopt-a-tree program and an orchidarium.