Articles
Development of a master plan and a fund-raising plan for the M.S. Swaminathan Botanical Garden in Wayanad, India
Article number
1298_5
Pages
23 – 28
Language
English
Abstract
The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) established the Community Agrobiodiversity Centre (CAbC) in Wayanad, India in 1997 with the purpose of starting a community center for conserving and utilizing agrobiodiversity to achieve food, nutrition, health, and livelihood security of the local forest-dependent and small holder farm families.
In 2010, the Center expanded its area to about 20 ha primarily to conserve important plant diversity in ex situ collections which included agricultural biodiversity and rare, endemic and threatened species of the Western Ghats through the creation of the M.S. Swaminathan Botanical Garden (MSSBG). In 2014, the Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colorado, USA, partnered with MSSBG to develop a master plan to provide a future vision for growth and development of the M.S. Swaminathan Botanical Garden.
The master plan identifies three zones and their programmatic components – 1) Community Zone, displaying major plant collections in an aesthetic manner for visitor interaction and appreciation with potential for revenue generation; 2) Agrobiodiversity Zone, predominantly concentrating on ethnobotanical plant collections programmed to reach the diverse local tribal and farming populations; and 3) Rare, Endemic, Threatened (RET) Conservation Zone, maintained in a near-natural state emphasizing the conservation of local biodiversity.
In 2017, an advisory committee was formed to spearhead the implementation of the master plan and develop clear strategies for action, an outcome being the development of a fund-raising plan.
The process of development of the master plan and fund-raising plan are discussed.
In 2010, the Center expanded its area to about 20 ha primarily to conserve important plant diversity in ex situ collections which included agricultural biodiversity and rare, endemic and threatened species of the Western Ghats through the creation of the M.S. Swaminathan Botanical Garden (MSSBG). In 2014, the Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colorado, USA, partnered with MSSBG to develop a master plan to provide a future vision for growth and development of the M.S. Swaminathan Botanical Garden.
The master plan identifies three zones and their programmatic components – 1) Community Zone, displaying major plant collections in an aesthetic manner for visitor interaction and appreciation with potential for revenue generation; 2) Agrobiodiversity Zone, predominantly concentrating on ethnobotanical plant collections programmed to reach the diverse local tribal and farming populations; and 3) Rare, Endemic, Threatened (RET) Conservation Zone, maintained in a near-natural state emphasizing the conservation of local biodiversity.
In 2017, an advisory committee was formed to spearhead the implementation of the master plan and develop clear strategies for action, an outcome being the development of a fund-raising plan.
The process of development of the master plan and fund-raising plan are discussed.
Authors
S. Krishnan, A. Kumar, M. Swaminathan
Keywords
agrobiodiversity, biodiversity, botanical garden, conservation, master plan, Western Ghats
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