Smithsonian calls for renewed international cooperation in sharing biodiversity information

10-year anniversary of Rio Convention will be focus of Smithsonian Symposium

The Smithsonian Institution has pledged its support in helping governmental and non-governmental organizations in protecting the world's biodiversity. In an effort to address the ramifications of current research activities and assess the state of biodiversity around the world the Smithsonian is hosting the second annual Botanical Symposium at the National Museum of Natural History on April 5-6. Program information and on-line registration are available at http://persoon.si.edu/sbs/.

"The human assault on the Earth's natural environments was acknowledged in 1992 by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)," said Dr. John Kress, head of the museum's botany section and co-organizer of the Botanical Symposium. "Yet regrettably, the scientific goals of the CBD are being challenged through the intense regulation of biodiversity. The ability of scientists throughout the world to carry out vital projects in support of the tenets of the CBD is being jeopardized."

"We are calling for global cooperation among scientists to utilize new technologies to enhance the sharing of information on biodiversity," Kress said.

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for the conservation, sustainable development and equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity. This strategy was transformed into the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that has now been signed and/or ratified by more than 180 nations. The responsibilities, priorities and practices of taxonomists and natural historians for discovering and describing biodiversity have been significantly altered since the Earth Summit.

"The Smithsonian supports international cooperation among scientists," said Dr. J. Dennis O'Connor, Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution and acting director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. "We are honored to bring together distinguished scientists and biodiversity leaders from around the world to discuss the global, national and local implications of the Rio convention. By sharing our extensive botanical collections and information resources the Smithsonian has assumed a leadership role in international research and policy."

The second Jos� Cuatrecasas Medal in Tropical Botany will be presented at the symposium. This prestigious award is given annually by the Smithsonian to an international scholar who has contributed significantly to advancing the field of tropical botany. The award is named in honor of Dr. Jos� Cuatrecasas, a pioneering Smithsonian botanist who devoted his career to plant exploration in tropical South America. The 2002 recipient is Dr. P. Barry Tomlinson of Harvard University who will be honored for his work on tropical palms, trees and mangroves.

The 2002 Smithsonian Botanical Symposium is sponsored by the National Museum of Natural History, the Cuatrecasas Family Foundation, the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and the United States Botanic Garden.

The botanical collections at the Smithsonian were established in 1848 with an initial offering of 50,000 specimens. Current holdings total more than 4.5 million, making this collection among the largest in the world representing about eight percent of the plant collection resources of the United States. Now maintained within the Smithsonian as the United States National Herbarium, the collection is especially rich in type specimens, with more than 90,000.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History welcomed more than 8.4 million people during the year 2001 making it the most visited natural history museum in the world. Opened in 1910, the museum is dedicated to maintaining and preserving the most extensive collection of natural history specimens and human artifacts in the world. The museum also fosters critical scientific research as well as educational programs and exhibitions that present the work of its scientists and curators to the public. The museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum and research complex is located at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W. The museum is free of charge and open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. During special summer hours from May 24 through Sept. 2, the museum will be open until 8 p.m. For more information, call 202-357-2700.