A TOTAL of 48 satellite meetings have been arranged to parallel the XIX International Botanical Congress. Many famous botanical associations like the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS), the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT), the International Association of Botanic Gardens (IABG), the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), the International Association of Bryologists (IAB) and the Botanical Society of America (BSA) have participated in different satellite meetings. Renowned publishing houses, like Taylor & Francis, Cambridge University Press and John Wiley & Sons Inc., also took this chance to hold author workshops.

The satellite meetings have achieved fruitful achievements with many expected to have a profound impact on future research and industry development.

Founding of an agricultural genomics alliance

The founding meeting was held July 24 in Shenzhen, with Huang Sanwen, director of the Agricultural Genomics Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, elected as the alliance’s director-general. More than 70 Chinese institutes and companies joined the alliance, which aims to solve technical problems in agricultural genomics.

Shenzhen has taken the lead in biological breeding in China in recent years and has formed a mature industry chain.

The alliance will next push for the industrialization of genomics technology in agricultural production.

Invasive plants, their control

On the afternoon of July 24, the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau joined hands with the Congress’ organizing committee to host a satellite meeting to discuss ways of controlling invasive plants with experts from Egypt, Turkey, Argentina, and the USA.

According to Zhao Xinliu, vice director of the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Shenzhen is under a lot of pressure to control and prevent the introduction of invasive plants through the city’s many checkpoints bordering Hong Kong.

China now is host to 291 species of invasive plants, the meeting was told. The country has established 749 on-site quarantine facilities and 800 disposal facilities to prevent invasive plants from entering the country.

Conservation of Gesneriaceae

More than 30 scholars from the USA, the UK, Thailand and Taiwan attended a meeting on the conservation of Gesneriaceae, along with experts from four Gesneriaceae conservation centers in China (specifically in Shenzhen, Guilin, Guiyang and Hefei).

Professor Michael Moller from the UK and Dr. Qiu Zhijing from the Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden hosted the event.

Developing vertical landscaping and building a green habitat

The satellite meeting was held in Shenzhen on July 26, with six experts from the government, enterprises and research institutes making speeches.

This was the first time that the concept of “green building” had been put forward at a botanical congress. (Shao Jingfeng)