[知识]中科院西双版纳热带植物园50周年园庆大会

[知识]中科院西双版纳热带植物园50周年园庆大会 中科院西双版纳热带植物园50周年园庆大会 海外科学家发言 (W. John Kress) 首先～感谢陈进主任盛情邀请～得以参加中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园50周年国际研讨会～并代表国外科学家在庆祝大会上发言。为什么我能获此殊荣, 十多年前～一个偶然的机会～使我与版纳植物园连在了一起～从那时起～我目睹了她令人难忘的发展历程。1995年～我第一次知道西双版纳热带植物园～当时我还根本无法准确读出“西双版纳”这个词。那一年～我第一次来到中国～参加由华南植物园举办的第二届国际姜科植物学大会～也是刚刚开始从事姜科分类学和系统学工作。在此期间～我遇到了也是刚刚开始对姜科感兴趣的年轻科学家李庆军～他和他夫人夏永梅给了我大量的关照。我们一同登上植物园附近的石灰山～寻找一个特别罕见、此前我从未在野外见过的姜科植物属～Pommereschia属。从此～我见证了西双版纳热带植物园～在先进的教育与研究规划基础上～从一个乡土植物园向现代化植物园转化的过程。 从那时开始～我与李博士及其研究组成员在姜科植物学方面的合作研究～逐渐深入～包括野外观测和实验测定。我在Smithsonian研究院的实验室多次接待了他和他组员、学生的来 访～以及夏永梅、刘爱忠、张玲等。今后～他的研究组将能更多地来Smithsonian～共同学习和分享热带植物学知识。 2003年～我成为版纳植物园的海外咨询专家。2006年～通过陈进主任和李庆军博士努力～我获得了云南省授予的“彩云”奖。我深感荣幸。 这些经历～使我能在此发言～描述西双版纳热带植物园的进步～尤其是研究项目进展～以及在森林生态学、热带植物系统分类学、以有保护生物学方面发挥的引领作用。首先～我想强调西双版纳植物园在景观建设和植物造景方面跨越式的进展。在先辈们半个世纪所奠定的基础上～正像其它植物园一样～版纳植物园新、老园区景观质量都得到了进一步地提升～使来自世界各地的人～都为她宁静而壮丽的热带植物生命所深深吸引。 过去十年中～版纳植物园十分注重科技培训与学生培养。与当地老百姓共同工作～加强了他们对自然的尊重～也获得了民族植物学新知识。～并为植物园在生态学和热带生态系统进化生物学方面提供了极好的条件。 作为Smithsonian的研究人员～我对西双版纳植物园的科研进展留下了深刻的印象。我很难对此作全面的描述～只能以自己亲身经历的几件事来说明。在热带植物分类学方面～植物园标本馆采用了数字化技术～使得全世界各地的研究人员都能获取所需要的标本信息。在热带森林生态学方面～姜科和榕属植物传粉的进化生态学研究取得了积极的进展。最近～版纳植物园建立了20公顷大样地～成为CTFS全球网络中的一部分。对 CTFS样地～稍后我会有更多的说明。我对Chuck Cannon博士提出的森林遗传图谱有同样深刻的印象～这将为植物园认识热带森林群落建立新的方向。版纳植物园利用遗传工程和繁殖技术～在生物能源植物小桐子方面开展的研究工作～也将为植物园带来新的建树和效益。 然而～最具印象的进展～应该是版纳植物园在国际热带生物学行动中所发挥的引领作用～尤其是在热带生物学与保护协会ATBC及其它相关组织中所起的作用。ATBC是最大的一个致力于认识和保护热带生物多样性的专业协会～版纳植物园在其中起到了重要的作用。作为ATBC的成员和《热带生物学》,Biotropica,期刊的编委～陈进博士、曹敏博士和李庆军博士都发挥了重要作用。版纳植物园承办了ATBC2006年年会～使全球各地的热带生物学家聚集在中国～近来植物园还将在ATBC亚太分会主席～陈进博士的倡导下～计划创办一本热带保护生物学的电子期刊。这些难以说是不平凡的举动～反映出了版纳植物园在国际科学舞台上所起的重要作用。 还想说的是～版纳植物园将在今年7月承办国际姜科植物学大会～而Smithsonian也曾参与角逐承办权～但版纳植物园～庆军把它淘汰出局。 今天～在版纳植物园回首过去、展望未来的庆典时刻～我们不禁要问这样一个问题:为什么我们～以及版纳植物园要努力保护热带森林,科学家们～包括很多在热带工作的科学家们～为自然生境的日益退化和即将来临的物种灭绝而大声疾呼～其早期思想根源于一种尊重生命及其原初形式的道义。但以这种 道义来保护生态系统的思想～很快就被以实际价值来衡量生物多样性的方式所取代～以增强人们对生物多样性的重视。这样～生物物种及其土著知识的知识产权受到了重视～特别是长期生活在高度生物多样性环境中人们所产生的知识。这种理念～在很多情况下不同程度地限制了科学家对生物及其生境开展研究的能力～因为至今我们仍难以证明我们确实从自然产品中获得了期望的财富。因此～当前保护生态系统的理念～转换为它为人类所提供的服务功能～如洁净的空气～纯净的水～传授花粉～或者碳库。必须保护自然生境以维持这些服务功能～因为它们对人类的生存至关重要。 五十年的历程～版纳植物园由一个森林利用的基地～转变成为了一个热带植物园艺展示和引领教育、研究以及热带物种及其生境保护的植物园。通过各种园艺、科研和推广项目～特别在近十年中～西双版纳植物园已发展成为中国和世界热带植物学和生态学的领导者。活植物收集区的新设计及其未来～新科研中心的建设～标志着未来数十年内版纳植物园这种发展的高度和产出。西双版纳植物园的使命是“发展生物多样性有效保护的策略和方法～以及植物资源可持续利用的技术～为森林生态系统生态学和保护生物学的理论与技术创新以及推动社会经济的可持续发展做贡献”～在这次的国际研讨会上～我们还将回顾并赞誉植物园所取得的成绩～并展望未来发展～特别在热带森林保护方面～以使版纳植物园为热带植物多样性知识创新～为保护我们所生存的星球～作出持续的、更大的贡献。 谢谢大家: Statement from Foreign Scientists thon the Occasion of the 50 Anniversary Celebration of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden W. John Kress National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC, USA and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden The Chinese Academy of Sciences Mengla, Yunnan, China I would like to begin by thanking my colleague and friend the Director of XTBG Dr. Chen Jin for his invitation to participate in this anniversary symposium and his invitation to provide a brief statement representing the thforeign scientists present at this conference celebrating the 50 Anniversary of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. Why should I be asked to provide this opening statement? I have been fortunate to be associated with XTBG for over a decade and have watched the impressive growth of the garden during that time. My first encounter with the Garden was in 1995 when I couldn’t even correctly pronounce the name “Xishuangbanna.” At that time I had attended the Second International Symposium on the Ginger Family, which had been hosted by the South China Botanical Garden. That trip was my first visit to China and I was just beginning work on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the gingers. I was lucky at that time to meet Qing-Jun Li, who was also just developing an early interest in the Zingiberaceae as a young scientist and he, along with his wife, Yong-Mei Xia took care of me during my stay. Together we climbed the limestone mountain near the Garden to find an extremely rare genus of ginger called Pommereschia, which to this day I have never encountered again the wild. At that time I saw XTBG at the start of its transition from a local tropical garden to a modern botanical garden with advanced programs of education and research. Since that first visit I have been collaborating with Dr. Li and members of his research group on many aspects of the biology of the gingers, including field observations and laboratory experiments. I have hosted a number of his staff and students at our lab at the Smithsonian, including Qing-Jun for numerous visits, as well as Dr. Xia Yong-Mei, Dr. Liu Ai-Zhong, Dr. Zhang Ling, and hopefully many more of his group will come to the Smithsonian to learn about and share our collective knowledge of tropical plants. I was also honored in 2003 to be invited to be one of the first Foreign Adjunct Professors in the Chinese Academy of Sciences at XTBG. And in 2006 through the efforts of Qing-Jun and Chen Jin I was awarded the Caiyun Medal by the Yunnan Province for our collaboration and long-lasting friendship. I am delighted and in debt to XTBG for these privileges and honors. So these are the experiences and credentials with which I am equipped to speak about the achievements and successes of XTBG, especially in their research programs and international leadership in Forest Ecology, Tropical Plant Systematics, and Conservation Biology. But first I must recognize the great strides that XTBG has made in the development of landscape design and the botanical beauty of the gardens. Building on the basic structure that was established a half-century ago by the founders of the Garden, the aesthetic properties of the different sections both old and new have been greatly enhanced to attract visitors from around the world who seek the tranquility and splendor of tropical plant life. As in all botanical gardens such transitions are always in progress. The programs of educational outreach and student training have also been greatly expanded over the last decade. Working with local indigenous and minority groups has resulted in their enhanced appreciation and respect for natural habitats in the Xishuangbanna region as well a new knowledge on the ethnobotany of these peoples. At the same time XTBG has provided excellent training opportunities for Masters and Doctoral candidates in ecology and evolutionary biology of tropical ecosystems. I have observed how these programs have added an important vibrancy to the Garden. From my perspective as a research scientist at the Smithsonian, I have been most impressed with the scientific achievements of XTBG. It is impossible to cover the entire spectrum of research activities at the Garden so I will provide simply a few examples of the programs which I have seen in action first hand. With regards to the taxonomy of tropical plants, one of the recognized successes is the digitization of images of the entire herbarium at the Garden making these specimens accessible to researchers anywhere around the world. In tropical forest ecology, highly successful projects are now in progress on the evolutionary ecology of pollination and dispersal of gingers and figs a well as ecosystem function. Recently XTBG has established a new 20-hectar forest dynamics plot as part of Center for Tropical Forest Science worldwide consortium. I will speak more about research in the CTFS plots later today. I am equally impressed with the newly established program in Forest Genomics, headed up by Dr. Chuck Cannon, which will take the Gardens in new directions of understanding the evolution of tropical forest communities. Finally the new efforts toward the development of biofuels through genetic engineering and breeding programs for Jatropha and oil palms as alternative fuel sources promises to be an important new resource for innovation and funding for XTBG. Perhaps one of the most impressive achievements is the leadership role that XTBG has taken in international tropical biology activities, especially with regards to the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation and other such organizations. ATBC is the largest professional society devoted to understanding and protecting the biodiversity of the tropics and XTBG has played a significant part in the activities of the Association. Both as Councilors in governing ATBC and as member so the editorial board of the journal Biotropica Dr. Chen Jin, Dr. Cao Min, and Dr. Li Qing-Jun have played important roles. XTBG also hosted the ATBC Annual Meeting in Kunming in 2006 bringing to China tropical biologists from around the world. The Garden has recently taken an innovative step by proposing to launch a new open access on-line journal on tropical conservation biology. This effort has been initiated in conjunction with the Asian-Pacific Chapter of ATBC with Chen Jin as its current president. These are all hardly trivial endeavors and reflect the important role that XTBG is playing in the international scientific arena. thI should also mention that XTBG will be hosting the 5 International Symposium on Ginger Family in July of this year and Qing-Jun was able to out-compete the Smithsonian, who also bid on hosting the conference! Why do we and XTBG even want to conserve tropical forests? It is importrant to ask this question in the context of celebrating the past and future of this Garden. Scientists, many working in the tropics, were among the early town criers who alerted the world to the expanding degradation of natural habitats and the pending extinction of species due to human activities. The earliest rationale for saving these habitats and preventing extinction was the morale obligation of the citizens of the planet to respect life in all its forms. This reason for protecting ecosystems was soon replaced by the need to put an actual monetary value on biodiversity in order to enhance the respect for it, which led to the recognition of the importance of the intellectual property rights of species and local knowledge about them, especially that knowledge held by indigenous peoples living in high biodiversity areas. This rationale in many cases acted in certain ways to inhibit our abilities as scientists to study the organisms and their habitats. So far we have little to prove that the expected riches to be gained from natural products are real. So now we have moved into the current rationale of protecting ecosystems because of the services that they provide humanity, whether they are clean air, clean water, pollinators, or carbon sinks. Natural habitats must be preserved to maintian these services, which are vital to our continued existence on earth. In conclusion in its fifty years of existence, XTBG has moved from a garden embedded in a landscape of changing forest use to a horticultural showcase of tropical plants and a world leader in education, research, and conservation of tropical plant species and habitats. Through the various programs in horticulture, science and outreach, especially during the last decade, XTBG has grown to be a recognized leader in China and the world in the field of tropical botany and ecology. The redesign and development of the living collections as well as the construction of the new research center are encouraging signs that this growth in stature and productivity will continue in the decades ahead. The Mission of XTBG is to “Promote science advancement and environmental conservation through the implementation of collaborative multi-disciplinary research programs, horticultural exhibition and public education of tropical botany.” During this symposium we will look back and celebrate the achievements that have resulted from this mission as well as look to the future, especially in the conservation of tropical forests, for XTBG to continue to make substantial contributions in these areas crucial to our knowledge of tropical plant diversity and the protection of the planet. Thank you.