BRIN Wants To Make Botanical Gardens A Center For New Economic Growth

Photo via Antara

JAKARTA - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) offers the concept of a botanical garden as a new center of economic growth by adding a science center and SME development.

Head of BRIN Laksana Tri Handoko said the integration was to strengthen the position and benefits of regional botanical gardens, which are not just an ex-situ conservation area of endemic flora.

"The main function is ex-situ conservation of endemic plants that exist there, that's the main goal. It just takes effort to maintain it, so we can't leave the economic side either," said Handoko, Wednesday, July 27, quoted from Antara.

Handoko hopes that the botanical gardens in these areas will become KST (science and technology areas).

This integration was driven by the drafting of a Presidential Regulation in lieu of Presidential Regulation Number 93 of 2011 concerning Botanical Gardens, to accommodate current needs and dynamics that must be anticipated immediately.

According to Handoko, the management of the botanical gardens will be under the supervision of the Regional Research and Innovation Agency (BRIDA), while maintaining its function as a center for flora conservation and encouraging local revenue sources (PAD).

Handoko added, with the large wealth of biodiversity that Indonesia has, the challenge going forward is to increase the value of sustainable benefits through research and innovation so as to be able to realize the green economy that is aspired to.

Meanwhile, the Director of Research and Innovation Partnership, R. Hendrian, said that the meeting for the managers of Indonesian botanical gardens was a medium to strengthen coordination and communication, share information and exchange ideas, and find alternative solutions to problems related to plantation management.

"This meeting of botanical garden managers in Indonesia is a good means to strengthen the network of cooperation and synergy in the development of the Indonesian Botanical Gardens," he said.

To date, there are 47 botanical gardens in Indonesia, of which five are managed by BRIN. This number represents 18 types of ecoregions found in 21 provinces in Indonesia.

Each botanical garden has a specific theme depending on local characteristics or advantages. Given the increasing importance of the role of botanical gardens for plant conservation and community welfare, the development of botanical gardens in the regions needs to be continuously encouraged.