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From: jrc@anbg.gov.au (Jim Croft) To: jrc@anbg.gov.au (Jim Croft), Multiple recipients of list <biodiv-l@bdt.ftpt.br>, Bio Diversity Network <M192@komserve.komunity.se> Date: 08 Feb 1993 14:44 +0200 Fax copy: Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria Australian Biological Resources Study MEDIA RELEASE ============= Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research ====================================== A joint initiative between the Australian National Botanic Gardens and the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. Establishment of new Biodiversity Centre ---------------------------------------- A memorandum of understanding was signed on 3 February to establish a Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research. The Chief Executive Officers of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service (ANPWS) and the CSIRO, Dr Peter Bridgewater and Dr John Stocker, signed the memorandum on behalf of the Australian National Botanic Gardens and the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. The Centre will combine the activities of the herbaria at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) and the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry to operate as a single national collection, the Australian National Herbarium. It will also bring together the research activities of the two organisations in the areas of plant systematics, horticulture and conservation biology - continuing and expanding the on-going collaborative work between ANBG, the Endangered Species Unit of the ANPWS and the CSIRO on rare and threatened plants. The Centre will take responsibility for the coordination, maintenance and upgrading of important national botanical databases developed by ANPWS and CSIRO, including the Australian Plant Name Index and the Census of Australian Vascular Plants. The Centre will also take an active role in the development of national and international standards of botanical data exchange. The operations of the Centre will be modelled on those developed by the Commonwealth for the Cooperative Research Centres program. It will be established with existing facilities made available by CSIRO and the ANBG on Black Mountain and will take full advantage of the extended herbarium facilities to be constructed at the CSIRO site in 1993. Staff from both parent organisations have been meeting in working groups for some months to decide on the mechanism for the amalgamation. Staff for the Centre will be seconded from the Botanic Gardens and CSIRO Plant Industry. The Centre will be managed by a Board, with representatives of both CSIRO and ANPWS and an independent chair. Professor Derek Anderson , the Pro Vice Chancellor of Sydney University, has agreed to chair the Board once the Center becomes a reality with the signing of a legal agreement in the next two months. Further information: Dr David Kay, Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service. ph (06) 250 9500 Dr Judy West, CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. ph (06)246 5113 3 February 1993 ______________________________________________________________________________ Jim Croft [Herbarium CBG] internet: jrc@anbg.gov.au Australian National Botanic Gardens voice: +61-6-2509 490 GPO Box 1777, Canberra, ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA fax: +61-6-2509 599 ____Biodiversity Directorate, Australian National Parks & Wildlife Service____
