In December 2018, people from a diversity of cultures, languages, and organisations from around the world responded to the global impacts of climate change to attend the botanical world’s first Climate Change Summit in Australia and form the Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens (Alliance).

The current growing membership comprises over 65 botanical organisations, gardens and arboreta from across the world including peak industry bodies: Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), International Association of Botanic Garden (IABG), Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand (BGANZ) and the American Public Gardens Association (APGA).

Since its formation, the Alliance has achieved the following:

• Agreed on an innovative Charter based on the adaptability and resilience of living systems such as the living landscapes and collections for which we are stewards
• Influenced positive action by governments and energised botanical networks
• Developed the first stage of a Climate Risk Assessment Tool to help manage plant collections and landscape
• Delivered information and knowledge on effective climate responses and plant conservation at diverse forums and workshops
• Prepared a draft Landscape Succession Strategy Toolkit to support organisations in improving the resilience and sustainability of their landscapes through climate change.

By joining the Alliance, Botanic Gardens and similar organisations around the world will have access to a global network of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta, Botanic Gardens Associations, scientists, horticulturists and friends of Alliance who are working together to protect their Gardens and the plants of the world. Through information sharing and increased influence, Alliance will continue to be the change that the world needs to see.

According to Dr Dave Kendal from the University of Tasmania, in the next 50 years, 20-50% of current plant species in botanic gardens and urban landscapes will likely confront temperatures those species have never experienced before.

The time for action is now: please consider joining the Alliance so collectively we can make a real difference with climate change action to safeguard plant collections, landscapes and biodiversity.

Please find the details below as how to join online for free—it is an easy process. There are no impossible obligations expected from you—just a commitment to the principles of the Charter of the Alliance and associated climate change action. Your small or large actions are all valuable!

Information on the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria’s Landscape Succession Strategy and the botanical world’s first Climate Change Summit can be found here.

Founding Partners who established the Alliance:

• Beijing Botanic Garden, China
• Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI)
• Botanic Garden of the City of Buenos Aires ‘Carlos Thays’, Argentina
• Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand (BGANZ)
• Eden Project International, UK
• International Association of Botanic Gardens (IABG)
• Jerusalem Botanic Garden, Israel
• Nanshan Botanic Garden, China
• Real Jardín Botánico, Spain
• Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Australia (Current Secretariat)
• South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), South Africa
• The Morton Arboretum, USA
• University of California Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, USA