The International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation (IABGC) was first published in 2000 following the publication in 1989 of the Botanic Gardens Conservation Strategy by the Botanic Gardens Conservation Secretariat of the IUCN (now Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)).

The IABGC was a policy framework for botanic gardens worldwide to contribute to biodiversity conservation and to demonstrate how their work contributed to policies such as the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

As of March 2021, BGCI took the decision to bring the IABGC to a close. BGCI’s Accreditation Scheme was developed in 2018 to distinguishes botanic gardens from non-botanic gardens and recognise their achievements in plant conservation. There are three types of accreditation:

• BGCI Botanic Garden Accreditation
• BGCI Conservation Practitioner Accreditation
• BGCI Advanced Conservation Practitioner Accreditation

The BGCI Botanic Garden Accreditation assesses and places a high value on the unique skills, knowledge and data in botanic gardens. The BGCI Conservation Practitioner Accreditation is designed to motivate gardens to engage in plant conservation.

For more information about BGCI Accreditation please visit here.

For any questions about the BGCI Accreditation Scheme please contact Patricia Malcolm, Head of Membership and Conservation Services (patricia.malcolm@bgci.org).