Ethnobotany and the Belt and Road Cooperation

Announcement

1. Background

Ethnobotany as a scientific term was firstly introduced into the literature by an American botanist, John Harshberger in 1896, referring to knowledge of the use of plants revealed through research on American Indians. From this start, the scope of the subject has expanded to cover all aspects of human relationship with plants: food, fiber, medicine and energy, the roles of plants in religious culture, and the dynamic processes involved in farming, forestry and animal husbandry. Since 2002 eight national conference and seven Asia-Pacific Forums on Ethnobotany have been held in China. Following successfully previous experience, the 9^th National Symposium on Ethnobotany and the 8^th Asia-Pacific Forum on Ethnobotany will be held in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province, China from July 13-14, 2018. We sincerely welcome your participation in this important event.

2. Objective

The objective of the symposium and forum is to provide opportunities to share information on advances and challenges in ethnobotany among participants from all over China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, including in relation to the construction of eco-civilization (the theme of our last conference).

3. Symposium theme and topics

The theme of the conference and forum is ‘Ethnobotany and the Belt and Road Cooperation’.

The six 6 symposium sub-topics are:

(1)    Ethnobotany and Cross-Cultural Exchanges

(2)    Ethnobotany and Sustainable Use of Plant Resources in ‘the Belt and Road’

(3)    Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants in ‘the Belt and Road’

(4)    Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in relation to Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge and ‘The Belt and Road’

(5)    Creative Development of Ethnobotany Research

(6)    Ethnobotany and New Rural-Area Construction

4. Organizers

Symposium Organizer:

Chinese Association of Ethnobotany (CAE)

Symposium Host Institution:

Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Special Sponsor:

DR PLANT Cosmetics

Symposium Co-organizers:

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), CAS

Ethno-ecology Association, Ecological Society of China

Minzu University of China, Beijing

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG), CAS

Xinjiang Association of Botany

College of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

Nanjing Institution for the Comprehensive Utilization of Wild Plants

Kaili University, Guizhou, China

Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization

Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge

Symposium Organization Committee

Chairs:

Dr. Li Dezhu (President, CAE), 

Dr. Sun Hang (Director General, KIB, CAS)

Executive Chair: Prof. Yang Yongping (Deputy Director General, KIB, CAS)

Vice Chairs:

Prof. Hu Huabin (Deputy Director General XTBG, CAS;

Dr. Ha Shibagen (Dean, Faculty of Life Science, Inner –Mongolian Normal University)

Academic Committee Chairs: Prof. PEI Shengji (KIB), Prof. Pan Borong (XIEG)

5. Abstracts, Registration, Languages

Abstracts for presentations are required by 10^th June 2018. They will be printed and distributed before the conference.

Please fill in and return the registration form by email to the contact person by 10^th June, 2018

The symposium languages are Chinese and English.

6. Registration Fee

Registration fee is 980CNY (1USD=6.3CNY) for both foreign and domestic participants. The registration fee covers symposium documents, meals etc, but excludes accommodation. The typical cost of a room in a symposium hotel will be around 50-60USD/day.

7. Dates and venue

Dates: July 13-14, 2018

Venue:

Kunming City, the capital of Yuannan Province and known as the ‘City of Eternal Spring’, is one of the most pleasant and relaxed cities in China. It boasts some of the best weather, a consistently pleasant climate and some of the freshest and cleanest air of any major city in the country.

8. Pre-Conference Training Courses

Pre-Conference training courses on Ethnobotnay will be offered on July 12, 2018 at KIB, mainly for Master and PhD candidates.

9. Contact person

Mr. Yang Zhiwei (Email: zhiwei@mail.kib.ac.cn; Mobile: +86 137 087 910 77)

(Editor: YANG Mei)