Botanic gardens face a space crisis as extinction risks rise
Botanic gardens worldwide are running out of space to conserve endangered plants, complicating efforts to protect biodiversity amid accelerating extinction rates.
Donna Ferguson reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- Cambridge University researchers found botanic gardens worldwide have reached peak capacity, with only 5-10% of space devoted to conservation.
- Legal restrictions on collecting plants and exchanging seeds, like those stemming from the 1993 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, hinder conservation efforts.
- Climate change further threatens living plant collections, pushing gardens to prioritize species resilient to future conditions.
Key quote:
“The rate at which plants are being listed as threatened is increasing much more rapidly than the rate at which we’re managing to respond. The risk of extinction is accelerating and our response is too slow.”
— Samuel Brockington, Cambridge University Botanic Garden curator
Why this matters:
Biodiversity loss is often framed as an ecological crisis, but it’s also a profound loss for humanity’s potential. With every disappearing species, the world forfeits the chance to uncover new sources of food, lifesaving medicines or innovative materials. Many modern breakthroughs — such as cancer drugs derived from plants or heat-resistant enzymes found in unique microorganisms—have their roots in nature’s diversity.
Related EHN coverage:
