A world without fences
"There's this idea that the wilderness will take care of itself if we just put a fence around it. I can't accept that," says Dr. Paul Smith.
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Dr. Paul Smith is a plant ecologist and one of the University of Bergen's new honorary doctors proposed by the University Museum. From his home in Wales, Great Britain, he points out something fundamental about our time: nature no longer evolves independently of us. In landscapes shaped by human activity, biodiversity needs more than protection. It needs knowledge, cooperation and people who take responsibility for the species that live around us.
The invisible trees
"My earliest memories are of growing up in the bush, very close to Victoria Falls in Zambia," says Dr. Paul Smith. As a young safari guide, he saw how people's attention was focused on birds and mammals, and the so-called "big five", lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo, while the magnificent trees around them were barely noticed. The fact that the very structure of the ecosystem was so easy to overlook made a lasting impression on Dr. Smith, who later dedicated his life to plant conservation and management with the goal of preventing the loss of biodiversity.
As Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), Dr. Smith until recently led the world's largest network for plant conservation, with around 650 botanic gardens and about 950 affiliated scientific communities in more than a hundred countries. This also includes the University Museum's botanical gardens whose scientific staff coordinate the Global Conservation Consortium for Erica, bringing together expertise to secure endangered heather species. For Dr. Smith, this is an example of how botanic gardens and seed banks can work together to give endangered species a future.
Dr. Paul Smith has also played a central role in the development of important global tools such as The Global Biodiversity Standard and the Global Tree Portal, which are now used by institutions and governments around the world. Under his leadership, a global overview of approximately 58,000 tree species has been developed, including where they are found and whether they are at risk of disappearing. The results of this work show, among other things, that around 17,500 tree species are threatened with extinction. This important knowledge has provided the basis for political initiatives, priorities and international conservation measures.
Dr. Paul Smith’s work has strengthened the global infrastructure for monitoring and conserving threatened tree species. He has demonstrated the importance of international seed banks and botanical gardens and promoted nature restoration based on science and native species. His efforts are of great importance for the international community’s responsibility to prevent the loss of biodiversity.”
Seeds for the future
Dr. Smith led the Millennium Seed Bank project for many years, which preserves seeds of wild plant species from around the world for use in research, management and recovery. He often encounters the idea of seed banks as doomsday vaults in the event of a disaster, but Dr. Smith describes them as practical tools in a continuous management of natural diversity where seeds and knowledge are shared with the rest of the world. A core stock of seeds is secured and duplicated, and the work has contributed to the establishment of around 400 seed banks globally. Thousands of professionals are now trained to care for their own flora. This international community of people and institutions is, as he sees it, the reason why he has faith in the future, even as political priorities change.
Cultivating knowledge
Dr. Smith says of the honorary doctorate: “It is a wonderful surprise and a great honor.” He is looking forward to meeting colleagues in Norway. The network mentality is fundamental to everything he does. “With the knowledge and methods we have today, we can practically grow almost any plant species.” For Dr. Smith, this means that plant species do not have to go extinct. The green world can be cultivated like a garden, with care, precision and shared responsibility, not by withdrawing, but by sharing knowledge widely.
Seminar:
Conserving plants across the world's gardens and seed banks: how to create impact at scale
