The Botanical Garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 of the Technological University of Pereira

Technological University of Pereira

The Technological University of Pereira , is a public, national, coeducational, research university based in the city of Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia....

(Jardín Botánico Universidad Tecnológica De Pereira, or JBUTP), Pereira

Pereira, Colombia

Pereira is the capital city of the Colombian department of Risaralda. It stands in the center of the western region of the country, located in a small valley that descends from a part of the western Andes mountain chain. Its strategic location in the coffee producing area makes the city an urban...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 is an important research, conservation and environmental education facility.

This garden is categorized as "Natural or Wild" by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Botanic Gardens Conservation International is a plant conservation charity based in London, England. It is a membership organisation, working with 800 botanic gardens in 118 countries, whose combined work forms the world's largest plant conservation network.Founded in 1987, BGCI is a registered...

 (BGCI). This makes it very different from those found in the main cities of Colombia, the United States, and Europe since the storage is not done through ornamental plant collections, horticulture or forestry design but in an area of vegetation that has emerged naturally and is under their management, protection and enrichment.

History

In 1983, by Order 00 020 (Sept. 6), the Supreme Council of the Technological University of Pereira (Universidad Tecnológica De Pereira, or UTP) created the Botanical Garden, assigning an approximate area of 12.7 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

s.

In 1999, JBUTP opens a new phase of development, which enabled it to obtain endorsement by the Botanical Garden Research Institute of Biological Resources "Alexander von Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...

". It therefore entered the National Network Botanic Gardens of Colombia on February 8, 2000. The Regional Autonomous Corporation of Risaralda CARDER Botanical Garden gives the Environmental Operating Permit on April 24, 2000 by Resolution No. 0468.

Since 2000, the Botanical Garden has had a Visitors Center of 2449 m2, and a nursery of 3714 m2.

Since 2003, JBUTP has 1,500 linear meters of trails in perfect condition to tour the wooded area, of which 10.09 hectares are for the different collections and 1.7 hectares in the wetland. Also, have built basic infrastructure works such as stairs and concrete roads, viewpoints, kiosk, guardrails, bridges and a wooden pier make it an easier and more enjoyable journey through the wooded area.

Over the past four years, JBUTP has actively participated in important stages of development and decision making such as the Inter-Agency Technical Committee for Environmental Education in Risaralda, the Interagency Committee on Environmental Education in the Municipality of Pereira and Network National Botanical Gardens.

Currently studies are underway to expand the garden area through the award as an area of special management areas that are within the campus of the University and are suitable for this purpose.

Collections

In practice, this garden has a great advantage over other botanical gardens in the world, since the current trend is to try to reproduce the ecosystems in which species live under management. The Garden already has an ecosystem area under this type of management, which is planned to establish new biological collections that are relevant for their economic, cultural use or degree of vulnerability, in order to make it more representative and conservative.

Likewise, the expansion of libraries will ensure a representative gene bank, allowing us to generate knowledge about individuals of the coffee plant and serve as future seed source important for stocking programs or projects in the wild with native species.

Priority is established to collect living plants native to the Andean forest representative of the coffee region, mainly focusing on species in the area who are in some degree of vulnerability or are of economic or cultural interest.

Existing Collections

• Bambusetum
• Orquidiarium
• Heliconiaceae
• Costaceae
• Arecaceae
• Juglandaceae
• Araceae
• Magnoliaceae
• Lauraceae
• Meliaceae pteridophytes Library
• Aromatic