by Zhang Feng and Larry Neild
LONDON, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, also named Kew, a dark blue tile captured the attention of visitors.
In 1985, British naturalist David Attenborough buried a time capsule beneath it, containing seeds of endangered plant species.
According to the plan, the capsule was to be opened in 2085. By then, scientists fear, some of the plants whose seeds lay inside might have disappeared from the wild.
The urgency of biodiversity protection was underscored at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.
How can biodiversity be safeguarded and humanity's relationship with nature restored? And how can the world achieve the goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and living in harmony with nature by 2050?
Recent visits to Kew offered some clues.
"LIVING RAINFOREST IN LONDON"
Originally the private gardens of King George II, Kew started botanical collections in 1759. Today, Kew is home to some 17,000 plant species and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2003.
As autumn set in and temperatures began to fall, plants outside Kew's Palm House have been cleared away, making room for species better suited to colder weather.
Yet stepping inside, visitors were greeted by warmth and lush greenery. Nicknamed "living rainforest in London," the Palm House opened in 1848 and housed more than 1,000 tropical and subtropical plant species, including Eastern Cape giant cycad from South Africa and Australia's pandanus tree whose above-ground roots rose to human height.
Staff member Leaf said that to conserve the tropical plants from around the world, the Palm House maintained consistently high temperatures and humidity levels of around 80 percent.
However, the historic structure itself faced considerable challenges. Rust could be seen on the building's framework, with large patches of its surface coating peeling off.
Despite two major restoration projects in the 20th century, the Victorian-era greenhouse continued to suffer from structural deterioration, posing grave challenges to its plant collections.
Leaf said the Palm House was scheduled to close for renovation starting next year, with the project expected to take three to five years.
CONSERVATION BEYOND BORDERS
In 2021, Kew received Guinness World Records recognition for the "largest collection of living plants at a single-site botanic garden."
Alexandre Antonelli, executive director of science at Kew, said that protecting biodiversity called for cross-border efforts. "Kew has a long history of engagement with China," said Antonelli in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
He noted that Kew maintained long-standing cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expanding collaboration in areas such as joint postgraduate training and exchange of scientific research findings.
"Kew supports China's broad goals of ecological civilization, where people and nature thrive together," said Antonelli.
In Kew's Temperate House, sunlight streamed through an enormous glass roof, illuminating elegant architectural curves and towering plants from temperate regions worldwide.
Among them, a Chinese gooseberry, or kiwi fruit plant stood out. The information board nearby unveiled a lesser-known story of the plant's global journey. Contrary to popular belief, kiwifruit did not originate in New Zealand but was native to China, where it has been cultivated for centuries.
In the early 20th century, Mary Fraser, a New Zealand school principal, brought kiwifruit seeds back home after returning from a visit to China's Hubei Province.
Nathan, an exchange student from New Zealand, was much delighted by the discovery. He said that kiwi fruit was commonplace back home, where growers often built fences to support the climbing vines. The English word "kiwi" also became a familiar nickname for New Zealanders.
Learning that the plant was being jointly protected by China and New Zealand, he exclaimed, "That's so cool!"
ENGAGING THE PUBLIC IN CONSERVATION
Antonelli said that preserving biological diversity required not only "world-leading scientific research" but also "public education through exhibitions, interpretation, events, and schools programs."
For many people, the desire to protect biodiversity began with a sense of wonder at the beauty and stunning characteristics of plants.
Inside Kew's the Princess of Wales Conservatory, crowds gather around a pool of giant waterlily, competing to photograph the remarkable plants.
In 2023, Kew took part in the inaugural Giant Waterlily Weigh-Off and claimed first place with a load-bearing capacity of 43.5 kilograms, prompting visitors to reconsider what these seemingly delicate aquatic plants were capable of.
Not far from the pool, curious visitors gravitated towards a cluster of sundews. The slender leaves were covered with countless tiny hairs. At the tips of these hairs, droplets of liquid glistened in the sunlight, resembling morning dew.
But the sparkling droplets concealed an incredible hunting mechanism. Once an insect landed on the leaf, the sundews' trapping mechanism was triggered. Sticky droplets ensnared the prey, while the leaf gradually curled around it, drawing the unfortunate insect into the plant's grasp.
In addition, Kew's annual orchid festival was another important bridge between science and the public. The 30th edition of the festival this year chose China as its theme for the first time. The exhibition area featured a giant dragon made from plant materials, resembling colorful wooden dragons on Kew's Chinese-style Great Pagoda.
Kew Director Richard Deverell said the Orchid Festival was not simply an opportunity to admire beautiful flowers, but also a platform for educating the public about the importance of plant conservation.
China was selected as this year's theme "because it's one of the most biodiverse countries in the world," he explained.
AN INSURANCE POLICY FOR PLANTS
In a report published by Kew in 2020, it was estimated that approximately two-fifths of the world's plant species were at risk of extinction.
To help safeguard plant diversity, Kew established the Millennium Seed Bank around 2000. Located in West Sussex, the facility had stored more than 2.4 billion seeds representing over 40,000 species as of July 1 this year.
Volunteer Simon working there described the seed bank as an "insurance policy" for plants. With global plant diversity facing mounting threats, he said, preserving seeds provided a vital safeguard for restoring species in the future.
In 2020, after months of extreme heat and drought, devastating bushfires swept across Australia, burning more than 10 million hectares of land. Among the plants severely affected was clover glycine, a nationally vulnerable pea endemic to southeast Australia.
Fortunately, more than 1,000 seeds collected in 2007 were safely stored at the Millennium Seed Bank. Some 250 of them were swiftly shipped to Australia for propagation and ecological restoration.
The idea of "insurance policy" resonated with the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The facility conserved a wide range of wild rare and endangered plants, important agricultural crops, and newly discovered species.
Together with the Millennium Seed Bank in Britain and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, it formed part of an international network at the forefront of global biodiversity conservation.
In May this year, Attenborough, who placed the time capsule in 1985, celebrated his 100th birthday. Over the decades, he has narrated acclaimed nature documentaries such as The Blue Planet and Planet Earth.
In Kew's documentary Kingdom of Plants, he offered a heartfelt reflection: "Not only do plants give the world much of its beauty, they are indeed the very basis of all life on earth."
For humanity as a whole, ensuring that life in the natural world continues to flourish in all its diversity is a challenge that we must address indefinitely.
