Nanjing, China

FROM: He Shanan, President of International Association of Botanic Gardens
IABG
Nanjing Botanical Garden, JS Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences
P.O.Box 1435, Nanjing, CHINA

Fax: +86-25-84432966
E-mail: sahe@jsmail.com.cn

TO: Dr René M. Smit, Chairman
Executive Board
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Fax: (011 31) 20 59 85300
E-mail: <rm.smit@dienst.vu.nl

Dear Dr René M. Smit,

My greetings!
It was very much surprised to hear that the Botanical Garden of the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is slated to be closed, giving way to an expansion of the University’s Medical Centre.
As I know, currently, botanical garden is evaluated more and more important day by day in plant conservation and utilization. If you are interested in working on medical field the medicinal plants are critical for both medical and pharmaceutical fields.

Your Hortus Botanicus, founded in 1967, have had collections exceed 6,000 taxa, and the largest collection of cacti in the Netherlands with some plants being more than a century old. Your Hortus has had a very good reputation in the world of Botanic Gardens. Your bamboo collection, plants of the bible and plants of other religions are very attractive. Your penjing garden and the bonsai collection, container plants that are 60 to 80 years old, plants that take 30 years to produce their first flowers, and a wide range of economic plants, all of those are great treasures for people. As part of the Dutch National Plant Collection and an official repository for plants confiscated under the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is really better to save the Hortus.

As I know during the progress of the urbanization there is always “a fight of land” in cities and botanic garden is always the weak party. I am not sure what happened in your place. If it is, would you please to take action to save the Hoturs. The weak one is always need to be helped. It is a part of human’s civilization. The Hortus will also provide a green oasis for patients of the University Medical Centre and the campus population.

Sincerely yours,

He Shanan
Professor
President of International Association of Botanic Gardens
Nanjing Botanical Garden, China

27th March, 2009