Bangladesh National Herbarium

Bangladesh National Herbarium
Name	Bangladesh National Herbarium
Native name	জাতীয় উদ্ভিদতত্ত্ব কেন্দ্র
Established	1975
Location	Mirpur, Dhaka
Type	Herbarium, Research Institute
Collections	Vascular plants, Bryophytes, Fungi, Algae
Director	(See Administration and Funding)

Bangladesh National Herbarium is the principal repository for preserved plant specimens of Bangladesh and a national center for botanical research, taxonomy, and conservation. It serves as a reference for floristic inventories, biodiversity assessments, and restoration projects connected to institutes such as the Bangladesh Botanical Society, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh Forest Department, University of Dhaka, and international partners including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Missouri Botanical Garden, and International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Herbarium links collections, research, and policy across agencies like the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Bangladesh), the Bangladesh National Museum, and programs associated with the Convention on Biological Diversity.

History

The institution originated from colonial-era collections assembled under officials associated with the British Raj, subsequently augmented by botanists connected to the University of Calcutta, Kew Gardens expeditions, and scientists from the Indian Botanical Garden, Howrah. Post-independence establishment drew on herbaria traditions linked to figures who worked with the Royal Asiatic Society, the Indian Museum, and regional flora projects coordinated with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Over decades, the Herbarium expanded through exchanges with the Herbarium, British Museum (Natural History), joint projects with the Arnold Arboretum and specimen loans from the National Botanical Research Institute (India). Leadership transitions involved curators trained at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, and other institutions active in systematic botany.

Location and Facilities

The Herbarium is situated in Mirpur, Dhaka, within a research complex that hosts laboratories, mounting rooms, and climate‑controlled storage similar to facilities at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin. On-site infrastructure includes microscopy suites used by teams formerly collaborating with the Smithsonian Institution and georeferencing units employing standards from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the International Plant Names Index. The campus provides meeting halls used for workshops with participants from the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, the Central Public Library (Dhaka), and visiting scholars associated with the Asian Development Bank biodiversity initiatives.

Collections and Holdings

Holdings comprise several hundred thousand specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, pteridophytes, fungi, and algae, many with type specimens linked to taxonomic descriptions published in journals like Kew Bulletin, Taxon (journal), and Phytotaxa. Collections include historical sheets collected by collectors who worked with the East India Company botanical networks and modern field expeditions organized with the Bangladesh Forest Research Institute and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh on medicinal plant inventories. Specimens are cataloged according to systems used by the Index Herbariorum and are cross-referenced with digitized datasets contributed to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and collaborative portals maintained by the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities.

Research and Publications

Research programs emphasize taxonomy, floristics, ethnobotany, invasive species studies, and conservation assessments intended to inform listings under the IUCN Red List. The Herbarium’s staff publish in outlets such as Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy, Kew Bulletin, Nordic Journal of Botany, and collaborate on monographs for regional floras alongside authors affiliated with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, National University of Singapore, and the University of Tokyo. Projects have included collaborative surveys for the Ramsar Convention sites, baseline studies for Sundarbans mangrove ecology, and contributions to checklists used by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Conservation and Outreach

Conservation activities support ex situ and in situ programs targeting endemic and threatened taxa from ecoregions such as the Sundarbans, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the Ganges Delta. Outreach initiatives engage partners like the IUCN Bangladesh Country Office, the WWF Bangladesh, and community groups from regions represented by the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum to promote sustainable use and traditional knowledge documentation. Public exhibitions and training workshops are hosted with cultural partners including the Bangladesh National Museum and the Dhaka International Trade Fair to raise awareness of plant diversity and legal frameworks like national biodiversity action plans developed under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Bangladesh).

Administration and Funding

Administration is overseen within the framework of national science and conservation agencies affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Bangladesh) and receives project funding from domestic sources including the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council as well as international grants from the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, and bilateral donors such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the United States Agency for International Development. Governance includes scientific committees with experts who have served at institutions like the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and regional universities including the University of Chittagong.

Access and Services

Services include specimen loans for researchers at institutions such as the University of Oxford, the Australian National University, and the University of California, Berkeley, identification services for governmental programs like the Bangladesh Forest Department, and digitization partnerships with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Biodiversity Heritage Library. The Herbarium offers training courses for taxonomists and technicians in collaboration with universities including the University of Dhaka and the Bangladesh Agricultural University, coordinates field survey permits with the Department of Environment (Bangladesh), and provides curated data used by conservation planners and international treaty delegations.

Category:Herbaria Category:Research institutes in Bangladesh Category:Flora of Bangladesh