International symposium: Botanical Diversity: exploration, understanding and use

The United Nations have declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. The Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium join the numerous initiatives in organizing a three days symposium. All groups of plants – green plants, fungi, selected groups of protists – will be covered.
Themes are

• History of exploration
• Study of richness, evolution and conservation
• Traditional and modern uses.

Geographical emphasis is tropical.

This symposium covers a wide range of topics and shows the multidisciplinary nature of research in the field of biodiversity. The first theme is about history and humanities. The second refers to the biological sciences and more specifically to phylogeny and systematics of plants in the wide sense. The third component concerns the more practical aspects and economic botany.