NHBGM, University of Dundee sign MoU on environmental conservation

Malawi: The National Herbarium and Botanic Garden of Malawi (NHBGM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Dundee in Scotland to promote the work of conserving the environment, particularly the botanic gardens in the country, writes Andsen Banda, MANA.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Lilongwe, the Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Eisenhower Mkaka, said the MoU would help address climate change issues in the country, among other things.

“This MoU particularly looks at different roles that the different sectors play and here at the botanic garden we are particularly looking at different roles of trees in dealing with issues of climate change,” he said.

Mkaka added that the MoU would benefit the country greatly, stating that because Dundee University has the world's oldest botanic gardens, Malawi would benefit from the sharing of experience and best practices in the operation of botanic gardens.

“Not only Malawi that will benefit even Scotland will benefit as well you might be aware that we have some other species that Scotland doesn’t have, meaning to say they will learn from us,” he said.

Ian Gillespie, Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee, stated that they have been working with universities in Malawi for many years in areas such as sustainability, combating climate change issues, addressing equity and inclusion issues, and training health professionals, among other things.

"In 2021, we met with former Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Nancy Tembo, to discuss how we can expand our partnership," he said.

Gillespie stated that they have been discussing how they can use Botanic Gardens as a clean code of the city to foster much more creativity so that people in the city can come to Botanic Garden to appreciate the nature of plants and the environment.

“This partnership will have a huge benefit in as far as botanic gardens operate in the world both Malawi and Scotland as we will be sharing ideas and other sorts of things in protecting the environment,” he explained.

Malawi's National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens were established by an act of parliament for the purposes of research, conservation, education, and recreation.