From October 21 to 28, 2018, Quito will host the XII Latin American Congress of Botany with more than 800 exhibitors from 29 countries on five continents. They will participate in symposia, conferences, round tables, seminars, botanical excursions, and more events to be developed at the House of Ecuadorian Culture “Benjamín Carrión”.
For seven days, Quito will become the world capital of botany, hosting the largest and most important botanical events in Latin America that will gather more than 1,500 people including scientists, students, and the general public.
The scientific contributions that the Congress will leave are immense. The diffusion of the extraordinary diversity in landscapes, ecosystems, and flora of Ecuador are unparalleled. Ecuador has more than 18,000 native vascular species, of which more than 5,000 species are endemic and more than 4,000 species are Orchids.
Among the topics to be addressed at the congress are: plants and society, ecology and climate change, plant diversity and conservation, technological advances in plants, and other topics of scientific and general public interest.
Among the objectives of the events are to offer the maximum amount of opportunities for scientific exchange between speakers and audience, disseminate botanical and ecological research, and seek alliances and cooperation in research. Also to contribute with useful and necessary scientific information to guide and reinforce alternatives for the sustainable use of biodiversity.
The history of the Botanical Congress cites three South American meetings held in Brazil (1938), Argentina (1958) and Peru (1963), which were precursors of the First Latin American Congress of Botany of Mexico (1972). Ecuador is the venue for this event for the first time in its history, in 80 years of congresses.
The Congress has the backing of the Secretariat of Higher Education, Science and Technology and Innovation (Senescyt), Technical University of Cotopaxi, Central University of Ecuador, Latin American Botany Association (ALB), Ecuadorian Botanical Association (ABE), and the support from institutions such as the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Tourism, Mayor of Quito, San Francisco de Quito University, University of Guayaquil, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, among others.
The inscriptions are open on the event website www.clb2018.org, where you can find information about the participating speakers, topics to be discussed, payment methods, etc.
