Press release

The Green Ark, a new haven for endangered plants

Inauguration of the Green Ark and Seed Bank at Meise Botanic Garden

Meise, 22/05/2024 - On 22 May, on the occasion of International Biodiversity Day, Meise Botanic Garden inaugurated the Green Ark, a huge greenhouse complex built to protect endangered plant species from all over the world. This new infrastructure is needed because endangered plant conservation is more urgent than ever. 

The imagery of the ark evokes one of history's oldest stories about biodiversity conservation. The Green Ark in Meise is a huge 7,600 m² greenhouse complex at the heart of the Botanic Garden. It houses more than ten thousand plant species from all corners of the world that Meise Botanic Garden is nurturing for future generations.

State-of-the-art greenhouses

Twenty-two high-tech greenhouses make up the Green Ark. They are four, six or ten metres high, offer four different temperature regimes and house both plant collections from humid and dry climate zones. 

Marc Reynders, scientific manager of the greenhouse collections: ‘These new greenhouses, which we consider to be the real beating heart of our frost-sensitive plant collections, have all the space and techniques needed to optimally manage a living plant collection: a technical room equipped with the latest technology in water and climate control, a warehouse for equipment, a wide corridor that also serves as a working space for the gardeners and two quarantine greenhouses. The warmest rooms are placed as close as possible to the centre of the complex, while the surrounding cooler greenhouses are fitted with insulating polycarbonate panels or double-glazed windows. Moreover, rainwater harvesting and the use of shade and thermal screens make the Green Ark an energy-efficient infrastructure, as envisaged in the Botanic Garden's Energetic Master Plan. The greenhouses are designed using advanced technology and provide optimal climatic conditions for each plant, thanks to humidity, light and temperature conditions specific to each part of the greenhouse complex.’ 

Preserving plant biodiversity

The inauguration of the Green Ark is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of plants to ecosystems and their services to humanity. Without plants, life is impossible. Meise Botanic Garden has been recognised by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) as an Advanced Conservation Practitioner since 2019 and plays a crucial role in conserving the world's plant biodiversity. 

One of BGCI's objectives is to conserve 75% of endangered plant species in ex situ collections around the world. That is, outside the plants' natural habitat. Meise Botanic Garden aims to achieve this objective for several of its collections of succulents, in particular the collection of spurge plants (Euphorbia spp.). This collection contains more than a thousand specimens and represents more than 50% of the world's endangered species. Meise's collections contain no fewer than 1,079 plant species not kept in any other botanical garden and 3,227 species found in fewer than five botanical gardens worldwide. Meise Botanic Garden is thus actively contributing to the fight against the disappearance of plant species.

Some examples of endangered plants that found refuge in the Green Ark

Nymphaea thermarum is a miniature water lily native to Rwanda. The species was considered gone from its natural habitat in 2010 due to habitat destruction, but has since been rediscovered. But it remains rare and is critically endangered. Thanks to efforts to conserve the species, specimens of Nymphaea thermarum are now kept in the greenhouses of the Green Ark and other botanical gardens. This offers hope that the species might one day be reintroduced to its original habitat if the last wild populations were to disappear.

Franklinia alatamaha is a species native to the state of Georgia in the United States. It has been declared extinct in the wild since 1803 due to the destruction of its habitat. Meise Botanic Garden, along with other botanic gardens, preserves surviving specimens of Franklinia alatamaha, grown from seeds. 

Dracaena draco, better known as the dragon blood tree, is found in the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde and Morocco. The species is threatened by overexploitation. Specimens of Dracaena draco cared for in parks and botanical gardens play a crucial role in its conservation.

Coffee and banana plantations, for example, suffer from diseases caused by climate change, with major economic consequences. By preserving their wild relatives, both in the Green Ark and in the seed bank, researchers are trying to find solutions for the sustainable improvement of these food crops.

Finally, the Green Ark also plays a role in preserving groups of plants that are important for heritage. For example, Meise Botanic Garden is committed to preserving the genetic diversity of ancient Belgian horticultural species and varieties of Begonia, Fuchsia and Codiaeum, as well as the potted azalea cultivars exhibited in the Green Ark.

An architectural masterpiece

The Green Ark not only houses endangered plants, but also serves research and education purposes. 

The visitors' pavilion offers a direct view of the greenhouses with plants. This allows the public to discover at a glance how the Botanical Garden provides a safe haven for plant life without having to enter the fragile collections.

In this pavilion, visitors will learn more about the Botanic Garden's conservation projects, threats to plant species around the world and ways to get involved in much-needed biodiversity conservation.

The vault of this iconic pavilion is shaped like a hyperbolic paraboloid. The pavilion's unusual architecture therefore makes it an attractive space open to outside companies for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) activities.

The opening of the Green Ark and the new seed bank at Botanic Garden Meise undoubtedly mark a turning point in plant conservation for future generations.

The Green Ark in figures

Construction cost:

18,6 milion €

Duration:

Construction began in 2019 and was completed in 2024.

Green Ark:

• Approximately 7600 m² (visitor pavilion included)

• 10 000 plant taxa; of each taxon 3 specimens

• 22 greenhouses make up the Green Ark

• 8740 m2 of glass was incorporated in the roofs, another 2631 m2 in the side walls

• the visitor pavilion is 12 metres high and is divided over 2 levels  

Seedbank:

• 2.5 million seeds of 700 species of wild indigenous plants

• 4.5 million seeds of 230 species of beans and their wild relatives

• 113 samples of wild banana species

• 911 samples of copper plants from Katanga

Builder: Meise Botanic Garden with the support of the Agency for Facility Operations and Tourism Flanders

Design team: NU architectuuratelier & Archipelago

Execution: Bouwbedrijf Van Poppel, Deforche Construct, Bosman Van Zaal, Hertsens infra, Viva Pintura street art, Flexitec elevators

Focus on the seed bank; five priority plant groups

Belgian endangered flora

Meise Botanical Garden houses the only seed bank in Belgium. Among other things, it aims to preserve endangered and rare wild species of Belgian flora. Seeds from more than 1000 populations of about 600 species are kept (today already samples of 70% of the Belgian red list species) 

Wild beans 

The genera Phaseolus and Vigna are particularly well represented. Legumes are important worldwide as protein suppliers in the diet. The collection aims to preserve the long-term genetic variation of this group and is therefore kept frozen.

Wild bananas

Wild bananas have seeds, so we can easily store them in our seed bank, securing genetic diversity for the future. Since 2016, Botanic Garden Meise has managed a collection of seeds of wild bananas. Unique in the world. The collection contains seeds of some 20 different species and about 150 samples, mainly from Papua New Guinea and Australia. Flanders has a lot of expertise in banana research. The Botanic Garden's seed bank is one of the pillars of this. 

Copper plants of Katanga

The copper belt of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo consists of hills with extremely high concentrations of copper in the soil. For most plants, this metal is toxic, but some 600 species have adapted to the copper-rich soil. Thirty-two of these species are unique to this location and occur nowhere else. Endangered by mining activities, this flora is a valuable resource for vegetation restoration programmes, for stabilising and remediating soils contaminated with heavy metals. The Botanical Garden's seed bank is the only one in the world to preserve 65 species (966 samples) of Katangese copper flora according to international standards so that this unique flora remains available for future generations.  

Own collection

To provide enough seeds for sowing, seeds are continuously harvested from our own plant collection. We also collect seeds for research purposes and for exchange with 600 other institutions. We store seeds of more than 1,000 plant species for a relatively short period of time, at a temperature of 15°C and low humidity (15% RH).