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The Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) of Jordan, founded in 2005, is located about 25 km north of Amman, in Tell Ar-Rumman, overlooking King Talal Dam.

The Garden covers two and a half mountains (1,800 dunums / 180 hectares) and has more than 300 m of elevation change within its boundaries.

A variety of soil types and microclimates at the site allow the RBG to host a high percentage of the native plant species that grow naturally throughout Jordan.

To date, the RBG has established a native plant nursery, a seed bank, the National Herbarium of Jordan, the National Virtual Herbarium, a community-based rangeland rehabilitation programme and an income generating programme. In addition to current research on native mushrooms, medicinal plants, natural materials and bioindicators of water pollution, the RBG is now establishing Jordan’s definitive flora and plant Red List, in conjunction with the IUCN.

A view from the Royal Botanic Garden

www.RoyalBotanicGarden.org

Daucus carota Phase I of the Royal Botanic Garden is scheduled to open to the general public in the summer of 2012.

The Royal Botanic Garden is not a governmental

organization. However, it plays an important role in

the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan prepared by

Jordan's Ministry of Environment, to implement the

1992 Convention on Biological Diversity ratified by

the Kingdom in 1993.

The RBG ethos is to practice and advocate

biodiversity conservation at the whole-systems level. Two key premises guide our work. The first is habitat-based conservation, such that we

consider all biogeographic conditions, the complete watershed area, soil condition and

exposure to the elements.

The second premise is that man is an integral part of the biotic whole. In contrast to many

conservation approaches, the RBG does not exclude humans or livestock.

Our work is divided into three main components:

1. Science and Conservation

The Royal Botanic Garden aims to become an internationally recognized research facility for all aspects of biodiversity and conservation in arid-land environments.

2. Education and Community Development

The RBG is raising awareness and disseminating the results of research on Jordan’s biodiversity to the public, while encouraging nature-related projects in local communities.

3. Sustainable Living

The Royal Botanic Garden is also a demonstration site for sustainable land use, water harvesting practices, and eco-living solutions that can be easily replicated by the average Jordanian.

Botanist Hatem Taifour recording GPS coordinates of plants in the Garden

Site Manager Kamal Nuimat speaking to a group of students

Chrysanthemum coronarium

Components of the Royal Botanic Garden So far, the Royal Botanic Garden has focused on restoring the land and establishing the main science and research components of the project.

This summer’s "soft opening" of Phase I, on the mountaintop overlooking King Talal reservoir, will let people start enjoying part of the RBG, while other garden areas and facilities remain under preparation.

Phase I of the Royal Botanic Garden will include a variety of gardens, interpretive signage, four superadobe eco buildings, bee exhibits, a gift shop, snack facilities, a Bedouin tent and scenic views. The RBG will be a great place for people to get away from it all, learn a few things, stroll through nature, relax, and grab a bite to eat in the fresh air.

Upon completion, the Royal Botanic Garden will include the following components:

Visitor centre Auditorium Gift shop Natural foods restaurant and café Bedouin tent, picnic and play areas Children's activity centre Outdoor amphitheatre Five major Jordanian habitats re-created

within the site: deciduous oak forest, pine forest, juniper forest, Jordan Valley and freshwater habitats

Five info pavilions for the re-created habitats Research centre, including the herbarium,

nursery, seed bank and reference library Sustainable living centre, showcasing local

natural materials and eco alternatives Community development centre, for our

income-generating programmes, ceramic workshop and other projects

Lupinus pilosus

Testudo graeca – Greek Tortoise

Mandragora autumnalis

More Components

Traditional gardens Medicinal plants gardens Islamic gardens Rock gardens Pocket gardens Garden of the senses Bee gardens Mushroom museum Butterfly house Birdwatching huts Scenic lookouts 20 km of hiking trails Waterfront dock and boat trail

Ecolodge

Mission and Vision

The mission of the Royal Botanic Garden is to conserve native biodiversity at the habitat level, establish a centre for scientific research and environmental education, serve as a demonstration site for sustainable development, and provide a unique ecotourism destination.

Our vision is to be internationally recognized as a leader in research on arid-land ecosystems and the challenges associated with desertification.

The Royal Botanic Garden will spearhead research on indigenous habitats and interpret that research into practical, accessible tools to improve the quality of life for Jordanians and the region.

The following pages provide a brief overview of the

RBG’s current science, conservation, education,

community development and sustainable living

programmes.

Glaucium grandiflorum

Scorzonera papposa

Habitat Re-Creation

Using a whole-systems approach to biodiversity conservation, the Royal Botanic Garden is attempting to re-create five major Jordanian habitats ex situ in Tell Ar-Rumman.

Ex situ means "off site," i.e. the RBG is propagating native plant species outside of their normal in situ place of growth in Jordan.

The RBG has identified, and is monitoring, key in situ locations

in Jordan to serve as model “home” habitats for each re-created habitat.

Medicinal Plant Research

The Royal Botanic Garden is one of 12 hotspots for medicinal and herbal plants in Jordan. Sixty of the country's 330 plants of medicinal value have been found growing naturally within the Garden site.

The RBG is protecting and propagating these medicinal plants, researching their traditional and pharmaceutical uses, and conducting ethnobotanical studies to conserve traditional knowledge about Jordan’s native medicinal plants. In 2011, four RBG staff members attended the GA Medicinal Plant Congress in Turkey and had two scientific abstracts published in Planta Medica: Journal of Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research.

(Left to right) Deciduous oak forest, pine forest,

Jordan Valley, juniper forest and freshwater habitats

Thymbra spicata, useful for reducing cholesterol

Community-Based Rangeland Rehabilitation

To conserve biodiversity and help local families, the Royal

Botanic Garden decided to address Jordan’s overgrazing

problem in 2007 by initiating a Community-Based Rangeland

Rehabilitation programme (CBRR).

The CBRR improves flock management and provides low-

cost medicines, supplemental forage and para-veterinarians,

leading to healthier herds and increased profits for herders.

While continuing to develop alternative grazing

regimes, monitor plant diversity, and assess the

carrying capacity of the land, the CBRR is also

gathering invaluable traditional and local

knowledge.

Jordan Mushroom Project

One of Jordan’s foremost mycologists, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Momany, is currently working with the Royal Botanic Garden to collect and classify mushrooms from all over the country.

A field guide to Jordan’s native edible and poisonous mushrooms will be published, together with an online database, and a mushroom museum is to be established at the Royal Botanic Garden.

In addition, local community members are being trained to produce the tastiest mushrooms commercially, to generate extra income.

A para-vet gives a vaccination

Khalid Al -Khalidi and Mustafa Shudeifat recording traditional knowledge

Pleurotus eryngii

Ferulla mushroom

Herbarium

The Royal Botanic Garden founded the National Herbarium of Jordan to provide scientists, students and institutions with a collection of high-quality herbarium specimens for the flora of Jordan.

The Herbarium dries and decontaminates native plant specimens, mounts them on herbarium sheets, labels them with pertinent data, and stores them in protective cabinets in a temperature-controlled room at the RBG.

The National Herbarium of Jordan also recently launched the National Virtual Herbarium – the first online herbarium in the Middle East – to make high-resolution photographs of specimens from all the herbaria of Jordan easily available to everyone.

Seed Bank The Royal Botanic Garden has been collecting seeds from native plants in Tell Ar-Rumman and other parts of Jordan since 2009. Some of the seeds are preserved for the future in a walk-in freezer at the RBG. The rest are being used by our plant nursery to propagate plants for the Garden and, eventually, for public and commercial use. Preserving the seeds of all native plant species is a formidable task as over 2,500 vascular species are known to grow in Jordan. Approximately 800 have been found to date within the perimeters of the RBG.

Papaver syriacum herbarium specimen

The Royal Botanic Garden is keeping seeds for the future

National Plant Strategy

The Royal Botanic Garden is preparing a National Plant Strategy, to conserve the plant heritage of Jordan.

Establishing the IUCN Red List of threatened plant species is a key element in this work. This definitive plant list will resolve current data deficiencies and update the threat levels for the flora of Jordan.

The RBG held the Training of Trainers on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in West Asia in 2011, in conjunction with the IUCN, and intends to publish Jordan’s Plant Red List in 2014.

Natural Materials Programme

The RBG’s sustainable living component focuses on using local natural materials that have a lower carbon footprint than concrete and are eco-friendly, widely available, less expensive and more esthetically pleasing. Fired clay bricks are being made from King Talal dam sediments, with help from the Royal Scientific Society, for the construction of earth-based buildings. Clay pipes are also being produced, for Nabatean-type water harvesting systems.

The RBG will showcase what can be built using natural materials while keeping construction and maintenance costs to a minimum.

In addition, a pottery workshop is being set up, to teach village residents how to earn income by making and decorating pots and other clay items.

Clay bricks produced from local materials

RBG Executive Director, Tariq Abutaleb, at the 2011 Red List training

Sustainable Living

Keeping it simple... and beautiful!

The RBG decided to build the visitors orientation centre and three Bee Garden buildings out of earth, to demonstrate a viable alternative to concrete.

Natural materials are used at the Garden whenever possible, along with solar ovens, passive water harvesting and other eco friendly techniques.

Income-Generating Programme

In 2010, the RBG established a community income-generating programme to develop nature-related products with residents of Tell Ar-Rumman. Local women are currently being taught sewing, handicrafts and art skills, and an RBG brand is under development.

The products, to be sold at the Garden gift shop and elsewhere in Jordan, include artwork, pottery, jameed and other dairy items, honey, mushrooms and dried herbs.

Superadobe buildings, under construction

Training for local women in 2011

Drawing workshop in 2012, prior to product development

Learning to make jameed

Recent News

Under the European Commission’s FP7 programme, the RBG is now collaborating in a 3-year project called BOTERA with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the University of Birmingham, and Innoveo Consultants of Luxembourg, to build skills and expertise.

Environmentalist David Liu filmed HRH Princess Basma bint Ali for a documentary on ecological restoration, to be shown at RIO+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, in June 2012.

Renowned French landscape photographer Jean-Baptiste Leroux took photos at the Garden, for an upcoming book on royal gardens of the world.

The RBG held its 1st Annual Scientific Day in January 2012.

The Embassy of Canada to Jordan is planning to hold Canada Day celebrations at the RBG again this year.

Major Funders

Royal Botanic Garden Location

Beside King Talal dam Tell Ar-Rumman Al Balqa, Jordan Telephone: +962 (6) 532 0004 Fax: +962 (6) 532 0011

Tell Ar-Rumman Mailing Address

Royal Botanic Garden P.O. Box 110 Al Balqa 11374, Jordan

Administrative Office

168 King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein II St. Royal Center, 1st Floor Khalda, Amman, Jordan Telephone: +962 (6) 541 3402 Fax: +962 (6) 541 3404

Amman Mailing Address

Royal Botanic Garden P.O. Box 99 Amman 11910, Jordan

Email info@royalbotanicgarden.org

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www.royalbotanicgarden.org