Ethnobotany and the Construction of Eco-civilization 

Announcement 

1. Background 

Ethnobotany as a scientific term was firstly introduced into the literature by an American botanist, John Harshberger in 1896, referring to knowledge of the use of plants revealed through research on American Indians. From this start, the scope of the subject has expanded to cover all aspects of human relationship with plants: food, fiber, medicine and energy, the roles of plants in religious culture, and dynamic processes involved in farming, forestry and animal husbandry. Since 2002 seven national symposiums and six Asia-Pacific Forum on Ehnobotany have been held in China. Following the previous successfully experience, the 8^th National Symposium on Ethnobotany and the 7^th Asia-Pacific Forum on Ethnobotany with the theme "Ethnobotany and the Construction of Eco-civilization" will be held in Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China from July 16-18, 2016. We sincerely welcome your participation in this important event. 

2. Objective 

The objective of this symposium and forum is to provide an opportunity for exchange and sharing of advances and challenges in ethnobotany and the construction of eco-civilization from all over China and the wider Asia-Pacific region. 

 3. Symposium theme and topics 

The theme of this symposium and forum is ‘Ethnobotany and the Construction of Eco-civilization’ with 6 symposium sub-topics as below: 

(1) Ethnobotany and ‘the Belt and Road (B&R)

(2) Ethnobotany and sustainable use of plant resources 

(3) Traditional medicine and medicinal plant resources 

(4) Ethnobotany and biodiversity conservation 

(5) Ethnobotany and diversity of ethnic-culture 

(6) The Construction of Eco-civilization in the ethnic minority area 

4. Organizers 

Symposium Organizer: 

Chinese Association of Ethnobotany (CAE)  

Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences（KIB） 

Symposium Host Institution: 

Inner Mongolia Normal University (IMNU) 

Botanical Society of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 

Centre for Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity Conservation (CBCBC) 

Special Sponsor: 

DR PLANT 

Symposium Co-organizations: 

Ethno-ecology Association, Ecological Society of China 

Minzu University of China, Beijing 

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences 

Xinjiang Association of Botany 

School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 

Nanjing Institution for the Comprehensive Utilization of Wild Plants 

Kaili University, Guizhou, China 

Guangxi Key Laboratory of Functional Phytochemicals Research and Utilization 

Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge 

Jishou University, Hunan, China 

Yunnan Tea Marketing Association 

Symposium Organization Committee 

Chair: 

Dr. LI Dezhu (President, CAE),   

Dr. YUN Guohong (President, IMNU) 

Executive Chair: Dr. HA Shibagen 

Vice Chair: Prof. YANG Yongping, Dr. HA Shibagen 

Academic Committee Chair: Prof. PEI Shengji, Prof. CHEN Shan 

5. Abstracts, Registration, Languages 

The proceedings of symposium abstracts will be printed before the symposium, so the abstract for each presentation is required before symposium. Submission deadline: 15^th June, 2016. 

Please fill in and return the registration form by emails to contact persons by 15^th June, 2016. 

Symposium languages will be Chinese, Mongolian and English. 

6. Registration Fee 

Registration fee is 980CNY (1USD=6.3CNY) for both foreign and domestic participants. The registration fee covers symposium documents, meals and a field trip, but excluding hotel room fees. The typical cost of a room in symposium hotel around 50-60USD/day. 

7. Dates and venue

Dates: July 16-18, 2016 

Venue: Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China, lies between Yinshan Mountain and the Yellow River. It is the most important city in Inner Mongolia and is home to 36 different ethnic groups. Notable among these are Mongolian, Han, Manchu, Hui, Tibetan, Dawoer, Elunchun, Ewenke and Korean. The city zone covers 17,224 square kilometers with a population of 2.63 million. It administers 4 districts, 4 counties, 1 banner and 1 national level Economic and Technological Development Zone. The city belongs to the temperate arid and semi arid continental monsoon climate with four distinct seasons. Significant temperature variations occur between day and night. The average annual temperature is 6 C (42.8 F). It is cold in winter with an average temperature of -10 C (14 F) and hot and rainy during summer with an average temperature of 15 C (59 F) to 26 C (79 F). The best time to pay a visit is from April to October, while the best time to go to the grassland is from middle July to early September as the weather is pleasant at that time. 

8. Contact persons 

Mr. YANG Zhiwei (Email: zhiwei@mail.kib.ac.cn; Mobile: +86 137 087 910 77) 

Dr. HE Junying (Email: hjyi@imnu.edu.cn; Mobile: +86 137 896 153 94)