There are around 800 botanic gardens in Europe and in most countries these are linked through national botanic garden networks.

Representatives of the national networks come together in the European Botanic Gardens Consortium, of which BGCI is the convenor. The Consortium was established in 1994 to plan Europe-wide initiatives for botanic gardens, especially within the context of implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other European biodiversity policies and strategies.

The Consortium consists of representatives of all EU member countries, along with Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The Consortium meets twice yearly, with meetings being hosted by member gardens.

The Consortium acts as a valuable conduit for information flow and co-operation between the national associations of botanic gardens as well as between individual institutions. As well as organising regular European Botanic Gardens Congresses (Eurogard), the Consortium has also promoted and helped to lead other significant international initiatives, such as the IPEN - the International Plant Exchange Network.

The activities of the Consortium have included the development and publication of an Action Plan for Botanic Gardens in the European Union. The Action Plan is recognised as an important component of and contribution towards the achievement of other international initiatives, such as the European Commission's Biodiversity Strategy, the European Plant Conservation Strategy and the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation.

Download the Action Plan for Botanic Gardens in the EU - in English, in French or in Italian,

European Consortium initiatives currently include:

• International Plant Exchange Network
• Sharing information, and policy, on potentially invasive alien plants in Botanic Gardens
• A Pan-European seed-list search system