Economic Botany In Indonesia From The Herbarium Amboinense To The Plant Resources Of Southeast Asia

The earlist records of Javanese plants were carved in the reliefs of the Borobudur "temple" built in the 8th-9th centuries. Van Linschoten was the very first Dutchman and plant ezplorer whod discovered the direct route to the East, apparently prompting the establishment of VOC to explore the East for tradeable plants adn other resources. Rumphius join the VOC in 1652, did research and wrote the flora and fauna of Ambon and vicinity. In 1815 King Willem I, aware that the Dutch East Indie was rich in unkown biological resources, instructed Reinwardt to uncover natural treasure for economic uses to enrich the kingdom, and in 1817 established the Bogor Botanical Garden to strengthen the mission, at which time the Natural Science Commission was founded. Botany was adopted as the basis of development, hence in this context Blume and subsequent botanists attempted to write the Flora of the Dutch East Indies. This idea eventually and ultimately led to the initiation of the Flora Malesiana project in 1949 to promote botanical sicence for the welfare of people of Indonesia and neighboring countries. The project broadened research persperctives beyond plant taxonomy, emphasizing plant researcher for agricultural development, economic botany, adn chemistry of natural products. In line with this Heyne did research and synthesized data for his book on useful plants of the Dutch East Indies. In 1983 the Jakarta Office of UNESCO initiated to build database for a project on useful plants of Southeast Asia. A project to write books on the Plant Resources of South East Asia (PROSEA) was established, concluding with publication of 19 volumes and 24 books. On 18 May 1983 Indonesian Institute of Sciens established the Museum of Ethnobotany in Bogor with the objective of promoting informal education on the importance, utilization,and conservation of plant resources of Indonesia and their relationships with culture and welfare of the people. Ethnobotanical research has been promoted, including collaborative reserach undertakings with overseas institutions. Allertonia Vol. 13. P: 56-71