The National Botanical Garden in Meise

Location

Located in the Flemish Brabant municipality of Meise, the National Botanical Garden of Belgium is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world: covering 92 ha and boasting 18,000 species of plants. Managed by Prof. Dr. Jan Rammeloo, the Garden is famous for its scientific and horticultural activities. It features two research departments, a herbarium, a library and an extensive collection of live plants. There is also a seed bank for keeping and maintaining various rare and endangered species. The grounds of the botanical gardens offer a range of opportunities for activities, tours, scientific conferences and the like. This superb and impressive natural monument conceals a story involving both historical and language community dimensions.

History

Before the French Revolution, Belgium had only one botanical garden: the one belonging to the Catholic University of Leuven. In 1796 when the Revolution was in full spate, a botanical garden was created in Brussels. Located at the 'Hofberg' the garden was called 'Le Jardin Botanique de Bruxelles' (The Botanical Garden of Brussels) in the light of a decision by the first director. Under the rule of the Netherlands, the garden had to make way for a major industrial exhibition staged in 1830 and this site later became the home of the present Royal Library.

The collections from the 'Hofberg' garden continued to be kept in a new botanical garden set up by the Royal Society of the Netherlands. This second garden was established at the site of the present Brussels-Capital Region Botanical Garden.

In a bid to cover the financial deficits the Belgian state announced in 1870 its decision to purchase both the garden and building. This meant the garden was renamed the 'Jardin Botanique de l'Etat/Rijksplantentuin' and the focus was shifted from economics to scientific research into botany and horticulture. The botanical garden's collection steadily increased over the years but the Brussels urban area was unable to provide any extra space. The Belgian State agreed in 1938 to buy the Bouchout estate, which was then the property of the Royal Family. Starting in 1939 parts of the collections were gradually transferred from Brussels to the new site, located in the municipality of Meise.

The outbreak of the Second World War meant delaying the transfer process to some extent and meanwhile Meise Castle was completely destroyed. Reconstruction got underway in the post-war epoch, while the collection of plants continued to be extended.
 

The institute was assigned its official name in 1967: 'Nationale Plantentuin van België/ Jardin Botanique National de Belgique' (National Botanical Garden of Belgium).

However, the situation ended up in a stalemate, owing to rows about how to interpret the agreement. The botanical garden's joint scientific council had to reach a decision about sharing out the

scientific heritage. The impossibility of making a full inventory of the huge collection meant relying on a panel of international experts to develop a method to decide the owner of the various parts of the collection.

Community squabbles

The botanical garden has attracted the attention of the media several times in recent years, not because of the myriad sights worth seeing but owing to the legal, political and community complications. As the garden is located in the Flemish-Brabant municipality of Meise, it was decided in 2000 that this federal institution should be placed under the jurisdiction of the Flemish Community, provided a number of conditions were met. In the wake of the Lambertmont Agreement in 2001 (that is, the fifth state reform since 1970), the Flemish and French-speaking Communities concluded a draft agreement* on this issue: the scientific collection, herbarium and library should remain the property of the federal government but should be given on loan to the Flemish Authorities. The French-speaking Community was allowed only to appoint scientists to work in Meise and had to cover the costs of their fees.

The language issue has also given rise to a controversy. If the botanical garden is a federal institution, a balance has to be struck between the number of Dutch and French-speaking employees, which is not the case at present. Nor is an equal linguistic composition on the cards, in view of the transfer to the Flemish Community and an agreement with the French-speaking Community. However, until an official agreement is concluded between the two communities the language framework continues to be a contentious issue and a reason for suspending the transfer. Consequently the botanical garden has been shrouded in a kind of "administrative vacuum' over the years. The federal government's investments in the garden and grounds has failed to materialise, so that the infrastructure and operations have come under increasing pressure owing to the community tensions. At the instigation of the Flemish Authorities, acting in the capacity of caretaker manager, the necessary maintenance work got underway in 2006, along with a complete refurbishment of certain facilities.

* Art. 18, § 4d of the Special Law of 13 July 2001 literally states the following: The National Botanical Garden of Belgium (Meise) shall be transferred after an agreement on this subject has been concluded between the communities.'