Onions and garlic unite two nations in fight to preserve biodiversity

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan－A joint Uzbek-Chinese research center for allium, a plant species that includes garlic and onions, in Tashkent with more than 120 species of wild onions from Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, the Caucasus and the Mediterranean, has become a favorite place for visitors in recent years.

The Tashkent Center of the China-Uzbekistan Global Allium Garden opened in 2019, and the Kunming Center of the organization opened in China the year before, the aim being to collect, conserve and exhibit allium, as well as support allium research, use and public education.

The organization is also an example of collaboration between scientists in Uzbekistan and China that has delivered considerable scientific and practical results and paved the way for broader partnership in preserving biodiversity, said Komiljon Tojibaev, an Uzbek academic.

"This beautiful creation of nature" is a result of painstaking work and mutual friendship between scientists of the two countries, said Tojibaev, a curator of the National Herbarium of Uzbekistan and head of the Laboratory of Flora of Uzbekistan in the country's Academy of Sciences.

The centers are expected to be pivotal in preserving wild allium.

"Thus a very good experience of collaboration was started," Tojibaev said. "The Kunming Center attracts thousands of visitors. It's similar to the Tashkent center."

More than 500 allium species exist worldwide, and Central and Southeastern Asia have played an important role in preserving the gene pool. While China has more than 100 species of allium, Uzbekistan is an important source of garlic and onions.

"The onions are one of the key foods for people around the world," Tojibaev said. "It also plays a huge role in the floral diversity of many regions. The mission of the centers in Kunming and Tashkent is to preserve this biodiversity and conduct unique scientific research based on this collection."

Emphasizing the importance of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, which opens in Kunming on Monday, Tojibaev warned that the overall situation on biodiversity is deteriorating, and the extinction of certain rare and vulnerable species continues, despite the great effort being put in by many around the world.

Public awareness

The key role of the two research centers is to raise public awareness of environmental matters. In many places people know little about global diversity and significance of wild species of onions that grow around them, Tojibaev said.

Since they were opened they have attracted not only members of the public but also many foreign scientists working in geography and taxonomy of conservation of wild onion species.

"Of course, my Chinese colleagues and I have already gained some positive experience, and based on this we could expand the network of our centers. For example, create several centers in the northern part of Central Asia or in other parts of China."

The next step is to create a global center for wild species of tulips in both Uzbekistan and China, he said.

There are more than 100 wild species of tulips, with more than 75 in Central Asia and more than 30 in Uzbekistan.

Speaking about subsequent plans to expand the research network, Tojibaev said he and his Chinese colleagues at the Kunming institute have developed a program involving three other Central Asian countries aimed at creating similar gardens and the study and collection of materials, as well as drawing up an up-to-date list of species.

"This allows us to expand the area of collaboration," he said.

"In the near future we want to first identify floral diversity and the relationship of local floral elements in various parts of this territory. This will include opening similar centers for endangered rare decorative endemic plant species."

Xinhua