Welcome to South Africa

The South African botanical community welcomes the opportunity to host the XXI International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Cape Town in August 2029.

It is long overdue for the IBC to come to Africa, as this conference has never been hosted on the African continent in its almost 160-year history. It is therefore an honour to welcome botanists from across the world to Cape Town, South Africa, one of the most culturally diverse cities in Africa. Hosting this conference in Africa provides all participants, but particularly Africans, with a global platform for meaningful academic and professional interaction, engagement and knowledge transfer. The conference in South African will follow the tradition of IBC to cover all of the diverse subject areas of botanical science and bring together the diverse global botanical community.

Not only is South Africa rich in cultural diversity, but it is also home to three of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, two found in the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Cape Town, situated at the southwestern tip of Africa, is located in this unique botanically diverse area, and offers a spectacular venue for the IBC. The city boasts exceptional beauty, including one of the most spectacular botanical gardens in the world (Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens), as well as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Table Mountain and boasts many other tourist attractions that will appeal to IBC delegates. The rich flora in the Western Cape is dominated by fynbos, boasting a spectacular ca. 9500 plant species of which 68% are endemic. This flora has fascinated naturalists since its formal documentation by European explorers in the sixteenth century. Since then, and following the establishment of a port for seafarers in the late 1600s, there has been a fascinating history of documentation and description of the flora right up to the present day. South Africa boasts a long history of botanical research in all fields, driven by a number of universities and research institutions.

We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful city.