Ethnobotanical collections in Brazil considering the global strategy for plant conservation

Abstract This article addresses the process of establishing ethnobotanical collections in Brazil, with a focus on collections from the Brazilian Amazon and their importance in relation to the goals of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) in the country. Four recent ethnobotanical collections are identified in Brazil: two in the Southeast (JBRJ in Rio de Janeiro and JBFZ in Belo Horizonte) and two in the state of Pará (MPEG in Belém and UEPA). These collections include more than one thousand and five hundred samples sorted into different categories of use, particularly medicinal specimens, reflecting the importance of plants from the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazon biomes in various social and cultural contexts. These collections are related to activities to attain at least three of the goals outlined in the GSPC, and consequently collections of this nature should be encouraged and supported, given their invaluable scientific and cultural value.