Chișinău Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences

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The Chișinău Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (Romanian: Grădina botanică din Chișinău a Academiei de Științe a Moldovei) was founded in 1950 by the Russian Academy of Science. The garden is located in Chișinău, Botanica, Moldova.

History

The botanical institution was initially established as a Botanical Sector that was later transformed into a Botanical Garden. The official decree for its organization came on 18 September 1950, through Directive No. 9477-T of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which was implemented by a decision of the Moldavian SSR government signed by President Gherasim Rudi and Secretary Duca Diacenco.

The original site allocated for the garden consisted of 74 hectares in the Durlești river valley, where dendrology exhibitions were planned between 1951–1954. However, this location faced complications after the construction of the Komsomol Lake upstream, creating unfavourable conditions for the garden's development.

In 1964, Dr. Alexandru Ciubotaru was appointed as the new director of the Botanical Garden. Under his leadership, efforts were made to secure a new location in the southwestern part of Chișinău. In 1965–1966, design work began for both capital construction and landscaping at the current site of the Botanical Garden.

In 1973, a new botanical garden was established in the Botanica sector of Chișinău. Two years later, the garden was given the status of a Research Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Moldovan SSR. There are around ten thousand species of plants in the garden.

Scientific activities

The Botanical Garden has played an important role in the development of botanical science in Moldova. It has contributed to:

• Training national botanical scientists, with over 120 doctoral and 30 post-doctoral degrees awarded to specialists who conducted research at the garden
• Creating a comprehensive gene pool of plant diversity
• Initiating scientific publications and monographs, including fundamental works like "Определитель высших растений Молдавской ССР" (Identification Guide to Higher Plants of the Moldavian SSR), "Растительный мир Молдавии" (Plant World of Moldova), and "Flora Basarabiei"
• Establishing specialized scientific schools in geobotany, floristics, plant hybridization, plant anatomy, cytoembryology, paleobotany, and phycology

The garden was officially opened for public visitation in 2001, after nearly 30 years of development and construction.

Concerns

In 2001, a large portion of the botanical garden was leased to private companies, including Elat, which established a series of restaurants, playgrounds, ice cream parlors, and a zoo. The popularity of the botanical garden surged; thousands of visitors came, and between 300 and 400 cars entered the garden daily. The administration also reported up to 30–40 weddings per weekend.

These activities were brought to the attention of several ecological organizations in Moldova. Alexandru Ciubotaru, the director of the Botanical Garden, explained that the Academy of Science of Moldova allowed the commercialization of the garden because they were, at the time, under-budgeted by the Moldovan Government. "We only receive 800,000 lei a year and the heating alone costs 1.2 million lei," he said.

In 2005, the botanical garden received 700,000 lei from the Moldovan Ministry of Finance and was able to change its heating system, reducing heating costs to about 280,000 lei. The director said that the garden would slowly solve most of its problems on its own, refusing to renew the lease with Elat, which expired on July 7, 2005.

Green space development

Beyond its primary scientific functions, the Botanical Garden has contributed to the design and creation of numerous parks and green spaces throughout Chișinău and Moldova. Notable projects include the Cap de Pod Șerpeni Memorial Park, the memorial park at the German soldiers' cemetery (1944), the monastic dendrological park at Curchi Monastery, and extensive landscaping work on the arboretum (172 hectares) located on the right side when exiting the city toward the airport.