Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria

Leading through cooperation the advancement and dissemination of Australian plant biodiversity knowledge for the benefit of the Australian community.

• raise the profile of herbaria to achieve improved recognition of their role as key centres for expertise, knowledge and information on the taxonomic and floristic components of Australia’s plant biodiversity
• promote recognition of preserved collections as key resources in underpinning the taxonomic and floristic basis of knowledge of plant biodiversity
• promote the value and use of voucher collections to maximise scientific validity of biological research

• promote understanding of the critical importance of national cooperative effort among herbaria in achieving scientifically sound and cost-effective provision of a taxonomic and floristic inventory of Australia’s plant biodiversity.

• contribute to the development of national policies and strategies in biodiversity conservation, science and natural resource management.

• coordinate nationally agreed policies and standards for the maintenance and dissemination of data and information
• promote and facilitate the sharing of data, information and expertise among Australian herbaria for improved efficiency and effectiveness
• contribute to protocols recognising or governing intellectual property, heritage values, indigenous knowledge, biopropspecting and the use of collections-derived data and products
• facilitate cooperaton and innovation to improve access to information and knowledge needed for conservation of Australia’s biodiversity and sustainable development

• provide and encourage training, especially through linkages with the tertiary education sector, to maintain and enhance national levels of expertise

• work to maintain and improve funding levels for plant biodiversity science particularly in systematics and ecology
• contribute to identification of national research priorities in biodiversity conservation including taxonomic research

• promote best-practice management of collections through sharing information and development of agreed guidelines
• identify and implement measures for adding value to herbarium collections through provision of a broader range of products and services by herbaria

• foster linkages with other relevant organisations within Australia and internationally