The AJC Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata, is one of the earliest Botanic Gardens in the world. It was founded by Robert Kyd, and from the later 18th century his fellow Scot William Roxburgh, considered the father of Indian Botany, worked there for thirty years. Situated along the banks of the Hoogly river the 273 acres have a diversity of majestic trees and exotic plants including the renowned Great Banyan Tree, and 24 lakes. Over the past decades this once great garden has fallen into neglect and has become increasingly inaccessible as a result of urban congestion.
The aim is to regenerate the garden as a major resource for the people of Kolkata and to reinstate it as an international centre for the Botanical Sciences in Asia and the study of the environment.
It is hoped that through siting a hub of the Centre for World Environmental History at the AJC Bose Indian Botanic Garden it will also become the centre for the History of the Botany and Meteorology of the Indian Ocean.