Summary Report on the Fifth International Conference on Vetiver (ICV-5) in India

Between 28 October – 2 November 2011, the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), with support of the Chaipattana Foundation, Thailand; the Office of the Royal Development Projects Broad (ORDPB), Thailand; the Vetiver Network International (TVNI); India Vetiver Network; the National Science Agencies in India, organized the 5th International Conference on Vetiver (ICV-5) in Lucknow, India, under the theme of “Vetiver and Climate Change.” The objectives are to review the development on the prospects and potential of vetiver in addressing issues related to climate change and mitigation of global warming. In addition, the conference aims to provide the latest development on vetiver system applications to underscore its promises and potential in the service of global community while presenting an overview of vetiver ecosystem services as well as continuing the expansion of the networks of the vetiver system users around the world.

      To fulfill the royal initiatives of His Majesty the King of Thailand on the development and promotion on the utilization of vetiver, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn granted US$ 10,000 as a contribution to the organization of the conference and presided over the conference as the Patron of TVNI. ORDPB as the agency responsible for vetiver activities in Thailand actively participated the event by bringing 65 academics to attend the conference and present papers. In addition, various patterns of award-winning handicrafts made from vetiver from Thailand were displayed to make the public know the economic value of vetiver that helps to earn more income in addition to the conservation of soil and water. At the event, a group of Thai experts in handicraft making arranged a training course on handicraft making from vetiver leaves for the interested which was found to attract a lot of participants.

      At the opening ceremony, Her Royal Highness the Princess graciously presented the awards to 12 recipients of the King of Thailand Vetiver Awards for the best papers on research and dissemination as well as 9 recipients of TVNI awards. Other activities included the plenary session, the concurrent session and the poster sessions. The conference was successfully organized and attended by approximately 300 participants of international as well as Indian academics and experts in vetiver system application.

      The participation in this conference enabled the international participants to learn more about the development and promotion of vetiver grass in Thailand which have been implemented according to the royal initiatives of His Majesty the King who has continuously granted initiatives on vetiver for nearly 20 years.

      So far, it can be said that the implementations in Thailand have been recognized at the international level. Moreover, the academics who attended the conference had a great opportunity to exchange their experiences with the international user of vetiver and learned the successful implementations in Thailand which can be applied elsewhere.