National Botanical Institute (NBI) - custodians of the South African flora. The National Botanical Institute (NBI) is an autonomous, statutory organisation formed by the amalgamation of the National Botanic Gardens and the Botanical Research Institute in 1989. Both these organisations were founded early this century to conserve and study the exceptionally rich southern African flora and both were world-renowned for their endeavours in this field. This rich legacy has now passed to the NBI. With its head office at Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, the Institute has gardens and research centres throughout South Africa. It runs environmental education programmes and maintains databases and libraries specialising in information on the plant life of southern Africa. The mission of the NBI is to promote the sustainable use, conservation, appreciation and enjoyment of the exceptionally rich plant life of South Africa, for the benefit of all people. To do its work effectively, NBI relies on its skilled and dedicated staff. It also needs financial resources to maintain the overall operation, and cover the running costs of its many projects.