The nation’s biggest living collection of native plants – the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra – is in crisis and will cut jobs, research capacity and garden maintenance in a bid to find funds to pay its water and electricity bills.

At least five jobs will go, lawns and garden beds will be sacrificed and plant propagation will be ‘‘reduced to a minium’’ as the gardens struggle to pay a 2007-08 water bill expected to exceed $600,000 and to meet a $90,000 increase in electricity charges this financial year.

The Department of Environment and Water Resources is reviewing the future role of the gardens, and is poised to downgrade its horticultural research capacity.

Members of Friends of the Botanic Gardens say the gardens are being treated as ‘‘a suburban park, used as a backdrop for weddings’’ rather than a significant taxonomic, conservation and horticultural research resource.

Over the past 20 years, staff levels at the gardens have dropped by 31 per cent, the position of director has been downgraded from the top federal public service executive level to a managerial position and plans to expand the gardens have been scrapped.

In its recent annual report, the gardens say water restrictions ‘‘put much of the collection under stress’’ and resulted in some losses from plant collections.

The report says the gardens met its own water reduction targets of ‘‘replacing 50 per cent of net

evaporation per year’’ but fell short by 21 per cent of Actew’s target allocation of water to the gardens.

Documents obtained by The Canberra Times reveal gardens management planned to scrap the Summer Concert program – organised by the Friends of the

Gardens to raise funds – and priority for weeding and watering has been allocated to garden beds close to major public paths and areas popular for weddings.

Sources say there are tensions between horticultural staff and management.

They say the issues are the deteriorating condition of some garden beds, poor communication and claims made in the annual report that difficulties maintaining the living collections were due to ‘‘the effects of an ageing workforce’’.

There are also concerns rare plants – including a wollemi pine – are dying. The Australian Native Plant

Society is so concerned about the future scientific and cultural role of the gardens and ‘‘its vital role in Australia’s living heritage’’ it has taken the unprecedented step of urging its 10,000 members – many of whom are leading scientists – to lobby politicians over the crisis.

The society says the ability of the gardens ‘‘to effectively fulfil its role as a national repository of living

Australian native plants has been seriously compromised’’ by job cuts, a decline in garden maintenance and ‘‘loss of amenity value’’.

‘‘It is ironic that in a time of massive budget surpluses, the [gardens], like the environment, is subject

to a funding drought. Contrast this to Canberra’s museums, which are benefiting from direct government

funding,’’ the society said in a recent newsletter.

‘‘Particularly during a real drought, there is a pressing need to recognise the amenity and ecological value of Australian native plants, and encourage their use, but the [gardens], a major entity in a prime position to deliver this outcome, is hamstrung through inadequate funding.’’

Gardens director Anne Duncan was unavailable for comment but a Department of Environment and Water Resources spokeswoman confirmed it was reviewing the gardens’ role ‘‘in the light of climate change’’.

A staff restructure was underway, and a new plan aimed to ‘‘switch focus’’ from growing and managing

native plant collections to ‘‘ national leadership in garden sustainability and water management’’.

The gardens are the world’s largest living collection of Australian plants and contain about one-third of known Australian flowering plants.

The gardens also jointly manage the National Herbarium and Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research with CSIRO and manage one of the largest seed banks of native species.

Liberals Senator Gary Humphries has called for an urgent review of funding, including investment in water recycling infrastructure. ‘‘It’s an outstanding national institution and must have the resources to maintain that role.’’