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Our thoughts on…

Plantlife takes positions on important matters that impact wild plants and their habitats both in the UK and globally.

We use position statements and reports to inform policymakers, our members and the public at large on the botanical and environmental implications often embedded in important public policy issues. They also outline our recommendations.

Click on any of the titles below to download a PDF or visit a page with our views on a particular subject:

• Climate change
  Plantlife’s position
• Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011-2020
  Joint statement with Plant Link UK
• Invasive Non-native Vascular Plants in Great Britain
  Joint statement with Plant Link UK
• Juniper and Phytophthora austrocedrae
  Plantlife statement
• Peat
  Plantlife’s position
• Pollinators in Britain & Ireland (Creating habitats for…)
  Joint statement with Plant Link UK and Invertebrate Link
• Sowing seed in the wild
  Plantlife’s position
• Woodlands (England)
  Plantlife report
• Woodlands (Scotland)
  Plantlife report
• Woodlands (Wales)
  Plantlife report

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Road verge campaign

Our road verges campaign for 2012 has now drawn to a close but we’d like to say three things…

• THANK YOU to the hundreds of you who got in touch and took the time to send us your shocking case studies and photographs, and to all of you who signed our petition, so resulting in over 800 emails being sent to councils across Britain.

• Our campaign will be back, bigger and better, next spring – look forward to seeing you then.

• ‘Enjoy’ the best of the worst below – stopping this is what it’s all about.

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Keeping the wild in wildflower

Wildflower meadow © Chris Harris / Plantlife

Plantlife wants to keep the ‘wild’ in wildflower; wild orchids, cornflowers, bluebells and cowslips are every bit as important a part of Britain’s nature as birds, butterflies, bees and badgers.

It would be surprising to find anyone releasing flocks of declining birds or threatened mammals into the countryside without rigorous checks and controls. Yet there is widespread and unchecked acceptance of wildflower seed mixes, often including plants of non-native origin. Our native plants are both resilient and opportunistic; give them a chance and they will move naturally around the landscape, appearing spontaneously when least expected, or springing up from the seedbank like buried treasure.

Many of us are deeply troubled at the continuing decline of our wildlife. We recognise that today’s fragmented countryside is no longer ably supporting wildlife and, as a result, birds, bees and butterflies are all suffering losses.

But what do we mean by ‘countryside’?

We mean green stuff, the natural environment, habitats such as woodland and grassland...

Or, perhaps to put it more simply, wild plants.

So often relegated to the role of scenic backdrop, our wild plants and flowers support all other wildlife. Whether they are plants of moor, coast, cornfield or meadow, they provide the food and shelter that animals, insects and birds of every habitat need to thrive.

Yet, as wild plants have declined, so have the species that depend upon them. Recognising this, there has been a growing trend to create flower-rich habitat by sowing commercial seed mixes or throwing seed bombs. While this is an appropriate response in some places, in others its is counterproductive.

At Plantlife, our experience tells us that the most sustainable and cost-effective way to revitalise our countryside is to manage it in the right way. The best way to support declining farmland bird populations is to encourage a diversity of wild plants on the farm to provide food and shelter. To encourage butterflies to return to our woodlands, we need to open them up to allow sunlight to reach the woodland floor and encourage flower-filled rides and glades. To sustain the beleaguered bumble bee, we need to protect and restore our flower-rich grasslands. We call this plant-proofing. Plant-proofing habitats and ensuring the health of our wild flora benefits all wildlife.

Restoring semi-natural habitats by natural regeneration from the seed bank, the use of local green hay or colonisation from plants in adjacent areas, are the most effective and ecologically robust methods for improving plant diversity at these sites for the long-term.

Importantly, these methods also help safeguard the distinctiveness of local flora. This is part of the magic of wild flowers; a Norfolk wildflower meadow, with green-winged orchids and pepper-saxifrage, will be different in character to a Carmarthenshire wildflower meadow with whorled caraway and lesser butterfly-orchids - which is what makes both of them special. Commercial wildflower material only carries a small proportion of the genetic diversity available in native plant populations and without a requirement to meet high quality standards, non responsible suppliers are producing and selling low quality wild flower seed.

Creating wildflower habitats using seed mixes can have an important role to play, particularly in urban areas and places devoid of a seed bank or wildflower habitat in relatively close proximity. However, as a conservation action in semi-natural habitats, though providing a hit of colour and pollen, seed-packet habitats are the equivalent of drinking a fizzy energy drink, rather than eating a balanced diet for long-term health. They do not tackle the real problem of declining local plant diversity and habitat degradation which could be fixed by changing the way we manage the land.

• Read Plantlife's policy on planting wildflower seed

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Grow your own meadow

Common spotted orchid in a wildflower meadow. © Plantlife

Wildflower meadows have become increasingly rare in our countryside, with 97% of them lost since the 1940s.

So its perhaps no surprise that gardeners enjoy recreating these beautiful habitats. Encouraging a slice of the wild in your garden can be a satisfying way of attracting a wide diversity of birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife, and whilst it is no substitute for taking better care of these habitats in the wild, it helps to remind us how important it is to take care of what is left.

Here are some practical tips and advice to get you started on your own meadow area:

How to make your meadow grow

The best way to grow your meadow depends on the site you've chosen:

• The average lawn, possessing a few weeds: The easiest way is to simply leave your lawn unmown. However, this only works if its not superbly tended and completely weed-free! If it’s old and weedy you’ll be amazed at what can come up. If you want to add more types of flowers, plant plug-plants in the autumn (make sure they’ll grow in your soil type!) or grow your own plants from seed.

• Well tended, weed-free lawns: If you have a new or beautifully tended weed-free lawn you might be better to start from scratch. You could try mowing it regularly and removing the clippings for a few years to reduce the fertility, but it might be some years before you start seeing wildflowers. You could speed things up by planting plug-plants or by sowing seed in small bare patches.

• Patch of soil or a dull lawn: It’s best to start from scratch. Firstly, remove the top few inches of very fertile topsoil in late summer, perhaps making some raised beds for vegetables from it. This can be hard work but is essential, as wildflowers must have poor soil to thrive. Rake over the area and sow a mix of flowers that are suitable for your soil. Buy your seed from suppliers that use source native British plants (for examples see the Flora Locale website). Alternatively, contact your local Wildlife Trust as some now collect seed from their reserves. Please avoid using cheap wild-flower seed-mixes from garden centres, as these usually contain cornfield flowers like poppies, cornflowers and corn marigolds. These will look fantastic in the first year but will just vanish in future years.

One flower deserves a special mention: Yellow rattle is a lovely annual with a slightly sinister character.

Its roots tap into those of grasses, stealing their nutrients and suppressing their growth. This keeps them in check and many other meadow flowers benefit from the reduced grass growth. Introduce Yellow Rattle into your meadow by sowing seed in autumn.

Location, location, location

Before you get to work on your wildflower meadow consider the availability of light and your soil type:

Light

All meadow plants prefer an open, sunny place. Avoid sites under trees as these will be too dark and too dry. Scattered small native trees and shrubs (such as hawthorn, blackthorn and gorse) or fruit trees are beneficial for other wildlife, but can make mowing more difficult.

Soil

Your soil type will determine which flowers will grow. Drier sites with poorer soils are easier to manage, damp soils will be fine but avoid extremely wet sites. The list below gives an idea of the types of flowers you can try on different soils:

Limey soil

• Oxeye daisy
• Greater knapweed
• Dropwort
• Clustered bellflower
• Small scabious
• Cowslip
• Agrimony
• Common spotted orchid
• Bird's-foot trefoil

Neutral soil

• Oxeye daisy
• Common knapweed
• Meadow saffron
• Bird's-foot trefoil
• Meadow buttercup
• Selfheal
• Cuckooflower
• Pignut
• Fritillary

Acid soil

• Tormentil
• Betony
• Sheep's-bit scabious
• Harebell
• Common knapweed
• Chamomile
• Heath bedstraw
• Common sorrel
• Heath dog-violet

Show us your meadows!

We know many gardeners have wonderful wildflower meadow areas in their gardens and we’d love to see them.

Please send in pictures of your meadow to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with ‘Meadows’ in the subject line and we’ll feature them on the website and in future issues of the magazine. We also want to hear what worked, what didn’t, and how did you solve any problems?

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Related initiatives

The Important Plant Areas Programme was developed following on from the success of the Important Bird Areas Programme in focussing conservation efforts and uniting conservation experts and practitioners at the national and international level.

There are also several related initiatives including the Key Biodiversity Areas Programme and the Prime Butterfly Areas Programme.

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) – IBAs have been identified by the Birdlife International network around the world. There are numerous national and regional publications detailing sites and methodology and a complementary Bird Monitoring Index. Please click here for more information on IBAs and conservation efforts.

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) – KBAs are a means of identifying sites that are important for all biodiversity which will include areas such as IBAs and IPAs. Approaches to identifying KBAs are outlined in Langhammer et al. 2007. KBAs have been identified in several countries across the world lead by organisations such as Conservation International.

Prime Butterfly Areas (PBAs) – 431 PBAs have been identified throughout Europe from Ireland to the Urals. The results have been published and include maps of the sites. A summary is available to download here.

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IPAs in International conservation

IPAs form an integral part of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, which was first endorsed by governments all over the world in 2002, and which is currently being revised to run from 2010 to 2020.

IPA criteria and methodology provide a framework for identifying priority plant sites to implement Target 5 of the old and new Global Strategies for Plant Conservation, which aims to protect and conserve the most important areas for plants.

IPAs also help to implement articles 6, 7 and 8 of the CBD on biodiversity strategies and in-situ conservation, and networks of IPA experts and volunteers help to implement articles 12 and 13 on national and international co-operation.

Plantlife International along with IUCN (the World Conservation Union), act as lead partners for the implementation of Target 5 of the GSPC, and are responsible for reporting on progress and providing advice and technical support for national organisations carrying out IPA projects.

For information on IPA projects in 66 countries around the world download the 2010 Europe and Global IPA reports.

IPA data and conservation projects are available to help support many other global and European conservation initiatives

• Convention on Biological Diversity
• CBD Global and European Strategies for Plant Conservation
• The RAMSAR Convention
• The Pan- European 'Environment for Europe' Process (PEBLDS, PEEN, High Nature Value Farmland, the Aarhus Convention)
• The Bern Convention and the Emerald Network [link to ]
• The EU Habitats and Species Directive, the Natura 2000 Network, the Water Framework Directive.

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United Kingdom

150 IPAs have been identified in the U.K.

Fact-sheets on these IPAs are available on the IPA online database.

In addition there have been several methodological projects to identify nationally important areas for fungi, stoneworts, algae, arable plants, with a sub-set of these recognised as IPAs of international importance (see Publications section).

Plantlife International has also published guidelines on setting boundaries around IPAs and establishing Zones of Opportunities (ZOOs) – areas around IPAs cores where restoration of habitats is desirable to increase the extent of IPA features, restore connectivity or to improve the quality of habitat within the buffer zone.

• Click here to visit the UK IPA section of the website.

Coordinating organisation:

• Plantlife International

Contact:

• Beth Newman

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Ukraine

Eight preliminary IPAs have been identified in Ukraine and researchers are actively seeking funds to continue with identification and conservation.

Fact-sheets on Ukraine's IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database

Coordinating organisation:

• Institute of Botany, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences

Contacts:

• Tatiana Andrienko & Victor Onyshchenko

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Turkey

144 IPAs have been identified in Turkey since 2003 and numerous conservation projects initiated including the IPANet of volunteers to engage with site conservation and awareness raising.

Turkey is a vast peninsula, covering an area of 814,578 square kilometres and linking Asia to Europe.

The majority of its territory extends over the Anatolian peninsula, but across the Sea of Marmara, the triangular shaped Trace on the edge of the Balkan peninsula is the continuation of Turkey on the European continent.

Crocus chrysanthus on Uludag IPA / Andrew Byfield

East of the Bosphorus Sea, Anatolia is largely a huge plateau (about 790,200 m²), rising steadily towards the east and bounded in the north and south by steep mountain ranges. North Anatolia receives heavy rainfall, particularly in the east, whereas south and west Anatolia have a typically Mediterranean climate near the coast with higher temperatures in the south.

Inner Anatolia is continental with very low winter temperatures, particularly in the eastern highlands, many of which remain under snow from November to March. In south east Anatolia temperatures are higher, and the flora has affinities with the Syrian Desert, of which it is effectively the northern extension.

With about 11,000 native vascular plants – and one in every three endemic – the flora of Turkey is outstanding, both in its overall diversity and its endemics. It falls into three floristic regions (Euro Siberian, Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian), and is the meeting place of the floras of Europe and Asia.

The flora is also of exceptional importance from an economic point of view. Major parts of two of the eight centres of crop plant diversity lie within Turkey; over 350 medicinal plants are collected for trading purposes and garden plants have been derived from over 200 genera. This diversity reflects the variety of habitats which range from semi-desert and salt steppe through Mediterranean cedar/fir forests and temperate rainforest to a wide range of grasslands, wetlands, peatlands and heathlands.

Approximately 50% of the Turkish land surface is covered by semi-natural vegetation principally forest, steppe and montane habitats. Over one quarter of Turkey’s land surface was covered in forest in 1980. Approximately 1,240,000 hectares of wetlands of international importance for birds have been identified as Important Bird Areas.

144 IPAs have been identified in Turkey since 2003, covering 11,301,000 hectares - 13% of Turkey’s total area, the sites ranging in area from 154 to 1,545,632 hectares. Over 50% of the selected sites qualify as IPAs by meeting more than one criterion. 3,442 rare plants occur within the IPAs. Their greatest threat is the intensification of agriculture which affects 44 % of sites, followed by development related to tourism and recreation (35%), and deforestation (24%).

Fact-sheets on Turkey's IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database

Coordinating organisations:

• Doğal Hayatı Koruma Derneği (DHKD)
• Fauna & Flora International (FFI)
• Istanbul University Department of Pharmaceutical Botany (ISTE)

Contacts:

• Sema Atay (DHKD)
• Neriman Özhatay (ISTE)
• Andy Byfield (Plantlife International)

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Spain

There have been regional IPA identification projects.

There is a well established plant micro-reserves programme in the Valencian Community.

Fact-sheets on the Spanish IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

Coordinating organisation:

• Generalitat Valenciana

Contact:

• Emilio Laguna

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Slovenia

57 IPAs were identified in Slovenia.

Slovenia covers over 20,000 km² in south central Europe, and has two biogeographic zones, Continental and Alpine, bordering the Mediterranean and Pannonic zones. Slovenia borders Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, and contains the south eastern part of the Alps Centre of Plant Diversity.

Slovenia’s natural vegetation consists mainly of deciduous and mixed forests from the lowland to montane belt, coniferous forests in the upper montane belt and subalpine to alpine grassland and shrub vegetation. It is well known for the semi-natural grasslands of the limestone Kras region.

Slovenia joined the EU in May 2004, and is also a member of the Council of Europe.

Fact-sheets on the Slovenian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

For more information see the section on Slovenia (pages 63-66) in Important Plant Areas in Central and Eastern Europe (available to download at the bottom of the page).

Coordinating organisation:

• The Slovenian Botanical Society
• Centre for the Cartography of Flora and Fauna (CKFF)

Contact:

• Nejc Jogan

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Slovakia

154 IPAs have been identified in Slovakia.

Slovakia covers 49,000 km² in central Europe and has two biogeographic zones, the Alpine and the Pannonian. Slovakia borders the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ukraine and has one Centre of Plant Diversity, the Carpathians.

Slovakia’s natural and semi-natural habitats consist mainly of forest, from the large expanses of beech forest in the Carpathians to the Danube flood plain forest and grasslands; from the alpine meadows of the mountains to dry calcareous grasslands, to alluvial and fen meadows. Slovakia also has a high number of endemic and limited range species.

Slovakia joined the EU in May 2004 and is also a member of the Council of Europe.

Fact-sheets on the Slovakian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

For more information see the section on Slovakia (pages 58-62) in Important Plant Areas in Central and Eastern Europe (available to download at the bottom of the page).

Coordinating organisation:

Daphne Institute of Applied Ecology

Contact:

Dobromil Galvanek

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Serbia

Serbia has 62 IPAs. 31 qualified through all three criteria, including criterion B, so indicating the presence of at least 600 native plant taxa within the IPA.

Serbia lies in the central part of the Balkan peninsula, covering 88,361 km2, and is bordered by Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia FYR, Bulgaria and Romania. The climate is continental in the north and south east with semi-arid summer and cold winter periods, humid-temperate in the west and in the centre and east semi-arid temperate-continental or sub-continental, with transitional sub-Mediterranean parts.

Rindera umbellata - a steppic species that is rare across the whole Panonnian plain

Northern lowland Serbia consists of the south east Pannonian plain where wide alluvial lowlands and surrounding loess plateaus lie along the Danube, Sava, Tisa, Tamiš and Begej rivers. Two mountains, Fruška Gora (538m) and Vršačke planine (640m), are found here. Southern Serbia is mountainous, but contains the valleys of the Velika, Morava, Western Morava, Southern Morava, Nišava and Ibar rivers. The mountains belong to four systems: Dinaric Alps, Carpathian-Balkan mountains, the Rhodopes and Scardo-Pindhic. In the east old ignaceous rocks and limestone and siliceous bedrocks support croplands with some steppe and sand-steppe vegetation and remnants of diverse continental sand-loving vegetation. West and central Serbia is formed of limestone, serpentine and ignaceous rocks.

Along the main rivers, alluvial forests of white willow, white and black poplar, ash and pedunculate oak occur, as well as small areas of marshes with rich aquatic flora. The mountainous regions of Serbia are covered by mixed oak forests, mostly of Hungarian-Turkish oak and sessile oak-hornbeam communities. The vegetation belts above these are beech or beech-silver fir. Sub-alpine forest is either spruce in the continental mountains and Macedonian or white-barked pine in the mountains of Kosovo and Metochia province. The limestone and serpentine gorges and canyons support a very rich flora including endemic species. Mountain areas above the tree line are also rich in diverse crevice, scree and rocky ground communities composed of endemic and alpine and sub-alpine species.

Serbia has 62 IPAs. 31 qualified through all three criteria, indicating the presence of at least 600 native plants. Approximately 40% of the total IPA area is covered by forest (mostly broadleaved) and semi-natural grassland habitats cover almost 30%. 56% of Serbian IPAs are nationally protected in full or in part - nearly half at a higher level of protection. The most frequent threats to them are land abandonment, fragmentation and invasive species, although the most acute threats come from deforestation and water extraction.

Coordinating organisation:

Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia

Contact:

Vladimir Stevanović

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Russia

Forest steppe in Siberian Russia

The IUCN (World Conservation Union) office for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States are coordinating IPA activities, including an IPA project with partners in the Altai Sayan Region.

The Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Independent States cover a vast area of Europe and Asia with a range of habitats from the polar deserts of the Arctic to the sandy deserts of central Asia. There is a wealth of landscape types, plants and fungi, from the tundra, taiga and wetlands of the north to the steppes and grasslands of the south, to the diverse mountain areas of the Caucasus.

The IUCN-CIS Moscow Office acts as a focal point for the European Plant Conservation Strategy and the IPA project in Russia and the CIS Region. They work to raise awareness for plant conservation, disseminate Russian language materials, establish networks of specialists and stakeholders, and develop project proposals with partners.

Belarus

The IPA project in Belarus is the first practical project in the region and has demonstrated the need for fieldwork in validating data, the need to develop regionally relevant species and habitats lists, and the value of regional teams for developing the project in different countries. (see Belarus section above for details)

Russia

IUCN-CIS has disseminated Russian-language materials and information and the Russian national network of specialists, protected area managers and government representatives, continues to increase.

IUCN-CIS is working on a study of the rare and threatened species of European Russia, which illustrates the need to update global and regional plant conservation lists with the latest information from Russia. Of the 273 species listed in the Red Data Book for the European part of Russia, which includes 125 endemic or near-endemic species, only 81 of these were included in the Global Red List (1997) and only 15 species are included in the Bern Convention. This study also illustrated that only 32% of Russia’s rare species are conserved in strictly protected areas such as Zapovedniks.

Recommendations

Priorities for plant conservation in European Russia:
• Prepare a list of endemic species for use in conservation work.
• Create an inventory of plant species in regional and federal protected areas.
• Assess the status of rare species using IUCN red listing criteria.
• Prepare a list of Russian species for inclusion in global and European Red Lists and conservation lists.
• Assess the effectiveness of the protected area system for plant conservation.
• Assess the conservation priorities for species, habitats and sites.
• Identify Important Plant Areas and assess protection status.

The following areas have been identified as particularly unique, valuable or vulnerable areas, where plant conservation action is needed urgently:
• The agricultural and steppe zone of the central and southern part of European Russia.
• The Russian Arctic (European and Asian), a priority region for IUCN.
• The Caucasus and central Asia (Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan).

Coordinating organisation:

IUCN (The World Conservation Union)

Contact:

Galina Pronkina

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Romania

273 IPAs were identified in Romania.

Romania covers almost 238,000 km² in south eastern Europe and has five biogeographic zones, the Continental, Pannonian, Alpine, Steppic and Black Sea. The diversity of biogeographic zones matches the diversity of plant species and habitats from the Carpathian Mountains in the north, to the steppic grasslands and wetland areas of the Danube Delta in the south.

Romania has two Centres of Plant Diversity, the Carpathians and the Danube Delta. Protected areas with botanical importance cover about 5% of the Romanian territory. Romania is set to accede to the EU in 2007 and is also a member of the Council of Europe.

Fact-sheets on the Romanian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

For more information see the section on Romania (pages 51-55) in Important Plant Areas in Central and Eastern Europe (available to download at the bottom of the page).

References:

• SĂRBU A., SĂRBU I., OPREA A., NEGREAN G., CRISTEA V., GHEORGHE C., CRISTUREAN I., POPESCU G., OROIAN I., GOIA I., MARUŞCA T., OŢEL V.,SĂMĂRGHIŢAN M., HENŢEA S., PASCALE G., RĂDUŢOIU D., BAZ A., BORUZ V., PUŞCAŞ M., HIRIŢIU M., STAN I., FRINK J. 2007 Arii Speciale Pentru Protecţia Şi Conservarea Plantelor În România. Bucureşti, Romania.

Coordinating organisation:

• Association of Botanical Gardens of Romania.

Contact:

• Anca Šarbu

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Poland

116 IPAs were identified in Poland.

Poland covers an area of over 312,000 km² in Central Europe and has two biogeographical zones: the Continental, which covers most of the country and a small area of the Alpine zone in the Carparthian Mountains of the south. Poland’s natural and semi-natural habitats consist mainly of several types of forest, mown or grazed grasslands, including small areas of warm, dry, steppe-like grassland, as well as vast areas of swamps and peat bogs. The country also harbours two Centres of Plant Diversity, the Carpathians and the Białowieża Forest. Poland joined the EU in May 2004 and is a member of the Council of Europe.

Fact-sheets for the Polish IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

For more information see the section on Poland (pages 47-50) in Important Plant Areas in Central and Eastern Europe (available to download at the bottom of the page).

References:

• MIREK Z., PAUL W., WILK L. 2005 Ostoje Ros’linne w Polsce. Instytut Botaniki im. W. Szafera Polska Academia Nauk, Krakow.

Coordinating organization:

• Institute of Botany, Krakow (Polish Academy of Sciences)

Contact:

Zbigniew Mirek

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Montenegro

27 IPAs have been identified in Montenegro and a conservation project developed at Cijevna Canyon IPA.

Montenegro covers an area of almost 14,000 km² and is bordered by Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and Serbia. It falls within Mediterranean and Alpine biogeographic zones. On a European scale Montenegro is believed to have the greatest number of vascular plants per unit area, and contains many national and Balkan endemics – Asperula, Campanula, Dianthus, Edrianathus and Ophrys are just a few of the important genera. The natural and semi-natural habitats include forest (oak, beech and coniferous), grasslands and the coastal habitats of the Adriatic Sea.

Komovi IPA in Montenegro is home to 14 threatened species and numerous Balkan endemics / Elizabeth Radford

The IPA project in Montenegro has been exceptionally well publicised and received a high level of positive public interest.

Montenegro has 27 IPAs, covering 708,606 hectares. There is good coincidence between the Montenegrin IPA network and the Emerald Network (designated under the Bern Convention) and 11 IPAs are protected either fully or partially. This, however, leaves nearly 60% of Montenegro’s IPAs unprotected. Other than National Parks, ‘protected areas’ in Montenegro do not have management plans or any regulation of potentially damaging activities.

Most IPAs in Montenegro are owned part by the state and part by private land owners. Tourism and recreation are the dominant land uses at 81% of sites and thus, unsurprisingly, development threatens 78%, with over half of the sites threatened specifically by tourist development. This is a particular problem on the coast. Forestry and mixed agriculture take place on almost half of Montenegrin IPAs and low level wild plant harvesting on one third. One third of sites are also threatened by deforestation and burning of vegetation. The mismanagement of water resources threatens five lake and coastal IPAs at an acute level.

Fact-sheets on the Montenegrin IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

References:

• PETROVIĆ, D. (Ed), 2009, Važna Biljne Staništa – U Crnoj Gori IPA projeket. Important Plant Areas in Montenegro. Green Forest, Montenegro.

Coordinating organization:

• Zelena Gora (Green Forest)

Contact:

• Danka Petrović

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Macedonia FYR

42 IPAs have been identified in Macedonia FYR and a pilot conservation project has been developed at the Shara Mountain IPA.

Macedonia (FYR) borders Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Kosovo and Serbia and covers an area of almost 26,000 km² with mountain terrain in the west and east and lowland habitats in the centre. It lies within both the Alpine and the Continental biogeographic zones, but the valleys located deep in the Continental part have a strong Mediterranean influence.

Alshar IPA / Ljupco Melovski

Macedonia has a comparatively high level of local and Balkan endemic species, and relict species in the mountains, forests and “steppes” of the lowlands. 3.6% of the vascular flora is endemic including two bryophyte species and 114 vascular plant species and the percentage of Balkan endemic species is considerably greater. Although the flora is well studied, new species are often recorded. Many species reach the borders of their range in the territory and the diversity of plant communities is high.

Macedonia (FYR) has 42 Important Plant Areas, covering almost 18% of the country. Only 13 of these are protected at national level. Conservation measures within IPAs in national parks cover forests but not plant species.

Although Macedonia has ratified almost all conventions for biodiversity protection, the conservation status of plants and habitats is not favourable. Remarkably for such a unique flora, only eight Macedonian plant species are present on the EC Habitats Directive.

Forestry and stock based agriculture is the predominant land use in Macedonian IPAs. Poor forestry practices threaten 69% of sites, mostly at a high level. Wetlands are also particularly threatened and a third of IPAs suffer from water mismanagement, notably resulting from dams and hydropower units. The majority of IPAs are owned by the state but denationalisation is ongoing and private land owners will be important stakeholders in future conservation activities.

Fact-sheets for the Macedonian FYR IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

References:

• MELOVSKI L., 2010, Important Plant Areas in the Republic of Macedonia. Special Issues of the Macedonian Ecological Society Vol. 9. Skopje. (In Macedonian).

Coordinating organisation:

• Macedonian Ecological Society

Contact:

• Ljupčo Melovski

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Italy

320 IPAs have been identified to date in Italy.

Sites were selected for vascular plants, lichen, mosses, fungi and algae data and include coastal sites.

References:

• Blasi C., Marignani M., Copiz R. Fipaldini M., Bonacquisti S., Del Vico E., Rosati L. & Zavattero L. (in press)  Important Plant Areas in Italy: from data to mapping. Biological Conservation DOI 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.08.019; Blasi C. et al., 2009, A thematic contribution to the National Biodiversity Strategy: mapping the Important Plant Areas in Italy. Rome, Italy.

Coordinating organisations:

• Interuniversity Research Centre ‘Biodiversity, Plant Sociology & Landscape Ecology’ Sapeinza University of Rome
• The Italian Society of Botany
• The Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Protection (Nature Protection Directorate)

Contact:

• Carlo Blasi

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Ireland

An IPA project has identified regionally (rather than nationally) important areas based on BSBI data in the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

Coordinating organisation:

• National Biodiversity Data Centre

Contacts:

• Úna Fitzpatrick & Paul Green.

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Estonia

108 IPAs have been identified in Estonia covering 286,084 hectares.

Estonia covers just over 45,000 km2 in north-east Europe. Lying on the shores of the Baltic Sea, immediately across the Gulf of Finland from Finland, Estonia borders Russia and Latvia and has one biogeographical zone, the Boreal. There is 3,794 kilometers (2,357 mi) of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. Estonia has more than 1 500 islands, the largest of which is Saaremaa, which is about 2900 km2 in size. Estonia’s natural and semi-natural vegetation consists mainly of forests - mostly of pine, spruce and birch, they cover 55% of the country. About one fifth of Estonia is marsh or bog, mostly located in the central and eastern parts of the country and there are also grasslands and coastal habitats. The Alvar forests and Alvar meadows are characteristic habitat types of the north-western and western part of Estonia and the Baltic Islands.

108 IPAs have been identified in Estonia, with a total area of 286,084 ha. Forests are the most frequent habitat (77 IPAs – deciduous broadleaf forests 28, coniferous forest 49, mixed forest 46). Grassland occurs as a frequent and significant habitat cover at IPAs (65 IPAs), and mire, bog and fen habitats are frequent (51 IPAs). Inland water habitats are also well represented (31 IPAs – standing water 23, running water 21, littoral zone 5).There are many coastal habitats (43 IPAs – dunes 13, shingle 32, cliffs 28) and four IPAs with marine habitats including two which are 100% marine.

Apart from nature conservation activities on protected areas the most frequent land uses on IPAs in Estonia are tourism and recreation, forestry, haymaking or mowing, grazing animals, and hunting. Forestry practices threaten almost half of IPAs and recreation and tourist development threatens 44%. Abandonment and reduction of land management is a high or significant threat at 41% of IPAs and in total, development transport/infrastructure and urban) threatens 21%. Burning of vegetation threatens 21% and water management practices threaten 17%.

Fact-sheets on the Estonian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database

References:

• Mart Külvik, Anneli Palo, Ülle Kukk, Ene Hurt, Tiiu Kull, Erast Parmasto, Kai Vellak, Elle Roosaluste, Inga Jüriado, Irja Saar

Coordinating organization:

• The Environmental Protection Institute, Tartu

National coordinator:

• Mart Külvik

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Czech Republic

75 IPAs were identified in the Czech Republic and the results published in regional and national publications.

The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,864 km2 in the centre of Europe, and is bordered by Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia. The western and central parts lie in the Bohemian Highlands, the east to the west in the Carpathians.

There are two biogeographic zones with most of the country covered by the continental zone, and a small part in the south east by the Pannonian. There is a temperate continental climate, with relatively hot summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. The temperature difference between summer and winter is relatively high, due to the landlocked geographical position.

The Czech Republic has an agricultural and industrial landscape that has been altered considerably by human activity since Neolithic times. Agricultural lands cover 54% of the country and forests 33%, most of which are Norway spruce and Scots pine plantations. The flora is relatively diverse due to environmental conditions, and includes approximately 30,000 fungi species, 2,520 vascular plants and 1,400 lichens. The best preserved and most valuable natural areas are covered by a dense network of protected areas which make up16.6% of the state territory. The Natura 2000 network currently covers 13.5% of the country.

75 IPAs have been identified in the Czech Republic, covering a total area of 146,051 ha. Grassland habitats occur on the most (68) and cover an area of 18,924 ha. Forest occurs on 67 and is the predominating habitat on all IPAs with 94,610 ha (56% broadleaf and 44% coniferous). Other habitats such as heathland and scrub (4,414 ha), inland surface water (2,549 ha), mires, bogs and fen (1,356 ha), inland unvegetated areas or with sparse vegetation (1,092 ha), cultivated habitats (3,427 ha) and constructed or artificial habitat (1,739 ha) are relatively rare. Nature conservation activities occur on 50 IPAs and recreation and tourism is recorded for 42. Forestry is a significant land use, occurring at 44 IPAs. Mowing and haymaking occur at 28 IPAs, animal grazing at 16 and wild plant gathering recorded at 10.

Most IPAs are located in specially protected areas, or protected areas cover a major or minor part of their area. In total 84% of the area of IPAs is covered by existing protected areas, and 81% is covered by SACs in the Natura 2000 network. In existing protected areas, and very soon in the Natura 2000 sites, IPA management is relatively well assured. Only a few IPAs currently have no legal protection and efforts will be made to achieve protection as soon as possible, using their IPA status as a tool.

The IPAs on non-forest lands are threatened primarily by neglected cultivation or complete land abandonment. This applies not only to meadows and steppes, but also to wetland habitats. Most non-forest habitats are also threatened by an increasing eutrophication resulting in a decline in oligotrophic plant species and communities. Eutrophication also affects habitats that historically required no management intervention, e.g. some bogs and fens are being vegetated by reed and woody plants.

Invasive plant and animal species, agricultural intensification, fisheries, and natural disasters currently present only limited threats to IPAs on non-forested land. Forest habitats are primarily threatened by intensive, commercial forest management, with the exception of some primeval forests in strictly protected nature reserves. A considerable area of forest is also threatened by atmospheric emissions: air pollution makes the forests less vital and more susceptible to insect-damage. A considerable number of IPAs are located in regions that are very attractive for tourism, and tourist activity needs to be regulated. Some threats, which have been significant in the past (e.g. peat mining, habitat drainage), currently have a low or negligible impact on IPAs.

Fact-sheets on the Czech IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

References:

• ČEŘOVSKÝ J. PODHAJSKá Z. & TURAŇOVá D., 2007. Botanicky významná území České Republiky. AOPK Czech Republic, Praha.

Coordinating organization:

• AOPK Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic

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Croatia

Croatia has 97 Important Plant Areas, covering 964,655 hectares. The majority qualify through the presence of both threatened species and threatened habitats.

Bordered by Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Hungary, Croatia covers 56,500 km2 from the Adriatic coast in the south to the mountains of the north, plus 31,067 km2 of territorial waters. Covering four biogeographic zones, it is home to large numbers of Balkan endemic plants and a rich mosaic of plant communities.

Centaurea ragusina, on Palagruzu IPA - endemic to the islands and coast of Croatia / Toni Nikolić

The lowland areas to the east, bordered by the rivers Sava, Mura, Drava and Danube, contain marshes, ponds, wet meadows and pastures. Remnants of inland dunes and the most westerly elements of steppe flora and fauna are also present in this region, which is particularly important for birds.

Highland Croatia stretches parallel to the coast from the north-west to the south-east of the country. It includes a section of the Dinaric Alps, a ridge of karst or limestone landscape with caves, pits, rocks, ravines, karst valleys and natural lakes containing unique aquatic fauna and rising to 1831m at its highest peak. The major habitats here are the beech and fir forests and high mountain rock and scree with unique endemic and relict mountain flora, for example, Velebit degenia, a yellow-flowered mustard which grows only on the Velebit mountain. Also in this area are remnants of the most southerly European heaths.

Coastal and insular Croatia forms the most indented part of the Mediterranean coast, with 6116 km of coastline including 1,231 islands, islets and reefs. The major natural features are the coastal forests and their succession stages (evergreen holm oak, deciduous forests of pubescent oak), the stony limestone coast, the islands and the rivers, marshes and lakes of the Adriatic catchment area.

There are 97 Important Plant Areas in Croatia, covering 964,655 hectares. The majority qualify through the presence of both threatened species and threatened habitats.

Only 18 IPAs in Croatia are either fully or partly protected at national level. Land abandonment is the greatest threat to Croatia’s IPAs, affecting 62% of sites, so maintaining rural land management practices will be a necessity if Croatia’s plant diversity is to be secured.

Three quarters of IPAs are used for tourism and recreation activities. Development threatens 44% of sites and 33% are threatened by development specifically associated with tourism: coastal and island IPAs are especially vulnerable.

Fact-sheets on the Croatian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

Coordinating organisation:

• Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb

Contacts:

• Professor Toni Nikolić

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Bulgaria

Bulgaria has 125 Important Plant Areas covering 1,721,248 hectares. Of these, 68% qualify through the presence of both threatened species and threatened habitats.

Situated in the north-eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula and covering an area of 110 990 km2, Bulgaria’s wildlife reflects her transitional location between the Central European and the Mediterranean biogeographic zones. The Danube and Romania form the northern boundary; to the east lies the Black Sea, to the west Macedonia (FYR) and Serbia, and to the south Greece and Turkey.

Two thirds of Bulgaria is mountainous and forested, with 200 peaks higher than 2000m.

Centaurea mannagettae a Bulgarian endemic, one of the many Centaurea species restricted to the Balkans / Kiril Metodiev

The plant life is particularly rich with an incredible 3900 vascular plants, 6000 species of fungi, and 6000 algae. They include a considerable number of limited range species, 174 plant species endemic to Bulgaria and over 300 Balkan endemics. Particularly prevalent amongst these are the genera Centaurea, Cyanus, Dianthus, Thymus, Sedum, Verbascum and Viola.

The same levels of diversity exist within vegetation and habitat types; 89 (38.4%) of the 232 European habitats of conservation importance are present in Bulgaria. Broadleaf deciduous forests dominated by oak (seven species), and beech (three species), are the largest major habitat type in Bulgaria, followed by Picea and Pinus dominated coniferous forests and then grassland habitats. Along the Black sea coast lie well preserved sand dune habitats.

Bulgaria has 125 Important Plant Areas covering 1,721,248 hectares. Of these, 68% qualify through the presence of both threatened species and threatened habitats.

74 IPAs are either fully or partly within protected areas and many contain more than one level of protection. 51 of them are currently unprotected. The greatest threats to the IPAs are poor forestry practices and development (effecting over 50%) and agricultural intensification (effecting 34%).

Half of Bulgaria’s IPAs are associated with agriculture, and the maintenance of traditional farming systems on these sites is crucial, as is the need for widespread sustainable forestry practices.

Fact-sheets on the Bulgarian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

Coordinating organisation:

• Institute of Botany (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

Contacts:

• Dimitar Peev
• Antoaneta Petrova

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Belarus

Ten IPAs were identified with detailed site descriptions, threats and protection level.

Belarus in Eastern Europe is bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, sharing several cross-border protected areas with its neighbours, including the famous Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Covering 207,000 km², Belarus is landlocked, relatively flat, and has two biogeographic zones - continental and boreal. Three major rivers run through the country: the Neman, the Pripyat and the Dnieper. The Neman flows westward towards the Baltic Sea, the Pripyat eastward to the Dnieper; the Dnieper southward towards the Black Sea. The climate features cold winters and cool and moist summers with an average annual rainfall of 550 to 700 mm.

The natural and semi-natural vegetation is made up mainly of forest (taiga, coniferous and mixed) with wetlands (bogs, mires and numerous lakes) and grassland. In the north, conifers, notably pine and spruce, tend to predominate; southward the proportion of deciduous trees, such as oak and hornbeam, increases. Birch is common everywhere, especially as the first growth on burned or disturbed areas.

Ten IPAs have been identified in Belarus. Forest is the major habitat on eight of them and covers 62% of the area of IPAs. There is coniferous forest on all ten IPAs and deciduous forest on three. Bog is the major habitat at one and mire, fens and bog are significant features of nine, covering 15% of the area of IPAs. Grassland habitats occur at all ten IPAs (dry grasslands in two and mesic grasslands in nine), covering 5% of the area of IPAs. Running and standing water is also a key feature on all ten IPAs. Constructed habitats occur on all IPAs but at between 1-5% of the area. There is a low level of agricultural or cultivated land on all IPAs although one IPA has up to 15% agricultural land.

Nature protection is the most common land use on IPAs, occurring on eight sites. Forestry and hunting are also important land uses occurring on nine and eight sites respectively. Recreation (seven IPAs) and agriculture (seven IPAs) are also significant land uses at IPAs in Belarus.

Two IPAs (20%) currently have no legal protection, four have a high level of national protection and four have a lower level of national protection. Several IPAs are recognised in European and International programmes. Eight IPAs are in protected areas but appropriate site management is an important conservation issue. Effective site management plans need to be developed and implemented to benefit plant conservation.

Deforestation threatens the most IPAs in Belarus. The other significant threats are the lack of management planning, intensified forest management, land improvement measures, tourist and recreation pressure, fires and the absence of monitoring.

Fact-sheets on the Belarus IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

Reference:

• Maslovsky O. (Ed), 2005, Important Plant Areas in Belarus. Institute of Experimental Botany (Belarus Academy of Sciences), IUCN-CIS Moscow. Minsk Belarus (in Russian).

Coordinating organisations:

• Institute of Experimental Botany (BAS)
• IUCN-CIS Moscow

Contact:

• Oleg Maslovsky

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Armenia

A provisional assessment of 26 IPAs has been carried out.

Coordinating organisation:

Armenia Botanical Society

Contact:

Anna Asatryan

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Albania

Forty five IPAs have been identified in Albania covering an area of 384,824 hectares and including 15 transboundary sites; 4 with Montenegro, 2 with Kosovo, 5 with Macedonia FYR and 4 with Greece.

These IPAs contain a huge variety of habitats; forests, maquis, grassland and wetland and are located throughout the country, in the mountain ranges in the north, south and east as well as along the coast in the west and around the lakes in the east.

One hundred ninety six red listed species can be found on these 45 IPA, these are not all ‘threatened’ but are frequently ‘rare’ on a nationally or global scale. Many are also Albanian and/or Balkan endemic species.

Globally threatened species such as Wulfenia baldacci and Ligusticum albanicum are two endemics that are restricted to the Northern Albanian Alps. Two regionally threatened mosses are also restricted to a single site in Albania: Buxbaumia viridis (to Northern Albanian Alps IPA) and Mannia triandra (to Karaburun - Mali i Çikës IPA). The regionally threatened aquatic fern Salvia natans is found on Roskoveci swamp and the threatened vascular plant Marsilea quadifolia is found in Shkodra Lake and Fritillaria messanensis subsp. gracilis in Gjallicë-Koritnik.

Seven IPAs have no protected area status and for others there are no clear management plans to provide information on how to safeguard the biodiversity present, special attention should be given to these sites.

Fact-sheets on the Croatian IPAs are available on the IPA Online Database.

Threats to IPAs in Albania

The main threats to IPAs in Albania are overgrazing, illegal deforestation, burning of vegetation, tourism development and recreational habitat fragmentation and eutrophication (enrichment).

Coordinating organisation:

Regional Environmental Centre (REC) Albania

Contact:

Mihallaq Quiro

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South East Europe

IPA identification and trial conservation projects have been carried out by national organisations in 4 countries in South East Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia FYR, Montenegro).

This project was coordinated by Plantlife International and funded through the BBI-MATRA funds of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. There are also IPA identification and conservation projects carried out in Serbia and Turkey which are included in the 2009 report on IPAs in South Eastern Europe (available to download below).

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Central and Eastern Europe

The first regional project to identify IPAs was carried out in seven countries of Central and Eastern Europe from 2002 to 2005.

National projects were carried out in Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The project was coordinated by Plantlife International and funded through the PIN-MATRA funds of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Download the publication below to read the results.

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Turks & Caicos Islands

A recent research project into identifying and conserving IPAs in the Caribbean employed an innovative range of scientific techniques and community involvement initiatives.

The aim of the project was to develop a methodology which could be used in these islands and replicated in similar regions.

There were three main scientific methods used: habitat suitability modelling which assesses species potential distribution; IUCN Red List assessment for targeted species; the response of a species to disturbance which can facilitate recommendation for IPA conservation and mitigation of threats at IPAs. Fundamental to the project was the inclusion of a range of stakeholders and local communities in identifying IPAs and raising awareness of the importance of the wild plants and their sites.

Six IPAs were identified based on three endemic species assessments. Conservation threats and recommendations were also recorded for the sites. This study has great potential for stimulating further IPA identification in many environments with similar data availability issues.

Reference:

Williams S., 2009, The Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas: a case study from the Turks and Caicos Islands. Msc Thesis, Imperial College London & Royal Botanic Garden Kew.

Coordinating organisation:

• Imperial College London
• Royal Botanic Garden Kew (MSc Thesis by Sophie Williams)

Contact:

• Sophie Williams

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Paraguay

Project planning completed, actively seeking funds.

Coordinating organisation:

• Guyra Paraguay

Contact:

• Alberto Yanosky

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Mexico

An assessment of the gaps and omissions in the protected area system was carried out in 2007 using threatened plant species and critical vegetation types.

An assessment of the gaps and omissions in conservation within the protected area system was carried out in 2007, using 214 threatened species from the Mexican Red List (2001), 12 plant families and 68 vegetation types considered critical because of low coverage.

The area of these priority plant sites covers 39% of the country with c.17% considered high priority. The priority sites identified differed from previous assessments and more data is needed, particularly on species distribution, to refine these results. This project was carried out in parallel with an assessment of the protected area network (Mexican gap analysis) using numerous biodiversity elements and is part of a wider programme to develop conservation projects as part of the Mexican Strategy for Plant Conservation.

Coordinating organisations:

• The National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) in collaboration with the National Commission of Protected Areas (CONANP)

Contact:

• Hesiquio Benitez

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Falkland Islands

This remote archipelago in the South Atlantic has 173 native plant species.

These include thirteen endemic species such as vanilla daisy (Leucheria suaveolens) snake plant (Nassauvia serpens) and Falkland rock-cress (Phlebolobium maclovianum). Five of the species are globally threatened.

The dominant habitats are acid grasslands, dwarf shrub heath and coastal habitats. Major threats to the native flora come from soil erosion, agriculture (overgrazing and other), invasive plants, human disturbance (including recreational off-roading), chance natural events and genetic erosion.

Funded by the UK Overseas Territories Environmental Programme and working in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Falklands Conservation’s IPA project has identified 19 candidate international IPAs across the islands. Targeted, standardised, geo-referenced population and habitat data, gathered over two years were analysed in conjunction with historical inventories in order to assess sites against IPA criteria. In the process threatened species and habitat Action Plans have been written and updated.

The Falkland IPA site data are now being used for the development of a wider plant conservation strategy for the long term protection of threatened native and endemic flora through sustainable management and/ or protection and long term monitoring alongside public awareness and training projects.

References:

Upson R. (in prep) Internationally Important Plant Areas of the Falkland Islands. Falklands Conservation; Upson R. (in prep) Updating the Red Data List for the Falklands Islands vascular flora. Falklands Conservation.

Coordinating organisation:

• Falklands Conservation

Contact:

• Rebecca Upson

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Costa Rica

Participated in planning for Global Strategy for Plant Conservation target 2 and target 5.

Coordinating organisation:

• Herbarium of the National Institute of Biodiversity Costa Rica

Contact:

• Nelson Zamora

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Yemen

Active identification project ongoing, see regional section on Arabian peninsular above.

Coordinating organisations:

Agricultural Research and Extension Authority (Taiz) with the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

Contact:

Matthew Hall

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United Arab Emirates

Involved in developing IPA criteria for the Arabian region through the IUCN Arabian Plants Specialist Group.

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Uganda

Active identification project, provisional list of sites in progress.

Coordinating organisation:

• Nature Uganda (Plants Working Group)

Contact:

• James Kalema

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Tunisia

Thirteen Important Plant Areas (IPAs) have been identified in Tunisia, while eight other sites are known for their rich flora but require further investigation.

Tunisia lies in North Africa at the junction of the two basins that form the Mediterranean, between the Mashreq (the Arab East) and the Maghreb (the Arab West). The mountain ranges in the north and east of the country are well watered and are the eastern ends of the Tellian and Saharan Atlas. The arid high steppes are drained by oueds (wadis), and the semi-arid low steppes end at a flat coastal strip. The bioclimatic zones follow a rising gradient from south to north, from hyper-arid in the Saharan area to humid Mediterranean in the northern mountains.

Forests and shrub cover 5% of the land (reduced from 20% at the beginning of the 19th century), mainly in upland areas. They comprise stands of oaks, olive–mastic, pines and Sandarac gum trees. Steppes of esparto, white wormwood, Rhanterium suaveolens (a yellow daisy-like plant) or varieties of the shrub Haloxylon cover approximately 20% of the country.

The Tunisian flora contains 2162 species. Of these, 2103 are included in the three-volume Flore de Tunisie (Cuénod et al., 1954; Pottier-Alapetite, 1979, 1981). The remaining 59 species not mentioned in these volumes are additions by other authors. The most recent work on the nomenclature of Tunisian flora (Le Floc’h and Boulos, 2008) covers all taxa correctly or incorrectly attributed to Tunisia. According to the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the Tunisian flora contains 1798 taxa. The number of national endemics is relatively low (71in total). There are 99 North African endemics shared with Algeria and 13 with Libya.

Thirteen Important Plant Areas (IPAs) have been identified in Tunisia, while eight other sites are known for their rich flora but require further investigation. One of the thirteen (Kroumirie) is made up of a dozen small independent sites that have been combined into a single IPA since they are all small-scale wetland habitats, such as peat bogs, ponds or temporary pools. The thirteen IPAs are essentially located in the north of the country so mostly have a subhumid to humid Mediterranean climate. Ten of them have an average elevation below or around 500m, whereas three (Jbel Zaghouan, Jbel Ghorra, Aïn Zana) are more clearly mountainous.

Wetland environments are well represented, making up more than half the IPAs, in the form of permanent lakes (Ichkeul), semi-permanent lakes (Majen Chitane, Majen Choucha, etc.), temporary pools (Garâa Sejenane, Majen el Ma, Sraï el Majen), marshes (Ichkeul), and peat bogs based on Sphagnum or Osmunda (Kroumirie) or bracken (Dar el Orbi). Although these sites are not particularly rich in national endemic or stenoendemic species (a large proportion of the endemics that occur in them is shared with neighbouring countries) they do contain most of the nationally or regionally threatened or rare habitats.

The Tunisian IPAs are also representative of the main forest and coastal habitat types of Tunisia. The most outstanding forest types are more or less protected, with Algerian oak and cork oak at Aïn Zana and Jbel Ghorra, olive-mastic with carob on Jbel Ichkeul, juniper at Toujane, and alder in the Oued Ziatine riparian forest. Coastal flora is represented on three IPAs, with the La Galite Archipelago and the Zembra and Zembretta National Park, both rich in rare species and species endemic to Tunisia or North Africa. Their flora and that of the coastal IPA of Sidi Ali el Mekki is particularly rich in endemics (Linaria cossonii, Malcolmia doumetiana, Limonium gougetianum and L. zembrae, and Silene barrattei).

Coordinating organisation:

• Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie

Contacts:

• Zeineb Ghrabi

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Syria

Thirty three IPAs have been identified in Syria, plus a further ten sites that require botanical research before they can be confirmed as IPAs.

A large number of Syrian IPAs are mountainous, located within the parallel coastal and the eastern mountain ranges as well as in the isolated mountains of the interior. They include the endemic plant centres of the Northern Levant such as Kurd Dag IPA (endemics include Onosma cinerea, Cicer bijugum and various Astragalus spp.); centres of endemism in Antioch and Amanus; sites capturing Euro-Siberian plant species at their southern limit (for e.g. Smilax excelsa, Iberis sempervirens and I. taurica on Frolonq-Kasub IPA); and the best examples of Cedrus libani and Abies cilicica forests (Slenfeh-Jaubet al Berghl), which are threatened across the whole Mediterranean.

The level of local endemism is exceptionally high in Syria. Restricted range endemic species can be found in nearly every IPA, mega diverse hotspots for restricted range species include in Qassiun and Anti Lebanon IPAs.

The isolated mountains of the interior are dominated by Syrian steppe vegetation and also harbour many local endemics, one of the richest sites being Jabal Abu Rujmain IPA which lies between the arid and Saharo-mediterannan bioclimatic zone and contains over 20 restricted range (and country endemic species) e.g. Iris postii-mout, Onobrychis pinnata, Ajuga rechingeri.

Threatened wetlands are also represented in the Syrian IPA inventory - in the shallow saline lake of Hass Jabbul IPA, the riparian sites of Mayadin (the Euphrates) and Al Kabir al Jonubi (coastal river), and remnant swamp vegetation at Ghab and Utaib-Hijaneh.

In the south of Syria IPAs such as Es Safa contain the northern limits of the Saharo-Arabian flora (Kickxia aegyptica and Rheum palaestinum) and Jabal al Arab – with its vast diversity and local endemism due its unique position at the junction of the sub-humid and semi-arid Mediterranean bioclimatic zones.

Seven of the IPAs in Syria are partially or totally protected, including one Ramsar site (internationally important wetland), and three have some form of management plan active on part or all of the site.

Threats to IPAs in Syria

The most frequent threat to IPAs in Syria is the unsustainable collection of herbs and medicinal plants (affecting 91% of sites) this is closely followed by the threat from overgrazing. Deforestation (specifically gathering leaves and branches for fodder and wood for fuel) is another major cause for concern, which is exacerbated by burning on 14 IPAs. Tourism development and extraction of minerals are concerns on 50% of Syrian IPAs.

Coordinating organisation:

• The Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife

Contact:

• Hayan Hmidan

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South Africa

Acted as coordinators for establishing regional IPA criteria in Southern Africa through the SABONET (Southern African Botanical Network) programme.

A draft document outlining these can be downloaded via the link below.

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Saudi Arabia

Active identification project ongoing (see Arabian Peninsular).

Site report for Jabal Qaraqir published in the Edinburgh Journal of Botany 67 (1), pp. 37-56 (Llewellyn et al.)

Coordinating organisations (with the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh):

• Saudi Wildlife Commission

Contact:

• Matthew Hall

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Qatar

Involved in developing IPA criteria for the Arabian region through the IUCN Arabian Plants Specialist Group.

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Palestine

Nine IPAs have been identified in Palestine; four have been confirmed and described as internationally important sites the remainder require further investigation.

Palestine is situated in South West Asia in the east of the Mediterranean basin. The targeted area (5800 square km) has 1600 vascular plant species, tremendously high plant diversity for such a small area. It has three biogeographical areas: Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian (semi-desert) and extreme desert. Many habitats present are associated with the climatic transition between Mediterranean, characterized by long, hot, rainless summers and relatively short, cool, rainy winters, and extreme desert. The Mediterranean landscapes include several kinds of forest, garrigue, scrubland and grassland, whereas the dry climate zone grows scattered shrub vegetation or desert-grassland in its wetter parts. In the more arid regions, the vegetation is confined to dry riverbeds and gullies and in some places is almost absent. The semi-desert belt (Transition) has higher diversity than other two areas. Here, the annual rainfall varies from 400mm to 200mm and the zone includes mostly low-grasslands and hardy forms of scrub with a flora mostly of Asian and Saharan origin. The preliminary red list of Palestine contains 298 vascular plant species, some of which are globally threatened.

Nine IPAs have been identified in Palestine. Four have been confirmed and described as internationally important sites, while the remainder require further investigation due to access difficulties and lack of capacity. Three IPAs contain single country endemics and all sites contain species that have very restricted distributions but cross adjacent borders for example Iris haynei in Palestine and Israel. The current distribution of many of these locally endemic species is not known.

The IPAs of Palestine are dominated by maquis (chaparral) vegetation – both dense and open, with wild pistachio Pistacia palaestina, mastic tree P. lentiscus, Palestine buckthorn Rhamnus palaestinus, Palestine oak Quercus calliprinos and Aleppo oak Q. boisseri, frequently interspersed with ancient olive groves. The softer leaved garrigue (phyrgana) with the rockroses Cistus incanus and C. salvifolious, Mediterranean smilax or sarsaparilla Smilax aspera; and many medicinal and aromatic species such as zaatar or Syrian marjoram Origanum syriaca, thyme-leaved savory Satureja thymbra and germander Teucrium spp. is found on some IPAs. Remnants of once dense carob forest (Ceratonia siliqua) occur on some sites and populations of Aleppo pine Pinus halapensis are found on parts of the more mountainous sites.

Threats to IPAs in Palestine

The IPAs in Palestine are threatened by cutting, grazing, occasional burning, habitat fragmentation and very high levels of unsustainable harvest of medicinal and aromatic plants. Wood cutting is largely domestic and wild plant harvesting is important for supplementing household incomes.

Coordinating organisation:

• Al Quds University

Contact:

• Banan Al-Sheikh

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Oman

Active identification project ongoing, see regional section on Arabian peninsular above.

Coordinating organisations:

Botanical Garden of Oman with the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants

• Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

Contact:

• Sabina Knees

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Namibia

National and regional experts debated the data sources, selection criteria, future protection and management of IPAs at a workshop in 2004 (Hofmeyer,2004) producing a provisional list of 39 IPAs.

The list included preliminary site maps in ArcView, based on sources including threatened species data, vegetation maps, the Namibian Tree Atlas project, centres of endemism and diversity, and expert opinion. This workshop also debated the possibilities for future protection and funding and the involvement of local communities in management planning and monitoring.

More resources are needed to continue and develop this project.

Coordinating organisation:

• The National Botanical Research Institute

Contact:

Sonja Loots

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Mozambique

A preliminary list of 28 IPAs was identified at a workshop in 2004 by national and regional experts from a range of organisations.

An assessment of the data reliability and the conservation priority of the sites was included in the list. The sources for identifying IPAs included the Southern African Plant Red Data Lists (2002), preliminary checklists of Mozambique, the PRECIS database, soil maps and expert opinion. High priority sites include Chiperomi, Namuli, Mabu, Moribane, the northern coastal forests, Quiterajo, Palma, Quirimbas, Serra Choa, and Bobole.

Coordinating organisation:

• Universidade Eduardo Mondland

Contact:

• Celia Macamo

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Morocco

Nineteen IPAs have been identified in Morocco, from a preliminary list of 57 potentially eligible sites (15 classed as priority, 27 highly remarkable and 15 important) drawn from Sites of Biological and Ecological Interest.

Covering a total area of 710,850km2 in North-West Africa, Morocco lies between Africa and Europe. As a result, considerable genetic interchange has occurred giving rise to high species diversity. The four major mountain ranges - the Rif, the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas - form an important part of the relief of Morocco, occupying 15% of its land area .The climate is classed as Mediterranean and is influenced by both the Atlantic and the Sahara. Precipitation decreases from north to south and from west to east, being high in the mountain massifs, reaching 2,000mm in the Rif, but less than 150mm in the pre-Saharan and Saharan regions.

The vegetation consists mainly of forest and pre-forest ecosystems which include oak, fir, juniper, wild olive and cypress, esparto, wormwood, thorny xerophyte steppes and Saharan ecosystems (with acacias and chamaephytes). The Moroccan flora is particularly rich, with approximately 7,000 species, including an estimated 4,500 vascular plants. There are 951 national endemics (over 20% of the vascular plants) and some 500 local endemics (of restricted range) shared with Algeria, the Iberian Peninsula and even Mauritania and the Canary Islands. The rate of endemism is particularly high in the mountain areas, the mountains having provided isolated plant refuges during the ice ages.

Morocco has identified 160 sites of biological and ecological interest, all of which should soon be classed within the five categories of legally protected areas. There are currently 10 national parks.

Nineteen Important Plant Areas (IPAs) have been identified from a preliminary list of 57 potentially eligible sites (15 classed as priority, 27 highly remarkable and 15 important) drawn from Sites of Biological and Ecological Interest. Most of the IPAs are located in mountain areas, more than half of them at elevations above 2,500m, some reaching 4,000m. There are two coastal IPAs: Al Hoceima National Park and Maamora.

The predominant vegetation in most of the mountain IPAs is forest, sometimes degraded, with stands of Algerian oak, cork oak, holm oak, pine, cedar, fir, Tetraclinis and juniper. Above 3,000m, woody vegetation gives way to formations of thorny cushion-like xerophytes and meadows very rich in endemics. In the lowlands, Maamora boasts a potentially very extensive cork oak forest (130,000ha), whereas Al Hoceima National Park is mainly characterized by a wild, rocky coastline with cliffs rising out of the sea. Morocco’s IPAs are characterized by a particularly high number of national endemics and stenoendemics found only at a single site: there are 14 areas with more than 20 such species. The richest are Ifrane National Park (196), Toubkal National Park (164), Jbel Ayachi (75), and Jbel Bou-Naceur and Jbel Bou Iblane (92). Six IPAs are included within national parks. The others have not yet been awarded any special protection.

The main threats to Morocco’s IPAs are water stress, particularly an increase in drought periods; deforestation, which affects most of them; overgrazing; habitat fragmentation and isolation and the effects of tourism.

Coordinating organisations:

• Forest Research Centre (Rabat) and Scientific Institute of Rabat

Contacts:

• Mohammed Taleb
• Mohammed Fennane

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Madagascar

This plant-rich island contains about 8.8 million hectares of primary forest.

Through the Durban Vision Process there are plans to triple the current protected area system up to 6 million hectares of land managed for conservation purposes.

From 2001-4 Missouri Botanical Garden analysed data on 1,200 endemic plant species to identify 80 priority sites for plant conservation (PAPC). In the course of a current project on wild plants for food and medicine, 166 IPAs have been identified using the PAPC sites, KBA data and a review of the protected area system, and data are being analysed on 1,000 threatened species to update the list.

48 of the IPAs are currently protected with 30 more under review, which will bring the total of IPAs under legal protection to 78 (46%). There is less information on management at sites and future mechanisms to conserve these sites must include community involvement and on the ground conservation.

Coordinating organisations:

• Missouri Botanical Garden (Priority Areas for Plant Conservation 2001-2004) and analysis of endemic and threatened plants
• BGCI
• Conservation International
• Madagascar Plant Specialist Group for IPAs within the Wild Plants for Food and Medicine Project.

Contacts:

• Sylvie Andriambololonera
• Jeannie Raharamampionona

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Libya

Five confirmed IPAs have been identified in Libya to date: Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Tawuorgha Sebka, Jabal Nafusah, Jabal Aweinat and Messak mountain.

Libya occupies an area of about 1.7 million km2, most of which is desert (the
Sahara). It is bounded to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the west by Tunisia and Algeria, to the southwest by Niger, to the south by Chad and Sudan and to the east by Egypt. Libya's coastline is the longest of any African country bordering the Mediterranean. The climate is mostly dry and desert like in nature, but the northern regions enjoy a milder Mediterranean climate.

The most important areas for plant diversity are the coastal strip and mountains of the 1900km long Mediterranean coastline. The original coastal vegetation is dominated by wormwood and white broom, with early spring flowering annuals such as southern ragwort, Hussonia pinnata, rocket, corn marigold, common mallow and cut-leaved storksbill, and the perennial herb hispid viper's-bugloss. These species cover large areas for a short time after the winter rainfall. The oases and valleys of the Sahara have sparse vegetation that is low in diversity and includes date palm trees, Tamarix spp., white broom, the buckthorn Ziziphus lotus, European boxthorn and umbrella thorn acacia. Herbaceous plants include Judean wormwood, Egyptian henbane and spiny zilla, though perennial grasses such Panicum turgidum, Stipagrostis pungens and S. plumosus predominate. In total there are approximately 1750 plant species in Libya, 4% of which are Libyan endemics. The flora is predominantly Mediterranean in type, with strong links to the Eastern Mediterranean (Palestine to Greece), more than with the rest of North Africa; particularly strong are the links to Crete. Approximately 50% of the Libyan endemics are endemic to Cyrenaica, the eastern coastal region of Libya. It has been estimated that there are approximately 26 endemic plant species on the coastal belt of Cyrenaica. Two plant genera, Pachyctenium Maire and Libyella Pamp are endemic to the district of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, each contain one species; Pachyctenium mirabile and Libyella cyrenaica.

Five confirmed IPAs have been identified in Libya to date: Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Tawuorgha Sebka, Jabal Nafusah, Jabal Aweinat and Messak mountain; with a further five that require study to confirm their status as internationally significant sites for plants. IPAs in Libya are found in the coastal, mountain and desert habitat types, Al Jabal Al Akhdar IPA (The Green Mountain) in the Cyrenaica region of north east Libya being the largest and most significant. The unique physiographic and climatic conditions which isolate the mountains of Cyrenaica from the rest of Libya have resulted in Al Jabal Al Akhdar holding 75 – 80% of the Libyan flora and a significant proportion of Libya’s endemic plant species, despite only covering 1% of the Libyan territory. The other confirmed Libyan IPAs include the hot springs and open canals of Tawuorgha and the limestone formations of Jabal Nafusah which stretch 500km from the Tunisian border to the Niggaza area on the Mediterranean coast. The latter encompasses a recently established national park Sha afeen. The Environmental General Authority (EGA) is considering the creation of a protected area at Alaweinat IPA in the south eastern corner of the country.

Threats to Libyan IPAs

Libyan IPAs face a number of threats including development of tourism infrastructure, overgrazing of livestock, forest cutting for wood and charcoal, and the spread of invasive alien species. Unregulated development at the coast is a particular threat. Planning processes are erratic and environmental impact assessments (although required by law) are seldom completed or adhered to.

Coordinating organisation:

Dr F El-Rtaib, Alfateh University

Contact:

Matthew Hall (Centre for Middle East Plants, RBG Edinburgh)

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Lebanon

In the current study the Lebanese team worked with IUCN, Plantlife and WWF to define twenty IPAs in Lebanon using published literature and consultations with national experts.

Located in the east Mediterranean, at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the fringes of Arabia, Lebanon is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. The country’s surface area is 10,452 sq km (4,036 sq mi) and it has a coastline 225 km (140 mi) on the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Lebanon is divided into four distinct physiographic regions: the coastal plain, the Lebanon mountain range, the Bekaa valley and the Anti-Lebanon mountains

Due to the variety of topography, habitats and climate, Lebanon hosts a rich variety of wildlife including many rare and endemic plant species. Around 2,790 species of vascular plants comprise the Lebanese flora, including approximately 92 national endemic species. Two floristic ensembles are recognised in the country; Mediterranean and Presteppic Mediterranean and they are represented in almost all of their vegetation levels.

Lebanon has been designating protected areas since the 1930s. These currently include 8 nature reserves, 16 natural sites protected by decision of the Minister of Environment, 17 Hima and forests declared by the Minister of Agriculture, 14 tourism sites declared by the Ministry of Tourism, 8 natural sites & monuments declared by decrees and sites of natural and/or ecological importance in need of protection.

To manage its biodiversity, Lebanon, a signatory of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), has set up management teams consisting of a consortium of private and public groups including local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and municipalities. The management teams have subsequently contracted national and international scientists to produce species inventories in order to elaborate management approaches. These efforts remain hindered by the absence of baseline data identifying ecosystems, habitats, assemblages and populations, as well as the absence of species maps and a formal threat status for species (provided for example by a red-listing process).

The Lebanese team worked in bilateral cooperation with IUCN, Plantlife and WWF to define 20 IPAs in Lebanon using published literature and consultations with national experts. The IPAs of Lebanon are distributed throughout the country and are representative of its major ecosystems and habitats. Although, as expected, the majority of the IPA sites lie on the western slopes of the Lebanon mountain range and include Qornet Es-Sawda (the highest peak in the country at 3088m), IPAs are also found on the eastern Mediterranean shore, the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, the semi arid areas of the Bekaa valley and the marshes of West Bekaa.

Endemic and/or threatened species are found in almost every designated IPA, most of them contain more than 10 nationally endemic species and some sites are exceptionally rich in endemics: Bcharreh-Ehden (50 species), Chouf (32), Makmel (25) and Keserwan (25).

They include threatened endemics represented in a single IPA: a vetch Vicia canescens Labill (in Mount Makmel IPA), a chervil Chaerophyllum aurantiacum Post (Tannourine IPA), a knapweed Centaurea mouterdii Wagenitz. (Rihane) and a tulip Tulipa lownei Baker (Chouf) or within more than one IPA for example: a stock Matthiola crassifolia Boiss. et Gaill., Melissa inodora Boiss., the Lebanon Violet Viola libanotica Bornm. and Saofar Iris Iris sofarana Foster. In addition to endemics, the designated IPAs include some species that are at the edge of their distribution range such as Cilicia Fir Abies cilicica (Antoine & Kotschy) Carr found in Bcharreh-Ehden IPA and Hop Hornbeam Ostrya carpinifolia Scop. in Jabal Moussa (Wadi Jannah IPA). Although all identified IPAs contain species with trans-boundary distributions, many contain (very local) steno-endemics.

Qammouaa-Dinnyeh-Jurd Hermel, Palm Islands, Bcharreh-Ehden, Tannourine and Tyre-Naqoura IPAs include entire nature reserves or parts thereof. Aamiq, Palm Islands, Ras Chekka and Tyre Naquora include Ramsar sites. Qadisha valley is a natural heritage site, Wadi Jannah, Chouf and Rihane are bioreserves and Qammouaa-Dinnyeh- Jurd Hermel is under consideration for some kind of protection.

Threats to IPAs in Lebanon

Almost every type of habitat in Lebanon is threatened; urban expansion is invading every mountain, coast, plain, and valley. Examples of IPAs facing anthropomorphic threats include the coast (Beirut–Jiyyeh Coast and Tyre-Naqoura), dry plains (Hermel Plain), wetlands (Aammiq), riparian ecosystems (Wadi Jannah and Nahr Ed-Damour), as well as mountains and valleys in most of the IPAs of Mount Lebanon. The expansion and intensification of agriculture, deforestation and climate change are also frequent threats to IPAs.

Coordinating organisation:

• American University of Beirut

Contact:

• Salma Talhouk

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Kuwait

Involved in developing IPA criteria for the Arabian region through the IUCN Arabian Plants Specialist Group. 

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Jordan

12 IPAs have been identified in Jordan.

Coordinating organisation:

• The University of Jordan

Contact:

• Dawud al - Eisawi

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Israel

Fifteen IPAs have been identified in Israel; seven have a high priority for conservation.

Although Israel is a small country (20,770 sq km) and about 70% desert, it is very rich in plant diversity. The flora of Israel comprises 2272 different wild species from 128 families and 775 genera. 414 of these species are threatened (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable) on a national level and 56 are national endemics. Although the number of the Red Plants of Israel is high compared with homologous countries, the number of endemic species is much lower. The floral richness is due to Israel’s geographical position between Africa and Asia, where three phytogeographical regions intersect: the Mediterranean, the Irano-Turanian and the Saharo-Arabian. At this crossroads a wide range of habitats, altitudes and climates are present, with temperate species coexisting alongside species from tropical, desert and xero-alpine climates. Steep geomorphological and ecological gradients rise from the sea, range over lush green arboreal mountains and descend to extreme desert around the Dead Sea, the lowest region on earth.

47.8% of the wild plants in the Mediterranean and desert regions are annuals that occupy small niches and are known for their fast speciation rate, and Israel’s flora reflects these characteristics. The long co-evolution of the local flora with human culture in the Fertile Crescent yields a rich and diverse annual and antipastoral flora well adapted to the disturbed habitats associated with human civilization. As Israel’s borders cut across the three phytogeographical regions, there is a relatively low rate of national endemism in the flora with only 44 strict endemic plant species and 12 more “near-national endemics” (whose distribution extends just a few kilometres over the border into adjacent states).

Fifteen IPAs have been identified in Israel; seven have a high priority for conservation. These sites encompass the following habitats:
• Mediterranean maquis (chaparral);
• Mediterranean-desert transition (for e.g. Hebron IPA);
• desert shrubland (Har HaNegev);
• extreme desert oasis (Dead Sea coast);
• coastal plain (Poleg), including the unique vegetation associated with the sandy habitats on Hamra soil (red sandy loam) and kurkar (calcareous sandstone);
• sand dunes;
• coastal seasonal pools;
• wadi beds;
• wetlands and swamp (Hula);
• springs and riparian vegetation and coastal salt marshes (Acre).

Significant species include the Israeli endemics Allium negense, Bufonia ramonensis and Ferula daniniias well as numerous regional endemic species such as Iris atrofusca, I. vartanii, Mosheovia galilae and Rheum palaestinum.

Threats to IPAs in Israel

Habitat fragmentation and urbanisation are the greatest threats to IPAs in Israel.

Coordinating organisation:

• Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Contact:

• Avi Shmida

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Iraq

Involved in developing IPA criteria for the Arabian region through the IUCN Arabian Plants Specialist Group.

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Ethiopia & Eritrea

Researchers are actively looking for funds to prepare a Conservation Atlas for the Threatened Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

This is project will help to conserve one of Africa’s most floristically diverse regions, with its c.6000 plant taxa, several hundred endemic species, and native populations of economically important plants and their relatives.

The expected outputs of this project include an atlas of threatened flora, with IUCN Red List status and recovery plans; the identification of a network of Important Plant Areas; capacity building for researchers; and awarenessraising and community projects in and around the IPAs.

Work has already been completed on a preliminary assessment of 596 endemic plants of Ethiopia (Vivero et al., 2006), IUCN species assessments are being prepared for c.629 taxa, and the Red List of Endemic Trees and Shrubs (135 taxa) of Ethiopia & Eritrea has been published (Vivero et al, 2005)

Coordinating organisations:

• National Herbarium (ETH)
• Addis Ababa University
• IUCN/SSC Global Trees Specialist Group

Contact:

• Ensermu Kelbessa
• Jose Luis Vivero

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Egypt

Twenty IPAs have been identified in Egypt to date, with six proposed that require further study to confirm their status as internationally significant sites for plants.

Egypt is situated in the south east of the Mediterranean Sea; bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Apart from the Nile valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is desert, encompassing parts of the Sahara and Libyan Deserts. The coast includes the delta of the River Nile, which, north of Cairo, splits into two branches that feed into the Mediterranean: the Rosetta Branch to the west and the Damietta to the east.

Egypt’s diverse flora contains over 2300 vascular plant species and subspecies, and approximately 190 species and subspecies of mosses and hepatics. This reflects the long Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts combined with Egypt’s position between Africa and Asia. Four floral zones are recognised: Mediterranean-Sahara regional transition zone, Sahara-Sindian regional zone, Irano-Turanian regional centre of endemism and Sahel regional transition zone. The preliminary red data list for the vascular plants of Egypt classifies nearly 450 species as threatened on a national level, although these are not necessarily threatened across the Mediterranean region. There are twenty seven protected areas across the country, which are ecologically significant sites, twelve of these, or parts of them, are also IPAs.

Twenty IPAs have been identified in Egypt to date, with six proposed that require further study to confirm their status as internationally significant sites for plants. Of these, ten are located within the Mediterranean region and five of those contain single country endemics or very restricted range species.

The Mediterranean IPAs of Egypt consist of five coastal lakes or lagoons, including the only oligotrophic hypersaline lake on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast and three lakes within the Nile Delta; as well as the limestone mountains of North Sinai, the coastal ridges and depressions of Omayed Biosphere Reserve, the Moghra Oasis, the oolitic sands of the Western Mediterranean coastal dunes and the plateau of Sallum on the border with Libya. Significant species on these sites include the relict patches of Phoenician juniper populations in North Sinai, Egyptian endemics Astragalus camelorum, Bellevallia salah-eidii, Bromus aegyptiacus, Sinapis allionii, Sonchus macrocarpus (of the coastal lagoons) and Anthemis microsperma, Atractylis carduus var. marmarica, Pancratium arabicum and Zygophyllum album var. album (of the coastal dunes).

Floristically, the richest IPA in Egypt is the mountainous Saint Katherine IPA. It contains around 500 vascular plant species and approximately 50% of Egypt’s endemic plant flora. This huge protected site covers over 5,000 sq km of South Sinai and rises up to 2641 m; it is outside the Mediterranean region.

Threats to IPAs in Egypt

IPAs in Egypt face numerous threats, particularly from overgrazing, tourism and infrastructure related development, eutrophication and mineral extraction.

Coordinating organisation:

• Tanta University

Contact:

• Kamal Shaltout

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Cameroon

Participated in planning for Global Strategy for Plant Conservation target 2 and target 5.

Contact:

• Bihini Won wa Musiti

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Bahrain

Involved in developing IPA criteria for the Arabian region through the IUCN Arabian Plants Specialist Group.

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Algeria

Twenty-one IPAs have initially been identified for northern Algeria. Many other sites may also deserve to be included, depending on further studies, particularly in the Collo Peninsula, the Tlemcen Mountains, the Arzew Peninsula, Cape Falcon, Ouarsenis, Sersou, the Aflou region and Djebel Aissa. Sites in the steppe and Saharan zones of the country have not been inventoried, since they are located beyond the Mediterranean part of Algeria.

With an area of 2,381,741km2, Algeria is both the largest country with a Mediterranean coastline and the largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Morocco. The Sahara desert covers more than four-fifths of the country, but in the north lie the Tellian and Saharan Atlas, parallel ranges, between which are large areas of plain and highland. North eastern Algeria up to the Tunisian border is occupied by the Aurès Massif, the Tell coastal strip and the Nememcha Plateau.

Since Algeria is influenced by the sea, relief and elevation, its climate is classed as ‘temperate extra-tropical Mediterranean’, characterized by a long period of summer drought that varies from 3-4 months on the coast to 5-6 months on the high plains and more than 6 months in the Saharan Atlas. All Mediterranean bioclimates are represented in the north, from perhumid (Babor Mountains) to semi-arid (Sahel d’Oran).

The main types of vegetation found in northern Algeria are:

• Sclerophyllous forests (holm oak, cork oak, etc.), deciduous forests (Algerian oak, afares oak, maples) and conifer forests (Aleppo pine, black pine, maritime pine, thuja, cedar, fir);

•Scrub shrubland, which includes evergreen vegetation dominated by mastic, rock rose, brooms, diss grass, rosemary and Globularia;

• Meadows and asphodel grassland;

• Hygrophilous vegetation represented by riparian forests with white poplar, alder and narrow leaved ash, as well as the vegetation of marshes, lakes, ponds and lagoons;

• Salt-loving and littoral vegetation, including the vegetation of coastal dunes, cliffs and coastal scrub.

Approximately 4,000 plants have been recorded in Algeria of which 464 are national endemics.

Twenty-one IPAs have initially been identified in northern Algeria. Algerian IPAs cover all vegetation stages and are often marked by a large elevational range, as in the Aurès Massif (100–2,300m) and Djurdjura (600–2,300m). Several coastal IPAs have high plant diversity and are rich in endemic species, which are often highly localized (stenoendemic). Forested environments are well represented, particularly with cedars or oaks (Quercus canariensis, Q. suber and Q. ilex) and several IPAs are rich in wetland

The number of endemics in northern Algeria is 407, including 224 endemic to Algeria alone, 124 shared with Morocco, 58 with Tunisia and one with Sicily. Some IPAs have a flora with a particularly high proportion of national endemics or stenoendemics, such as Djurdjura National Park with over 25 sub-national and stenoendemics, and El Kala 1 & 2 and the Babor Mountains, each with 20.

Many other sites may also deserve to be included. Sites in the steppe and Saharan zones of the country have not been inventoried, since they are located beyond the Mediterranean part of Algeria. Eight IPAs are entirely or partly located inside national parks, while 13 others enjoy no management or protection measures. The Babor Massif is in the process of being listed as a natural reserve.

The main threats to Algeria’s IPAs are fire, followed by overgrazing, resulting in the direct disappearance of species and the erosion of topsoil, making it difficult to restore the vegetation cover. Some sites also suffer from too many visitors or from quarrying. Pollution from domestic effluents is a threat to many wetlands, while some IPAs are affected by deforestation. The lack of security that prevailed in part of Algeria for several decades often prevented management or conservation measures from being implemented and impeded data collection on the ground.

Coordinating organisation:

• University of Sciences and Technology

Contacts:

• Salima Benhouhou and Nassima Yahi

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North Africa and Middle East

IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, Plantlife International and WWF have begun a project to identify Important Plant Areas in the south and east Mediterranean region with country experts from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.

128 preliminary IPAs were identified and mapped in 2009. This list will be expanded and further information on the species and habitats present on these sites, the threats to the plant diversity and opportunities for its conservation will be collated and published.

Coordinating organisations:

• University of Sciences and Technology (Algeria)
• Tanta University(Egypt)
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)
• University of Jordan (Jordan)
• American University of Beirut and Lebanese University (Lebanon)
• Alfateh University (Libya)
• Forest Research Centre, Scientific Institute of Rabat (Morocco)
• Al Quds University (Palestine)
• The Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife (Syria)
• Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (Tunisia)
• IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation
• WWF MedPo
• IUCN Mediterranean Islands Plant Specialist Group
• Plantlife International

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Arabian peninsular

Group to establish a coordinated IPA programme in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq & Qatar.

Currently the project is focusing on Saudi Arabia, Oman & Yemen. Criteria for the Arabian region have been published which specifically include relict species and refugia for connectivity and climate change mitigation (Al-Abbasi et al., 2010).

As well as identifying IPAs in the region, it is hoped that the project will stimulate the production of Red Lists (national and Arabian) and the development of a standardised list of threatened habitats for the region. The project has identified potential IPAs through existing data and has been focussing on field surveys in these areas. The first detailed IPA site report in Arabia has now been published for Jabal Qaraqir in Saudi Arabia (Llewellyn et al, 2010).

There is a strong focus on practical conservation planning for IPAs, which includes targeting traditional protected areas (himas in Saudi Arabia, hamiyah in Oman) for inclusion in the network.

Coordinating organisations:

• Centre for Middle Eastern Plants (part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh)
• Saudi Wildlife Commission (Saudi Arabia)
• Oman Botanic Garden (Muscat, Oman)
• Agricultural Research and Extension Authority (Taiz, Yemen)
• IUCN Arabian Plants Specialist Group

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Vietnam

Active identification project ongoing (see regional section on South East Asia).

Coordinating organisations (Missouri Botanical Garden):

• Institute of Ecology & Biological Resources
• Institute of Tropical Biology

Contact:

• Jack Regalado

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Thailand

Active identification project ongoing (see regional section on South East Asia).

Coordinating organisations:

• Bangkok Forest Herbarium with Missouri Botanical Garden

Contact:

• Jack Regalado

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Singapore

Attended 2004 regional South East Asia workshop for IPAs.

Coordinating organisation:

• Singapore Botanical Garden

Contact:

• Ruth Kiew

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Seychelles

29 IPAs identified as part of a KBA project.

The analysis of IPAs in the Seychelles was undertaken as part of a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) Project (Gerlach, 2008). In total 48 KBAs were identified, of which 29 were IPAs. The IPAs were identified using three criteria: threatened species (species from the IUCN 2007 Red List); species richness assessments of five main habitat groups (montane forest, sub-montane forest, lowland forest, marsh, glacis rock); and threatened habitats (montane forest and marsh habitats).

The most significant threat, which affects all 48 KBAs, is habitat destruction caused by invasive species. Other threats include development (6 sites), sea level rise (13 sites), and unpredictable climate change (16 sites). The future of KBAs in the Seychelles depends on effective legal protection and large-scale habitat restoration.

Reference:

• Gerlach J. 2008, Setting Conservation Priorities – A Key Biodiversity Area Analysis for the Seychelles Islands. Conservation Biology Journal 2, pp.44-53.

Coordinating organisation:

• Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles

Contact:

• Justin Gerlach

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Philippines

Active identification project ongoing.

Palawan Island IPA (also one of the Centres of Plant Diversity and a Man and Biosphere Reserve) is currently the focus of much scientific and conservation action. A checklist of plants will be published soon including a new giant pitcher plant (Nepanthes attenboroughii) recently discovered in the forests of Mount Victoria.

Coordinating organisation:

• Philippines National Museum

Contact:

• Domingo Madulid

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Pakistan

Seven IPAs for medicinal plants identified within the Himalaya and Hindu Kush Regions.

See Pakistan section (pages 24-26) of Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas for Medicinal Plants in the Himalaya for more information.

Coordinating organisations (with Plantlife International):

• WWF Pakistan
• Government Postgraduate Jahanzeb College

Contacts:

• WWF: Ashiq Ahmad Khan
• Jahanzeb College: Hassan Sher

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New Zealand

Identification project established.

Coordinating organisation:

New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Contact:

John Sawyer

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Nepal

Sixteen medicinal plant IPA complexes were identified with 230 IPAs within them.

Community based conservation projects are being developed at these medicinal plant IPAs. See Nepal section (pages 23-24) of Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas for Medicinal Plants in the Himalaya for more information.

Coordinating organisations:

Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON) with Plantlife International.

Contact:

Krishna Shrestha

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Malaysia

Attended 2004 IPA regional workshop for Important Plant Areas.

Coordinating organisations:

• Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FIRM)
• Sabah Parks Board Malaysia

Contacts:

• FIRM: Saw Leng Guan
• Sabah Parks: Jamili B. Nais

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Laos

Active identification project ongoing (see regional section on South East Asia).

Coordinating organisations:

• National University of Laos with Missouri Botanical Garden.

Contact:

• Jack Regalado

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Japan

Identification of priority plant site project predates GSPC and hotspot selection is ongoing.

Coordinating organisation:

• Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation Bureau

Contact:

• Naoki Nakayama

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Indonesia

Attended 2004 IPA regional workshop for South East Asia.

Coordinating organisations:

• Herbarium Bogoriense.

Contact:

• Eko Baroto Waluyo

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India

There have been two IPA projects in India:

One to identify medicinal plant IPAs in the Himalaya (see pages 21-22 of Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas for Medicinal Plants in the Himalaya), and a methodological study of IPA identification techniques in the Western Ghats.

Coordinating organisations:

• Himalaya: Pragya
• Western Ghats: Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF)

Contacts:

• Himalaya: Gargi Banerji
• Western Ghats: Sameer Punde

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China

Eleven critical regions for biodiversity were identified by SEPA (State Environmental Protection Administration).

Six of these regions are within the Himalaya and a project to identify IPAs for medicinal plants was carried out in the Himalaya by the Kunming Instititute of Botany & Yangzhou University (see pages 19-20 of Identification and Conservation of Important Plant Areas for Medicinal Plants in the Himalaya).

Contacts:

• Pei Shengji, Kunming Institute
• Huai Huyin, Yangzhou University

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Cambodia

Active identification project ongoing (see regional section on South East Asia).

Coordinating organisations:

• Royal University of Phnom Penh with Missouri Botanical Garden

Contact:

• Jack Regalado

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Brunei

Attended 2004 IPA regional workshop for South East Asia.

Coordinating organisations:

• University of Brunei Darussalam
• Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources

Contacts:

• Abdullah Kalat
• David Edwards
• Muhd Ariffin

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Bhutan

10 IPAs for medicinal plants identified.

Coordinating organisations:

• Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan with Plantlife International.

Contacts:

• Yeshey Dorji
• A Karma Rinzin

For more information see the Bhutan section (pages 18-19) in the downloadable report below.

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South-east Asia

The analysis of IPAs in the Indochina floristic region will be conducted as part of a project supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund from 2009-2012.

In addition to the main objective to assess the distribution and status of globally threatened plant species using IUCN criteria, the project will identify the most valuable sites of plant diversity in the Indochina region as the basis for prioritising conservation actions.

Information on plant diversity is fragmentary, hence poorly represented in conservation planning, management, monitoring, and decision-making. The challenge of using plants as indicator groups in biodiversity assessment is the lack of knowledge on the biology, ecology, and distribution of plant species, many of which remain un-described. The botanical data that do exist remain inaccessible to decision-makers because these data reside only in the herbarium specimens and the scientific and grey literature written in different languages.

The project will therefore train local scientists to assemble the botanical information into a database and to combine the plant distributional data with the ecological data and other parameters in a GIS map to identify the important plant areas (IPAs) for conservation. Until now, conservation planning in the region has relied largely on the opinions of experts and on the use of data on few indicator groups such as birds and large mammals.

Coordinating organisations:

• Missouri Botanical Garden

Collaborating organizations:

• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)
• Society for Environmental Exploration (Frontier)
• Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)
• Kunming Botanic Garden (KUN)
• National University of Laos (NUOL)
• Bangkok Forest Herbarium (BKF)
• Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR)
• Institute of Tropical Biology (ITB)

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The Himalaya

A provisional list of 53 IPAs for medicinal plants has been identified in the Himalaya (Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan).

In addition, a list of 51 medicinal plants in need of conservation action has also been identified. The project focused particularly on medicinal plants as this was the conservation issue most central to communities and livelihoods. The methodology for site selection used the presence of threatened species, species richness and threatened habitats

Future actions will concentrate on involving local communities (collectors, traditional healers, cultural leaders) in taking forward conservation of these medicinal plants and their habitats, improving protection for the IPAs across the region and continuing to identify new IPAs based on medicinal and other plants.

Coordinating organisations:

• Bhutan: Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan)
• China: Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS and Yangzhou University
• India: Pragya
• Nepal: Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal
• Pakistan: WWF Pakistan and Government Postgraduate Jahanzeb College
• UK: Plantlife International

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Europe

Summary information on IPA projects in Europe are available by clicking on the appropriate country in the menu to the left.

As well as projects specific to individual nations we are also involved in two regional projects. Find out more by following the links below:

• IPAs in Central and Eastern Europe
• IPAs in South East Europe

For detailed site data and maps for central and east Europe (Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) click here to search the IPA database.

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Planta Europa

Planta Europa is the network of non-governmental and governmental organisations working to conserve wild plants and fungi across Europe. It began in 1993 and the first pan-European plant conservation conference was held in 1995 in Hyere, France. 

• Click here to go directly to the Planta Europa website.

Planta Europa currently has 76 members from 36 countries also two associated networks the ECCB (European Committee for the Conservation of Bryophytes and the EMA (European Mycological Association).

Planta Europa together with the Council of Europe developed the first and second European Strategies for Plant Conservation (2001-2007, 2008-2014) and works to deliver their targets.

Planta Europa holds a tri-annual conference – Hyere, France (1995); Uppsala, Sweden (1998); Pruhonice, Czech Republic (2001); Valencia, Spain (2004); Cluj Napoca, Romania (2007); Krakow, Poland (2011). The next conference is planned for Crete, Greece (May 2014).

Plantlife International originally held the Secretariat of Planta Europa and now works to represent the views of members at the European Habitats Forum in Brussels

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Medicinal plants and livelihoods

The aim of this initiative is to build capacity for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Case studies of good practice will be recorded and made available for others to use.

The conservation of medicinal plants is a huge challenge and Plantlife seeks to collaborate with organisations with similar purposes. The Medicinal Plants Conservation Initiative has been generously supported by grants from the Allachy Trust and the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation.

Allachy Awards

Thanks to the generosity of the Allachy Trust, Plantlife was able to provide grants for conservation of medicinal plants, starting in September 2005 and with the programme largely completed in 2008.

The purpose of the awards was to build capacity for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Projects selected for awards have taken community-based approaches to medicinal plant conservation. All awards given have been concentrated in the geographical regions of the Himalayas and East Africa.

Additionally, several projects of a supportive nature have been funded. These included a regional meeting on conservation of medicinal plants in Kathmandu, Nepal (September 2006), an international course on medicinal plant conservation held at Bangalore, India (October 2006) and a China/India/UK Di

Please note that no new grants are currently available.

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European Plant Conservation Strategy

The European Strategy for Plant Conservation (ESPC) is the regional response of plant and fungi conservation specialists across Europe to the implementation of the CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. The first European Strategy was developed by the Planta Europa Network and the Council of Europe in 2001 and ran until 2007. After a review of the first strategy a new strategy (2008-2014) was developed at the Fifth Planta Europa Conference in Romania in 2007 and published in 2008.

The new European strategy is based on the structure of the GSPC with 5 objectives (Understanding Plant Diversity, Conserving Plant Diversity, Using Plant Diversity Sustainably, Increasing Awareness of Plant Diversity; Increasing Capacity for Plant Diversity) and 16 targets. However it also contains sub-targets specific to the European region and actions to mitigate the effects of climate change under each target.

The review of the first European Strategy (2001-2007) found that much progress had been made in areas such as check-listing, identifying IPAs, ex-situ conservation methods, and conserving genetic diversity, but that there had been much less progress in areas such as Red listing, Sustainable Use of Plants and Capacity Building. The review also highlighted case studies of the many examples of good practice under all the targets of the strategy.

History of the European Strategy for Plant Conservation

In June 2001, the Planta Europa network drew on all its plant conservation expertise to develop a master plan to halt the loss of plant diversity in Europe by 2007. The result was the European Plant Conservation Strategy (EPCS), a framework for wild-plant conservation in Europe.

At the heart of this document are 42 targets for plant conservation in Europe, to be achieved by 2007. The targets are clear, realistic and measurable, and in each case an organisation has pledged to take the lead on their implementation, whilst other partners are welcome to join the lead organisations to assist in achieving these challenging targets.

The 42 targets are arranged under five objectives: understanding and documenting plant diversity; conserving plant diversity; using plant diversity sustainably; promoting education and awareness about plant diversity; building capacity for the conservation of plant diversity.

The EPCS also contains long-term policy objectives complementing the Planta Europa targets. Whereas many of the targets are oriented for action by NGOs and technical agencies, the long-term policy objectives are mainly directed at European governments.

In April 2002, the EPCS was recognised as a contribution to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), the worldwide plan which has been adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In 2004, conservationists from across Europe undertook an extensive mid-term review of the EPCS. Results are encouraging: more than 50% of the initial 42 targets of the EPCS are progressing well and two have already been achieved.

The 250 experts involved in the review identified obstacles to implementing the EPCS’s nine targets. However they also recognised that the targets are still highly relevant, and established new, more realistic milestones to help achieve them. Two new targets were added and a further four were substantially amended to reflect new developments in plant conservation since 2001.

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The Ghost Orchid Declaration in Wales

What’s it about?

The Ghost Orchid is the latest in a long line of the UK’s native wild plants to have been declared extinct. In response, Plantlife has published a new report called The Ghost Orchid Declaration. This is a call to arms to governments, Members of Parliament, conservation organisations and the general public to ensure that we do not lose any more of our irreplaceable flora.

Why is it important?

Wild plants are the silent majority, the wallflowers at the biodiversity ball. They are the fundamental building blocks of our natural environment, sustaining us as well as the insects, birds and animals we cherish. Fresh air, clean water, carbon storage – all thanks to wild plants yet too often they are relegated to the role of scenic background to our more charismatic wildlife and their value is underestimated. The Ghost Orchid Declaration offers new and challenging solutions to conserve and secure the long-term survival of this precious resource.

Some facts:

• One in five wild flowers in Wales is either extinct or threatened with extinction. The most recent victim in Wales was Oysterplant, lost in 1989 through a combination of habitat destruction and climate change.
• Of the 543 priority species on the Welsh Assembly Government’s Section 42 List of Priority Species for Conservation, 40% are plants and fungi.
• In Wales, just two experts are employed directly by government to conserve fungi, mosses and lichens. Yet we have over 75% of the diversity of these species in Britain.
• Out of £4million given in biodiversity research contracts by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee from 2007-2009, nothing went towards plant and fungi projects.
• Across the UK, flowering plants and ferns are at the bottom of the Government’s league table for features in favourable condition on Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
• Wales’ upland and arable landscapes provide a home to our most threatened plants. Upland plants like Tufted Saxifrage have suffered from overgrazing and are vulnerable to climate change, while arable flowers such as Corn Buttercup and Small-flowered Catchfly have declined as our farming landscape has changed from cereal to grazing. More intense management of grassland means ongoing losses - out of 18 sites for Lesser Butterfly Orchid in Monmouthshire, just one remains today.
• The places where Wales’s legally protected animals live are protected by law – but the places where legally protected plants grow are not. Why is it OK to protect a newt’s home but not that of the Radnor Lily?

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The Ghost Orchid Declaration in Scotland

What’s it about?

The Ghost Orchid is the latest in a long line of the UK’s native wild plants to have been declared extinct. In response, Plantlife has published a new report called The Ghost Orchid Declaration. This is a call to arms to governments, Members of Parliament, conservation organisations and the general public to ensure that we do not lose any more of our irreplaceable flora.

Why is it important?

Wild plants are the silent majority, the wallflowers at the biodiversity ball. They are the fundamental building blocks of our natural environment, sustaining us as well as the insects, birds and animals we cherish. Fresh air, clean water, carbon storage – all thanks to wild plants yet too often they are relegated to the role of scenic background to our more charismatic wildlife and their value is underestimated. The Ghost Orchid Declaration offers new and challenging solutions to conserve and secure the long-term survival of this precious resource.

Some facts:

• 1 in 5 wild flowers in Britain is threatened with extinction.
• Of the 1,150 priority species on the Government’s UK Biodiversity Action Plan, almost 50% are plants and fungi.
• Out of £4 million given in biodiversity research contracts by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee from 2007-2009, nothing went towards plant and fungi projects.
• Flowering plants and ferns are at the bottom of the Government’s league table for features in favourable condition on Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
• Despite a 5% increase in broadleaved woodland in the UK since 1990 – the diversity of woodland flowers has decreased by 19%.
• The places where the UK’s legally protected animals (including birds and invertebrates) live are also protected by law – but the places where legally protected plants live are not. Why is it OK to move plants but not OK to move water voles, bats or great crested newts?

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Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

In April 2002, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

The strategy was ground breaking in that for the first the CBD set quantitative, although non-binding, conservation targets and a deadline for their attainment (2010). Although many of the targets have not been achieved within this timeframe, the GSPC has had a profound effect in motivating and uniting the different individuals and organisations involved in plant conservation across the world. 

A revised GSPC was debated by delegates at COP10 in Nagoya Japan in October 2010 and we hope that this ground-breaking strategy and its sound framework will be used to direct and galvanise global plant conservation action in the future.

The GSPC has 16 targets arranged under 5 objectives that deal not only with identifying and conserving rare species but the full range of in-situ and ex-situ conservation activities, plant conservation in production lands, sustainable use of plant products, improving education and awareness of plants, and increasing capacity for plant conservation.

Click here for more information on the CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

Plantlife International is a member of the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation which was established to support the implementation of the GSPC.

Target 5 – Conserving Important Plant Areas (IPAs)

Plantlife International and IUCN (The World Conservation Union) are lead partners for the implementation of Target 5 of the GSPC which calls for protection and effective management of the world’s most important areas for plants. Click here for more information on Plantlife International’s IPA work [link to the IPA section 3.1].

Targets 12 & 13

Targets 12 and 13 concern using plant diversity sustainably and halting the decline of indigenous knowledge and practices that support sustainable livelihoods

Plantlife International works with national partners and local community groups within its Medicinal Plant Programme to develop local solutions to plant conservation and development concerns. This programme has produced 14 case studies which could be used as the basis for similar projects in other regions.

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Climate change

Plantlife at the Wave march, December 2009 © Tim Wilkins/Plantlife

Climate change poses a unique challenge for plants. They cannot simply get up and leave if conditions become unsuitable and it is happening at a speed that is outstripping the rate at which plants can evolve.

Species distributions are changing and although our native flora is now experiencing frequent and more extreme weather events, plants are slower to respond than other wildlife.

Predictions suggest that species will migrate northwards and upwards in altitude as their climatic space moves. However, this migration is unlikely to be a smooth or uneventful one.

In the UK’s fragmented countryside, semi-natural habitats are not continuous enough to provide plants with sufficient suitable areas to colonise.

We propose that the decision makers should not neglect the many cost effective benefits of conserving wild plants and their habitats in reducing CO2 emissions, and equally that they should not ignore the potentially negative effects on plant diversity of certain climate change measures. Plants form the basis of life, the success of mankind’s ability to meet the challenges of climate change will depend on how well it conserves the world’s plants.

The threats to wild plants & habitats from some climate change measures:

Biofuels
Biofuels have been seen as a key tool of the EU and other state agencies across the world for reducing CO2 emissions, particularly for transport reliant on fossil fuels. However there is increasing evidence of the negative impacts of growing certain biofuels in terms of increasing deforestation, competition with food growing areas and the potential for increased poverty and forced resettlement of local populations. In addition unsustainable biofuel farming has several negative impacts on wild plant diversity, including the replacement of diverse agricultural systems with monocultures, the loss of species rich old growth forests, and the introduction of potentially invasive species into new areas. We would like to see all biofuel plans, including the EU biofuel target, subject to stringent sustainability and environmental impact assessments across the world.

Indiscriminate afforestation
Trees absorb CO2 and therefore all new tree-planting could be seen as a positive contribution to reducing CO2. However, indiscriminate afforestation is a threat to wild plants if it means that key habitats such as grasslands, peatlands and heaths are converted to forest. The key to effective afforestation measures lies in sustainable forestry strategies and effective environmental impact assessment processes, which avoids planting on key biodiversity areas for other habitat types. Information on key sites, such as Important Plant Areas, Important Bird Areas, RAMSAR wetland sites etc, is readily available to planners across the world. Afforestation programmes which focus on restoration of local forest types confer benefits for both biodiversity and for CO2 reduction.

Invasive species
Invasive species, which take over landscapes and cause declines or extinctions in local plant populations are seen as a key threat to biodiversity and are estimated to cost millions each year in control programmes. The introduction of crops as biofuels or non-native trees in afforestation projects has the potential to spread invasive species (plants, fungi, insects) into new areas. We propose that all biofuel and afforestation projects are subject to stringent environmental impact assessments before being released into new regions.

Why is preserving biodiversity so important, surely stopping climate change outweighs this issue?

Apart from the responsibility to ensure that we do not hand on an impoverished world to our children, there are many practical reasons for caring about the loss of plant diversity around the world. Wild plants, fungi and their habitats provide the basis of life for all other living things on earth. They are complex ecosystems which cannot be destroyed and recreated at will. Wild plant ecosystems rely on and support many other organisms including soil fungi, the insects which pollinate our crops, and the birds and animals of the world. As well as providing food for all other organisms they also supply wild plant medicines which represent the only healthcare option for many people around the world. Climate change measures without protection of species diversity and ecosystems are liable to create many new problems in addition to the threats already posed by climate change.

Wild plants and their habitats can adapt to the changing world around us but they need time to do this. Climate change planning should include policies which allow ecosystems to adapt and increase resilience such as ecological corridors between areas and populations. 168 governments around the world have committed to halting the loss of biodiversity through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). We urge these governments not to forget the importance of their pledges in their climate change planning.

What would we like governments to do?

• Commit to binding cuts in CO2 emissions which include the conservation and restoration of wild plant habitats as cost effective measures for reducing CO2 and mitigating the effects of climate change.
• Continue their commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) biodiversity targets, and ensure that CO2 reduction measures do not negatively affect biodiversity.
• As a parallel process, commit to climate change adaptation strategies, including the establishment of ecological corridors, to reduce habitat fragmentation and increase the resilience of vital plant communities.

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Saving our magnificent meadows

A meadow filled with wildflowers © C Rimes/CCW

Plantlife is leading a nationally-coordinated programme of action to save the UK’s remaining wildflower-rich meadows and grasslands through the Saving Our Magnificent Meadows project.

Taking action

From the lowland meadows of East Lothian and the grasslands of Fermanagh, to the rush pastures of west Wales and the hillside grasslands of the Cotswolds and North Downs, the Saving Our Magnificent Meadows project - the biggest conservation project in Plantlife’s history - is taking emergency action to prevent their disappearance. The project aims to:

• Save up to 75,000 acres of the most vulnerable habitat (17% of what remains)
• Provide exciting new opportunities for people to the learn about, enjoy and get involved in the UK’s meadow and grassland heritage
• Raise significant public awareness of the plight of meadows and grasslands

The traditional wildflower meadow is in crisis

Wildflower meadows and grasslands are our most diverse yet most threatened habitats. They are rich in wildlife, landscape character, folklore and history, and have been the inspiration for many of our greatest artists, writers and composers. Our meadows and grasslands are as much a part of our heritage as the works of Shakespeare.

• Only 2% of the meadows and grasslands that existed in the 1930s remain
• More than 7 million acres have been lost

Bee feeding on creeping thistle © James Harkin/Plantlife

Despite all of this, the meadow and grassland fragments that remain are still being ploughed up and destroyed.

These losses have had a catastrophic impact on our beautiful wildflowers and the remarkable diversity of species that depend on them. Iconic species including cowslip, early purple orchid, barn owl, skylark, brown hare, harvest mouse, greater horseshoe bat, adonis blue butterfly and short-haired bumblebee depend on healthy meadow and grassland habitat and have suffered correspondingly dramatic declines.

How did it come to this?

Meadows and grasslands are being destroyed due to land use changes over the past sixty years. Intensive farming has resulted in habitats being ploughed or drained, the traditional forms of grazing needed for healthy meadows and grasslands abandoned, and diverse wildflower-rich vegetation replaced with monocultures of rye grass. The absence of conservation management and continued ploughing threatens the meadows and grasslands that remain.

First phase of the project

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund

The first phase of project work – a one year Development Phase - began in June 2012. Development funding of £145,900 has been awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help Plantlife and its ten partner organisations progress plans to apply for a full grant in 2013.

The project partnership consists of 11 organisations across the UK:

• Plantlife (leading the project)
• The Conservation Volunteers
• Cotswolds Conservation Board
• East Lothian Council
• Northumberland Wildlife Trust
• North West Kent & Medway Valley Countryside Partnership
• Pori Natur a Threftadaeth (PONT)
• RSPB
• Somerset Wildlife Trust
• Ulster Wildlife Trust
• Wiltshire Wildlife Trust

The project is also supported by Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, Countryside Council for Wales, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Grasslands Trust.

For further information please contact Vikki Fenner, Development Manager, Saving Our Magnificent Meadows.

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Protecting peat

Peat cutting on bog land © Scott Butler

Dominated by carpets of colourful mosses and cotton grasses, and dotted with bog asphodel, rare sedges, cuckooflower, marsh violet, sundews, common butterwort, marsh cinquefoil and marsh willowherb, peatland is one of our most valuable habitats.

The wild plants that thrive on it, in turn, support a range of butterflies, dragonflies and birds, including snipe and curlews, merlins and skylarks. Peatlands also provide us with crucial ‘ecosystem services’, like clean water, and they keep huge amounts of carbon locked up in the soil.

Since the beginning of the 19th century...

• 94% of the UK’s lowland raised bog habitats have been severely damaged or destroyed.
• Just 1.3% of England’s raised mires retain their original vegetation largely intact.

Although extraction still takes place in the UK, the majority of peat sold and used here is now imported from Ireland and Baltic countries, where peat extraction is also responsible for destroying wildlife habitats. So dire is the plight of European peatlands that, unlike for any other habitat, areas of degraded peatland can be put forward for inclusion in the European network of protected sites (Natura 2000 sites).

Why is this happening?

Put simply, our current use of peat is unsustainable.

Under typical conditions, peat is replaced naturally at a rate of one millimetre a year. In contrast, harvesters may extract to a depth of six to twenty-four centimetres across the entire surface of a bog, depending on the location and length of the season.

Meanwhile, peat bogs are one of the biggest stores of greenhouse gases. In the UK these hold almost four times as much carbon as our forests. The extraction and use of peat releases carbon dioxide, adding to global climate change. For example, the use of peat based composts in the UK is responsible for 630,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year – the equivalent of an extra 300,000 cars on our roads. According to UK Government figures, the cost to our society of the use of peat - through its carbon emissions - is £11 per cubic metre, or around £32million a year.

We need to stop using peat.

Government attempts over the past decade to phase out peat using a voluntary approach have failed. The target for 90% of the materials for growing media and composts to be peat alternatives by 2010 was not met (2009 figures show only 58% of the market was made up of peat alternatives).

Given this experience, Plantlife believes that a new voluntary approach to tackling the use of peat (as Government is proposing) will be inadequate.

We also believe that the time scales proposed by Government for phasing out the use of peat are too long, both to drive effective peat replacement and to achieve the rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions required. Peat use in the amateur gardening sector should be phased out by 2016; use in professional horticulture should end by 2020, and peat use by local authorities can be stopped by 2013.

• Click here for reasons why we think this is possible.

Across both industry and Non-Government organisations, there is strong belief that the UK Government needs to take direct action to ensure that all companies work equally and fairly to meet its objectives for peat replacement.

Shifting horticulture and growing media from its current peat base, to alternative materials, requires investments that are unlikely to be commercially viable whilst supplies of peat are still cheaply and readily available to the market.

A levy of around 4p per litre of peat composts (£1 on a regular sized bag) would give the correct market signals to facilitate a move away from peat. This intervention would help level the playing field, making peat-based products increasingly unattractive in the marketplace.

Increasing demand for peat-free growing media in this way would encourage industry investment in alternative materials, providing the necessary tangible intervention to ensure the industry takes action. This would also stimulate jobs in alternative materials and the UK recycling industry that are likely to dwarf losses in employment from the reducing extraction and use of peat. Money raised through the levy could prove vital funding for the restoration of damaged peat bogs across the UK.

How you can help:

• Buy peat free compost. Read compost labels and ask questions at your garden centre if labels are not clear.
• Experiment with peat-free alternatives, particularly for short-lived and easily grown plants, such as summer bedding or tomatoes. You may have to alter your technique to achieve the best results, for example, watering more frequently. Peat-free multipurpose composts have improved markedly in the past few years. The consumer group Which? Gardening recently reviewed 24 different types of popular compost, proving that peat-free compost can grow healthy plants. A ‘best buy’ accolade was awarded to the New Horizon Organic and Peat Free Growbag.
• Support local nurseries that grow plants peat-free. Even if you buy peat-free compost, be aware that potted plants and house plants sold by many garden centres and nurseries are likely to have been grown in material containing peat. Use the RHS plant finder to find your nearest peat-free grower – if none are close to you, encourage your local retailer to go peat-free.

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Ghost Orchid Declaration

The Ghost Orchid

The Ghost Orchid Declaration is a new report from Plantlife, which looks at the key issues affecting wild plant conservation and offers challenging solutions. It is a call to arms to governments, Members of Parliament, conservation organisations and the general public to ensure that we do not lose any more of our irreplaceable flora.

The Declaration was named after the Ghost Orchid, which had been declared extinct in 2005, but in 2009 Plantlife was delighted with the news that a dedicated amateur botanist had rediscovered a Ghost Orchid in Herefordshire. The species itself, however, remains an evocative emblem of the 1 in 5 of our wild flowers that are threatened with extinction. If we fail to focus attention on these fundamental building blocks of our countryside, then all our other wildlife will fail to thrive.

Why is it important?

Wild plants are the silent majority, the wallflowers at the biodiversity ball. They are the fundamental building blocks of our natural environment, sustaining us as well as the insects, birds and animals we cherish. Fresh air, clean water, carbon storage – all thanks to wild plants yet too often they are relegated to the role of scenic background to our more charismatic wildlife and their value is underestimated. The Ghost Orchid Declaration offers new and challenging solutions to conserve and secure the long-term survival of this precious resource.

Some facts:

• 1 in 5 wild flowers in Britain is threatened with extinction.
• Of the 1,150 priority species on the Government’s UK Biodiversity Action Plan, almost 50% are plants and fungi.
• Out of £4 million given in biodiversity research contracts by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee from 2007-2009, nothing went towards plant and fungi projects.
• Flowering plants and ferns are at the bottom of the Government’s league table for features in favourable condition on Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
• Despite a 5% increase in broadleaved woodland in the UK since 1990 – the diversity of woodland flowers has decreased by 19%.
• In England, less than 3% of Environmental Stewardship agreements have suitable options for farmland flowers.
• The places where the UK’s legally protected animals (including birds and invertebrates) live are also protected by law – but the places where legally protected plants live are not. Why is it OK to move plants but not OK to move water voles, bats or great crested newts?