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The Plant Actions toolkit is being designed to be a one-stop shop for the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). It is a guide to ensuring a world rich in wild plants and supports the world’s governments, institutions and all sectors of society to meet our common commitment to “halt and reverse biodiversity loss and to put nature on a path to recovery”.
Plants are a vital component of our planet’s biological diversity and are essential to all life on earth. They form the basis of most terrestrial ecosystems and provide ecosystem services to support human wellbeing, including climate regulation and food security.
The newest version of the GSPC outlines 21 Global Plant Conservation Actions, adopted in Cali, Colombia at CBD CoP 16 (21 October- 2 November 2024). These actions recognise that plant species and their habitats often require specific conservation actions distinct from other taxa (which may be overlooked in wider biodiversity actions) and will help to achieve the plant conservation elements of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted at CoP15, Montreal 2022.
Plants and their ecosystems have also influenced our cultural and spiritual development and are woven into languages, place names, religion and folklore across the world.
Yet, despite this critical role plants have in almost all aspects of our lives, RBG Kew’s State of the World’s Plant and Fungi (2023) report estimated that 77% of undescribed vascular plants and 45% of known flowering plants are estimated to be threatened with extinction.
Far too often, the world’s wild plants are relegated to a green background for more charismatic wildlife. These figures highlight the urgency of bringing plants to the forefront and to celebrate the amazing value they bring to every aspect of life on earth.
Whether you are a government, global institution, NGO, company, educational institution, indigenous people, local community, landowner, farmer or an individual, the toolkit will soon be able to be used to guide how the Plant Actions can be included in your own conservation programmes and activities.
The icons below represent each of the 21 Plant Actions which, and in time will provide an explanation of the action together with relevant websites, additional information, and organisations, that can provide support to the implementation of the action.
We will continue to develop this toolkit to meet the needs of its users, adding more resources – including case studies, generated as the Parties and Non-State Actors deliver the actions. In essence, we hope the toolkit inspires and supports a “whole of society” approach to scale up the recovery and protection of plants and safeguard their future existence across the globe.
We want to learn from you! So, please help us by contributing your resources, information, experience and success stories to this developing toolkit by contacting our Global Advocacy Officer Claire Rumsey.
Spatial Planning
Ecological Restoration
Important Plant Areas
Species & Genetic Diversity
Sustainable Harvest & Trade
Invasive Species
Pollution
Climate Solutions
Plants for People
Crops & Production Land
Native Species
Urban Spaces
Benefit Sharing
Mainstreaming
Sustainable Use
Sustainable Consumption
Financial Resources
Capacity Building
Awareness & Information
Traditional Knowledge
Gender Equality
For a list of the actions please click arrow below.
Read the full Actions here.
Read the technical rationale for the Actions here.
The peat-rich Flow Country, which our Munsary Peatlands are part of, has been given the same standing as the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon.
This marks a special moment for Scottish wild plants, fungi and the wildlife that call it home.
With the same standing as the Pyramids and the Great Barrier Reef, The Flow Country has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status – marking a magnificent moment for Scottish wildlife.
Deep within this historic landscape is our own Munsary Peatlands, which is an incredibly special place for plant life. One of the most extensive peatlands left in Europe, our Munsary Nature Reserve is key for tackling the ongoing climate crisis.
Alistair Whyte, Head of Plantlife Scotland said: “The Flow Country may be less well-known than the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Pyramids but it is cause for great celebration that it today has achieved the same standing as those rightly revered places on Earth. Recognition of the special significance of this wet and wild habitat in northern Scotland, where ancient peat can be as deep as a double-decker bus, demonstrates a growing recognition of the importance of peatlands to plants, people and planet.”
This historical moment also means the Flow Country has become the world’s first peatland World Heritage Site.
After years of hard work, we are thrilled that The Flow Country, in northern Scotland, has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – a special moment for Scottish wild plants, fungi and the wealth of the wildlife they support.
UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of natural and cultural heritage around the globe considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. What makes the concept of World Heritage so special is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all people, irrespective of where they are located.
The list of World Heritage Sites is as varied as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the Pyramids of Egypt – and now that list includes the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland, located near Lybster in Scotland (among just over 30 sites currently in the UK).
Munsary, a vast and undulating plain of blanket bog, is home to a huge variety of wildlife including some rare and threatened species.
This historic landscape is the most intact and extensive blanket bog system in the world. As well as being very important for biodiversity, it is also classed as an Important Plant Area (IPA). IPAs are key sites for exceptional botanical richness and identified as the best places for wild plants and their habitats.
So far, 147 species of vascular plants have been recorded at Munsary including the nationally-scarce Small Cranberry and a patch of Marsh Saxifrage, discovered in 2002, which is one of the largest colonies in Britain. The reserve in Caithness is also home to a Bog Orchid, a tiny yellow-green orchid which is so slight as to be almost invisible in the few bogs where it grows.
But, healthy peatlands – like Munsary – are more than just wildlife havens; they also have a vitally important role as we tackle the climate emergency. In fact, the vast expanse of pristine peat formed over many millennia at Munsary locks up a staggering two million tonnes of carbon.
Some species to look out for inlcude:
A special feature at Munsary is an unusual-looking area of dark-watered pools, high on a dome of peat, called dubh lochans. This area is particularly diverse, with pools of different shapes, sizes and depths, vegetated pools, and open water, ridges, and hummocks.
Even a visitor who has never studied mosses can spot differences between those forming the peat. Some form neat, rounded mounds, others are brownish or reddish tufts, while others make a deceptive green lawn, floating over water of an uncertain depth.
The drier areas of bog moss are home to many characteristic bog plants: Bog Asphodel, with spikes of yellow flowers, Common Cottongrass, with many white cottony heads in summer, and hare’s-tail cottongrass with just a single, fluffier head. Three species of heather grow here and plenty of sedges too, including such hard-to-find species as few-flowered sedge, flea sedge and bog-sedge.
Insect-eating plants lurk beside streams and wet pools: butterwort, with a basal rosette of broad, yellow-green leaves on which small insects stick, and round leaved and great sundew, with long red hairs on their leaves curving over to entrap their prey.
Peatlands are home to some of the UK’s most distinctive plant communities – they have evolved in response to the low-nutrient conditions. This has led to some remarkable adaptations such as the insect-eating sundews and butterworts, and the spongy blankets of colourful spagnum mosses.
They are also one of our most important terrestrial carbon sinks. But when bogs are drained or the peat is exploited, the peat gets exposed to the air and begins to break down, releasing carbon dioxide. This turns a huge carbon store into a vast emitter, contributing to climate change. Read more here.
Munsary is a vast undulating plain of peatland which stores around 1.9 million tonnes of carbon. Learn more about our reserve and how to visit.
IPAs are identified as the best sites for wild plants and their habitats using three criteria – threatened species, botanical richness and threatened habitats. Read on to find out more.
Extraction of peat for gardening and horticulture continues to damage wildlife and our climate, despite government commitments to phase it out.
Nairobi, Kenya, East African Time
Plantlife attends a technical meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Jenny Hawley and Claire Rumsey will be speaking up for plants and their vital role in ensuring governments and individuals do their bit to meet the Goals and Targets of The Biodiversity Plan (also known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework).
Join us to discuss the new Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, at an event on behalf of the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation.
Stay tuned on Plantlife Global X/Twitter to see updates from this trip and the event.
As COP28 draws to a close, one thing is crystal clear – we are at a pivotal moment.
Our CEO Ian Dunn reflects on the results of the climate conference and why there is reason to hope.
The 28th UN Climate Conference of Parties has just drawn to a close in Dubai, during which there had been fierce negotiations over the future of fossil fuels.
In the early hours of this morning the gavel went down and 198 governments agreed to “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner… so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”. This wording is not as strong as we had hoped, but it is the first time fossil fuels have ever been explicitly mentioned in a final agreement (in almost 30 years of climate COPs) and as the UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell said, it is the ‘beginning of the end’ for fossil fuels.
This issue is at the heart of climate action and this agreement was long overdue.
There are other key outcomes from this COP which give us reasons for hope:
More specifically focused on the intertwined climate and nature crises, we welcome two new initiatives coming out of this COP.
1.COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action
The acknowledgement and recognition of the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture and food systems, and on billions of people including smallholders that are dependent on their resilience for food and livelihoods, is a great step in the right direction. Just two years ago, there was little or no mention of this issue, yet 158 governments endorsed the Declaration at COP28.
2. COP28 Joint Statement on Climate, Nature and People
This was an absolutely vital step in ensuring the climate and biodiversity crises are no longer considered as separate issues. We have known for a long time that they are fundamentally and intrinsically linked, and this is the first step in connecting the outcomes of the UNFCCC COP28 and the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
This announcement was made: ‘At COP28 during Nature, Land Use and Ocean Day, we affirm that there is no path to fully achieve the near- and long-term goals of the Paris Agreement or the 2030 goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework without urgently addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation together in a coherent, synergetic and holistic manner, in accordance with the best available science.’
Eighteen governments have endorsed this declaration so far and we need to see many more signing up to this joined-up approach in the weeks ahead.
At Plantlife, we work tirelessly to bring the value of grasslands to the forefront of conversations around farming, nature, biodiversity and climate, both in the UK and internationally. Covering more than half the Earth’s land surface and with the livelihoods of around 800 million people depending on them, the importance of grasslands and savannahs cannot be underestimated.
More generally, this COP marked a turning point for the role of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition of their contribution in not only safeguarding 80% of the world’s biodiversity, but their knowledge in living in true harmony with nature. Adopting this way of thinking will be a pivotal step in combating the climate crisis. Plantlife is aware of the importance of Indigenous knowledge particularly when it comes to Important Plant Areas (IPAs), with one of the criteria for identification being related to cultural significance.
You can read more about IPAs here specifically the Chiquitano people of Bolivia who identified 18 IPA sites to protect the Chiquitano dry forest which many of the community depend on for their food and livelihoods.
It is safe to say there was a healthy dose of concern and scepticism about this COP. What would come out of it? Would this be ambitious enough to secure a safe future for generations to come – from large cities in the Global North to the Small Island Developing States on the frontline of the climate crisis? The reference to fossil fuels and the language in the final text can be considered a win, but now we look to parties to solidify the ‘how’ and the ‘when’ of implementing the measures to ensure we stay at or below 1.5 degrees of warming.
One thing is crystal clear: we are at a pivotal moment, for the stability of our planet and all life on Earth, and Plantlife will keep working to show how wild plants and fungi can be at the heart of the solution.
Our Global Advocacy Coordinator, Claire Rumsey, shares her experience at COP28 understanding the role of nature and Indigenous Peoples in the climate conversation.
This WWF & Plantlife document makes the case for the world to recognise the vital role that grasslands and savannahs can play in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises.
We are teaming up with WWF (the World Wide Fund for Nature) at COP28 to press for better recognition of grasslands and savannahs, alongside other habitats.
Our Global Advocacy Coordinator, Claire Rumsey, will be at COP28 to speak up for the vital role of wild plants and fungi in the fight against climate change
At Plantlife, we are focused in gaining recognition for grassland ecosystems around the world as nature-based solutions to the climate crisis. Storing between 25-35% of the world’s terrestrial carbon, they are an underutilised resource.
Number of IPAs: 18 (and counting)
In Bolivia, 18 Tropical Important Plant Area (TIPAs) have been identified so far. These are all located within the lowland Chiquitano Dry Forest ecoregion which is the first ecoregion to be assessed. Most of the Chiquitano dry forest lies within the eastern lowlands of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, with smaller patches extending into western Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Bolivia has a wide variety of ecoregions: from the highland plains in the Andes, dry Andean valleys, the llanos on the slopes of the Andes, and extensive lowland subtropical savannas and Amazon rainforest in the eastern part of the country.
This mosaic of habitats supports a wealth of rare and unique animal and plant species and has resulted in Bolivia being one of the world’s megadiverse countries with 15,345 plant species recorded for the country in the first ever census published in 2014. However, there are still vast areas of Bolivia that have never been surveyed for plant biodiversity, where many species new to science are predicted be discovered. The next ecoregion to be assessed is the Interandean Dry Valley ecoregion of Bolivia.
The Chiquitano ecoregion is severely threatened particularly by conversion of its habitats to intensive soybean and cattle farming, road construction, new settlements of highland people, as well as extensive gas and oil exploration.
The Bolivia TIPAs project is a collaboration between Kew and its Bolivian partner at the Natural History Museum (MHNNKM) and the NGO Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza, both based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
More than 1,200 useful wild plant species of the Chiquitano ecoregion have been documented and the main centres of diversity of these useful plants identified. These centres have been found to overlap by over 90% with the network of 18 TIPA sites making it even more important to protect the TIPA sites.
The TIPAs work has involved training courses for Bolivian stakeholders as well as establishing community businesses around sustainable harvest, production and sales of Non-Timber Forest Products such as Copaibo oil, Pesoe oil, and Chiquitano almonds. The book “Threatened Plants of lowland Bolivia” has also been launched in March 2020, which has been adopted by the national Bolivian government as the national standard for threatened lowland plants.
Project information
Data
Number of IPAs: Currently being identified.
Area: 1.2 million km2
South Africa is currently in the process of identifying and prioritizing Important Plants Areas across the country that require conservation intervention.
South Africa is a picturesque country, with unique landscapes and extraordinary biodiversity expanding over a surface area of 1.2 million km2. Deeply rooted in culture, tradition, and history, the Southernmost country in Africa is uniquely positioned. Flanked between the cold Atlantic Ocean on the west and the warm Indian Ocean on the right, its coastline expands over 3000 km from the border of Namibia on the Northwestern side of the country to Mozambique on the Eastern side.
The unique climate, geography, and topography of the country, coupled with the exceptional biodiversity housed within its borders, makes South Africa, one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries. South Africa is home to 3 biodiversity hotspots (the Cape Floristic Region, Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany center of endemism, and the Succulent Karoo biome) and an array of ecosystems.
The country is recognized globally for its high levels of species richness and endemism, with nearly 7% of the world’s plant species, 5% of mammal species, 7% of bird species, and 4% of reptile species. 2% of amphibian species, 1% of freshwater fish species, 25% of cephalopod species, 13% of arachnid species, and 5% of butterfly species occurring within its borders.
South Africa has been listed among the ten countries internationally, with the highest concentration of plant species. Approximately 20,401 plant species have been documented in the country, with 25% listed as taxa of conservation concern.
With such an incredible array of botanical species, South Africa was determined to prioritize plant conservation efforts through the implementation of South Africa’s National Plant Conservation Strategy which aligns with the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.
Many local communities rely heavily on the country’s botanical wealth for their socio-economic well-being, through tangible benefits such as food, medicine, fuel, income, and shelter. The agricultural sector contributes greatly to the country’s economy, with the livelihoods and well-being of more than 70% of rural communities being contingent on crop farming systems. The country’s lively tourism sector is also dependent on key attractions like the Cape floristic region to bring in revenue to the country.
In order to maintain the current plant populations and ensure that future generations are able to benefit from these valuable life-sustaining resources, South Africa remains committed to finding sustainable solutions to preserve the country’s botanical heritage in a manner that still benefits all South Africans.
Information article
Report
Drakensberg Mountain viewed from Monks Cave in Giants Castle Game Reserve, South Africa
Barkley East Pass, South Africa
Limpopo Landscape, South Africa
Number of IPAs:43 IPAs
IPA Area:15% of total area of Oman
Oman covers approximately 47,000km2
A network of 43 IPAs have been identified in Oman covering approximately 47,000 Km2 or around 15% of the country’s total area. Over 70% of sites qualify as IPAs by meeting threshold levels of more than one criterion.
For a largely desert country Oman has a surprisingly rich and varied flora. 1400 species have been recorded from the country including 79 endemic species of which 48 have been assessed as globally threatened under IUCN Red List criteria. Several globally unique vegetation types are found here including the fog woodlands of Dhofar and the Juniper woodlands of the Western Hajar. This floristic and vegetation diversity results from factors such as Oman’s topographic heterogeneity and its position at a biogeographic crossroads.
Oman’s IPA programme was developed to provide botanical data to support the countries National Spatial Strategy, a framework for growth and environmental protection over the next twenty years. Particularly important in developing the IPA assessments has been the active fieldwork programme of the Oman Botanic Garden. Over the last decade they have identified 200 newly recorded species and at least 20 species new to science vastly increasing knowledge of the country’s flora.
All IPAs sites experience some degree of threat to their vegetation. Key amongst these include development, breakdown in traditional land management practices, invasive species and climate change.
Amygdalus Arabicus Musandam IPA, Oman
East Qamar IPA, Oman
Euphorbia Catus, Western Qamar IPA, Oman
Number of IPAs:49
Cameroon is situated on the Atlantic coast of West-Central Africa
49 IPAs have been identified in Cameroon. Kew is working in collaboration with the National Herbarium of Cameroon at the Institute of Research in Agronomic Development (IRAD) and the University of Yaoundé I to identify Tropical Important Plant Areas in Cameroon. Recent fieldwork has focused on Central, South and Littoral Regions and has been combined with collecting seed of threatened tree species.
Cameroon is situated on the Atlantic coast of tropical West-Central Africa. It ranges from the lush rainforests of the active volcano, Mt Cameroon (4000 m high) on the coast, parts of it with the highest rainfall in Africa, to the arid sub-Saharan bushland of the extreme north at Lake Chad.
Extra information on IPAs of Cameroon
Cameroon is of major conservation importance, with high levels of biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. The current list of plant species exceeds 7,850, but more species are being published every year. This high biodiversity is probably partly due to the varying physical geography and range of habitats that Cameroon has, with the term “Africa in miniature” often applied. It contains coastal mangroves, tropical rainforests, semi-deciduous forests, savanna, sahel, montane cloud forests, alpine vegetation, large rivers, waterfalls and rapids, swamps, and crater lakes.
IPA sites range from large national parks such as Korup, Campo Ma’an, Dja, Bakossi and Mt Cameroon with hundreds of threatened species, to very small sites with just a few key taxa. The IPA sites identified incorporate around 80% of the Red List taxa in 49 sites covering around 5% of the land area. Notable sites with many threatened species but lacking official protection include Mokoko, Ngovayang, Ebo, Mt Elephant and Mt Kupe.
Some IPAs, such as Mt Bamboutos, Mt Elephant and several of the Yaoundé inselberg sites, are so critically threatened that they may not survive much longer, and their endemic species will become globally extinct.
The main threats are expansion of plantations, open-cast mining, hydro-electric dams, unsustainable logging, and above all smallholder agricultural expansion, which often follows other disturbance. Cameroon depends on its natural plant resources. Many of the national dishes derive from indigenous plant species, from ndolé (Vernonia amygdalina) to eru (Gnetum africanum) and egusi (Cucurmeropsis mannii), while fibres and traditional medicines are culturally important and timber from the forests and oil palm are major export earners.
Project
Map of vegetation cover
Bali Ngemba Forest Reserve, Cameroon by Dave Roberts
Pseudohydroseme Araceae, Cameroon by Xander van Der Burgt
Kupe Rock, Cameroon
Cameroon is of major conservation importance
Cameroon is a medium-sized country in tropical West-Central Africa occupying 475,442 km2. It is of major conservation importance, with high levels of remaining biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. Cameroon’s flora is incompletely documented but 7850 species were enumerated in the last checklist (Onana, 2011). Many species have subsequently been described and therefore the total is now likely to be higher.
This wealth of diversity is probably partly explained by the widely varying physical geography and range of habitats Cameroon incorporates, with the term “Africa in miniature” often applied. It contains coastal mangroves, tropical rainforests, semi-deciduous forests, savanna, sahel, montane cloud forests, alpine vegetation, large rivers, waterfalls and rapids, swamps and crater lakes. The Cameroon Line of volcanic mountains are the tallest in West or Central Africa and help produce some of the highest rainfall in the world, as well as a wide range of altitudinal zones.
Most of Cameroon fits into the Equatorial climate zone, predominantly Koppen-Geiger types Aw (winter-dry) inland, and type Am (monsoonal) along the 100-200 km wide coastal band and in the far southeast (Beck et al., 2018; Kottek et al., 2006). The coastal band is globally important for its lowland tropical rainforests although these are partially degraded and rapidly disappearing in places.
It can be divided into two ecoregions separated by the Sanaga river: the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko Coastal Forests, which reach north into Nigeria, and the Atlantic Equatorial Coastal Forests which extend southwards into Equatorial Guinea and Gabon (Olson et al., 2001). These zones together form the Congolian Coastal Forests ecoregion in the Global 200 priority classification of Olson and Dinnerstein (2002).
The high mountains of the Cameroon Volcanic line, which bisect these forests and extend to the drier northeast of the country, form the Cameroonian Highlands Forests ecoregion. Most notable of the peaks is Mt Cameroon which rises directly from the Gulf of Guinea coast to over 4000m and has been a focus for western plant collectors since the 19th century.
The Cross-Sanaga-Bioko region which incorporates much of the montane topology as well as lush lowland forest has been reported to have the highest generic and species diversity per degree square in tropical Africa (Barthlott et al. 1996; Degallier et al.,2020).
In the southeast of the country, the sparsely populated South Cameroon Plateau is dominated by semi-deciduous rainforest that appears to be more moderately diverse in plants and is home to most of of the remaining large mammal populations.
Further north, the vegetation transitions through wooded savanna to steppe, interrupted by the unique submontane forests of the Mandara mountains that have been heavily transformed by a long history of high population density and agriculture.
Overall, no less than six of the Global 200 priority ecoregions are represented in Cameroon (Olson and Dinnerstein, 1998, 2002). Cameroon’s forests also cover the transition between two biological realms, the Guinean and Congolian forest regions, while the Cameroon Highlands bring elements from the Afromontane centre of endemism (White, 1983).
Compared to other parts of Africa, such as most West African countries, Cameroon has some large areas of remaining, relatively intact vegetation. However, its forests are rapidly diminishing and certain habitats such as the submontane forests of the Bamenda highlands, have all but disappeared. In the period 2002-2020 Cameroon lost 708,000 ha (3.7%) of rainforest and 1.53 Mha (4.9%) of total tree cover (2001-2020). As a result, 903Mt of CO2e were released (Global Forest Watch, 2021). The annual rate of deforestation doubled from the 2006-2012 period to the 2013-2019 period (Vancutsem et. al 2021). Logging, mining and agro-industry (particularly palm oil) are notable threats but small-scale agriculture probably remains the major driver of forest loss and, consequently, the major threat to plant species.
The Red Data Book of Cameroon (Onana & Cheek, 2011) provisionally assessed 815 plant species as globally threatened and, as of July 2022, 848 Cameroon plant species have been formally placed on the IUCN Red List of globally threatened species (IUCN, 2022), with many other provisionally threatened species awaiting assessment. Cameroon has the highest number of threatened trees in mainland Africa (414 species constituting 21% of its tree flora), and the highest number of documented plant extinctions in mainland tropical Africa (BGCI, 2021; Humphreys et al., 2019).
The existing protected area network, although substantial is largely based on former hunting reserves and the conservation of large mammals. Rare and threatened plants are often little known at these sites, and there is little information or awareness concerning the most important sites for plants or their current state of conservation. Previous publications by scientists at Kew and in Cameroon have focused on checklists for a small number of sites plus a Red Data Book of threatened species covering the whole country. These projects have led now to an effort to demarcate the TIPAs of Cameroon.
The sites proposed as IPAs so far (July 2022) are largely based on criterion A(i) and incorporate around 80% of the Red List taxa in 49 sites covering around 5% of the land area. Sites are included from all geographic regions but the Southwest region is particularly strongly represented due to high phytodiversity and habitat diversity in this area, and high levels of historical recording (Onana, 2015).
Sites range from large national parks such as Korup, Campo Ma’an, Dja, Bakossi and Mt Cameroon with hundreds of threatened species, to very small sites with just a few key taxa. Notable sites with many threatened species but lacking official protection include Mokoko, Ngovayang, Ebo, Mt Elephant and Mt Kupe. Unfortunately, other areas highlighted previously as hotspots, such as Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve, have been so severely degraded that it is unclear if suitable areas remain for inclusion as IPAs. Furthermore, some included IPAs, such as Mt Bamboutos, Mt Elephant and several of the Yaoundé inselberg sites, are so critically threatened that they may not survive much longer and their endemic species may become globally extinct.
Future work will include compiling a list of socially, economically and culturally useful species for assessing sites against IPA criterion B(iii), and mapping threatened habitats to enable assessment against IPA criterion C(iii).
Barthlott, W., Lauer, W. and Placke, A. (1996). Global distribution of species diversity in vascular plants: towards a world map of phytodiversity. Erdkunde, 50: 317–328.
BGCI (2021). State of the World’s Trees. BGCI, Richmond, UK.
Dagallier LMJ, Janssens SB, Dauby G, Blach-Overgaard A, Mackinder BA, Droissart V, Svenning JC, Sosef MSM, Stévart T, Harris DJ, Sonké B, Wieringa JJ, Hardy OJ, Couvreur TLP (2020). Cradles and museums of generic plant diversity across tropical Africa. New Phytol. 2020 Mar;225(5):2196-2213. doi: 10.1111/nph.16293.
Global Forest Watch (2021). World Resources Institute. Accessed 01/11/2021. https://globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/country/C…
Humphreys, A.M., Govaerts, R., Ficinski, S.Z. et al. (2019). Global dataset shows geography and life form predict modern plant extinction and rediscovery. Nat Ecol Evol 3, 1043–1047. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0906-2.
IUCN (2022). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded 20/10/2021.
Olson, D. M., Dinerstein, E., Wikramanayake, E. D., Burgess, N. D., Powell, G. V. N., Underwood, E. C., D’Amico, J. A., Itoua, I., Strand, H. E., Morrison, J. C., Loucks, C. J., Allnutt, T. F., Ricketts, T. H., Kura, Y., Lamoreux, J. F., Wettengel, W. W., Hedao, P., Kassem, K. R. (2001). Terrestrial ecoregions of the world: a new map of life on Earth. Bioscience 51(11):933-938.
Olson, D.P., & Dinerstein, E. (2002). The Global 200: Priority ecoregions for global conservation. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 89, 199-224.
Onana, J.M. (2011). Vascular Plants of Cameroon: Taxonomic Checklist. In: Flore Du Cameroon, Occasional Volume, IRAD-National Herbarium of Cameroon, Yaoundé, 195.
Onana, J.M. & Cheek, M. (2011). Red Data Book: The Flowering Plants of Cameroon IUCN Global Assessments. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Onana, J.M. (2015). The World Flora Online 2020 project: will Cameroon come up to the expectation? Rodriguésia 66(4), 961-972. DOI: 10.1590/2175-7860201566403.
Vancutsem, C., Achart, F., Pekel, J.-F., Vieilledent, G., Carboni, S., Simonetti, D., Gallego, J., Aragao, L.E.O. & Nasi, R. 2021. Long-term (1990–2019) monitoring of forest cover changes in the humid tropics. Science Advances, 7(10). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe1603.
White, F. 1983. The Vegetation of Africa. Paris: UNESCO.
Number of IPAs: 4
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an active programme to identify IPAs. So far full site assessments for four have been published.
KSA has a relatively rich and diverse flora. So far 2250 plant species have been recorded representing four floristic regions: the Saharo-Sindian; the Somalia-Masai; the Afromontane the Mediterranean. The mixing of these diverse floristic elements reflects the past climatic history of the region with tropical elements migrating through during hotter, wetter periods and temperate elements migrating south during cooler periods – each migration leaving relic populations surviving in climatic refugia such as on mountain tops and cliffs.
This complex history gives rise to the present unique vegetation of the region where savannah-like Acacia woodlands reminiscent of tropical Africa mix with the steppe vegetation reminiscent of the great plateaus of SW and Central Asia and the forests and shrublands of the Mediterranean and where mountain refugia harbour plant relics of these past migration.
The IPAs so far published reflect the great diversity of vegetation and habitats in KSA from ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid, an iconic hyper-arid sand desert representing the largest sand sea on Earth, the only tropical sand desert in Asia and an ecological refuge for iconic wildlife of the desert. To the Farasan Islands with their mangrove woodlands and the isolated granite domes of Jabal Aja’ and the sandstone canyon of Jabal Qaraqir which provide relatively cool & moist Pleistocene refuge and harbour relict plants of Mediterranean & Irano-Turanian origin.
Schedules of several sites are being prepared including for the deep, dramatic canyon of Wadi Lajb which contains the richest and best-preserved remnant of relict valley forest in Saudi Arabia and the isolated mountains of NW KSA including Jabal al-Lawz range where snow appears regularly and the isolated massifs of the spectacular Jabal ad-Dubbagh range both providing important Pleistocene climatic refugia.
Threats to the plants and vegetation of KSA are intense over-grazing combined with very rapid economic development
Mangrove woodland on Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia
Tribulusa arabicus in Uruq Bani Ma’rib IPA, Saudi Arabia
Valley forest in Lajib Gorge- an IPA in preparation, Saudi Arabia
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