plant conservation: why it matters and how it works [excerpt]

8/13/2019 Plant Conservation: Why it matters and how it works [Excerpt]

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PLANT CONSERVATION

Without plants, there is no life. The

functioning of the planet, and our

survival, depends on plants. . . . Our

vision is of a positive, sustainable

future where human activities

support the diversity of plant life

and where in turn the diversity of

plants support and improve ourlivelihoods and well-being.

Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 20112020,

Convention on Biological Diversity


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PREFACE

A 2020 Vision for Plant Conservation

Without plants, humans would not exist.

Plants created the world in which our ancestors evolvedand

plants have always been, and always will be, the only renewable, sus-

tainable supply of all our needs. The reason they are able to do this is

that about 1.2 billion years ago a single-celled organism press-gangedanother organism into its service. This unwitting volunteera cyano-

bacteriumhad come up with a neat trick. It used the suns energy to

combine the water in which it was living with the carbon dioxide dis-

solved in that water and made some very useful stuff out of these abun-

dant raw materials.

Since that time, plants crept out of the water, invaded land, and have

become complex, multicellular organisms. On the back of their suc-

cesses arose the animal kingdomthat includes us.

The clear result of this in our lifetime is that the future of Homo

sapiens, and others, of course, is dependent upon the future of the

plants. As important as it is to you to look after your bank accounts and,

on the larger scale, support our banking systems, it is as important to

look after biological systems. Plants have given us almost everything

that we need; they have provided what we need not only to survive on

planet Earth, but to do so in comfort. They provide us with food and

drinks, their fibres are used to build houses and create cloth, and half

of the chemotherapies against cancer are derived from plants. Clearly,

there is the sheer beauty of them, as well as our desire to preserve our

current standard of livingand our cravings make a considerable con-

tribution this, such as a very pleasing chocolate bar you might have just

eaten, in which case your brain would be telling you, in no uncertain

terms: plants are veryimportant.


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PREFACE

To help in the grand strategies and ongoing work to ensure that we

Homo sapiens survive and that what we cherish is protected, I wrotethis book. It is my desire to put the record straight: so much of the news

about plant conservation is negative and I wanted to show how much

positive and effective activity is taking place around the world. Plant

products are very important, are the basis of human civilization; and

if we do not look after them our childrens futureand, yes, even our

futurewill be very uncomfortable. I also wanted to show how we can,

as individuals, play a part in conservation, preventing the extinction ofeven one more species. So while so much of conservation work appears

to be carried out by government agencies and nongovernmental orga-

nizations, when we stop to think about it, these groups are all staffed

by individuals playing their parts: field botanists, reserve managers,

horticulturists, ecologists, teachers, both professional and backyard

garden-variety gardeners, and othersall of whom, in partnership and

individual practice, have skills that are at the centre of so much conser-

vation activity. Yet too many gardeners cannot see how essential their

work is, and above all how they can partner their skills and involvement.

While we are fortunate to have such a diversity of people caring for

and having a strong desire to see plant life continue, it would be easy for

some things to be missed. It would be very unfortunate, say, if only the

attractive plants were conserved, leaving the dull but ecologically more

important species neglected. What has become clear, then, and under-

stood to be necessary, is a coordinated strategy that covers all the bases

on the playing field of conservation. This is exactly what we have in the

form of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (gspc)and this, of

course, could only happen because of a bunch (surely an apt collective

noun for us plant lovers?) of people and several groups made it happen.

In 1999 the Sixteenth International Botanical Congress was held

in the United States, in St. Louis, Missouri, the home turf of the Mis-

souri Botanical Garden. At that meeting there was a great deal of hori-

zon scanning with the impending new millennium starting in the


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A VISION FOR PLANT CONSERVATION

following year. Of the many groups at the congress was one comprising

the directors of botanic gardens and similar institutions. Together thedirectors decided that what was needed was some form of coordinated

plan that ensured that all aspects of plant conservation were covered

and they had the visionary idea that there should be set targets, and that

those targets should be met by 2010. After all, how could we be sure that

progress was being made unless there was at least a benchmark against

which future activity could be judged?

So, in April 2000, a small group of men and women from all aroundthe world met at the botanical garden on one of Spains well-known

Canary Islands, Gran Canaria. After just a few days at Jardin Botnico

Canario Viera y Clavijo, a four-page document was produced, calling

upon the countries that signed the Convention on Biological Diversity

to agree to support a target-driven strategy for plant conservation. The

strategy specified sixteen targets that fell under five broad objectives.

This was the beginning of what would be called the Global Strategy for

Plant Conservation.

In 2002, slightly revised targets were taken to the meeting of the

Conference of the Parties, held in The Hague, Netherlands. This event

initiated the biggest, most unique step forward in conservation to date.

Never before had the vast majority of the worlds governments signed

themselves up to a set of measurable targets in the conservation of a

major group of organisms. Governments might like setting their depart-

ments targets, but here were self-inflicted targetsand if there are tar-

gets, then there is a possibility of failure for all of the participants. There

was no precedent and, to date, no global strategy for the conservation

of mammals or birds or butterflies. With plants at the bottom of every

terrestrial food chain, and at the heart of every food web, this was a very

exciting moment for all conservation (not just the conservation of the

green stuff).

When 2010 arrived, successes and failures were assessed. This took

place at the Tenth Conference of the Parties in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture,


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Japan, where delegates to the Convention on Biological Diversity

adopted an updated version: the Global Strategy for Plant Conserva-

tion 20112020.

Now, you may be wondering what are these five objectives and six-

teen targets? The answer is in the very bones of this bookor, more

aptly put, the lignin, the supporting substance providing a woody rigid-

ity to plants. In this book, plant conservation and what you can do are

presented in parts and chapters that broadly follow the objectives and

targets of the gspc2020 vision.

The sixteen targets of the first round of the gspcunder five broad

themes were set to be hit by 2010, and these covered all the areas of plant

A food web

A hedge is the base of this food web. Invertebrates live on the hedge, pollinating the flowers whentaking nectar. Birds eat the invertebrates and the fruit produced by the hedge. Small mammals

such as voles eat the fruit and the invertebrates. Owls eat the small mammals.


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A VISION FOR PLANT CONSERVATION

conservation that we must address. As I see it, we hit seven targets; we

missed another seven, but by a known amount; two of the targets weremissed completely, but this was due to unknown unknownswhich are

now known unknowns, and that in itself is progress!

While plants do not grow everywhere, where they do grow they are

being regularly harvested more quickly than they can grow. Further-

more, one quarter of the worlds land is currently under production, and

this normally displaces native biology. These two factors are placing

increasing pressure on plant species all over the world; many are havingdifficulty finding a suitable habitatand it is predicted that 28 percent

of all plant species may no longer exist by 2050.

It would be easy to brush aside international agreements as being so

full of hot air that they contribute more to global climate change than

they do to action on the ground. Yet this initiative, the vision for 2020,

was drawn up by people whose first and foremost interest is their ded-

icated work with plants. The majority of them work in gardens, and so

by definition can be called gardeners of various sorts. It is not surpris-

ing, then, that if you are a gardener, you can and are making a signif-

icant contribution to almost all of the targets and objectives and may

already be involved with the Global Strategy without realizing it. If you

are growingFranklinia alatamaha, you are contributing to target 8. If

you are only growing native species in your garden, then you are sup-

porting target 10. If you are trying to eliminate peat from your garden,

then you are supporting target 12. Very few of us are going to be able to

contribute to every target, but I think that you may be surprised how

much you are already doing.

And urgent action is unequivocally required if we are to prevent the

loss of our natural heritage. Clearly the problem is too big for any one

person or single institution to solve, and we all know how this can lead


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STRATEGY

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation includes five objectives and

sixteen targets for the year 2020:

1. Describe and document plant diversity.

TARGET Compile an online Flora of all known plants

TARGET Assess the conservation status of all known plant species

TARGET Develop and share information, research, and methods

needed for implementing this strategy

2. Urgently and effectively conserve plant diversity.

TARGET Protect at least 15 percent of each ecological region or

vegetation type

TARGET Protect at least 75 percent of the most important

ecosystem regions

TARGET Manage at least 75 percent of production and croplandsfor sustainability and biodiversity

TARGET Protect at least 75 percent of known threatened species

in situ

TARGET Protect at least 75 percent of threatened species ex situ

and make at least 20 percent available for recovery

and restoration programmes

TARGET Conserve 70 percent of the genetic diversity of cropplants, their wild relatives, and economically valuable

plants while preserving indigenous and local

knowledge and practice

TARGET Prevent biological invasions and manage important

areas of plant diversity that are invaded


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3. Use plant diversity in a sustainable and equitable manner.

TARGET Protect wild flora from overcollection

TARGET Source wild-harvested, plant-based products

sustainably; dont manufacture products from wild

plants faster than the plants can regrow

TARGET Maintain and conserve indigenous and local knowledge

associated with plant resources

4. Promote education and awareness about plant diversity, its role

in sustainable livelihoods, and importance to all life on

Earth.

TARGET Communicate the importance of plant diversity

5. Develop the capacities and public engagement necessary to

implement this strategy.

TARGET Train enough people

TARGET Establish or strengthen institutions and plant

conservation networks to achieve the targets


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PREFACE

to a sense of gloom and defeatism. Yet it is possible to break the solution

down into smaller actionsones which individuals andagencies cansuccessfully tackle.

This book examines the most crucial areas of plant conserva-

tion in order to show the work that each of us can do toward preventing

further and greater plant extinctions. It is written for gardeners, plant

lovers, nature lovers, biology students, conservationists, backyard activ-

istsall who want to know how to contribute and work toward a 2020

vision of plant conservation.

STRATEGY

TARGET Develop and share information, research,

and methods needed for implementing this strategy

We need a heroic effort to save the plantsthey give us everything.

And many people involved in conservation believe there is no technical

reason why another plant species should become extinct.

We can all play a part.

Now, to startand in order to understand how we came to be so

dependent upon a bunch of green stuff, and hence how the loss of plants

makes us vulnerable to cataclysmic alterations in our well-beingwe

need to go back to the start of present time.

On a Thursday 13,700,000,000 years ago . . .

plant conservation: why it matters and how it works [excerpt]

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