This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

World List of Threatened Trees

I am not one to beat horses (dead or alive), but yesterday I received a news
release through the Native Plant Conservation Initiative's listserv which is
germane to the previous discussion on this list.  As lovers of woody plants it
should be of interest to many of you.  I think it is very much ON topic.  I
send it on to you with the disclaimer that I have no means to validate its
claims.  Please accept it as food for thought, or perhaps fuel for action. 
 --Janis
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------'>>
                       JOINT NEWS RELEASE

10% OF WORLD'S TREE SPECIES THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION

Geneva - The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), IUCN -- the World
Conservation Union and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) today announced
that
10% of the world's known tree species face extinction.

The findings are reported in the World List of Threatened Trees, compiled by
WCMC, resulting from a three-year partnership with the Species Survival
Commission (SSC) of IUCN and funded by the Dutch Government.  The World List
of
Threatened Trees was launched today in Geneva at the Second Session of the
Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, where governments from around the world
are
meeting to discuss how to tackle the continuing crisis facing the world's
forests. 

More than 8,750 of the 80,000 to 100,000 tree species known to science were
found to be threatened with extinction. This includes almost a thousand
species
believed to be Critically Endangered, with some species only known from one or
a
handful of individuals.

Fewer than one quarter of the species found to be threatened benefit at this
time from conservation measures: Only 12% of these species are recorded in
protected areas and only 8% of species are known to be in cultivation. "We
have
found that threats to tree species are increasing and that unless conservation
action is taken immediately, some species face certain extinction and many
others will be joining the list of threatened trees," said Sara Oldfield of
WCMC, an editor of the report. 

The threats to tree species include felling for timber and wood fuel,
agriculture, expansion of human settlements, uncontrolled forest fires,
invasive
alien species and unsustainable forest management.  With over 1000 tree
species
threatened as a result of felling, the sustainable management of forests is a
top priority. WWF is backing a scheme by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
to
independently certify well managed forests.  The timber products from these
forests are marked with the FSC logo to allow consumers to exercise a
responsible choice about the timber that they buy. 

Trees are an intrinsic part of almost all the world's forest ecosystems which
provide services of incalculable value to people, including climate control,
water catchment, medicine, food and  timber.  The majority of the Earth's
species are dependent upon their survival, with tropical forests home to some
90% of the world's terrestrial species. "We know that the conservation
situation
for plants in general is alarming," said Dr Wendy Strahm of IUCN. "If we can't
save these elephants of the plant world, then the prognosis for all other
species which depend on trees is frightening." 

Key solutions advocated by the authors of The World List of Threatened Trees
include sustainable forest management, protection and restoration of forest
habitat and control of alien invasive species, supplemented by ex situ
conservation in botanic gardens, arboreta and seed banks.  

"With 77 species already extinct, this report has now confirmed our worst
nightmare" said Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud of WWF.  "The governments gathering this
week must now realize the sense of urgency to increase forest protection,
eliminate illegal logging, and improve forest management."

For further information, please contact:
Wendy Strahm, IUCN Plants Officer,      
Tel: +41 22 999-0157; Fax: +41 22 999-0015

Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, WWF- International
Tel: +41 22 364 9011; Fax: +41 22 364 0640

Sara Oldfield, WCMC                 
Tel: +44 1223 277 314; Home: +44 1716 677 558

Notes to Editors

Slides: Slides of threatened tree species are available.

The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF):  WWF is the world's largest independent
conservation organization.  It has over five million supporters and a global
network active in over 100 countries.  WWF's Forests for Life Campaign
supports
the following forest conservation targets:

1) The protection of a minimum of 10% of the world's forests.   22 countries 
have already made a pledge to protect a minimum of 10% of their forests by the
year 2000:  Argentina,  Armenia , Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada,
Chile, the people's republic of China, Columbia, Greece, Lithuania, Malawi,
Mozambique, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Romania, the Russian Republic of Sakha,
Slovak Republic, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam.

2) The independent certification of 25 million hectares of forests by 2001.
10
Million hectares of forests worldwide are now certified.  Leading retailers
and
manufactures around the world have formed buyers groups (presently in  10
different countries) and are sending the message to thousands of suppliers
that
they care about the forests from which their product have been sourced.

World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC):  WCMC is internationally
recognised
as a centre of excellence in the location and management of information on the
conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources.  WCMC is an
independent non-profit organization.  It was established by three of the key
international organisations working in the field of biodiversity conservation:
IUCN -- The World Conservation Union; the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) and
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

IUCN --The World Conservation Union:  IUCN brings together States, government
agencies and non-governmental organizations in a unique partnership: over 900
members spread across 138 countries.  IUCN seeks to influence, encourage and
assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity
of
nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and
ecologically sustainable. 

The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is one of the six volunteer commissions
of
IUCN.  The SSC's mission is to conserve biological diversity by developing and
executing programmes to save, restore and wisely manage species and their
habitats.  With support from the IUCN secretariat, SSC's programmes are
delivered by 7000 volunteer members from nearly every country in the world.
<<

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE WOODYPLANTS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index