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Convention on Biological DiversityPlant Conservation Report Page 6INTRODUCTIONTHE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF PLANT DIVERSITYPlants are universally recognized as a vitalcomponent of biodiversity and globalsustainability. For example, plants providefood (around 7,000 1 species are used for food 2 ),ibre, fuel, shelter, medicine. Healthy ecosystemsbased on plant diversity provide the conditionsand processes that sustain life and are essential tothe well-being and livelihoods of all humankind.Ecosystem services provided by plants include:• The production of oxygen and assimilation/sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO 2)in both terrestrial and marine systemsthat currently removes about 50% ofanthropogenic CO 2emission;• The creation, stabilization and protectionof soil, essential for most of the Earth'sproductive agricultural systems andthe major carbon pool in the terrestrialbiosphere; and• The creation and protection of watersheds,slowing run-off rate of precipitationand promoting water iniltration andpuriication.Plants also form the basis of the trophic pyramidin all terrestrial and most marine ecosystems onwhich we and all other animal species inevitablydepend. In addition, plants provide a vast multitudeof natural resources for humanity, especially inthe developing world. They provide the basis forall of our food, most medicines and many othermaterials essential for our daily lives.nature during the course of the 21 st century (GranCanaria Declaration - 2000) 3 .Extinction and declines in plant diversity isdue to a range of factors including populationgrowth, high rates of habitat modiication anddeforestation, over-exploitation, the spread ofinvasive alien species, pollution and climatechange. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessmentnoted that approximately 60% of the ecosystemservices evaluated are being degraded or usedunsustainably. 4 The degradation of ecosystemservices often causes signiicant harm to humanwell-being and represents a loss of a natural assetor wealth of a country. The assessment also noteda continual decline in the status of provisioningservices of the environment, especially wild foods,timber, cotton, wood-fuel, genetic resources, andmedicine. It is clear that the overall trend for plantdiversity is declining.The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation(GSPC)The 16 th International Botanical Congress inSt. Louis, Missouri in 1999 called for plantconservation to be recognized as an outstandingThe overall status and trends of plantdiversityAn accurate picture of the status of plants and thetrends that are impacting on them is dificult todetermine. Indeed, we do not yet know the exactnumber of plant species in the world (estimatedcurrently at 370,000 known species). However,it is predicted that as many as two-thirds of theworld’s plant species are in danger of extinction in1 Wilson, E.O. (1992). The Diversity of Life. Penguin,London, UK. 432 pp2 http://www.underutilized-species.org/documents/PUBLICATIONS/gfu_icuc_strategic_framework.pdf3 Blackmore, S.; Bramwell, D.; Crane, P.;Dias, B;Given,F.,T.,Leiva, A; Morin, N.R.; Pushpangadan,P.; Raven,P.H.; Samper, C.; Sarukhan, J.,J.; Simiyu, S.;Smirnov,I;and Wyse Jackson, P.S. (2000). The Gran CanariaDeclaration, BGCI, Richmond, U.K.4 www.milleniumassessment.org
global priority in biodiversity conservation, giventhe continuing loss of plant diversity and thefundamental role played by plants for sustenanceof human life and other biodiversity.In response to this call, in 2000, Botanic GardensConservation International convened an adhocmeeting for a group of leading botanistsand conservationists representing a rangeof international and national organizations,institutions and other bodies from 14 countries.The outcome of this meeting was the Gran CanariaDeclaration (2000), outlining the need for a globalinitiative to address the loss of plant diversity. Asa result of this call for action, it was proposedthat a Global Strategy for Plant Conservationshould be developed and implemented throughthe framework of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity (CBD).A 16 target framework was developed andadopted by the sixth meeting of the Conference ofthe Parties to the CBD in 2002 addressing the ivethemes of the GSPC:1. Understanding and documenting plantdiversity;Goal: "...to halt the current and continuingloss of plant biodiversity..."2. Conserving plant diversity;3. Using plant diversity sustainably;4. Promoting education and awarenessabout plant diversity; and5. Building capacity for the conservation ofplant diversity.Since its adoption, the GSPC has been implementedthroughout the world through an impressivecombination of local, national and internationalinitiatives.This Plant Conservation Report outlinesprogress made from 2002 to 2008. The Reportalso highlights the urgent challenges and somepriorities for further implementation up to 2010,as well as providing a background and rationalefor further global initiatives in plant conservationbeyond 2010.One of the world’s most remarkable plants, thefully underground orchid Rhizanthella gardnerifrom the Western Australian biodiversityhotspot produces a tulip-like cluster of smallorchid flowers from a leafless undergroundplant. The GSPC has facilitated action to save thiscritically endangered orchid with a populationsize of less than 50 mature individuals as anex situ collection of seed and plants as partof a major program by Kings Park and BotanicGarden aimed to secure seed and mycorrhizaof all orchids from the Western Australianbiodiversity hotspot.Photo: K. DixonPlant Conservation ReportPage 7 Convention on Biological Diversity
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