
The life of the “guano palm”
by José Angel García-Beltrán
Named after Dr. Atila Borhidi, a Hungarian botanist who devoted many years to the study of the Cuban flora, Coccothrinax borhidiana needs our help to secure its survival.
A Project from the Madagascar Plant Specialist Group was funded by Planta! as part of the SSC – Internal Grant since January 2020. The Project aims to create an action plan to preserve Critically Endangered regional plants.
Date: 9/1/2021
Project: Plant Conservation in Madagascar
Since 2000, the Madagscar Plant Specialist Group (MPSG) has been assessing plants according to the criteria of the IUCN Red List. The assessments of 3600 species have been published to the IUCN website, 62 % of which are Endangered. Local experts expose the lack of a National Strategy to target the threats that those Endangered species are facing and to develop a conservation plan.
The Project of the Madagascar Specialist Group (IUCN-SSC), funded by Planta!, will create an action plan accesible to conservationists, researchers and the general public. It aims to develop specific actions to stop the ongoing loss of plant diversity in Madagascar. This “Strategic Plan for the Conservation of Madagascar plants”, based on past and present conservation actions, will lead the way for the future of the conservation of the local flora.
The Project will contribute to analyze local threats for plant biodiversity, and to develop a National List of Endangered Species, shared by experts, stakeholders and others involved. Through several workshops, the project will help to capacitate local botanists in the assessment of species according to the IUCN Red List criteria.
The Madagascar Plant Specialist Group will keep the “Strategic Plan for the Conservation of Madagascar plants” available in their website. The Project will support the group’s leadership in the conservation of the local flora and the development of an action plan to preserve it.
More about the SSC – Internal Grant sponsored by Planta! – https://www.iucn.org/commissions/species-survival-commission/get-involved/ssc-internal-grant
by José Angel García-Beltrán
Named after Dr. Atila Borhidi, a Hungarian botanist who devoted many years to the study of the Cuban flora, Coccothrinax borhidiana needs our help to secure its survival.
by Arlet Rodríguez Meno
From Baracoa, the oldest city of Cuba, Arlet narrates on her trip to nurseries growing Magnolia minor, an endemic and threatened Cuban tree.
by Eldis R. Bécquer
From his recent trip to the East, Eldis brings news of two melastomes that were considered lost. This large botanical family has species that are exclusive from Cuba with the urgent need to be found.