1 Asian Plant Conservation Report 2010 A Review of Progress in Implementing the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) Keping Ma Guoke Chen Bing Liu Bin Chen Raquibul Amin Jinlong Zhang Minli Chun 2 Asian Plant Conservation Report 2010 3 The Editorial Group for The Asian Plant Conservation Report Group leaders Keping Ma Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, [email protected] Raquibul Amin Ecosystems & Livelihoods Group II, IUCN Asia, Sri Lanka, [email protected] Members Dedy Darnaedi Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Indonesia, [email protected] Matthew Hall Centre for Middle Eastern Plants (CMEP), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK, [email protected] Motomi Ito Department of Systems Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan, cmito@ mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp Odeh Al Jayyousi IUCN West Asia & Middle East Regional Office, Jordan, [email protected] Yinan Liu Office for CNC-Diversitas, China, [email protected] Leng Guan Saw Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Malaysia, [email protected] Hao Zhuang IUCN China Liaison Office, China, [email protected] 4 Asian Plant Conservation Report 2010 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the Biodiversity Committee, the Chinese Academy of Sciences was world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment founded in 1992 and is the major organization for developing and and development challenges. It supports scientific research, man- implementing biodiversity research guide for the Chinese Academy ages field projects all over the world and brings governments, non- of Sciences, with the foci on biodiversity informatics and forest government organizations, United Nations agencies, companies biodiversity monitoring, organizing scientific team to prepare and local communities together to develop and implement policy, biodiversity monographs and proceedings of national symposia on laws and best practice. IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. More information is environmental network - a democratic membership union with on the website http://www.brim.ac.cn/. more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries and areas. Website: http://www.iucn.org/. Chinese National Committee for DIVERSITAS (an international pro- Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences was founded gram of biodiversity science) was founded in 2004 and is an aca- in 1928 and is an integrative research center of basic plant sciences demic organization for coordinating and conducting local activities in China at the moment, with the priority of promoting integrative of DIVERSITAS in China. The Chinese Academy of Sciences chairs the plant biology. It is mainly engaged in the research in the fields of CNC-DIVERSITAS, with members from related ministries and univer- ecological conservation and environmental protection, modern sities. IUCN China Working Group is attached to CNC-Diversitas at agriculture, sustainable utilization of plant resources and systematic the moment. For more information, please visit the website http:// evolution. More information is on the website http://www.ibcas. www.cncdiversitas.org/. ac.cn/. 5i Contents Foreword by Dr. Peter H. Raven / ii Target 1 A widely accessible working list of known plant species, as a step towards a complete world flora / 10 Foreword by Dr. Peter S. Wyse Jackson / iii Target 2 A preliminary assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species, at national, regional and international levels / 14 Foreword by Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji / iv Target 3 Development of models with protocols for plant conservation and sustainable use, based on research and practical experience / 18 Preface / v Target 4 At least 10% of each of the world's ecological regions effectively conserved / 21 Target 5 Protection of 50% of the most important areas for plant Summary / 1 diversity assured / 25 Target 6 At least 30% of production lands managed consistent with the Section 1 Brief introduction of GSPC /3 conservation of plant diversity / 28 Target 7 60% of the world's threatened species conserved in-situ / 31 Section 2 Overview of Asia /4 Target 8 60% of threatened plant species in accessible ex-situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery and restoration programs / 34 Section 3 Key features of plant diversity Target 9 70% of the genetic diversity of crops and other major socio- in Asia / 5 economically valuable plant species conserved, and associated indigenous and local knowledge maintained / 37 Section 4 Major threats to Target 10 Management plans in place for at least 100 major alien species that threaten plants, plant communities and associated habitats plant diversity in Asia /7 and ecosystems / 40 Target 11 No species of wild flora endangered by international trade / 43 Section 5 Important progress of plant conservation Target 12 30% of plant-based products derived from sources that are in Asia since 2002 sustainably managed / 46 Target 13 The decline of plant resources and associated indigenous Section 6 Outlook for future strategies of and local knowledge, innovations and practices that support plant conservation in Asia / 62 sustainable livelihoods, local food security and health care halted / 49 Target 14 The importance of plant diversity and the need for Annex 1 Focal points for GSPC in Asia / 64 itsconservation incorporated into communication, educational and public-awareness programs / 52 Annex 2 A brief introduction of websites related Target 15 The number of trained people working with appropriate facilities in plant conservation increased, according to national to GSPC / 72 needs, to achieve the targets of this Strategy / 55 Target 16 Networks for plant conservation activities established or strengthened at national, regional and international levels / 58 6 Asian Plant Conservation Report 2010 ii FOREWORD The contents of this report on progress on plant conservation in Asia demonstrate clearly the beneficial global influence of the Global Plant Conservation Strategy of the Convention on Biological Diversity. As a result of the efforts of many botanists and conservationists in the region and beyond, a good deal has been accomplished, and one can feel confident about the prospects for accelerated progress in relation to the goals that will be established for the second decade. The floras of China, Thailand, and the Malay Peninsula are becoming reasonably well known, and we hope they will lead other countries into a careful determination of the conservation status of their plants in the years to come. This will require arduous and prolonged efforts, but will be necessary if this precious part of the world patrimony, which contributes so much to the welfare and future Peter H. Raven prospects of the countries of the region, can be preserved in the face of habitat President Emeritus destruction; the accelerating spread of invasive species, pests, and pathogens; Missouri Botanical Garden the selective gathering of species for medicine, building materials, and other St. Louis, MO, U.S.A. diverse purposes; and global climate change, which is progressively rendering the probability of many species to survive in nature increasingly doubtful. Even for botanical gardens, it remains to be seen what plants can be grown in the regional climates of the future; this problem emphasizes the very great importance of seed banks such as the one established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the Institute of Botany, Kunming. Knowing and articulating goals and objectives enhances greatly the chances of meeting them. The accomplishments of the past decade in plant conservation for Asian countries have been impressive, and we wish our colleagues well for even greater ones in the years to come! iiii FOREWORD The adoption of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002 marked an outstanding opportunity for the international community to respond to the challenge of conserving tens of thousands of plant species that are currently threatened worldwide due to habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable exploitation, urbanization, climate change, the spread of invasive alien species and many other pressures. The Convention specifically recognized the need for plant conservation to be addressed at the regional levels. Not only does will regional cooperation help to highlight plant conservation priorities, tasks and opportunities in common, but it will also help to share resources, guidance and good relevant examples and approaches that will be important in building plant conservation capacity throughout each region of Peter S. Wyse Jackson the world. Chairman I greatly welcome the preparation of this Asian Plant Conservation Report Global Partnership for Plant Conservation 2010 and congratulate all those involved in preparing this Report. It provides not President only a valuable review of progress made over the eight years since the adoption Missouri Botanical Garden of the GSPC but also it will help to raise awareness of a range of excellent and St Louis, MO, U.S.A. impressive examples and approaches to plant conservation that can be applied elsewhere. In 2010 the Convention agreed and adopted an updated GSPC, including updated targets, for the period up to 2020. While a good beginning was made up to 2010, the work in safeguarding plants and their habitats throughout