At the 2019 IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Leaders’ Meeting, members of the Global Tree Specialist Group (GTSG), the Global Tree Assessment (GTA) and Global Trees Campaign (GTC) network were recipients of four IUCN SSC awards. These awards are given to recognize the exemplary voluntary contribution of individuals and Specialist Groups towards the global…
Fighting logging and damage to a unique environment by exploring ways to give the Mulanje Cedar tree more value to local people A unique island in the sky Standing beneath the huge expanse of granite that rises to 2,500 m at the Chambe peak of the Mulanje massif your heart races. You find yourself…
In the next installment of our interview series we meet another dedicated conservationist working with GTC to save the world’s most threatened trees from extinction. Introducing Arief Hamidi, GTC programme manager and national botanist for FFI’s Indonesia Programme. Arief is responsible for the delivery and coordination of GTC projects throughout Indonesia with a particular…
Standing and watching the loneliest tree in the world, my first reaction was one of sadness – that with all of humankind’s collective knowledge and ingenuity, we haven’t been able to propagate this plant. Hyophorbe amaricaulis has lived in the Curepipe Botanical Garden in Mauritius for the past 150 years or so. Today, it is enclosed…
Fiji boasts a dazzling array of Hibiscus species; read about Dr Lex Thomson’s work to uncover the diversity of these beautiful, yet Critically Endangered, plants… My journey of discovery of Fiji Hibiscus species started by accident. Early November 2015, I had planned to visit Fiji’s second largest island, off the coast of Vanua Levu, to…
Is it too early to talk about Christmas? Some might consider midway through May to be slightly premature, to put it mildly. But when it comes to saving critically endangered trees, there’s no time like the present. Having said that, we first need to delve briefly into the past in order to provide some…
In the next instalment in our interview series we meet another dedicated conservationist working with GTC to save the world’s most threatened trees from extinction. Introducing Ana Sandoval, technical manager for the Seed Bank of the Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) in Chile. Ana is responsible for the GTC and BGCI project conserving threatened endemic species…
Picture the scene: you’re trekking through one of the remotest regions in steepest, starkest Kyrgyzstan, on the trail of a species so elusive that it might just as well be the stuff of legend. At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. By definition, vanishingly rare…
Tovomita is a genus of 50 tree species, found in the tropical forests of Mesoamerica and South America. As a result of internet collaboration between Brazil and the UK, new publication The Red List of Tovomita reveals that while only 8% of the genus is threatened (four species), a high percentage of species are considered…
The Red List of Nothofagus (trees more commonly known as ‘false beech’ or ‘southern beech’), recently published by BGCI and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, identifies 11 species at risk of extinction in the wild, including three Critically Endangered species. The report contains assessments for all 37 species of Nothofagus and identifies major threats to…
It was another busy year for GTC. As we prepare for the year ahead, we reflect on some of our biggest stories and achievements from 2018. GTC keeps active Bumper year for Brazil Excellent conditions in southern Brazil led to the region’s trees producing an unusually large amount of fruit and seeds. Our partner, Sociedade…
In the next instalment in our interview series we meet another dedicated conservationist working with GTC to save the world’s most threatened trees from extinction. Introducing Tonisoa Ivoandry, project officer for the Communities and Conservation Program at Madagasikara Voakajy, GTC partner in Madagascar. Tonisoa is responsible for managing baobab research and conservation in the…