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The Conservation of Threatened Plants by Cuban Botanic Gardens:

Achieving the Objectives of the International Agenda as a Contribution towards the GSPC

In 1998, the Conservation Action Plan for Botanic Gardens of the Caribbean Islands (Burbidge & Wyse Jackson) was published; the result of a series of meetings of representatives of Caribbean botanic gardens organised by BGCI.  The text of this Action Plan was closely related to the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) itself, to highlight botanic garden conservation action within the CBD.  Later, the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation  was published to outline the practice and priorities for botanic gardens in conservation and the 2010 Targets for botanic gardens (see page xx) were developed to help measure the achievements of the International Agenda as a contribution to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

Cuba is the largest insular territory of the Caribbean. Its varied soils and the topography have led to the high endemism of its flora and the varied vegetation.  In the last four years (2001-2004) the Cuban Network of Botanic Gardens has implemented a national project financed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment to ensure the conservation of their rich flora.

The Cuban botanic garden network (12 gardens) provides an excellent example of the practice of conservation as described in the International Agenda particularly Sections 2.3-2.6.  It also clearly illustrates the importance of working with other sectors and organisations both nationally and internationally (Section 2.19), raising public awareness about the work of the garden (Section 2.10) and implementing the training and capacity building section of the International Agenda (Section 2.9).

This work contributes to the achievement of the Targets of the GSPC which are added to the text below.

Understanding and documenting plant diversity

Target 1 GSPC
The Cuban botanic garden network has used their facilities and expertise to support the development of a working list of known plant species.  During the past four years, staff from three botanic gardens have contributed to four volumes of the new Cuban Flora, Flora de la República de Cuba) which covers 25 families (Greuter et al., 2004).  This is the result of collaboration between the National Botanic Garden, Havana (Jardín Botánico Nacional, Universidad de La Habana), the Berlin-Dahlem Botanic Garden and Museum, Germany, the Institut für Spezielle Botanik der Universität Jena. Germany, and the Institute of Ecology and Systematics (Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente), with Prof. Dr. Werner Greuter, as the main Editor of the Flora.

Target 2 GSPC
Botanic garden staff have long been active in the assessment and conservation of the unique flora of Cuba.  This is essential for developing priority conservation activities.  The staff have worked closely with IUCN-SSC's Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (IUCN-Species Survival Commission) in their Conservation Assessment and Management Programmes (CAMPs) (IUCN, 2004).  In 2003, the IUCN-SSC Cuban Plant Specialist Group was created specifically to continue to work on the assessment of the Cuban flora using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (IUCN, 2001): 

A conservation assessment of the species most in need of conservation has been undertaken in the following areas:

• 164 taxa were assessed for IUCN Red Data Categories in two Camp Workshops sponsored by the National Botanic Garden, Havana and IUCN-SSC CBSG (Captive Breeding Specialist Group)
• the conservation status of 150 tree species were re-evaluated with the collaboration of the IUCN-SSC Global Tree Specialist Group/Fauna & Flora International (Lazcano Lara et al., 2005).
• field work was undertaken to assess the conservation status of seven palms by Las Tunas and the National Botanic Garden support from the Global Tree Campaign.
• a national workshop on the conservation status of cacti was sponsored by the National Botanic Garden with the support of BP Conservation Programme (González-Torres et al., 2005).
  

This work led to the recent publication of the Red List of Cuban Vascular Flora , with the collaboration of Atlantic Botanic Garden of Gijón, Spain, accounting for 1414 categorised taxa (20% of the vascular flora), and from them, 997 are threatened (14% of the total vascular flora) (Berazaín Iturralde et al., 2005).

Conserving plant diversity

Target 7 GSPC
The garden network has also collaborated in identifying the flora of five protected areas: 

• Orchid flora of Pinar del Río province (316 taxa)
• Orchid flora of the mountains Cienfuegos province (89 taxa)
• Fern flora of the Banao mountains in Sancti Spiritus province (254 taxa)
• Flora and vegetation of La Isleta of Las Tunas province (300 taxa of vascular plants in seven vegetation types)
• Flora and vegetation of Monte Cabaniguán in Las Tunas province (287 taxa of vascular plants in 10 vegetation types)

This work included a survey of threatened palms (38 taxa) in the national system of protected areas and the monitoring of 19 species in different ecosystems.

The garden network collaborates with national authorities managing the protected area system in Cuba in supplying this information.  Collaboration with all sectors both locally and nationally is a key recommendation of the International Agenda for coordinating plant plant conservation initiatives.

Target 8 GSPC
Ex situ conservation of wild plants is a central and unique role of botanic gardens and contributes to Target 8 of the GSPC ‘60 per cent of threatened plants in accessible ex situ collections  .  .  preferably in the country of origin;’.  Gardens have the necessary botanical and horticultural knowledge to undertake species recovery plans and in situ conservation through the use of their collections.

A total of 83 endemic and threatened taxa have been cultivated for the first time in Cuban botanic gardens.  The most important collections are ferns, boxwoods and species from the serpentine vegetation of Villa Clara and Nipe.

A genetic field bank of western Zamiaceae: Microcycas calocoma (156 individuals), Zamia amblyphyllidia (26), Zamia integrifolia (177), Zamia ottonis (40) and Zamia pygmaea (35) has been established in the National Botanic Garden.

All possible genetic diversity was gathered in the collection processes, as well as the correct documentation of plants.

Species recovery plans have been produced for 18 threatened species:

Acacia cupeyensis, Acacia roigi, Annona elliptica, Annona havanensis, Ayenia cajalbanensis, Broughtonia cubensis, Broughtonia ortgesiana, Coccothrinax crinita subsp crinita, Colpothrinax wrightii, Catesbaea gamboana, Euphorbia cubense, Ginoria koehneana, Harpalyce macrocarpa, Maytenus buxifolia subsp cajalbanense, Plinia rubrinervis, Rondeletia gamboana, Spathelia brittoni and Trichilia pungens. 

For each species, all the recommended issues of species recovery programmes were taken into account, as identified in BGCI´s A handbook for botanic gardens on the reintroduction of plants to the wild (Akeroyd & Wyse Jackson, 1995) and repeated in the Annex 6 of the International Agenda.

This work will contribute to Targets 8 and 9 of the 2010 Targets for botanic gardens: ‘50 per cent of threatened plants included in accessible botanic garden ex situ conservation collections, including cultivated and genebank material, preferably in the country of origin’  and ‘Botanic gardens support and participate in recovery and restoration programmes for 5 per cent of the world’s threatened plant species;’.

Promoting education and awareness about plant diversity

Target 14 GSPC
The education staff members of the Cuban botanic gardens held four workshops to develop the general programme. Each garden also developed specific education programmes for the threatened species in the locality and the target groups involved.  This work supports Target 14 for promoting education and awareness about plant diversity.

References

Akeroyd, J. and Wyse Jackson, P. (eds) 1995. A handbook for botanic gardens on the reintroduction of plants to the wild. BGCI, London, U.K.

Berazaín Iturralde, R., Areces Berazaín, F.A., Lazcano Lara, J.C. and González Torres, L.R., 2005. Red List of Cuban Vascular Flora.  Documentos 4. Jardín Botánico Atlántico, Gijón.

Burbidge, B. & Wyse Jackson, P. (eds) 1998. Conservation Action Plan for Botanic Gardens of the Caribbean Islands. BGCI, London, U.K.

Greuter, W. et al., 2005. Flora de la República de Cuba.  Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Germany.
[http://www.bgbm.org/BioDivInf/Projects/Floraofcuba/]

González-Torres, L.R., Palmarola, A., Rodríguez, A., 2005. Memorias del Taller de Cactus Cubanos.  Jardín Botánico Nacional, Universidad de La Habana, Cuba. Feijóo, Villa Clara, Cuba.

IUCN, 2001.  2001 IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria version 3.1 IUCN Species Survival Commission. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
[http://www.redlist.org/info/categories_criteria.html, accessed, 2005]

Lazcano Lara, J.C., Berazaín Iturralde, R., Leiva Sánchez, A.T. and Oldfield, S., 2005. Memorias del Primer Taller para la Categorización de Arboles Cubanos. Grupo de Especialistas en Plantas de Cuba, Flora & Flora Internacional. Jardín Botánico Nacional, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba.

IUCN, 2004. New Cuba Plant Specialist Group [http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/news/ebulletin2003/ebulletinaug03.htm, accessed November, 2005].