Project funded via the Global Botanic Garden Fund by The Botanist.

Project completed: 2020

Just 3% of the original area of the cloud forests in Mexico’s Central Veracruz remain.

“You don’t need to walk far to start seeing another arrangement of species” says Milton Diaz, curator of Jardín Botánico Clavijero describing the cloud forest reserve they manage. However, despite this incredible diversity, the region’s native vegetation is under pressure. Surges in population size and agriculture have been big drivers, with land clearance for sugarcane being the worst offender according to Milton.

“Sugar cane plantations are a big problem because they are really aggressive in the way they grow these plants and how they apply herbicides or fertilisers. So they don’t allow any plant or other animals to get in.”

The few remaining forest fragments are vulnerable to extreme temperatures and changing rainfall regimes, which can have a particularly negative impact on endemic species where survival is dependent on a narrow range of altitudes and micro-climates. Local trade in orchids, soil, and timber from the forests has also depleted the reserve.

However, engagement with the local community could offer a silver lining. Demonstrating that sustainable alternatives to harvesting wild plants exist by showing people that they can buy these species, cultivated, out of greenhouses or labs, could help the problem. Research by Milton and his team on the restoration of the forest shrub layer also shows promise, and could be “the start of a big big project”.

The work at Clavijero is capable of making a big difference in the cloud forest reserve, as well as other places where they face similar challenges.