Funded by Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund

Project Completion date: April 2027

Institution: BGCI, Forest Research Institute Ghana, Missouri Botanical Garden (Gabon Programme), Missouri Botanical Garden – Madagascar Programme, and the IUCN SSC Madagascar Plant Specialist Group.

Supporting conservation and sustainable trade of threatened timber species

Conservation Problem

One third of the world’s timber tree species are at risk of extinction. Mechanisms to support conservation and sustainable use of timber trees are urgently needed for continued benefits of these species.

Project Goals

We work with partners in Ghana, Gabon and Madagascar, to develop and disseminate a data collection protocol to inform the data required for IUCN Red List Assessments and CITES Non-Detriment Findings (NDFs). Simultaneously, we will produce a collaborative report showcasing the best-practice case studies and recommendations, to enable better monitoring of the pressure from logging on timber trees.  

Why Threatened Timber Species?

For most timber tree species globally, the data to monitor the impact of trade on tree populations is incomplete or inaccessible.  For this project, we will focus on 12 priority timber species that are listed on the CITES Appendices and have an IUCN Red List Assessment or national assessment as threatened. Many of these species have recently been added to CITES or the IUCN Red List and lack up-to-date and comprehensive information on their wild population, and the impact of logging and trade on their populations. This is a detriment to the potential conservation needs and sustainable use decisions for the species. This project is working to fill these data gaps and support conservation decision making for these vital tree species, which often have a significant impact on local populations, including their income generation. 

The Red List of Timber Trees established that one in three of the world’s 4,945 timber trees are threatened with extinction. The majority of timber trees are assessed on the threat of habitat loss rather than ( the impact of trade, largely because timber data is often unknown, difficult to access, and very rarely is it species-specific. Consequently, the impact of the timber trade on the extinction risk of timber trees at the species level is still not fully known. 

This is a similar case in the production of NDFs and quotas for CITES listed tree species, where often the data is limited, out-of-date or incorrect or incomplete, consequently, erroneously informing policy at the international level. This can impact the effectiveness of CITES regulation and create loopholes for illegal trade. At the previous CoP19 held in 2022, 150 new timber tree species were listed on the CITES Appendices, bringing the total number of trees on any CITES Appendices to 946. Strengthened guidance on how to relate existing data, capture new data and correctly inform NDFs for timber trees is critically and fundamentally needed. 

What are we doing about it?  

We are leading a three-year project to develop a collaborative data collection protocol to support IUCN Red List Assessments and CITES NDFs. Our goal is to identify existing accurate data sources to meet the requirements of these two key conservation metrics. Using this foundation, we will focus on 12 priority tree species to highlight existing knowledge and pinpoint where critical data gaps remain. 

To address the identified data gaps, working with our partners in Ghana, Gabon, and Madagascar we have conducted tailored qualitative research to further understand what data available in-country from communities, government agencies, and other key stakeholders. Insights from this stage will guide the next phase. Gaps in the required data that remain unaddressed even at this stage will then inform and design our targeted quantitative fieldwork. Partners will explore methods and logistical access to collect the missing data in-person.  

The information gathered from all three stages—existing sources, qualitative analysis, and field collection—will feed into the collaborative design of a new data protocol that is more realistically suited to the realities of data availability. This protocol will be broadly adaptable for different countries and provide a practical tool for informing the requirements of key conservation metrics.

Key achievements so far 

So far, we have successfully collected qualitative research with key stakeholders in each project country. Collectively, our partners have spoken to over 40 different individuals or organisations. This has helped to provide an overall view of the data availability, the challenges in each country and also detail the minutiae of the data gap and data source as well as the critical need of the data collection protocol. 

Acknowledgements 

This project is supported by the UK Government Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, with additional support from BGCI’s Core Funders, and in-kind time from our project partners. 

We would like to thank the IWTCF for their gracious support of this project. To find out more about this fund please see their website.

Contact details 

• For more information on this project, please contact megan.barstow@bgci.org or Laxmi.aggarwal@bgci.org