Conservation Prioritisation
BGCI works to conserve plant diversity worldwide, but with approximately 400,000 known plant species globally, which species are most in need of conservation action? Estimates indicate that as many as two in five plant species are threatened with extinction, due to a range of threats to plants and their habitats (habitat loss, over-exploitation, disease, pollution, climate change, etc.).
How can plant conservationists effectively prioritise conservation action to ensure that limited resources are used where they are most needed? To effectively conserve plant diversity worldwide, we need tools and available information to be able to prioritise which plants to focus our conservation action on.
At BGCI, we measure extinction risk through Red List assessments. In addition, we use information from the collections of plants conserved in botanic gardens, arboreta and seed banks around the world to carry out ex situ surveys highlighting gaps in ex situ conservation of plants.
Our largest conservation prioritisation program is the Global Tree Assessment (GTA), which aims to have conservation assessments for all the world’s trees published on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Find out more about the GTA below:
Combining information from both Red List assessments and ex situ surveys enables more effective conservation prioritisation and allows for better-informed conservation action.
News on Conservation Prioritisation
Projects on Conservation Prioritisation
Conservation Prioritisation E-Learning Modules
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Global Seed Conservation Challenge Learning Modules
Conservation Prioritisation, Seed Conservation, Policy and Advocacy / E-learning module / English, Spanish, French, Chinese -
Red List Learning Modules
Tree Conservation, Conservation Prioritisation / E-learning module, Video / English, Spanish, French, Chinese
