Strategic requirements for plant conservation in the Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

This paper briefly evaluates the activities of the Arabian Plant Specialist Group (APSG), which were initiated in response to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). For the Arabian Peninsula countries of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, substantial progress has been made towards meeting the 2010 targets of a regional plant checklist, an IUCN Red List and a programme of identifying and describing Important Plant Areas. A proposal to revise the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation for 2011–2020 is considered with respect to the strategic requirements for successfully implementing a revised strategy in the Arabian Region. Particular attention is paid to the development of online identification tools, to the widespread collection of biodiversity data and the education and training required for ensuring that conservation initiatives in the region are viable in the long term.