The &lt;i&gt;Red List of South African plants&lt;/i&gt; – A global first

Domitilla Raimondo

doi:10.4102/sajs.v107i3/4.653

Abstract

1which provides internationally endorsed scientific criteria for assessing the risk of extinction to species. This endeavor is a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation – both nationally and internationally – as it is the first time that any of the world’s mega-diverse countries (those that collectively house 70% of the world’s biodiversity) has fully assessed the status of its entire flora. The assessment is of global significance as it includes 13 265 endemic taxa (taxa that occur only in South Africa). The assessment of endemic taxa has been submitted to the IUCN Red List programme. They are currently being processed and once included should double the number of plants on the IUCN Global Red List. South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. In 2002 the Parties to the Convention adopted a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), a framework guiding conservation action with the objective of halting the continuing loss of plant diversity. The GSPC contains 16 specific outcome-oriented targets. In producing the Red List of South African plants, South Africa has become one of the few countries to meet Target 2, ‘an assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species, to guide conservation action’.

Highlights

South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity
This publication differs in that explanations of why a specific taxon has been listed as of conservation concern – taxa that qualify as threatened, near threatened or data deficient against the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria and those that are recognised as rare based on criteria developed for the South African conservation context – are included
In cases where users are aware of additional information that would change the status of a taxon, they are able to send this information to the Threatened Species Programme at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, to include in annual updates online

Summary

What sets this Red List apart from previous Red Lists?

Previous plant Red Lists comprised just lists of taxa together with their IUCN Red List status. In cases where users are aware of additional information that would change the status of a taxon, they are able to send this information to the Threatened Species Programme at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, to include in annual updates online. This process will ensure that the plant Red List on remains up to date, and accurately reflects the current conservation status of South Africa’s plants. The publication concludes with a section that identifies the priorities for systematic and ecological research required to support ongoing Red List assessment work for plants

The history of plant Red Lists in South Africa

Findings

How has the status of plant species changed?