UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) was adopted under Decision VI/9 of the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The GSPC lists 16 targets and invites organisations to contribute to implementation of activities to meet these targets.

Relevant activities implemented by UNEP-WCMC are listed below.

UNEP-WCMC is also working to monitor implementation of the strategy, details available here.

Target: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Understanding and Documenting Plant Diversity
Target 1	A widely accessible working list of known plant species, as a step towards a complete world flora.
	The UNEP-WCMC Species Database comprises global data on over 140,000 plants of conservation concern. The database includes accepted names, synonyms and common names
Target 2	A preliminary assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species, at national, regional and international levels.
	The UNEP-WCMC Species Database includes data on c. 34,000 globally threatened plants and a further c. 58,000 nationally threatened plants Subsets of the data have been published as the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants and the World List of Threatened Trees Methods developed to evaluate pressures on species, are illustrated in Mountain Watch and the forthcoming Forests at Risk A bamboo biodiversity report was completed in 2004 in collaboration with INBAR
Target 3	Development of models with protocols for plant conservation and sustainable use, based on research and practical experience
	Relevant projects include: Trees in trade, Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants and Commercialisation of non-timber forest products
Conserving Plant Diversity
Target 4	At least 10% of each of the world’s ecological regions effectively conserved in situ.
	UNEP-WCMC maintains the Protected Areas Database, from which the 2003 UN List of Protected Areas was produced. The Centre also maintains data on habitat type. Analyses of the protected areas and habitat data, allow levels of protection of each type to be identified. The European Forests and Protected Areas: Gap Analysis 2000, for instance, identifies the state of protection of forests in Europe. A global analysis, available on the web, of the protection status of different forest types is updated periodically as part of the Forest Information service. A pilot project in Ghana (see target 3) identified the level of protectionafforded by protected areas in the country to medicinal plants of relevance to local communities. Lessons learned from this project will be applied to similar initiatives in other African countries.
Target 5	Protection of 50% of the most important areas for plant diversity assured.
	UNEP-WCMC contributed to the production of Centres of Plant Diversity and manages spatial data on the areas identified.
Target 6	At least 30% of production lands managed consistent with the conservation of plant diversity.
	UNEP-WCMC manages spatial data on all habitat types, including production lands on its geographical information system The Centre maintains data on the location and extent sites certified as well managed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Target 7	60% of the world’s threatened plant species conserved in situ.
	UNEP-WCMC manages global data on protected areas and threatened plants. Links can be made to record occurrence of threatened plants within protected areas, as data becomes available. The Centre has been active in developing methods for evaluating the spatial distribution of pressures on species, as used for example in Mountain Watch and the forthcoming Forests at Risk A bamboo biodiversity report was completed in 2004 in collaboration with INBAR A forthcoming Atlas of Threatened Trees will apply these and other approaches to determine species distributions.
Target 8	60% of threatened plant species accessible in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery and restoration programmes.
	UNEP-WCMC collaborates with BGCI to integrate data on threatened species held at UNEP-WCMC with data on plants in ex situ collections held by BGCI, to identify the threatened species maintained in ex situ collections. The pilot project in Ghana (see target 3) implemented in collaboration with BGCI, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the UK and Aburi Botanic Garden Ghana and the University of Ghana included computerising the living collections of Aburi Botanic Garden, providing data on threat status to the garden and identifying threatened species conserved ex situ in the garden. UNEP-WCMC has developed the Forest Restoration Information Service to support restoration practitioners with information on existing efforts and best practice. There are plans to develop a section of the service dedicated to species-focused restoration. The project Biodiversity conservation, restoration and sustainable use in fragmented forest landscapes (BIOCORES) is working with national partners in Mexico, Chile and Argentina to identify effective approaches for mitigating development impacts on forests through restoration
Using Plant Diversity Sustainably
Target 9	70% of the genetic diversity of crops and other major socio-economically valuable plant species conserved, and associated indigenous and local knowledge maintained.
	Conservation related data on plant species of socio-economic importance, are included in the UNEP-WCMC Species Database. UNEP-WCMC is collaborating with a wide range of institutions, to implement a GEF funded project "In situ conservation of Crop Wild Relatives through enhanced information management and field application" managed by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI)
Target 11	No species of wild flora endangered by international trade.
	This target is the main objective of CITES. UNEP-WCMC implements a range of CITES-related activities. Details are available here. Under contract to the EC, UNEP-WCMC maintains information relating to the EC Wildlife Regulation within the UNEP-WCMC Species Database and provides this as a customised web interface, searchable by species or by country. A series of regional workshops are being held to assess tree species in international trade in need of conservation action, such as inclusion in the appendices to CITES.
Target 12	30% of plant based products derived from sources that are sustainably managed.
	UNEP-WCMC manages information on plants of socio-economic use, and maintains data on the location and extent of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved sites. The projects listed under target 3 also relate to this target. A project on Commercialisation of non-timber forest products project run in Bolivia and Mexico has sustainable management of resources as a key success criterion.
Target 13	The decline of plant resources and associated indigenous and local knowledge innovations and practices, that support sustainable livelihoods, local food security and health care, halted.
	The projects listed under target 3 support the conservation of plant resources and help maintain associated indigenous and local knowledge. UNEP-WCMC has completed a "Composite Report on the status and trends regarding the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity" for discussion at a CBD Working Group meeting in December 2003.
Promoting education and awareness about plant diversity
Target 14	The importance of plant diversity and the need for its conservation incorporated into communication, education and public awareness programmes.
	UNEP-WCMC provides relevant information to a wide range of users, via an information service, the web, on CD-ROM and in books and reports. A project run with the Times Educational Supplement made data available in a format appropriate for school children. Global atlases produced by the Centre, including the *Global Atlas of Biodiversity, the Global Mangrove Atlas* and *Global Seagrass Atlas, provide map based views of the world's living resources. A further Global Tree Conservation Atlas* is in preparation. A poster series on Biodiversity developed by the Centre is displayed at UNEP headquarters. Frequent press cover of the Centre's work supports this target.
Building capacity for the conservation of plant diversity
Target 15	The number of trained people working with adequate facilities in plant conservation increased, according to national needs, to achieve the targets of this strategy.
	UNEP-WCMC is involved in capacity building work, both through in-country training and training at UNEP-WCMC. Projects in Ghana (see target 3), Bolivia and Mexico (see target 12) and Chile involve capacity building. Six young professionals on Chevening scholarships are working at UNEP-WCMC.
Target 16	Networks for plant conservation activities established or strengthened at national, regional and international levels.
	UNEP-WCMC is a fundamentally collaborative organisation, working with a global network of contacts and acting as a focal point for contact details. The Centre is a partner in the Global Trees Campaign, which includes establishment of networks. UNEP Regional Networks

For further information contact Harriet.Gillett@unep-wcmc.org