State of the World’s Trees Report

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In news– Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has released the State of the World’s Trees report recently.

About  State of the World’s Trees report

• • As per the report,17,500 tree species out of 60,000(around 30% ) known tree species face extinction.
  • It says Some 142 species have already vanished from the wild, while 442 are on the very edge of extinction, with fewer than 50 individual trees remaining.
  • The report says that the number of threatened tree species is double the number of threatened mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles combined.
  • Most risk trees: Among the most at-risk trees are species including magnolias and dipterocarps, which are commonly found in Southeast Asian rainforests. 
  • Oak trees, maple trees and ebonies also face threats.

• Top 6 countries with highest risk:

• • • It revealed that thousands of varieties of trees in the world’s top six countries for tree-species diversity are at risk of extinction. 
    • The greatest single number is in Brazil, where 1,788 species are at risk.
    • The other five countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Colombia and Venezuela.

• Climate change and extreme weather are emerging threats.

• • At least 180 tree species are directly threatened by rising seas and severe weather, especially island species such as magnolias in the Caribbean.
  • Though megadiverse countries see the greatest numbers of varieties at risk of extinction, island tree species are more proportionally at risk.

• The biggest threats to trees globally are:

• Forest clearance for crops (impacting 29% of species).

• Timber logging (27%).

• Clearance for livestock grazing or farming (14%).

• Clearance for development (13%).

• Fire (13%).

• • Energy production & mining(9%).
  • Wood & pulp plantation(6%).
  • Invasive & other problematic species(5%).
  • Climate change(4%).

Trees at particular risk of extinction include:

• Large tropical trees known as dipterocarps that are being lost due to the expansion of palm oil plantations
• Oak trees lost to farming and development in parts of Mexico, Chile and Argentina
• Ebony and rosewood trees being felled for timber in Madagascar
• Magnolia trees at threat from unsustainable plant collecting
• Trees such as ash that are dying from pests and diseases in the UK and North America

Actions suggested-

The experts are calling for a number of actions, including:

• Preserving existing forests and expanding protected areas (currently at least 64% of all tree species can be found in at least one protected area)
• Keeping threatened species in botanic gardens or seed banks in the hope they can one day be returned to the wild (currently about 30% of all trees are backed up in this way)
• Providing education to ensure reforestation and tree planting schemes are carried out scientifically, with the right tree in the right place, including rare and threatened species
• Increasing funding for tree conservation.

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