News Published: 29 August 2024

BGCI are delighted to publish our 2024 Technical Review – The importance of botanic gardens in tackling the illegal plant trade. 

Plant poaching is on the rise. Plants are being plundered from the wild and even plucked from our very own botanic garden collections. This is resulting in the loss of many species; both in the form of functional extinction in the wild to complete extinction from our planet. Tackling this issue has spurred both this 2024 Technical Review and also a new collaborative campaign which utilises the international reach of botanic gardens to work with a range of strategic partners that can facilitate a multi-pronged effort.

This review provides a robust baseline to help us understand what role botanic gardens are playing in tackling this global problem. One obvious solution is to raise awareness amongst visitors of the damage caused by buying plants from unsustainable sources, including through social media platforms.

The Technical Review finished with calls to action for the global botanic garden community and for botanic gardens as individuals, it provides implementable actions at various levels as a multi-pronged approach is needed to tackle this growing, global issue.

This review provides a robust baseline to help us understand what role botanic gardens are playing in tackling the illegal trade of plants. Examples of actions being taken by the botanic garden community are given across 16 case studies responding to five themes of work;

(i) propagation and maintaining collections

(ii) visitors and education

(iii) research and technology

(iv) engagement with law enforcement

(v) collaboration and networks.

The threat to plants from trafficking is pervasive, occurring in many biodiversity hotspots and targeting many botanical and horticultural favourites including cacti, cycads, orchids and succulent species. The global reach of botanic gardens through their visitors is essential to raise awareness of the damage caused by buying plants from unsustainable sources, including through social media platforms. Botanic gardens also provide refuge for confiscated plants, and house world-leading expertise on caring for threatened plant collections.

In line with global call to action, BGCI is developing an evergreen behavioural change campaign with partner botanic gardens and organisations, to raise awareness and highlight the loss of our precious plant species and biodiversity integrity at a larger scale.

To learn more about this topic we are hosting a webinar on 11th September. Sign up now!

BGCI is developing an evergreen behavioural change campaign with partner botanic gardens and organisations, to raise awareness and highlight the loss of our precious plant species and biodiversity integrity at a larger scale.

We encourage you to take up the call to action and join our campaign to raise awareness of the illegal trade of plant species.