BGCI's Tree Conservation Programme
Prioritise | Plan | Act | Monitor
BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme is dedicated to saving the world’s threatened tree species in their natural habitats.
BGCI promotes an integrated approach to the conservation and management of tree species, encompassing: Prioritise, Plan, Act and Monitor. The ultimate aim being that no tree becomes extinct. Tree conservation is carried out by empowering, mobilising and collaborating with partners and organisations worldwide.
Prioritise:
Effective tree conservation requires information and tools to guide and prioritise action. The Global Tree Assessment (GTA) is an initiative to assess the conservation status of all the world’s tree species, led by BGCI and the IUCN Species Survival Commission Global Tree Specialist Group. Global tree assessments are available on the IUCN Red List, as well as through BGCI’s ThreatSearch database, which includes assessments on local, national and international level. Tree extinctions can only be avoided if the best possible information is accessible and then used to inform conservation decisions made by practitioners, policy makers and funders.
Plan:
The Global Tree Assessment provides vital information towards planning tree conservation action including identifying major threats. Tree conservation action can be planned at an individual species level but also at national, regional or taxonomic group levels. BGCI create resources to support planning including the GlobalTree Portal (with the Conservation Action Tracker) and Conservation Action Plans. As an organisation, BGCI works with stakeholders to undertake national and taxonomic group-level conservation planning. These are used to inform the selection of priority sites and target species to develop partnership-led integrated tree conservation initiatives and funding applications.
Act:
Practical projects carry out direct tree conservation action, collaborating closely with local partners worldwide. The full engagement and participation of local stakeholders is key to the success and lasting impact of all tree conservation initiatives. Technical challenges can be multiple and complex, building stakeholder capacity and partnerships facilitates the sharing of experiences, improves practices and increases success.
Monitor:
Tree conservation monitoring includes the collection and analysis of information about conservation actions to understand progress and whether expected results are being achieved. BGCI has developed a thorough system of monitoring and evaluation: project activities are reviewed annually and amended based on new findings or unforeseen events, including natural and man-made. In addition, we monitor tree conservation action on a species level – ex situ and in situ – through the GlobalTree Portal including via the Conservation Action Tracker.
Header image credit: Toky Ralainaorina (Missouri Botanical Garden)
Trees encompass a highly varied group of approximately 58,000 species globally.
Individual species play a myriad of economic, ecological, and cultural roles highly valued by today’s society. We depend on trees in our everyday lives – they provide us with food, timber and medicine. They act as a crucial sink for anthropogenic carbon emissions. They provide the physical structure for the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth, tropical forests, and embody our sense of natural vigour and a healthy planet.
Individual tree species often play a keystone role in their ecosystems, supporting a multitude of other species from their position at the base of trophic pyramids in ecological networks. Removing the foundations of ecosystems risks a domino effect of extinctions. Despite their importance, over 17,500 tree species are threatened with extinction (see the State of the Worlds Trees).
Much of current conservation action takes a broader, landscape and/or habitat-level approach. Conservation of forest habitat is hugely valuable. However, it does not guarantee the survival of the diverse tree species that exist within different forest ecosystems, as individual tree species can face threats that are unique to that species. The conservation of tree species requires biological knowledge of the species to undertake appropriate management. Therefore, a complementary species-focused approach is necessary for the survival of many threatened trees.
BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme is using a complementary species focused approach to ensure the survival of many threatened trees. BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme uses a tailored approach for conserving individual tree species. We provide technical support and advice on implementing species focused conservation and encourage others to take action for threatened trees.
BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme builds on past work of the Global Trees Campaign (GTC). The GTC was a partnership between Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in association with other partners around the world, which worked to conserve threatened tree species between 1999-2023.
The GTC took action for tree conservation by working with in-country partners to safeguard populations of the world’s most threatened tree species, and supporting local conservationists to develop skills for effective tree species conservation.
For more than 20 years, the GTC helped to conserve over 400 threatened tree species, in more than 50 countries worldwide, as well as developed capacity in tree conservation and increased the profile of threatened trees.
At the end of 2022, FFI and BGCI agreed to embed our respective threatened tree conservation work within each organisation’s core programmes, so bringing to a close the FFI and BGCI GTC partnership. However, both FFI and BGCI remain firmly committed to conserving the world’s threatened tree species.
BGCI continues to prioritise and scale up the conservation of threatened trees through BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme, and continues to work with partners around the world to support on-going projects and seek further opportunities to deliver impact for this highly threatened but largely overlooked group.
The achievements of the GTC are summarised in Securing a Future for the World’s Threatened Trees: A Global Challenge.
Thank you to Franklinia Foundation for their generous funding of the vital work conducted by the GTC.
We want to hear from you!
We would love to hear about tree conservation projects that you may be involved with or new ideas for tree conservation project development, please get in touch by emailing us at info@bgci.org
If you wish to contribute with conservation action information for tree species that you might be working with, please fill out the Conservation Action Tracker Form.
The Conservation Action Tracker, displayed in the GlobalTree Portal, presents known information on conservation actions for tree species, such as: species recovery plans, ex situ collections, propagation protocols, in situ management and planting, policy for species protection, and awareness for species conservation. The information gathered by the Conservation Action Tracker is crucial to guide and prioritise conservation actions. By identifying gaps in tree conservation, we are able to facilitate the planning for future conservation actions for the world’s most threatened trees.
Our Supporters:
The work of the Global Trees Campaign would not have been possible without the support of many generous organisations, foundations and individuals.
Current supporters of our work include:
Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund
Explore our projects
- Taking action for threatened tree species
- Collaborating with partners in countries around the world
- Training people across the globe in tree conservation techniques
Read more about the BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme
BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme resources include: databases, technical manuals & guidelines, information on threatened trees, and reports. These resources have the objectives of supporting practitioners to deliver successful conservation projects for threatened trees.
Some of the shared resources were developed as part of the Global Trees Campaign (GTC), a joint initiative between Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), in association with other partners around the world.
Summarised information gathered through the Global Tree Assessment and active tree conservation projects is available through BGCI’s GlobalTree Portal, which includes the Conservation Action Tracker for monitoring conservation actions for tree species.
Databases:
GlobalTree Portal
The GlobalTree Portal contains conservation information for all the world’s tree species – on a global, national and species level. It includes tree species distribution, conservation status (global and non-global) and conservation actions. On the country pages you can also download a country checklist with associated information on endemism and conservation status.
In addition, the Conservation Action Tracker, displayed in the GlobalTree Portal, presents known information on conservation actions for each tree species. The information gathered by the Conservation Action Tracker is crucial to prioritise and monitor conservation actions.
GlobalTree Search
The world’s most comprehensive list of tree species name and their country level distribution.
Manuals & Guidelines:
Basic guidance for threatened tree conservation
The basic guidance for threatened tree conservation briefs are a series of documents aimed at individuals and organisations who already have some experience working in conservation, but who are looking for basic guidance on the particular skills required to conserve threatened trees.
These were developed by Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and BGCI (BGCI) as part of the GTC, a joint initiative between FFI and BGCI, in association with other partners around the world.
BGCI’s Propagation Protocol Manual
To help with the development of propagation protocols for more species, below you will find our Propagation Protocol Manual alongside usable forms to help develop your propagation protocol and guidance on best practice,
BGCI’s Species Recovery Briefs
With support from the Rufford Foundation, BGCI has produced a series of six concise guidance briefs based on chapters of the Species Recovery Manual.
Integrated Conservation of Tree Species by Botanic Gardens: A Reference Manual
This reference manual has been designed to support the integrated conservation of threatened tree species by botanic gardens and arboreta
Threatened Tree Information:
Published Propagation Protocols
Find propagation protocols published for threatened tree species. These propagation protocols were developed by BGCI’s Tree Conservation Programme partners.
Conservation Action Plans
Following assessment of the conservation status of plants, our tree conservation projects use the information on threats in the assessments together with local knowledge to plan for the future survival of the species.
Threatened Tree Profiles
The threatened tree information sheets were developed by FFI and BGCI as part of the GTC, a joint initiative between FFI and BGCI, in association with other partners around the world.
Reports:
State of the World’s Trees Report
A repot developed by BGCI, as part of the Global Tree Assessment (GTA) initiative. The report finds that one in three tree species face extinction, and documents the conservation status of the world’s nearly 60,000 tree species.
Securing a Future for the World’s Threatened Trees: A Global Challenge
A report developed by BGCI and FFI as part of the GTC, a joint initiative between FFI and BGCI, in association with other partners around the world
Best Practices for Threatened Tree Conservation
A report developed by BGCI as part of the GTC,a joint initiative between FFI and BGCI, in association with other partners around the world
BGCI’s Tree Conservation Fund is an initiative to enable businesses, philanthropic organisations, and governments around the world to contribute to the essential effort to save the world’s threatened tree species.
At least 3,500 tree species are on the brink of extinction
Humans have transformed the planet, but our progress has placed unprecedented pressure on nature. We stand at a critical juncture where the combined threats of climate change and species extinction will determine the future of life on our planet.
Plants, and trees in particular, are essential to the complex web of nature and our very survival. We rely on trees and forests for clean water, healthy soils, food, fuel and health. Trees and forests absorb greenhouse gases and are essential to the fight against climate change. Trees are the cornerstone of ecosystems – millions of species of plants and animals depend on specific species of trees to survive.
The actions we take in the next ten years will have a profound impact for generations to come. We must protect the world’s tree species to ensure their future. Simply planting trees is not enough. We must ensure the survival of tree species and secure the right species of tree in the right place. This is why the world’s botanic gardens have rallied together to take action – but we need your help.
For thirty years, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has been coordinating plant conservation efforts around the world. BGCI is the world’s largest plant conservation network with 3,500 botanical organisations in 100+ countries employing more than 60,000 plant scientists and horticultural experts.
Our network has a proven record of working with local, national and international leadership to conserve and protect tree species and to restore the ecology of landscapes. The extinction of any species is a tragedy, but it is not inevitable. We must strive to save all plant species from going extinct.
The right tree species in the right place
Currently, vast areas of fast-growing exotic trees are being planted to capture carbon or to provide short rotation wood crops, displacing natural habitats and indigenous tree species. In many countries ten times as many exotic trees are being planted as indigenous trees. This is a short-term fix and not the right approach.
BGCI’s approach is to focus on the right trees in the right place – encouraging the preservation of indigenous species in their natural habitats, rather than replacing them with exotic (non-native) species.
BGCI’s Tree Conservation Fund
The Tree Conservation Fund is an initiative created by BGCI to allow business and philanthropic organisations around the world to contribute to the essential effort to save the world’s threatened tree species.
This global effort will work in partnership with local communities and land managers to ensure long term impact. The Fund will ensure tree planting sustainably supports biodiversity and will provide the scientific and horticultural expertise to bring the right tree to the right place.
BGCI has the expertise, networks and systems in place to secure the fate of endangered tree species around the world.
Join Us
To drive this ambitious effort, BGCI is seeking leaders who wish to put their resources to work on behalf of nature.
We invite philanthropists, foundations, corporations, social impact funds and other investors to join us. Donors to the fund will be our partners and will contribute to tangible results delivered through an internationally connected conservation network.
In a time of unprecedented global change, protecting trees and nature could not be more important.
Together, we can ensure that our rich natural heritage is passed on for generations to come and we can build a more resilient planet. Please join us.
