Magnolias in danger

Last Monday, BGCI ran an event, in association with Fauna and Flora International to celebrate the publication of the Magnoliaceae red list, basically containing details of the conservation status of the entire Magnolia family. As happens so often with these reports, the outlook identified seems gloomy - the Red List identifies 131 wild magnolias as being in danger of extinction, from a global total of 245 species.

However, at least now we have this data, we know what Magnolias we have, where they are and can now actually do something about it. Knowledge is power after all, and these data are still lacking for many plant families, now we know the story for Magnolia, the situation is clearer. As Sara O said, "There is a strong chance that these species will become extinct unless we take action now," the problems that they face, destruction of habitat and over-exploitation are not impossible to do something about.

The guest list was impressive - great and good from BGCI's board, professors of botany abounded, Fauna and Flora staff and various journos from the scary media world. Plus we had delicious cocktails - yum.

Oh, and vitally , we got some news coverage - to find out more, check out the reports on
BBC
New Scientist
Inthenews

So, though the news might be bleak, the outcome is positive - hopefully through collaborations and working together like this, botanic gardens can and are getting a better idea of what the situation is for plant conservation status and work with the public and governments to address the threats.

Fore more information about the report, and the downloadable red list, have a look at the BGCI website.