A presentation by Ian Derbyshire at ATCB in July 2015.

1. Tropical Important Plant Areas
Directing botanical research and conservation
where it matters most
Dr. Iain Darbyshire
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

2. IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants
(2012)
• 1 in 5 species threatened with extinction
• Threats concentrated in the tropics
• Urgent need for effective conservation
prioritisation for plants
http://threatenedplants.myspecies.info/sites/threatenedplants.myspecies.info/files/SRLIBrochureFINAL.pdf#overlay-context=search/site/SRLIBrochure

3. • IPA programme led by Plantlife International since 2002 -
Europe, Mediterranean and the Himalaya
• Contributes to Target 5 of the CBD’s Global Strategy for
Plant Conservation
• IPAs identify priority sites for plant conservation on a
national or regional scale
• TIPAs programme launched by Kew in 2015
• Identified through collections-based research, field
surveys and expert botanical knowledge.
Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs): Introduction
Promote sustainable management and protection of
TIPAs through engagement with:
• National policy makers, land managers, and local
communities
• International conservation initiatives

4. TIPAs: Criteria & Activities
A
Threatened
species
B
Botanical
Richness
C
Threatened
habitats
Range-
restricted
species
Useful
wild-harvested
species
C
o
r
e
A
c
t
i
v
i
t
i
e
s
Species
redlisting
Site-based
inventories
Diversity mapping
Vegetation mapping
Habitat threat
assessments
Species
mapping and
field survey
Id & mapping of:
• crop wild relatives
• medicinal plants
• timber species etc.
Species-
rich
habitats

5. Upson, R. (2012). Important Plant Areas of the Falkland Islands. Unpublished Report, Falklands Conservation. 80 pp.
Example 1: IPAs in the Falkland Islands
• 2-yr project involving collections-based research and
extensive fieldwork
• 17 IPAs identified, based primarily on threatened species
and habitats; only 3 overlap with IBAs
• IPAs now written into FI Government Biodiversity Strategy

6. Bolivia
Cameroon
Guinée
Mozambique
Uganda
Caribbean
UKOTs*
*
B.V.I.
Montserrat
Anguilla
Turks &
Caicos
Cayman Is.
West Papua
(Indonesian New Guinea)
7 countries / regions selected:
• strong in-country collaborations in place
• on-going research & conservation programmes
• wealth of collections-based data available
TIPAs: Phase I (2015-2020)

7. Example 2: TIPAs in Cameroon
• Extensive field surveys & inventories
• 7 priority site-based conservation
checklists to date - candidate IPAs
• Complete checklist – 7500 spp.
• Red Data Book: 815 threatened taxa
• Contributed to the demarcation of five new
protected areas by government within the
last 10 years

8. With thanks to the following who have contributed to the initial
project design and research:
RBG Kew: Steve Bachman, Martin Cheek, Colin Clubbe, Jane Crowe, Jo Ellams, Bente Klitgaard, William
Milliken, Justin Moat, Eimear NicLughada, Anna Trias Blasi, Rebecca Upson, Tim Utteridge, Jenny Williams,
Kathy Willis.
Plantlife International: Seona Anderson, Andy Byfield, Trevor Dines, Liz Radford.
Imperial College, London: Miranda Jones, Jean Linsky, Sophie Williams (MSc. thesis projects).
Makerere University, Uganda: Collins Bulafu, James Kalema.
National Herbarium of Cameroon: Jean-Michel Onana.
Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IIAM), Mozambique: Camila Sousa, Hermenegildo
Matimele.
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique: Salomão Bandeira, Celia Macamo, Alice Massingue.
Herbier National de Guinée, Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry, Guinea: Sékou Magassouba.
Universitas Papua, Manokwari, Indonesia: Charlie Heatubun.