Global strategy to protect plants

The Global Strategy for the Protection of Plants (Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, GSPC) is a component of the Convention on Biological Diversity of the United Nations. The overall goal of the GSPC is to stop the loss of plant diversity. With the history of its origins and its specific objectives, it represents a remarkable special case in international environmental and nature conservation policy.

Content of the GSPC

16 concrete, result-oriented goals are formulated in five fields of action. These are based on the 2010 objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, Biodiversity Convention ) and want to slow down the loss of plant biological diversity ( biodiversity ) at all levels. Genes , species or clans , biotopes , ecosystems and biomes as well as the knowledge and cultural assets associated with them are therefore protected .

Fields of action of the GSPC

Plant diversity should be recorded and documented ,
specific conservation goals for the protection of plants are given,
a more sustainable use should be achieved,
the education and awareness of plant diversity should be promoted and
professional capacities to maintain the same are created.

The 16 goals of the GSPC

The following steps and goals should be implemented and achieved by 2010:

Field of action documentation:

Goal 1: Generally available work list of all known plant species, as a step towards a complete plant of flora in the world
Objective 2: Preliminary assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species at national, regional and international level
Goal 3: Development of exemplary implementation protocols for the protection of species in plants and their sustainable use, based on scientific knowledge and practical experience

Action area conservation:

Goal 4: Sustainable protection of at least 10% of each of the world's ecological regions
Objective 5: Ensure the protection of 50% of the areas most important for plant diversity
Objective 6: Management of at least 30% of all production areas in accordance with the conservation of plant diversity
Goal 7: In situ conservation of 60% of the world's endangered species
Objective 8: To contain 75% of endangered plant species in accessible ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 20% of these included in reintroduction and restoration programs
Goal 9: Preservation of 70% of the genetic diversity of crops and other socio-economically particularly valuable plant species, including the associated indigenous and local knowledge
Goal 10: Establish management plans for at least 100 of the most significant alien species that endanger plants, plant communities and their habitats and ecosystems

Field of action sustainable use

Goal 11: No wild plant species endangered by international trade
Goal 12: 30% of the plant-based products come from sustainably managed sources
Goal 13: Stop the decline of plant resources, the associated indigenous and local knowledge, the inventions and practices that sustainably support livelihoods, as well as local food supplies and health care

Field of action: education

Goal 14: Incorporate the importance of plant diversity and the need to preserve it in programs for communication, imparting knowledge and raising public awareness

Field of action: specialist capacities

Goal 15: Increased number of trained people who are adequately equipped to work in plant species protection to achieve the goals of the strategy in accordance with the respective national needs
Goal 16: Establishing and strengthening networks for botanical nature conservation at national, regional and international level

History of the GSPC

The GSPC is a successful example of a grassroots movement that has made it into international politics and is now the global benchmark for botanical nature conservation . Since the idea of nature and environmental protection emerged, measures and goals have mostly focused on animals and their habitat. There is a noticeable discrepancy between these nature conservation goals and the fact that plants form the basis of most food webs . Biotopes , ecosystems and biomes are largely shaped and shaped by them. This was recognized early on in nature conservation and botanist circles, but discussed quite late.

In 1999, discussions at the sixth International Botany Congress in St. Louis (Missouri, USA) gave rise to the goal: a global protection strategy for plants should be developed. The more than 5,000 congress participants demanded that the conservation of plant diversity be declared a global priority. At a follow-up meeting of specialists in Gran Canaria in 1999, the Gran Canaria Declaration was adopted.

This was submitted to the 5th UN Conference of the Parties (COP 5) of the CBD in Nairobi (Kenya) in May 2000. The Gran Canaria Declaration already contains essential elements of a global strategy for the protection of plants as an appendix. The contribution of the Gran Canaria Group was welcomed by the Conference of the Parties and the GSPC was placed in the context of the so-called 2010 goals . On April 19, 2002, the GSPC was accepted by COP 6 in The Hague (Netherlands). In resolution VI / 9, the Conference of the Parties decides on the GSPC as a model approach for the application of result-oriented goals within the CBD . It is expressly decided to review a more extensive application including a transfer to other groups of living beings .

The Gran Canaria Group published a second declaration in 2006, in which the challenges of climate change are dealt with separately (Gran Canaria Declaration on Climate Change and Plant Conservation).

Implementation of the GSPC

The contracting states of the CBD, which also include the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, have committed to implementing the GSPC. Contributions to botanical nature conservation by government agencies, institutions, associations and associations and individuals thus get a connecting element and a common direction. Regular interim reports by the Scientific, Technical and Technological Advisory Committee of the CBD (SBSTTA) are intended to inform the Conference of the Parties on the status of implementation. In 2007 Germany began to record the status of implementation and to drive it forward. A national contact point (National Focal Point) has been set up in the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). On behalf of the BfN, the current status of implementation of the GSPC and the need for action in Germany are determined as part of a research and development project (R + D). The project is carried out by the Bonn Botanical Gardens .

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