We have all heard about the
Panda. We have all seen it in pictures or in zoos. We have all seen its
merchandise. The Panda is an iconic animal and is used as a flagship for the
importance of conservation of species and habitats in this changing world. Yet,
there are many species which are far more important in our day to day life than
the Panda can ever be.
Most of these silent
species are plants. Like the Panda, many are facing the threat of extinction.
But unlike the Panda, most of them are not charismatic and do not get the
attention that they deserve. Very often, the most important things are hidden
in plain sight.
It is with this in mind that 88 plant scientists from
33 European countries converged on Průhonice, close to Prague, in the Czech Republic, to spend two days speaking about
plants. These are the members of a European initiative called ‘Conserve
Plants’, also known by its less descriptive name of COST Action CA18201. Their
objective? To come up with an integrated approach to conservation of threatened
plants in the 21st Century.
It is immediately obvious
that in order to protect plants, we first need to understand them and their
habitats. As such, the scene was set by two distinguished guests whose one-hour
lectures modulated the discussions for the rest of the meeting. Vernon Heywood
spoke, in his inimitable style, about the challenges of integrated plant
conservation in Europe whilst Zuzana Münzbergová discussed genetic
diversity in populations of rare species and its implications for species conservation.
These talks provided a
baseline from which to proceed. The participants subsequently split into five
working groups, discussing anything from conservation to genetics and came up,
by the end of the second day of the meeting, with a list of proposals and
projects that will be implemented over a three-year period.
It will take more than a
two-day meeting to halt the downward trend in plant diversity. However, it does
represent a very good start to an extensive collaboration between scientists
from different disciplines, all of whom are geared towards the preservation of
plants and plant diversity.
Cost Action CA18201 is chaired by Živa Fišer from the University of
Primorska (Slovenia) and co-chaired by Giovanna Aronne from the University of
Naples Federico II (Italy). The meeting was hosted by the Institute of Botany
of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Find out more: https://conserveplants.eu/en/articles/dangerous-beauties
