James Kalema

Important Plant Areas: revised selection criteria for a global approach to plant conservation

Despite the severe threats to plant habitats and high levels of extinction risk for plant species in many parts of the world, plant conservation priorities are often poorly represented in national and global frameworks because of a lack of data in an accessible and consistent format to inform conservation decision making. The Important Plant Areas (IPAs) criteria system offers a pragmatic yet scientifically rigorous means of delivering these datasets, enabling informed national- or regional-scale conservation prioritisation, and contributing significantly towards global prioritisation systems including the International Union for Conservation of Nature Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) Standard. In this paper, we review the IPA rationale and progress on IPA identification to date, including the perceived limitations of the process and how these may be overcome. We then present a revised set of criteria for use globally, developed through the combined experiences of IPA identification over the past decade and a half and through a recent global consultation process. An overview of how the revised IPA criteria can work alongside the newly published KBA Standard is also provided. IPA criteria are based around a sound, scientific, global framework which acknowledges the practical problems of gathering plant and habitat data in many regions of the world, and recognises the role of peer reviewed expert opinion in the selection process. National and sub-national engagement in IPA identification is essential, providing a primary route towards long term conservation of key sites for plant diversity. The IPA criteria can be applied to the conservation of all organism groups within the plant and fungal kingdoms.

Diversity and status of carnivorous plants in Uganda: towards identification of sites most critical for their conservation

Available records show that carnivorous plants in Uganda have been collected since 1941. Places that harbor them are either damp or open water bodies. They are autotrophic plants that trap and ingest small animals, especially insects, as a means of supplementing their nutrient supply (Givnish in PNAS 112:10–11, 2015). This insect capture habit has been investigated in Uganda to assess their potential to control malaria by reducing mosquito populations. But this investigation requires good and current knowledge about the availability of the carnivorous plants, their status and distribution. In this study we assess the range of their geographical distribution and diversity and identify the most important areas for their occurrence in Uganda. A total of 23 species of carnivorous plants distributed in two families are known from Uganda. The Lake Nabugabo area and north western shores of Lake Victoria display the highest species richness in Uganda whilst Lake Nabugabo and Mabamba are the most diverse. Six of the species are ‘extremely rare’, occurring in only one ‘location’ (in the sense of International Union for Conservation of Nature—IUCN). ‘Reserve selection’ analysis clearly points out Lake Nabugabo area as the most important for carnivorous plants. This is only a Ramsar Site with no higher conservation status. Only two species occur in well protected areas, but these are widespread.