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Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 18(1): 81-91, 2011 (June) - Review paper
© 2011 Bangladesh Association of Plant Taxonomists
CONSERVING THREATENED PLANTS OF BANGLADESH:
MILES TO GO BEFORE WE START?
HASEEB MD. IRFANULLAH1
Practical Action, Bangladesh Country Office,
House 12/B, Road 4, Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
Keywords: Angiosperm; Biodiversity; Convention on Biological Diversity; Red Data Book; Red List;
Vascular plants.
Abstract
In the light of important developments in biodiversity conservation in the global and
national arenas over the last decade (2001-2010), this paper appraises the progress in
identifying threatened vascular plant species of Bangladesh as a primary step of species
diversity conservation. It is argued that, as per the IUCN Red List categories and the
Volume 1 of ‘Red Data Book of Vascular Plants of Bangladesh’ published in 2001, only
four angiosperm species are threatened (1 Critically Endangered (CR), 1 Endangered
(EN), 2 Vulnerable (VU)) in Bangladesh, not 106 vascular species. This account also
records that, accordingly to the ‘Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh’ (2007-
2009; Volumes 5-12), 36 pteridophyte species (all VU; 18.46% of 195 recorded species),
1 gymnosperm species (EN; 14.29% of 7 species), and 449 angiosperm species (30 CR,
126 EN, 293 VU; 12.43% of 3,611 recorded species) are threatened in the country. The
paper discusses and explores the importance, limitations and opportunities for red listing
of threatened plants of Bangladesh. This account further advocates for a well-planned
initiative to effectively complete the Red List of threatened plant species of the country
by considering appropriate, established, updated assessment methods; following
collaborative approach; and capitalizing on the progress made so far. Such steps may
subsequently contribute to the species diversity conservation endeavours in Bangladesh.
Introduction
The year 2001 is a significant year for plant conservation in Bangladesh. This year
saw the first-ever Red Data Book on threatened plant species of the country, listing out
106 vascular plant species, published by the Bangladesh National Herbarium (Khan et al.,
2001). The purpose of this book was to initiate appropriate identification of threatened
vascular plants of the country (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms), so that
their conservation status (IUCN Red List categories) is understood with existing
conservation measures and future conservation measures can be suggested.
Since the publication of this milestone book, a number of significant events happened
– globally and nationally – in the field of biodiversity conservation. Internationally, in
2002, the ‘2010 Biodiversity Target’ was set out in the 6th Conference of Parties to the
Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP 6) in Hague, Netherlands (CBD, 2007).
1 E-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk
82 IRFANULLAH
In the same year, the Target was endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, and in 2005 by the UN World Summit
(Countdown 2010). The year 2010 has been the ‘International Year of Biodiversity’ –
declared by the United Nations. In October of this year, the CBD COP 10 was held in
Nagoya, Japan where some important decisions were taken by the Country Parties on
conserving biodiversity. One of these is a revised Strategic Plan with 20 targets under
five strategic goals to significantly reduce the current biodiversity loss by 2020 (CBD,
2010). The Target 12 is directly related to threatened species: “By 2020 the extinction of
known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly
of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained”.
Nationally, the Government of Bangladesh prepared the ‘National Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)’ (MoEF, 2006) as its commitment to the CBD. The
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh published 28 volumes of ‘Encyclopedia of Flora and
Fauna of Bangladesh’, sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of Bangladesh (Ahmed et al., 2008a). Early 2010 saw the publication of
‘Biodiversity National Assessment and Programme of Action 2020’ by the Government
(MoEF, 2010) as the Fourth National Report prior to the COP 10.
In line with these important and historic events, more specifically on plant
conservation in Bangladesh, a new initiative has recently been taken by the Bangladesh
National Herbarium to prepare and publish the second volume of the ‘Red Data Book of
Vascular Plants of Bangladesh’ (MoEF, 2010). Indeed, after the COP 10, focus now will
increasingly be given on achieving CBD’s 2020 Biodiversity Target. Completion of red
listing would help us to go forward in achieving the target under species diversity
conservation.
Against this backdrop, the present account highlights some important issues
associated with listing of threatened plant species in ‘Red Data Book of Vascular Plants
of Bangladesh’ (Volume 1) and ‘Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh’.
Attempts shall also be made to identify some vital aspects which need to be addressed to
take any future endeavour to complete red listing the flora of Bangladesh, especially after
the recent national and global developments. In this paper, ‘Red List’ and ‘Red Data
Book’ are used interchangeably for convenience; ‘red listing’ refers to the whole process
associated with identifying threatened species following standard assessment procedures;
and ‘Encyclopedia’ means ‘Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh’ published
by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
Red listing at global level
There are a number of species assessment systems in place to check out the threat
status of a species. Of these, the system proposed by IUCN is the most widely accepted.
A leading organisation in management of natural resources, IUCN is also a pioneer in
CONSERVING THREATENED PLANTS OF BANGLADESH 83
Extinct (EX)
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Endangered (EN)
Vulnerable (VU)
Near Threatened (NT)
Least Concern (LC)
(Threatened)(Adequate data)
Data Deficient (DD)
Not Evaluated (NE)
(Evaluated)
A Extinct (EX)
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Endangered (EN)
Vulnerable (VU)
Near Threatened (NT)
Least Concern (LC)
(Threatened)(Adequate data)
Data Deficient (DD)
Not Evaluated (NE)
(Evaluated)
A
Extinct (EX)
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Endangered (EN)
Vulnerable (VU)
Near Threatened (NT)
Least Concern (LC)
(Threatened)
Data Deficient (DD)
Not Evaluated (NE)
(Evaluated)
B
Not Applicable (NA)
Regionally Extinct (RE)
Extinct (EX)
Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Endangered (EN)
Vulnerable (VU)
Near Threatened (NT)
Least Concern (LC)
(Threatened)
Data Deficient (DD)
Not Evaluated (NE)
(Evaluated)
B
Not Applicable (NA)
Regionally Extinct (RE)
developing an assessment system of global Red List of threatened species and has been
continuing to do so over the last 47 years. Now, The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species™ is a brand. The global IUCN Red List is updated on a regular basis. The latest
version was released in October 2010 as ‘2010.4’ (IUCN Red List, 2010c).
Initially, experts alone used to compile a Red List; but since 1994 appropriate
conservation and environmental organizations and expert networks are involved in the
assessment process through a rigorous process of data collection on certain criteria,
validation of collected data, scoring, and assigning of Red List categories (IUCN Red
List, 2010c). As can be seen in the Fig. 1, there are 9 or 11 categories (varies between
global and regional/national assessments), but only three of these qualify as threatened
categories: Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU). Each of
these categories has its own set of criteria defining the category (IUCN, 2003; IUCN Red
List, 2010a).
Fig. 1. IUCN Red List categories and their interrelationships, A) as per the Version 3.1 (IUCN Red List,
2010a); B) as per the guidelines for regional or national assessment (IUCN, 2003).
84 IRFANULLAH
Red listing at national level: Bangladesh
In addition to global species assessments, national red listing is also necessary to take
conservation measures of threatened species in the national context. Therefore, the global
assessment criteria need to be modified to reflect country’s situation (IUCN Bangladesh,
2000; IUCN, 2003). In Bangladesh, IUCN Bangladesh set a good example of such
adaptation in the late 1990’s by preparing the Red Books of threatened animals of
Bangladesh in five volumes covering the Red List, fish, amphibians & reptiles, birds, and
mammals. Later on, IUCN Bangladesh translated these books into Bangla in a single
volume (IUCN Bangladesh, 2003).
Regarding the threatened flora, as mentioned at the beginning of this paper, Khan
et al. (2001) still remains the only Red Data Book on vascular plants of Bangladesh.
Some important issues associated with this book are discussed in the following sections.
Red listing of flora of Bangladesh
The issues concerning threatened plant species of Bangladesh were first presented in
the early nineties (Khan, 1991; Khan et al., 2001). The published list of 12 vascular
plants was based on the field experience of experts rather than following any standard
quantitative or semi-quantitative methods. According to the ‘IUCN Red List of
Threatened Plants’ of 1997, 24 plant species of Bangladesh faced various degrees of
threat of extinction (IUCN, 1997, in Nishat et al., 2002).
Despite the importance of identifying threatened species in plant conservation, no
concrete measures were taken by any government or non-government agencies until 1998
when a project was launched by the Bangladesh National Herbarium supported by
Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (Khan et al., 2001). IUCN Red List categories
and criteria of 1994 were apparently followed to determine threatened vascular plant
species. Out of 106 species listed in this book, 1 is Critically Endangered (CR), 1
Endangered (EN), 2 Vulnerable (VU), 3 Lower Risk (LR), 25 Data Deficient (DD), and
74 are Not Evaluated (NE). Almost at the same time, under the National Conservation
Strategy (NCS) Implementation Project-1, an attempt was made to determine the
threatened categories of plant species found in 10 different ecologically important
areas/ecosystems, but it was insufficiently planned and incomplete (MoEF, 2001). Later
on, Khan (2003) mentioned 95 vascular plants as threatened (92 angiosperms and three
gymnosperms) without citing any references. Threatened status of plant and animal
species from Bangladesh is regularly recorded in the Global IUCN Red List. For example,
in the Global Red List 2006, 12 plant species were recorded as threatened; in 2010 it is 16
(IUCN Red List, 2010d).
By consulting eight volumes of ‘Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh’
(Volumes 5-12) on vascular plants (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms)
(Siddiqui et al., 2007a, b; Ahmed et al., 2008b, c; Ahmed et al., 2009a, b, c, d), about
CONSERVING THREATENED PLANTS OF BANGLADESH 85
13% species were found designated as threatened (Table 1). A few families are
significantly threatened: for example, about 53% species of Orchidaceae are threatened
(94 species out of 179), whereas in Lamiaceae it is more than 30% (26 species out of 86).
Needless to say, these threatened statuses are purely in the national context. The
information presented in the Encyclopedia can be considered as the most recent update
for Bangladesh.
Table 1. Number of threatened species in major vascular plant groups according to the ‘Encyclopedia
of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh’ (Siddiqui et al., 2007a, b; Ahmed et al., 2008b, c; Ahmed et al.,
2009a, b, c, d).
Vascular plant
groups
Total no. of
species
Critically
Endangered
(CR)
Endangered
(EN)
Vulnerable
(VU)
Total no. of threatened
species (% of total species
in a group)
Pteridophytes 195 0 0 36 36 (18.46)
Gymnosperms 7 0 1 0 1 (14.29)
Angiosperms 3,611 30 126 293 449 (12.43)
Dicotyledons 2,623 8 80 179 267 (10.18)
Monocotyledons 988 22 46 114 182 (18.42)
Total 3,813 30 127 329 486 (12.75)
Limitations of ‘Red Data Book of Vascular Plants of Bangladesh (2001)’
Although Khan and his co-workers’ endeavour of 2001 is pioneering to assess the
threat on vascular plants of Bangladesh, it has a number of fundamental weaknesses
limiting its use. Further, in reference to this Red Data Book, misinterpretation of the
information on threatened plants of Bangladesh is widely continuing.
i) The Red Data Book does not put the threatened plants in a larger context. For
example, there is no indication of how many species have so far been recorded from
this country; or no attempt was made to relate the position of nationally threatened
species in global context, i.e. whether they are globally threatened or not.
ii) Although it is stated that a standard format was used for data collection
accompanied by extensive field visits and indication is made that IUCN Red List
categories of 1994 was considered – the presented information does not comply
with these.
iii) There is no comment on how many species were actually evaluated to prepare the
list of 106.
iv) National adaptation of global assessment criteria is needed for any national
assessment as done in IUCN Bangladesh’s Red Data Book of animals (IUCN
Bangladesh, 2000; IUCN, 2003). Apparently, no such adaptation was made.
Moreover, no list of criteria is given which was probably used to evaluate the
species.
86 IRFANULLAH
v) According to the standard IUCN system, only the ‘Evaluated’ species can be
broadly classified into either ‘Data Deficient’ or ‘Adequate Data’. The latter could
successively be classified under any of the not threatened or threatened categories
(CR, EN, VU) (Fig. 1). But about 70% of the listed species in Khan et al. (2001) are
categorized under Not Evaluated (NE), which is not a ‘threatened’ category. No
explanation was given to justify this.
The editors of ‘Red Data Book of Vascular Plants of Bangladesh’ recognized the
limitations of their endeavour (Preface, Khan et al., 2001). Nonetheless, the limitations
mentioned above have never been clearly identified and clarified by any workers since
then. Islam (2002) reviewed this Red Data Book and gave emphasis on the need for
quantitative assessment which was missing in the book. In MoEF (2007, p. 68),
designation of 74 species as Not Evaluated (NE) was mentioned as an ‘interesting’ step,
indicating its incorrectness. All 106 plant species listed in Khan et al. (2001) are now
often misquoted as ‘threatened species’ in many national and scientific documents (e.g.
Nishat et al., 2002; MoEF, 2006; Hassan and Ahmed, 2008; MoEF, 2010). These 106
species were also indicated as the ‘only’ threatened plants in Bangladesh on some
occasions.
Clarifying some discrepancies
This is being emphasized through this communication that, according to the Volume
1 of the ‘Red Data Book of Vascular Plants of Bangladesh’ (Khan et al., 2001), out of
106 plant species, only four angiosperm species are threatened in true sense, namely
Corypha taliera Roxb. (Critically Endangered, CR), Aldrovanda vesiculosa L.
(Endangered, EN), Knema bengalensis de Wilde and Licuala peltata Roxb. (Vulnerable,
VU). The remaining 102 species designated as Lower Risk (LR, 3 species), Data
Deficient (DD, 25 species) and Not Evaluated (NE, 74 species) are not threatened as
these three are not threatened categories (Fig. 1).
According to the IUCN Red List category “A taxon is Not Evaluated when it has not
yet been evaluated against the criteria” (Khan et al., 2001; IUCN Red List, 2010b).
Fifteen species mentioned in Khan et al. (2001) as Not Evaluated (NE), namely Amomum
costatum (Roxb.) Benth., Ceropegia longifolia Wall. subsp. longifolia, Cynanchum
wallichii Wight, Dendrobium longicornu Wall. ex Lindl., Gymnema molle Wall. ex
Wight, Hoya acuminata (Wight) Benth. ex Hook. f., H. lanceolata Wall. ex Don, Justicia
oreophila C. B. Clarke, Lagenandra gomezii (Schott) Bogener & Jacobson, Marsdenia
eriocarpa Hook. f., Nothopegia acuminata J. Sinclair, Paphiopedilum insigne (Wall. ex
Lindl.) Pfitz, Pentabothra nana (F. Ham. ex Wight) Hook f., Rotala simpliciuscula (S.
Kurz.) Koehne and Vernonia thomsoni Hook. f., could have been classified into some
other categories (e.g. threatened or Data Deficient (DD)) as these could not be found for
CONSERVING THREATENED PLANTS OF BANGLADESH 87
the last 50-150 years since they were reported last. But those were categorised as Not
Evaluated (NE).
As expected, statuses of many species as mentioned by Khan et al. (2001) are
changed in the Encyclopedia (Volumes 5-12). For example, Endangered (EN)
Aldrovanda vesiculosa was later evaluated as Critically Endangered (CR); Not Evaluated
(NE) Dendrobium longicornu as Critically Endangered (CR); while Data Deficient (DD)
Terminalia citrina (Gaertn.) Roxb. ex Fleming was evaluated as Least Concern (LC).
Opportunities ahead: some reflections
In the light of above-discussed limitations and anomalies, the following sections shed
some light on the opportunities lying before us and what are the vital issues need to be
considered in any future red listing initiatives in Bangladesh.
Putting red listing into global and national perspectives
While preparing a Red List or Red Data Book, the aim should not be limited to
preparing or updating the List or the Book, but should be beyond that. Since the
publication of Khan et al. (2001), a number of significant events happened globally and
nationally pertinent to plant conservation (see Introduction of this paper). Therefore, any
new initiative on Red Data Book should consider supporting, for example, the
‘Bangladesh Programme of Action 2020’ (MoEF, 2010) and CBD’s 2020 Biodiversity
Target (CBD, 2010). The assessment process should be standard and acceptable
nationally and globally. It, however, should be noted that at the moment national or
regional assessments are not included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,
except those for endemic species (IUCN Red List, 2010b). Therefore, assessment of
possible 16 endemic vascular species of Bangladesh (Hassan and Ahmed, 2008), national
assessment must be fed into the global Red List.
Completing and updating the Red List
Khan et al. (2001) envisaged the need for continuous investigations to complete a
Red List and regular revision of the threat status of species based upon recent, updated
information. More than 12 years have past since the start of the first Red Data Book
project in Bangladesh (Khan et al., 2001); therefore, updating of the information
presented in the Volume 1 is needed.
In the meantime, we also have the Encyclopedia (Flora, Volumes 2-12). It has
already made significant effort to identify threats to the species and to gather information
on their conservation (including status, measures taken, and measures proposed). The
Volumes 5-12 contain information on 3,813 vascular plant species ever recorded from the
Bangladesh territory, and alarmingly identified about 13% of them as threatened (Table
1). Therefore, earnest attempts should now be made to complete the Red List of
threatened plant species of Bangladesh by considering the significant information
88 IRFANULLAH
presented in the Encyclopedia. Focus should be given on evaluating the Not Evaluated
(NE) and Data Deficient (DD) species through extensive field survey. During this process,
the current threatened species status could also be re-evaluated if new information comes
in, thus updating the Red List. It is particularly applicable for those species not found
over the last 50-150 years since their first record (Khan et al., 2001; Hassan and Ahmed,
2008).
Focusing on the assessment process
Updated, appropriate, standard assessment scheme is the key to prepare a Red List.
Khan et al. (2001) supposedly used the assessment system of IUCN proposed in 1994
(Version 2.3). But since then major changes happened in the category systems and
criteria, and currently ‘2001 IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria’ (Version 3.1) is
followed (Baillie et al., 2004; IUCN Red List, 2010b). Moreover, in 2003, IUCN
published guidelines on the application of the IUCN Red List criteria at national and
regional levels (Fig. 1; IUCN, 2003). Hence re-evaluation of threatened vascular plants of
Bangladesh is needed according to these guidelines overcoming the limitations and
anomalies of Khan et al. (2001) discussed above.
Furthermore, as suggested above, if we consider the categorization of the
Encyclopedia, we need to understand its strengths as well as weaknesses. Here it should
be noted that in the Encyclopedia no methodology is described or referred to for
determining the conservation status of a species, except that the IUCN Red List
categories were used (Siddiqui et al., 2007b). From the Introduction of Encyclopedia
(Ahmed et al., 2008b), it is understood that secondary information and author’s
experience were the key elements for categorising a species. Therefore, any future red
listing attempts need to consider these issues as well.
Effective collaboration
National and international collaboration is vital in preparing any Red List. As can be
seen in IUCN’s Red List development, although started by IUCN in 1963, in 2000 it
became an effort of ‘Red List Consortium’ of several organizations and networks. Since
2004, the partnership grew in a big way bringing in more expertise, thus better
knowledge, information, accuracy, confidence and acceptability. Similarly, in
Bangladesh, as a Government agency, the Bangladesh National Herbarium can bring
together relevant bodies, like IUCN, Bangladesh Botanical Society, Bangladesh
Association of Plant Taxonomists, Department of Botany of different universities and
colleges, other research institutions, relevant projects & programmes, and non-
professional naturalists to form working group(s) for completing or updating a national
Red List of plants. Expert assistance may also be sought from relevant international
bodies. These will make the process much comprehensive, rigorous and acceptable, and
will ensure the best use of limited resources.
CONSERVING THREATENED PLANTS OF BANGLADESH 89
Conclusion
The title of this account posed a question if we have yet to start our threatened plant
species conservation. Red List preparation is one of the first stepping stones to reach to
the goal of achieving species conservation. Again, species conservation is not a stand
alone effort. It is related to managing the threats putting pressure on biodiversity loss by
creating awareness (in all senses and at all levels) and by putting in place effective policy
and legal instruments. The current red listing process has its own challenges due to
absence of complete species inventory, limited availability of information, changes in
taxonomic status, biasness towards certain groups or ecosystems or regions, and
difference between global and regional/national assessment processes (see IUCN Red
List, 2010c). But a fresh, well-thought, well-planned, professional approach has to be
taken for effective red listing of plants of Bangladesh. Only then it may effectively guide
the future of plant conservation in this country.
Acknowledgements
Encouragement from Prof. M.A. Hassan, Department of Botany, University of Dhaka
during the preparation of this manuscript is duly acknowledged. Comments of Dr. M.
Oliur Rahman of the same department on an earlier draft are appreciated. Views
expressed in this paper are the author’s own and do not reflect that of Practical Action.
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(Manuscript received on 27 November 2010; revised on 4 April 2011)