Eight plant species now extinct in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has lost eight plant species from its territory while five more are now critically endangered, according to the initial data of the first-ever ongoing Red List survey.

Md Shahab Uddin, minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, shared the information at a workshop, titled “Final Dissemination Workshop on National Red List of Plants,” organised at the Forest Department in Dhaka on Sunday.

As part of the survey, the government and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) jointly have so far assessed 1,000 plant species across the country and will survey 3,000 more species in phases.

Out of 1,000 plant species, eight are primarily extinct, five are critically endangered, 127 are endangered, 262 are vulnerable, 69 are near threatened, 271 are of least concern, and 258 species have been identified as data deficient, the minister said.

The government is preparing the list of endangered plants with the aim to strengthen their conservation and management, he added.

He said that seven species — Magnolia griffithii, Memecylon ovatum, Archidendron jiringa, Myrica nagi, Syzygium thumra, Syzygium venustum and Drypetes venusta — are extinct and Corypha taliera is extinct from the wild.

The five critically endangered ones include Bashpata, Triaus Orchid, Chalmugra, and Bamon Khejur, said the minister.

Any species that has an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future is categorised as critically endangered. Any plant species whose prospects of survival within the state are in jeopardy or are likely, within the foreseeable future, to become jeopardised is categorised as endangered.

A species of animals or plants which are likely to become endangered unless something changes are called vulnerable. The species which has been evaluated against the criteria but does not qualify for critically endangered is referred to as near threatened.

A least-concern species is a species that has been categorised by IUCN as being evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation, because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild, is categorised as of least concern.

“This Red List will play an important role in achieving our Sustainable Development Goals and in formulating national policies for the protection of endangered plant species,” Shahab said.

“To maintain the balance of Bangladesh’s ecosystem and protect the existence of other endangered plants, conservation activities should be taken on a priority basis,” he stressed.

The species of plants found endangered in the survey should be included in the afforestation programme to preserve them, he added.

Professor Dr Oliur Rahman and Professor Dr Saleh Ahammad Khan jointly presented the keynote speech on the findings of Red List of Plants at the workshop, which was also addressed by IUCN Country Representative Rakibul Amin.