5 October 2015: The first global assessment of cacti by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows that 31% of cactus species are threatened with extinction, placing cacti among the most threatened taxonomic groups assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

According to the study, ‘High proportion of cactus species threatened with extinction,’ the threatened species are affected by: the illegal trade of live plants and seeds for the horticultural industry and private collections, and their unsustainable harvesting (47%); smallholder livestock ranching (31%); smallholder annual agriculture (24%); and residential and commercial development, quarrying and aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming, which expands into cacti’s habitats.

Trade in cactus species occurs at national and international levels and is often illegal, the study notes, with 86% of threatened cacti used in horticulture being taken from wild populations. European and Asian collectors are the biggest contributors to the illegal cactus trade.

Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General, called for urgently stepping up international efforts to tackle illegal trade and strengthen the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) to prevent the further decline of cactus species.

Barbara Goettsch, lead author of the study and Co-Chair of IUCN’s Cactus and Succulent Plant Specialist Group, explained that the loss of cacti could have far-reaching consequences for the diversity and ecology of arid lands and for local communities dependent on wild-harvested fruit and stems. She stressed that “these plants cannot sustain such high levels of collection and habitat loss.”

The report’s authors call for broadening protection of arid lands and raising awareness about the importance of sustainable collection of cacti from the wild to support their conservation. The study was published on 5 October 2015 in the journal ‘nature plants.’ [IUCN Press Release] [Article: High proportion of cactus species threatened with extinction]