Home Threatened Plants of São Tomé & Príncipe - Plantas ameaçadas de São Tomé & Príncipe
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Find details about the team, partners and the project in english HERE and em português AQUI.

Find the latest news in english HERE and em português AQUI. !


Background of the project

According to the most recent synthesis of knowledge on the flora of São Tomé & Príncipe (STP), around 930 plant species are recorded from these islands, among which a bit more than 800 are native and a hundred are strict endemics to the archipelago.

Native plant populations and vegetation of STP have been strongly impacted since the discovery of the islands and is nowadays increasingly threatened by human pressures linked to the development of agro-industrial plantations and touristic activities.

Implementing effective conservation activities for protecting the native flora and vegetation in STP is currently difficult because of (1) a lack of unified database documenting species distribution and (2) unknown and/or outdated evaluation of species extinction risk following categories and criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The network of Key Biodiversity Areas of STP include 7 terrestrial areas and cover 512 km² (i.e. around 50% of STP) but its delimitation did not take into account plant biodiversity and vegetation distribution.

Limited resources currently hamper the characterization and dynamics of plant diversity in STP. Two herbaria exist (one on each island) but remain underused because of lacking logistics, appropriated materials, and trained botanists/field technicians with skills in specimen collection.



Aims of the project

  • Identify threatened plant species using categories and criteria of IUCN.
  • Characterize their distribution and their habitat and threats they are facing.
  • Based on these data, reassess the network of Key Biodiversity Areas of STP.
  • Train local botanists and technicians and equip the two herbarias (ST and P).

Outcomes of the project

  • A unified and open-source database of threatened plant species occurrences of STP.
  • IUCN conservation status of all threatened plant species of STP.
  • The training of a new generation of STP botanists and technicians. 

Threatened species

Under Despite recent Red Listing efforts done in Central Africa by various partners, no Red List of threatened species of  São Tomé & Príncipe exist.
The identification of threatened species and their evaluation according Categories and Criteria of IUCN Red List is crucial for evaluating Key Biodiversity Areas.


This website aims to present data on those threatened species. Data will be uploaded gradually following progress in the project.
More specifically, for each species considered in this project, you will find in this website:

  • A brief description of the species.
  • Information on phenology
  • Information on distribution and abundance
  • Information on habitat
  • Preliminary or published IUCN conservation status
  • Literature references associated to this species.
Photos of living plant and/or scan of herbarium specimens will also be provided.

 



Threatened habitats





Partners & supports

Fundação Príncipe

Missouri Botanical Garden

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

Coimbra Herbarium

French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development

Université Libre de Bruxelles Herbarium

Fauna & Flora International

São Tomé e Prìncipe National Herbarium
                                                 

      

         

         

         

         

         

         

Contacts :

Tariq Stévart(at)mobot.org

mceu.madureira(at)gmail.com

laura.benitez(at)fauna-flora.org

gilles.dauby(at)ird.fr


Last update : April 2022

 
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