A. Species
Scientific name: Conophytum achabense
Common name(s): Unknown
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- South Africa
- Northern Cape Province
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: South Africa, Northern Cape
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2022
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Keeping/companionship/display and Decorative and aesthetic
Motivation of use: Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Illegal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: National / local government, National / local private sector and International private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This species has been increasingly targeted by illegal collection in recent years and is in high demand by collectors. The single location renders the species highly susceptible to rapid decline due to illegal collection. At least 3,400 plants were confiscated from poachers in 2020–21 by authorities in South Africa. There are reports that more than 15,000 mature plants were illegally removed from habitat and exported to China in 2021 alone.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Use is currently deemed as not sustainable. This dwarf succulent has been increasingly targeted by illegal collection in recent years and is in high demand by collectors. In 2021 a substantial proportion of the global population was illegally collected for the illegal trade in succulents in a single event. The continued threat of illegal collection remains very high with the single location rendering the species highly susceptible to further rapid decline due to this activity and a decline of over 90% of the population is likely within three generations. The single location and inability to disperse also makes the species very susceptible to the deleterious effects of climate change.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub, grey_lit, formal_data_stats and expert_knowledge
Date of publication/issue/production: 2022-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
1.RLTS.T202851407A202851414.en
Date of record entry: 2024-11-08