THE RED LIST OF THE TREES OF CENTRAL ASIA

Central Asia is a vast region with contrasting landscapes host to 500-600 trees and shrubs. It is particularly important as a centre of diversity for fruit and nut trees, including wild species of apple (Malus), pear (Pyrus), pistachio (Pistacia), walnut (Juglans), apricot (Armeniaca), and almond (Amygdalus). Trees of the region were poorly covered in the 1998 World List of Threatened Trees, and it was thus identified as a priority for tree Red List assessment in the current programme.

In 2006, the Global Trees Campaign organised a workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan with the aim of evaluating tree species of Central Asia using the IUCN Categories and Criteria. The workshop brought together 25 participants from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the UK (regrettably, the workshop organisers were unable to arrange for an expert from Turkmenistan to attend). During the three days, a candidate list of tree and shrub species for Red List assessment was drawn up and 96 species underwent full assessment.

The results of the assessment, the Red List of Trees of Central Asia, was published in 2009 in both English and Russian. The report highlights 67 tree species that are globally threatened, near threatened or of concern because of insufficient information on their status in the wild. it is hoped that the report will provide a basis for future tree conservation planning in the region. The Global Trees Campaign has initiated work in Kyrgyzstan on one of the species identified as Critically Endangered, the Niedzwetzky apple Malus niedzwetzkyana .

To download a pdf of the full report in English, click here. To download the report in Russian, click here.

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