TWO KERALA TREES FACING EXTINCTION

TWO KERALA TREES FACING EXTINCTION

1-Gluta travancorica (nick name- chengkurinji) found only at particular elevation of western ghats in Kollam districtIt is a protected species & grows only in the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kollam

2-Sizygium travancoricum is a mangrove found mostly in the southern parts of KeralaIt is felled for medical purposeReason for extinction: Uprooting of plants for different application, no re-plantation, no visible programme to propagate and survival of trees

Among some 80,000 plant species listed in the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) study report as facing extinction are two trees with ‘Travancore’ tag: Gluta travancorica and Sizygium travancoricum .The former is a hardwood (local name: chengkurinji or red tree) found only at a particular elevation of the Western Ghats in Kollam district and the latter a mangrove associate found only in some pockets of Kerala, mostly the southern parts.The comprehensive global assessment of the state of world’s plants, published on May 9, has been carried out by over 80 scientists attached to the RBG Kew; the IUCN, and the Natural History Museum. As many as 3,91,000 plants are known to science.

Botanist N. Ravi, who discovered several plant species in Kerala, says that fewer than 50 chengkurinji trees and about 300 Sizygium travancoricum remain.The chengkurinji grows only in the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kollam. The tree, used to be indiscriminately logged, is now a protected species. Though there is a United Nations programme to propagate the tree in the area, it has not met with the desired success. Among the remaining trees some are getting uprooted owing to natural causes.Prof. Ravi says there is no visible programme to propagate and ensure the survival of the trees in their one and only natural habitat in the world. Sizygium travancoricum faces extinction because the trees were ruthlessly felled for medical applications connected with rheumatics. But the felled trees were not replaced.The report, ‘State of the World’s Plants’, comes as a curtain raiser to the United Nations Biodiversity Summit at Nagoya, Japan, in October where governments will set new conservation targets.Stephen Hopper, director, RBG, says the world has for the first time got a clear picture of extinction risk to the world’s known plants. The report identifies the most urgent threats and the most threatened regions. There are around 5,000 invasive plant species around the world threatening native plants and damaging natural ecosystems, with costs estimated at nearly 5 per cent of the world economy.The report says 2,000 new species of plant are discovered every year.

Prof. John Kurakar