The Red List of Trees of Madagascar provides the first comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of the trees of Madagascar. Madagascar is home to 3,118 tree species, making it the twelfth most species rich country in the world with respect to tree diversity. Moreover, 93% of these trees are endemic to Madagascar. Despite Madagascar being home to over 2,900 unique tree species and an increasing awareness of the threats facing plants, until relatively recently there has been limited data available about the conservation status of the country’s trees.

In 2017, there were only 379 assessments for trees of Madagascar on the IUCN Red List. Over the past three years, >2,400 assessments have been compiled by researchers from Missouri Botanical Garden Madagascar Program, Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar Plant Specialist Group, and other institutions across the world, in order to provide a full picture of the status of the trees of Madagascar. Over 94% of these assessments represented the first IUCN Red List assessment for the species. This work was funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund in a project called “Assessing the Conservation Status of Madagascar’s Trees for Effective Conservation of Key Biodiversity Areas and Protected Areas” and Fondation Franklinia. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the status of the trees of Madagascar.

This work has contributed to the Global Tree Assessment, an initiative led by Botanic Gardens Conservation International to assess the world’s tree species.

Find out more about the status of Madagascar’s tree species and the implications of this work for conservation by downloading the red list publication!