Bangladesh has initiated its journey to revive five critically endangered native spices of plant using cutting-edge propagation techniques – such as tissue culture and seed reintroduction – which is a reaffirmation of Bangladesh's commitment to protect its ecological heritage for future generations.
Environment and Forest Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said, "Our team is working to protect the species from extinction. Besides the conservation of the five critically endangered species, we are trying to collect two extinct plants locally — gola anjan [Memecylon ovatum] and fita champa [Magnolia griffithii] — from our neighbouring countries as we share nearly similar ecosystems," reports the Mongabay.
The efforts to revive five species of plants currently listed as critically endangered on the country's red list, as well as bring back two species declared locally extinct include two species of orchids: bulborox or the Sikkim bulb-leaf orchid (Bulbophyllum roxburghii), and the small-bulb orchid (Bulbophyllum oblongum), both found only in parts of the country's Sundarbans wetland.
The three other critically endangered species are the dwarf date palm (Phoenix acaulis), a small palm species currently present only in Dinajpur district's sal (Shorea robusta) forest; chaulmoogra (Hydnocarpus kurzii), an evergreen tree found in the forests of Bandarban, Rangamati, Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts; as well as bash pata (Podocarpus neriifolius), a conifer with only 111 individuals known to exist across several districts.
In November 2024, Bangladesh published its first-ever plant red list identifying all five plant species for revival and categorised as critically endangered.
To help these five species recuperate, the Bangladesh Forest Department in collaboration with the Bangladesh National Herbarium, National Botanical Garden and IUCN Bangladesh are working to grow their seedlings in nurseries, before moving them to suitable habitats.
Red List Project Coordinator ABM Sarowar Alam said, "In Bangladesh, out of known 3,813 plant species, the conservation status of only around 1,000 species has been assessed. If we can finish the assessment, we will be able to do the Red List indexing properly, which will help to protect all the species from risk of extinction."
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