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Zamia furfuracea: Species protection
Cycads like this Zamia furfuracea are very popular with gardeners and
collectors. Unfortunately, this demand combined with the destruction of their
natural habitats means that many cycads are threatened with extinction. Though
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, now protects
many of these plants, wild populations have fallen dramatically in many places.
Zamia furfuracea provides a case study of how to successfully protect a
threatened species. In the 1980s, as much as 40 tons of these cycads were taken
from their natural habitat every month, mostly shipped to the southern United States
and sold as decorative plants. Soon, wild populations of this Zamia were almost
eradicated.
As part of a joint German-Mexican development project, local plant nurseries took
on the protection and cultivation of Zamia furfuracea. They tended the specimens
still remaining in the wild, and gathered their seeds to grow seedlings in protected
conditions. Most of the offspring is sold on the international market for a considerable
profit, while a certain percentage is planted in its natural habitat to reinforce the
population in the wild. This project is a great example of how wild plants can be managed
sustainably.
Audio file download
Zamia furfuracea: Species protection (MP3, 596 KB)
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