Global Conservation Consortia: integrated plant conservation tools and collaboration

Biodiversity is in crisis, with over a million threatened species and the ongoing decline of species and populations. To accelerate effective conservation of global plant diversity, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and numerous partners have established a suite of Global Conservation Consortia (GCC), which catalyze groups of institutions and experts to collaboratively develop and implement comprehensive strategies to prevent extinction of priority threatened plant groups. Eight such consortia have been established to date, focussed on Acer, cycads, dipterocarps, Magnolia, Nothofagus, oak, Rhododendron and Erica. Primary objectives include coordinated in situ and ex situ conservation efforts and dissemination of species recovery knowledge.