Webinar: Tackling the Illegal Trade in Threatened Plants

Explore the problems and challenges of tackling illegal plant trade with Dr. Carly Cowell

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Date: February 15, 2025
Time: 10AM Pacific Time (California)

Seized Conophytum plants – Karoo Botanic Gardens South Africa – SANBI
About our Speaker

Dr. Carly Cowell holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town and an MSc in Restoration Ecology. With over 20 years of experience in biology, ecology, and conservation, she has worked extensively in protected area management and biodiversity policy. As Director of Conservation Policy and Practice at Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BCGI), she leads research on biodiversity conservation, illegal wildlife trade, and biocultural heritage. She also chairs the IUCN Succulent Plant Illegal Trade Task Force and is spearheading BGCI’s Illegal Plant Trade Campaign, launching in October 2025.

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Dr. Carly Cowell
Cactus seized by customs

Tackling the Illegal Trade

Wildlife trafficking is the most immediate threat to animals and plants in many parts of the world and it is the third largest illegal trade in the world, often using the same supply chains as narcotics and weapons. However, many people remain largely unaware that there even is illegal trade in plants to say nothing of the wide-ranging negative impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, economies, and human health. Few are aware that more plant species go extinct annually than animals – with over-harvesting and illegal trade as major drivers of plant extinction – and the situation is getting worse.

The internet has accelerated trade in plants, and enabled sellers and buyers to trade with relative ease. This further facilitates the illegal trade and creates unrealistic expectations of demands for exotic plant species. As a result, plants are being poached from the wild leading to local and, in some cases, global extinctions.

Combating the illegal trade of plants requires a multi-pronged effort from a wide range of strategic partners. In November 2023, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) began developing a new initiative that draws on the extensive international reach of worldwide botanic gardens, their networks, partners, and visitor outreach capacity. BGCI conducted a survey of gardens which will help inform a Global Campaign to stop illegal plant trade and promote legal trade.

This presentation will explore the problems and challenges of tackling illegal plant trade and share some results of the work done by BGCI and its partners to understand the role of botanic gardens in tackling this issue and help address plant extinctions due to illegal trade.

Poached Conophytum seized by police

Recording

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Photo Credits: Dr. Carly Cowell