Succulents under threat as thieves steal Karoo's unique plant heritage

International demand for South African succulents fuels criminality and threatens biodiversity. The Succulent Karoo is being stripped of its unique biodiversity to supply illegal markets, says Dr Carina Bruwer, senior researcher for Southern Africa at ENACT, and urgent steps are needed to halt the illegal harvesting.

- Dr Carina Bruwer

Illegal harvesting to supply the international horticultural market threatens some of South Africa’s endemic succulent species. The plants, sought for their beauty, rarity and often whimsical shapes, face near-extinction in the wild.

South Africa is home to three of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots. One is the Succulent Karoo, covering 116 000km2 in the Western and Northern Cape and across the border into Namibia. The Succulent Karoo is the world’s most biodiverse arid region, with many of its species not occurring anywhere else on earth. It houses the planet’s largest concentration of succulents, all of which are uniquely adapted to thrive in aridity.

Despite its astonishing resilience to the harsh, arid climate, the Succulent Karoo faces several human-related threats. These include climate change, habitat destruction through farming and mining, and the rise in illegal harvesting and trade of wild plants to supply international horticultural markets. While cultivated succulents may be traded legally, wild plants may not be harvested or sold without a permit.

Although already Red Listed in South Africa, several of the illegally harvested and traded species were recently added to the global International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Many Succulent Karoo plant species are now classified as endangered and critically endangered. This is only one step away from extinction in the wild, like the last two remaining northern white rhinos. There are fears that Namibia’s succulents may face a similar fate.

ILLEGAL HARVESTING ON THE INCREASE