Across Asia, thousands of socio-economically important tree species are threatened [1, 2].

These species and their genetic resources offer vital sources of income, food and environmental services for hundreds of millions of people. Genetic diversity underlies the species’ productivity and allows them to adapt to climate change and other potential threats.

Conserving the genetic diversity and adaptive capacity is the cornerstone of effective conservation of tree species and maintaining quality natural seed sources. This was recognised in the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework which set, for the first time, global targets for maintaining and restoring the genetic diversity of wild species, by 2030 [2].

For many tropical Asian tree species, the information to aid conservation and restoration planning is widely lacking – not only on the genetic diversity patterns and reproductive traits, but also on the distributions of the species [3].

Conservation approaches also vary between countries depending on priority species, socio-economic contexts, resources and capacities, and currently there are no commonly agreed, specific definitions of in situ species conservation units that would ensure the conservation of genetic diversity and species’ evolutionary potential.

This gap makes it difficult to assess the conservation status of the species across their distribution ranges and country borders, and to identify spatial conservation priorities to safeguard unique local adaptations

The objectives of this guideline are to:

• enable a regional assessment of the conservation status of native Asian tree species and their genetic resources using readily available information.
• enable the identification and recognition of sites that already serve, or have the potential to serve, as genetic conservation units and seed sources for native tree species, so that relevant measures can be taken to safeguard them.
• support the identification of priorities and collaboration opportunities for ecological and genetic research on native Asian tree species across country borders.
• raise forest managers’ and conservation practitioners’ awareness about the importance of conserving genetic diversity, by highlighting related gaps and priorities that may differ from gaps and priorities identified solely at species or ecosystem level.

The process contributes directly to the strategic objectives of the Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) for 2023-2030. 

List of References:

[1] FAO. 2014a. State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources. Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. FAO, Rome, Italy. Available from: www.fao.org/3/a-i3825e.pdf
[2] BGCI. 2021. State of the World’s Trees. Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK
[3] Serra-Diaz JM, Enquist BJ, Maitner B, Merow C, Svenning JC. 2017. Big data of tree species distributions: how big and how good?Forest Ecosystems 4(1), 30.