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Call to check global trade in cycads

Special Correspondent

`Spread of Asian Cycad Scale pest is the latest threat to the species'

Thiruvananthapuram: Experts participating in a workshop on the conservation of cycads in India have stressed the need to establish a global network to control the booming trade in the ornamental plant, which is gaining popularity as a landscaping element. Speakers highlighted the danger posed by the spread of the Asian Cycad Scale, a devastating pest that is ravaging plant populations in South East Asia and the U.S.

W.B. Keith Holmes from the University of New England, Australia, called for a coordinated international effort to conserve the plant in the wild and control commercial use. Talking to The Hindu , he said the countries involved in the effort should be prepared for better cooperation and sharing of data on the species. "It takes much effort to convince governments and overcome pressure from collectors and traders," he said.

Mr. Holmes specialises in the study of fossil cycads dating back to the period of dinosaurs, millions of years back. Cycads, he explains, belong to the gymnosperm family characterised by seeds borne on cone-like structures rather than inside the fruit. They are related to pine trees.

"Although once abundant across the globe, cycads are now greatly reduced in both numbers and distribution. Many of the cycad species are in serious danger of extinction — not from geological or climatic changes — but from human activities such as tree-felling and urbanisation," says Mr.Holmes.

Over the centuries, cycads were overtaken by flowering plants, which evolved much later and adapted better to the environment. Global climate change could also have affected the distribution of cycads, according to Mr. Holmes. He feels the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has had limited impact on reducing commercial exchange of cycad species across the globe. "While it has helped to hinder the trade to some extent, loopholes still exist," he said.

Mr. Holmes said the spread of the Asian Cycad Scale pest represented the latest threat to the species. The Cycad has no natural defence against the devastating pest. Another speaker at the workshop, M. Sanjappa, director, Botanical Survey of India (BSI), called for strict quarantine measures to check the import of infected plants from other countries. "It is important to tighten measures and check all consignments for contaminated plants." Mr. Sanjappa said BSI was carrying out a special survey to identify and classify cycad species. Participants in the workshop highlighted the vulnerability of native cycad species to the pest. They warned that the plant would be wiped out unless the Government took immediate measures to check the import of exotic species. Entomologists explained how countries like Hawaii, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are developing biological control methods to battle the pest.

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