The Red List of trees of Central Asia

Many of the world’s fruit and nut trees are seriously threatened with extinction, according to the newly released Red List of Trees of Central Asia. The list is published by Fauna and Flora International (FFI) in collaboration with BGCI as part of the Global Trees Campaign. The report identifies 44 tree species in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan as globally threatened with extinction, such as Pyrus korshinskyi, pictured left, a pear species identified as Critically Endangered. Many of these species occur in the unique fruit and nut forests of Central Asia – an estimated 90% of which have been destroyed in the past 50 years.