SAVE THE XATE PLANT IN BELIZE FROM GUATEMALAN POACHERS.

XATE PLANT IN SOUTH WEST JUNGLES OF BELIZE.
XATE PLANT

SAVE THE XATE PLANT IN THE SOUTH WESTERN JUNGLES OF BELIZE FROM GUATEMALAN POACHERS.


GIVING your mum a big bunch of flowers will be the gift of choice for millions on Mother's Day tomorrow.

But it seems that the humble bouquet may be doing more harm than you might think - as new research shows that flower arranging is fuelling the decline of an exotic plant on the other side of the world.

Research from Bangor University has shown than the enduring art and huge industry of flower arranging is a reason behind the decline of exotic, wild palm leaves in the rainforests of Central America. The report has warned that exports used for the flower arranging industry are "threatening the existence" of the xaté palm leaves in Guatemala and Belize - used by many major florists in the UK and mainland Europe for their Mother's Day bunches.

Demand for the leaves - which are coveted for their strong green colour and beauty - are "threatening the survival" of the wild palms, with Mother's Day joining Valentine's Day and Palm Sunday as the peak points of the year for local producers.

Efforts are now being made by the Welsh scientists and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in London, to train local farmers to cultivate xaté for harvest, in a bid to stem the decline of the plant in the wild.

The extent of the xaté's plight is not known, but debates are under way about it being red-listed as a conservation concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lead author of the study, Sophie Williams, said that the xaté palm leaves were exported to Europe and USA for flower arranging and have developed into a multi-million-pound industry.

She said that there had to be an emphasis on training local farmers and further research into its effectiveness in reducing pressure on xaté numbers.

She said: "It is mainly exported to the US and Europe, and it comes into Amsterdam and then moved throughout Europe and usually goes into higher-end flower arrangements.

"We have done a few calls to suppliers [in the UK] and they are used in quite a few major companies.

"People like this leaf in particular because it stays green for a very long time - it will often stay green for two to three weeks longer, and it is beautiful."

She said there was a "huge lack of awareness" among the British public that these leaves are in the millions of bouquets sent out for Mother's Day, and that it might not be sustainably produced.

MsWilliams would like to see a Fairtrade-style labelling system, thus guaranteeing producers a premium price, so people knew they were buying sustainably-produced leaves. She also said there was no local market for the leaves, so they were economically-dependent on exports, which made finding a solution to sustainable production "even more vital".

She said: "If we still want to have these leaves in our bouquets in 20 years' time, we should be bothered about this.

"A huge number of people are dependent on this plant species. And for some people, we should care because of the intrinsic value of biodiversity, that we don't have the right to exploit something to the point where it disappears.

"I would hesitate to tell people not to buy xaté leaves, because it will stop people whose incomes are already low from exporting. But people should be aware of the situation."

The research called for training to be given to local farmers to commercialise the growing of the plants to reduce the amount of wild plants being harvested. It had already been shown a success in trials.

Dr Colin Clubbe, of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and another author on the study, added: "The training programme had influenced behaviour by providing the skills needed to grow a new species but also it increased people's belief in their ability to grow a new species.

"This is critical for people to actually cultivate this important plant. The results from this study will help design training programmes for encouraging cultivation of over-harvested species."

GRAPHIC: ¦ Exotic palm leaves in your Mother's Day bouquet may have come from forests in Belize or Guatemala, Central America. Sophie Williams, right, of Bangor University, says export for the flower arranging industry threatens the survival of these palms in the wild.