Biodiversity hotspots in remote parts of South Africa have become hubs for the illicit trade in protected plant species, with criminal gangs taking advantage of overseas demand.
“They not only stole our land and plants, they also stole our heritage.” An angry livestock farmer spoke to the BBC, expressing his disappointment at the social and ecological crisis poaching has caused.
Most of the plants in question are varieties known as succulents, so named for their ability to retain moisture and survive in dry climates.
Many of the world’s succulent species are found only in the Succulent Karoo Desert, which spans South Africa and Namibia.
Succulents come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Some look like small multi-colored buttons and some look like cacti that bloom colorful flowers at certain times of the year.
These varieties can be grown in nurseries, but global demand has led to an increasing number of these plants being poached from the wild, smuggled to buyers in the United States, Europe and East Asia, and sold online.
The rolling hills of Kamieskroon, a small town in the center of South Africa’s Namaqualand region, have become a haven for poachers.
Some species are highly localized and can be wiped out by small amounts of poaching.
/Ai /Ais-Richtersveld “In South Africa, we already know of seven species that are completely extinct, and many more will soon become extinct,” says Pieter van Wyk, nursery curator at the Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park., external.
It’s difficult to get figures on how many plants are being poached, but the non-governmental organization Traffic reports that 1.6 million illegally harvested succulents have been confiscated., external These are the figures released by South African law enforcement agencies for the period 2019 to 2024. Since this is only the contraband that has been seized, the actual figure is likely to be much higher.
The South African government is well aware of the problem and has announced a strategy to combat poaching in 2022. This includes implementing community programs on environmental protection needs.
