Red Data List (SARARES) Database

Threatened plants of Southern Africa is a project focusing on the status and distribution of threatened plants in South Africa. This project is a step towards conserving the high biodiversity of our country.

In the past, information on the threatened plants of southern Africa was assembled into the SARARES database which contained 4 225 taxa, of which 3 492 were considered to be globally threatened. Since the IUCN adopted a new approach to categorising threatened species in 1994, it has been necessary to create a new database to incorporate the new information required for assessing the status of threatened plants. The information required includes population numbers, size of area occupied by a taxon, and the threats, conservation status and amount of decline a taxon experiences.

The previous SARARES database was compiled by Craig Hilton-Taylor and published in 1996 as the Red Data List of southern African plants and is listed under Publications in the Products & Services section of the site It is available online as the SARARES database.

The next printed version will form part of an expanded list for the ten southern African countries that form part of the SABONET project. Each country has its own Red Data List co-ordinator and its own database. This will be available online shortly.

The aims of the new database are to synthesise information which can be used by conservationists to protect our flora and to increase our understanding of how plants respond to threats. Armed with such knowledge, we can take vital steps towards safeguarding the biodiversity of our country.

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Red Data List (SARARES) database