IMPORTANT PLANT AREAS (IPAs)

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IMPORTANT PLANT AREAS (IPAs)
DEFINITION
Globally important sites for the conservation of plants.

DESCRIPTION
An Important Plant Area (IPA) is a natural or semi-natural site exhibiting exceptional botanical richness (1) and/or supporting an outstanding assemblage of rare, threatened and/or endemic plant species (2) and/or vegetation of high botanic value (3). 
In describing IPAs, the word plant encompasses algae, fungi, lichens, liverworts, mosses, and wild vascular plants. 
The IPAs were conceived in 1995 at the first Planta Europa conference held in Hyères, France. It builds on WWF and IUCN’s Centres of Plant Diversity project (1994), which identified large regions of botanical importance. 
IPAs are integral to the initiatives of government agencies and NGOs in furthering the development of conservation goals on a national and international level.
The IPA programme is a site-based approach for the conservation of plants at a national level, and forms a subset of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) around the world. 
Currently, IPA projects are being implemented in over 70 countries (2014) to achieve Target 5 of Global Strategy for plant conservation agreed under the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) by governments in 2010. Target 5 aims to ensure protection of 75% of the world’s most important areas for plant diversity by 2020 under effective management.

SUPPORTED BY
Plantlife International, in collaboration with many national entities in each participating country. IPA is a programme set up in the UK by the organization PlantLife

YEAR OF CREATION
1995

COVERAGE
Global in extent

CRITERIA
The IPA approach uses three main globally consistent criteria, promoted by Plantlife International, to identify and protect a network of the best sites/areas for plant conservation. Each site needs to satisfy one or more of the following criteria :
  • Presence of threatened species: the site holds significant populations (5% or more of the national population or the 5 best sites) of one or more species that are of global or regional conservation concern (species listed as threatened on IUCN global or regional Red List or other regionally approved lists; species listed as endemic/near endemic/restricted range and threatened on national red lists). 
  • Species richness: The site has exceptionally rich flora in a regional context in relation to its biogeographic zone (contains high number of species within a range of defined habitat or vegetation type – up to 10% of the national resource (area) of each habitat or vegetation type, or 5 best sites). 
  • Threatened habitats: The site is an outstanding example of a habitat type of global or regional importance (contains threatened habitat or vegetation type taken from a regionally recognised list – 5% or more of the national resource (area) of priority threatened habitats or a total of 20-60% of the national resource).
MANAGEMENT
The designation of a site as an IPA is not associated with any management prescription. 

LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE
The sites identified as IPAs often do not have any legal recognition and protection unless they are part of other legally protected areas.

SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES
The identification of IPAs is not based on any socio-cultural values. Human presence and intervention is possible within these areas.

IPAs contribute to the following Global agreements and initiatives:

·                  The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

·                  The RAMSAR Convention

·                  EU Water Framework Initiative


References:
http://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/important-plant-areas-ipa

https://www.plantlife.org.uk/international/important-plant-areas-international


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