Project Summary

CARE-MEDIFLORA aims to improve the conservation status of threatened Mediterranean plant species. It is a project implemented by institutions of six Mediterranean islands (Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete and Cyprus) and the IUCN/SSC Mediterranean Plant Specialist Group.

The project aims at improving the conservation status of threatened island plants representative of the entire Mediterranean basin, through the implementation of urgent actions and campaigns:
•    in situ conservation of endangered plant species of the Mediterranean islands through in situ management actions such as population reinforcement, species reintroduction, fencing, controlling pest plants and reconnecting isolated remnants

•    ex situ conservation of endangered plant species through seed collection and long term storage in seed banks of accessions representative of the overall diversity of selected taxa. Previous and new seed collections are used to produce plant material for the in situ management actions.

CARE-MEDIFLORA is supporting networking among the project partners, institutions and authorities on each island, and/or related initiatives at Mediterranean and wider international level, in order to contribute to the long term effectiveness of plant conservation. Project results are shared with plant conservation specialists and local stakeholders with the aim to 
•    increase collaboration among institutions involved with in situ and ex situ conservation 
•    raise awareness about local flora vulnerability.

Coordinator

CIHEAM Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Mediterranean Plant Conservation Unit - Grèce