Livre rouge des plantes menacées aux Antilles françaises

This Red Book of threatened plants of the French Antilles is the outcome of some thirty years of floristic and environmental surveys on Guadeloupe and Martinique islands. It is the first Red Book specially dedicated to the endangered flora of a particular French region with strict adherence to the methodology proposed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2001. It comes therefore as the natural sequel to the IUCN’s Red List of threatened plants of the French Antilles. Its preparation involved a seven-year-long cooperation between some fifteen botanists, all specialized in the local flora, either free-lance or from a variety of scientific agencies both in the French Antilles and in mainland France (Conservatoire botanique des îles de Guadeloupe, Conservatoire botanique de Martinique, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CIRAD, INRA, Antilles and Guiana University).
The book presents the 187 taxa considered the most threatened with extinction in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Each taxon is described in detail, with photographs, range maps and information on the current state and trends of natural populations. In order to foster better protection and preservation of these natural populations, each taxon’s information sheet gives an account of the gravest threats and their causes as well as suggestions for conservation measures.
The Red Book of threatened plants of the French Antilles will no doubt prove of great use to those with responsibility for sustainable economic development in the French Antilles or for the management and conservation of the natural heritage.