Climate Connections: Plant Poaching Crisis: How can you tell if your succulents are legally sourced & sustainable?

Calling out to plant parents, as well as those thinking of getting succulents to spruce up your homes! 

Increasingly, many popular ornamental plants are plucked from their natural habitats instead of being grown in nurseries. The consequences of this go beyond our living rooms, impacting entire landscapes and the livelihoods of communities that depend on them.

The highest number of native succulent species - drought resistant plants which are slow growing, long lived, and occur in arid areas - are found in Africa. It might not occur to you that your plant purchase is fueling plant poaching - but since 2019, more than 600,000 illegally harvested succulents, representing 450 different species have been seized by authorities as they transit Southern Africa to overseas markets. 

On this episode of Climate Connections, Dominique Prinsloo, Project Manager from TRAFFIC - who’s done quite a bit of research into the succulent plant poaching crisis - explains what's driving the trade and how you can differentiate between a wild harvested succulent versus a nursery-grown one.

Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Voiced by: Audrey Siek

Photo credits: TRAFFIC

Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.