The flora of the Caucasus region is remarkably diverse with about 6,300 species of vascular plants. The project is focusing on the ca. 1,600 species of plants endemic to the hotspot. The goal is elucidate their distribution areas within each of the countries in order to provide a general picture of where these species occur in the region, and to evaluate the conservation status of all the Caucasus regional endemics. The conservation assessments are based on the Categories and Criteria established by IUCN: Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LR), and Data Deficient (DD).

The formal start date of the Project was January, 2006 and it will end in January, 2009. This Project aims to provide a series of Red List training and validation workshops specifically tailored to the Caucasian region so that local botanists are able to use internationally accepted methods for plant conservation assessment and monitoring.

Key Project Staff: Dr. George E. Schatz (USA) – Project Supervisor, Missouri Botanical Garden. Email: george.schatz@mobot.org
Dr. Tatyana Shulkina (USA) – Coordinator, Missouri Botanical Garden. Email: tatyana.shulkina@mobot.org
Dr. George Nakhutsrishvili (Georgia) – Regional Coordinator, the Georgian Institute of Botany. Email: botanins@yahoo.com
Dr. Ketevan Batsatsashvili (Georgia) – Regional Coordinator Assistant, Georgian Institute of Botany. Email: ketevan_batt@yahoo.com
Mr. Craig Hilton-Taylor (UK) – Red List Technical Coordinator, IUCN.
Email: craig.hilton-taylor@ssc-uk.org

The five Caucasian partner countries involved in the implementation of this Project are:

Armenia, Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences.

Coordinator: Dr. Kamilla Tamanyan.  Email: ktamanian@yahoo.com

Participants: Dr. George Fayvush. Email: gfayvush@yahoo.com

Dr. Marine Oganesyan.  Email: m_ogan02@yahoo.com

Dr. Anush Nersesyan.  Email: vancat@freenet.am

Dr. Isabella Arevtashyan.  Email: botanist@sci.am

Dr. Eleonora Gabrielyan.  Email: botany@web.am

Dr. Jirar Vardanyan.  Email: botanist@sci.am

Dr. Nazik Khandjyan.  The Hrachia Acharyan University.

Email: n_khandjian@yahoo.com

Azerbaijan, Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences

Coordinator:  Dr. Valida Ali-zade.  Email: vm_alizade@yahoo.com

Participants:  Dr. Salim Musaev.  Email: botanica@baku.ab.az

Dr. Vugar Kerimov.  Email:  kerimov_vugar@yahoo.com

Dr. Aida Dadasheva.  Email:  dadasheva.aida@rambler.ru

Dr. Rena Abdieva.  Email:  abdiyeva_rena@mail.ru

Coordinator:  Dr. Ketevan Batsatsashvili.  Email: ketevan_batt@yahoo.com

Participants:   Dr. Revaz Gagnidze.  Email: rezgag@yahoo.com

Dr. Shamil Shetekauri.  Email: shetekauri@yahoo.com

Dr. Zurab Manvelidze.  Email: zurab58@yahoo.com

Russia, the Komarov Botanical Institute

Coordinator: Dr. Dmitry Geltman.  Email:  Geltman@mail.ru

Participants:   Dr. Anatoly Mikheev.  Email: stbot@yandex.ru

Dr.  Svetlana Litvinskaya, Kuban State University

Email: Litvinsky@yandex.ru

Dr. Ramazan Murtazaliev, Mountan Botanical Garden,

Email: pibreklab@yahoo.com

Turkey, Istanbul University

Coordinator: Dr. Tuna Ekim.  Email: tunaekim@hotmail.com

Participants: Dr. Fatima Günes, Kafkas University, Kars. 

Email: fgunes@marmara.edu.tr

Dr. Sema Ayaz, Karadeniz Technical University

Email: sha@ktu.edu.tr

Dr. Kamil Coskuncelebi, Karadeniz Technical University

Email: kamil@ktu.edu.tr

Dr. Salih Terzioglu, Karadeniz Technical University

Email: sterzi@ktu.edu.tr

Dr. Ozgur Eminagaoglu, Kafkaz University, Artvin

Email: ozgur.eminagaoglu@gmail.com

Dr. Adil Guner, the Nezahat Botanic Garden, Istanbul

Email: adilguner@mac.com

A botanical consortium from each of the five countries in the hotspot region, with additional technical support from IUCN and the Missouri Botanical Garden, are using all existing expertise to ensure that data is incorporated into the Species Information Service, using the Data Entry Module. The Consortium is able to undertake a regional review and ensure that all national and regional endemics are included in IUCN Red List.

Full species lists of regional endemics occurring in each countries of the Caucasus will be prepared in the National Centers and sent to the regional Center together with their distribution areas and taxonomic notes on problematic or otherwise notable species. Thus far, conservation assessments, including threats and recommended conservation actions for all 598 national endemics have been entered into SIS based on data provided by consultants through the National Coordinators (Armenia :105, Azerbaijan: 99; Georgia 113; Russian Federation 69; Turkey 212 species). The next step is to complete assessments of the remaining Caucasus regional endemics.

The “Red List of the Endemic Plants of the Caucasus Region ” will be published in both English and local languages, and will be available to all potential users electronically in addition to hard copy. The editor will be Dr. James Solomon - the Head of the Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium. 

This page was revised 07/10/08.