Conservation and threat status assessment of Rare, Endemic and Threatened (RET) plant species of the south Western India Field studies of the Rare Endemic and Threatened (RET) species of Wayanad district in Kerala for last 10 years have resulted in regenerating many of the threatened plants of medicinal/cultural and ecological value and documentation of information of over 300 RET species of Western Ghats. A conservation garden has been established with an orchidarium consisting 105 orchids, an arboretum with about 200 tree species; shade houses with a collection of over 50 critically endangered species and about 400 species of medicinal plants and a herbarium with over 2000 flowering plant species distributed in Wayanad district. In 2006 MSSRF has created 8 Research Fellowships in Plant Systematics and Conservation for a period of three years with the help of Sir Dorabji Tata (SDTT) Trust for encouraging committed and skilled students. This was to address the immediate need for more people to be trained in Systematic Biology to know each taxon more correctly and precisely. More and more taxonomists will have to emerge for studying the endangered species diversity at field level and propose ways and means for their conservation. Sadly, taxonomists are becoming the highly endangered group now! In India, for example only a handful of professional plant taxonomists are available to deal with the taxonomic problems of its over fifty thousand plant species. The MSSRF-SDTT fellows are working on a priority group of 80 RET species.

MSSRF was involved in a project that supported by BGCN international to promote sustainable use of 10 RET species to ensure their long-term conservation. This experience led us to launch a conservation initiative that aimed at for conservation of those flowering plants threatened with extinction in Western Ghats called "For- RET". This is an organized effort to achieve the goal of conservation of biodiversity, specifically designed to campaign for achieving the targets (ii) (vii), and (viii) of the Strategy for Global Plant Conservation.

Western Ghats- a highly threatened Biodiversity Hot Spot!
Faster rate of species extinction is recorded in historically species - rich sites like the tropical forests. The Western Ghats in India is one of the most threatened Biodiversity hot spots of the world. Among the 600 taxa considered to be rare or threatened in the flora of the peninsular India, about 90% species are in the Western Ghats (Sastry & Sharma, 1991). Western Ghats, the 1600 km long hill chain that run parallel to the west coast of India between the river Tapti in Gujarat and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu covering approximately 1,60,000 sq km area is a treasure house of plants and animals next only to Himalayan tracts in terms of its diversity of unique species. Of the total recorded species 38% flowering plants, 11 % butterflies, 53% fishes, 78% amphibians, 62% reptiles, 4% birds and 12 % mammals are confined only to this Ghat region. It also harbor a large number of wild relatives of cultivated species including pepper, cardamom, mango, jack fruit and plantain along with highly valuable sandal wood, rose wood and teak. This rich biological diversity is declining at an alarming rate especially in recent decades owing to primarily the development pressure. It is the most densely human populated site among the 34 listed biodiversity hot spots. It is therefore, the responsibility of all those who are concerned in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity should come together and campaign for protection of such species seen exclusively in this region.

Research Fellowships in Systematic Botany Research and Conservation
In case of almost every threatened species in India, much information is still lacking due to gaps in either taxonomic knowledge or on-the-ground fieldwork. Species recovery programme in the country is limited to those species listed as threatened by the respective national species survey agencies. However, often, such lists represent only a small section of those actually threatened. Many species listed out in the Indian Red Data books and the Red Lists are known only from one or few collections that give insufficient picture of their variation, population structure and distribution. Unfortunately, taxonomists are not forthcoming now as it used to be in the past because of various reasons.

8 Research Fellows are working in the systematics and conservation of 80 Rare, Endemic and threatened flowering plant species for three years to address the above issues. It is also aimed at encouraging committed and skilled students to work in the subject of Plant Systematics by facilitating collaboration among those organizations stand for off-site and on-site conservation. This is an attempt to encourage the dying science - taxonomy. Each Fellow will take up an integrated conservation approach (both in-situ and ex-situ) and deal with a group of 10 species within a period of three years by studying the taxonomy, ecology and distribution and conservation status. The Fellows are being trained by adhering to a standard curriculum known for the kind of survey programme envisaged here. They are made actively concerned with and responsible for all aspects of conservation of the selected 80 species. Equal thrust is given for "off-site" development of the species in arboreta, field gene-banks, forest-nurseries and culture collection (in certain cases) through applied research, plant propagation and systematics. Each Fellow concentrates on an integrated conservation of a group of 10 species. It is expected that sufficient knowledge on the diversity, distribution, ecology, biology, conservation status and utilization prospects of these species will be brought by this study. The knowledge generated on these aspects will be disseminated to a wider mass through appropriate methods and measures. This will help the cause of conservation of endangered species and genetic diversity, restoration of fragile habitats and ecosystems, sustainable management of our protected area networks.

For-RET: Forum for Rare, Endemic and Threatened Species Conservation
For-RET is an association of institutions and individuals emerged in Kerala to campaign exclusively for the conservation of Rare, Endemic and Threatened species (RET) of the state. It came into existence in March 2006 because of the felt need of a Forum of institutions for conservation and sustainable utilization of threatened plant biodiversity. This Forum will have open-ended participation of the organizations, and/or their representatives and individuals working for the cause of conservation of RET species. The institutions namely, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Aryavaidya Sala- Kottakkal and Departments of Botany of Calicut University and S N M College Maliankara along with M S Swaminathan Research Foundation are being involved in the beginning in this conservation initiative.

For- RET will focus the exclusive endemic flowering plants, and promote collective and integrated action in research and documentation on such species, thereby facilitating conservation, enhancement and the equitable sharing of benefits of biodiversity to everybody in the state. This forum will offer scientific and technical advice for other institutions and individuals in the study, multiplication and the reintroduction of threatened species into the original habitats. For-RET will work in close co-operation with established organizations like Departments of Forests & Tribal welfare and non-governmental organizations and those individuals who can influence society for conservation. It is hoped that For- RET with its representative individuals working in the area of biodiversity will be an appropriate institution to address the issue of collective efforts in conservation of the Rare, Endemic and Threatened (RET) Flowering Plant species.

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation's Community Agro-biodiversity Centre in Wayanad district of Kerala will provide the administrative and logistical capabilities for the For-RET and house its secretariat in the initial 3 years in its premises.

Contact Details
Dr. N. Anil Kumar
For-RET
C/o M S Swaminathan Research Foundation
Community Agrobiodiversity Centre
Puthurvayal P.O., Kalpetta
Wayanad 673 121,Kerala.
Ph. 04936- 20 4477; 20 7019
E.mail. cabcmssrf@eth.net

THE 80 RET SPECIES LIST

10 ENDEMIC WOODY CLIMBERS OF WESTERN GHATS
1. Aspidopterys canarensis Dalz.
2. Bauhinia phoenicea Wight & Arn.
3. Beaumontia jerdoniana Wight
4. Caesalpinia spicata Dalz.
5. Derris brevipes (Benth.) Baker
6. Kunstleria keralensis Mohanan & Nair
7. Loeseneriella bourdillonii (Gamble) Ramam
8. Quisqualis malabarica Bedd.
9. Salacia beddomei Gamble
10. Spatholobus purpureus Benth. ex. Baker

10 ENDANGERED TREES OF SOUTHERN WESTERN GHATS
1. Aglaia malabarica Sasidh.
2. Atuna travancorica (Bedd.) Kosterm.
3. Cynometra beddomei Prain
4. Cynometra travancorica Beddome
5. Eugenia argentea Bedd.
6. Hopea ponga Bedd
7. Kingiodendron pinnatum (Roxb. ex DC.) Harms.
8. Madhuca bourdillonii (Gamble)H. J .Lam
9. Sageraea grandiflora Dunn.
10. Vateria macrocarpa Gupta

10 ENDEMIC MEDICINAL TREES IN KERALA
1. Cinnamomum malabatrum (Burm.f.)Bl.
2. Cinnamomum riparium Gamble
3. Dysoxylum malabaricum Bedd. ex Hook.f.
4. Knema attenuata (Hook. f. & Thoms.).
5. Myristica beddomei King.
6. Myristica malabarica Lam.
7. Palaquium ellipticum Engl.
8. Phyllanthus indofischeri Bennet/
9. Semecarpus auriculata Bedd.
10. Terminalia travancorensis Wight & Arn.

10 ENDEMIC PLANTS OF NILGIRI REGION
1. Casearia wynaadensis Bedd.
2. Goniothalamus wynaadensis Bedd.
3. Hedyotis wynaadensis (Gamble) Rao & Hemadri
4. Ixora sivarajiana Pradeep,
5. Jerdonia indica Wight
6. Medinilla malabarica Bedd.
7. Meteoromyrtus wynaadensis (Bedd.) Gamble.
8. Osbeckia wynaadensis Clarke
9. Phaeanthus malabaricus Bedd.
10.Symplocos wynadense (O. Ktze.) Nooteb.

10 ENDEMIC AND RARE SYZYGIUM SPECIES OF WESTERN GHATS
1. Syzygium chavaran (Bourd.) Gamble
2. Syzygium densiflorum Wall. ex Wight & Arn.
3. Syzygium heyneanum (Duthie) Wall. ex Gamble
4. Syzygium laetum (Buch.-Ham.) Gandhi
5. Syzygium malabaricum (Bedd.) Gamble
6. Syzygium mundagam (Bourd.) Chithra
7. Syzygium munronii (Wight) Chandrab.
8. Syzygium occidentalis (Bourd.) Gandhi
9. Syzygium stocksii (Duthie) Gamble
10. Syzygium tamilnadensis Rathkr. & Chithra

10 ENDEMIC SPECIES IN SACRED GROVES OF KERALA
1. Blepharistemma serratum (Dennst.) Suresh
2. Calophyllum calaba L.
3. Colubrina travancorica Bedd.
4. Litsea coriacea (Heyne ex Meisner) Hook.f.
5. Memecylon randerianum SM & MR Almeida.
6. Ochna gamblei King ex Brandis
7. Solenocarpus indicus Wight & Arn.
8. Strophanthus wightianus Wall. ex Wight
9. Syzygium travancoricum Gamble
10. Vateria indica L.

10 ENDEMIC AND RARE PLANTS
1. Capparis rheedii DC
2. Decalepis hamiltonii Wight & Arn.
3. Dysoxylum beddomei Hiern
4. Gymnema khandalense Sant.
5. Humboldtia brunonis Wall.
6. Hydnocarpus macrocarpa (Bedd.) Warb.
7. Poeciloneuron indicum Bedd.
8. Pterospermum reticulatum Wight & Arn.
9. Salacia macrosperma Wight
10. Utleria salcifolia Bedd.ex Hook. f.

10 ENDEMIC MONOCOTYLIDENS WESTERN GHATS
1. Anaphyllum wightii Schott
2. Arenga wightii Griff.
3.Calamus hookerianus Becc.
4.Calamus travancoricus Bedd. ex Becc. & Hook. F
5.Calamus vattayila Renuka
6.Curcuma vamana Sabu & Mangaly
7.Ochlandra beddomei Gamble
8.Oxytenanthera bourdillonii Gamble
9.Oxytenanthera ritchiei (Munro) Blatt. & McCann
10.Pinanga dicksonii (Roxb.) Blume