Unsustainable extraction, along with changes in land uses and the climate threaten thousands of socioeconomically valuable tree species across Asia. These species urgently need conservation and restoration to help meet future needs for food, fuel, fibre and more in the world’s most populous region.
Yet, very little information is available on their historical and current distribution, patterns of genetic diversity, intensity of threats across their distribution ranges, or availability of seed sources to support restoration. Effective conservation strategies for these species and their genetic resources cannot be implemented without improving knowledge on the species’ distributions and the threats they are facing. 
A new regional initiative is setting out to fill these gaps by producing up-to-date information on the distributions of valuable tree species and threats to them, and guidance to develop conservation strategies that help maintain the genetic diversity and adaptive capacity of the species.

Source link: