Boost for the fynbos. (Africa).Conservation of South Africa's unique fynbos plant community has been given a massive boost. $14 million in grants from the Washington-based Global Environment Facility (GEF GEF Global Environment Facility GEF Guanine-Nucleotide Exchange Factor (biology, biochemistry) GEF Global Environment Fund GEF Generic Extensibility Framework GEF Graduate Education Foundation GEF Global Ejection Fraction ) will support a 20-year cooperative Cape Action for People and the Environment (CAPE) program, which will work to conserve the globally important Cape floristic region The Cape floristic region is a floristic region located in South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape (South African) Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape floristic province. , or fynbos, and promote sustainable development in the region. The Cape floristic region is one of the world's biodiversity hot spots, due to its incredible plant diversity. About 9,000 plant species grow here, of which 6,000 occur naturally nowhere else. Economic use of fynbos species includes the wildflower wildflower Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. trade, tourism and recreation, the supply of clean water, thatching reeds, rooibos tea rooibos tea (rōō·ē·bōs tē), n Latin names: Aspalathus linearis, Borbonia pinifolia, Aspalathus contaminata; , and medicinal plants such as buchu buchu (bōōˑ·chōō), n Latin names: Barosma betulina, Barosma serratifolia, Barosma crenulata; . But fynbos is threatened by development, wildfires, invasive species, agriculture, pollution, and other factors. About 1,400 of its plants are considered rare, endangered, or close to extinction. --http://www.iol.co.za/ |
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