Palmier de Bankoualé

In Somalia, cutting the palm for building (because the palm trunks are the only local long straight timber available) and the establishment and expansion of date palm plantations appears to have led to the disappearance of the palm in this country.

In Yemen, the major threats are also cutting for building timber and the establishment and expansion of date palm plantations (Welch and Welch 1998, M.A. Hubaishan pers. comm. 2004). However, here, perhaps because the stands and areas of suitable habitat are large, some mature young palms continue to grow among the date palm plantations at Al Ayn and Al Mintaq. The Al Jubah stands still appears intact, but it can be inferred that an increase in the unsustainable cutting of trunks for timber and expansion of the date palm plantations is likely to have occurred following the opening of an access track for vehicles in August 2004. Only the mature palms are cut because, as in Somalia, they are the only local long straight timber and are thus a valuable building material. Piles of trunks cut and ready for building use were observed at Al Mintaq in 1989 (Bazara et al. 1990) and 1998 (Welch and Welch 1998) and at Al Jubah in 1998 (Welch and Welch 1998) and 2004 (M.A. Hubaishan pers. comm. 2004).

In Djibouti, the major threats to the Bankoualé Palm are habitat loss due to agricultural activities, habitat degradation due to diversion of surface water to irrigate gardens, torrential floods and livestock grazing (Welch and Welch 1999, Ford et al. 2008). The first rural gardens were established for the production of mangoes when cheap labour was provided by the arrival of Ethiopian immigrants in the 1960s. The gardens have been built on terraces along the wadi sides in the same places where the palm grows. Although adult and small rosette palms are tolerated, bushy young palms are generally removed to make space for cultivation, and young plants are grazed by livestock. Moreover, in order to develop gardens the surface water is channelled for irrigation: as a result the only damp areas, which are protected from flash-floods and where the palm can germinate and become established, are in the gardens, putting the gardens and the palm in direct conflict. Outside the gardens, the suitable habitat for germination and establishment of young individuals has become rare due to the diversion of surface water for irrigation. The young plants are grazed by livestock, greatly reducing the survival of young plants. Additionally, the natural and regular flash-flooding events, wash away huge number of seedlings (Ford et al. 2008). These flash-floods, have become increasingly severe due to the gradual denuding of the water catchment. This started with the localized cutting of Buxus hildebrandtii bushes on the wadi sides in the early 1970s (Ethiopian immigrants used them for thatching their traditional houses) and, in 2014 became a slow but systematic removal of timber from the whole Goda massif water catchment, driven by the growing and lucrative demand for charcoal in the capital (A. Laurent pers. comm. 2017). It is also reported that adult palms are progressively uprooted due to violent summer winds (A. Laurent pers comm. 2017). These major threats are exacerbated by a drought in the region since 2009 which has led to the drying up of permanent springs and profound changes to both the wadi bed habitats used by the palm and the hydrological regime (A. Laurent pers. comm. 2017).

Livistona carinensis does not occur in any effectively protected areas and there is no coordinated international work on the species. The species is grown ex situ in botanic gardens (BGCI, 2017), but populations in cultivation are small and not yet self-supporting. There have been successful ex situ germination trials in Yemen (S.O. Bahah pers. comm. 2016) but this work has been disrupted by civil war. Seeds from Djibouti collected in August 2007 have been deposited at the Millennium Seed Bank (UK).

Community-based conservation areas and/or micro reserves are needed to provide a suitable and practical level of protection for the remaining stands of the palm. As the largest remaining stand of L. carinensis in the world, Al Jubah in Yemen should be a priority site for in situ conservation. Effective restrictions on unsustainable harvesting for timber are needed to ensure the continued survival of the palm in Yemen. Shapcott et al. (2009) indicated that the subpopulations in Yemen (and Somalia if they still exist), are highly significant for the conservation of the genetic diversity of the palm.

In Djibouti, there have been positive signs of local conservation initiatives. A few young palms have been allowed to grow in peripheral areas in two gardens at Bankoualé, and some seed has been distributed in Tadjourah and Djibouti city to encourage horticultural interest in growing the palm in private gardens (A. Laurent pers. comm. 2017). At a national level, Djibouti’s 2017 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (Direction de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable 2017) identifies replenishment of the underground aquifers as the primary issue for both the continuation of agricultural activities and the palm at Bankoualé, and recommends that establishment of “biodiversity conservation areas” in private gardens be integrated as much as possible into watershed management. The restoration of the Buxus on the mountainsides above the main wadi systems in Djibouti would help to reduce the incidence and severity of flash-floods and their impact on palm seedling survival.

In Somalia, searches should be initiated to look for any remaining palm stands, using Species Distribution Modelling and/or study of satellite imagery to pinpoint potential unexplored sites of suitable habitat where the species might be able to grow. It would also be worth carrying out feasibility studies for the re-introduction of the palm in Somalia, if suitable sites can be identified.