Plant Extinction in a Global and Regional Context

Abstract

Written by an environmental engineer from the Universidad Católica de Oriente, this article presents an overview of plant extinction, moving from a global perspective to the context of the department of Antioquia. The author documents that 12.5% of the world's vascular plants are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN, and that in Antioquia this situation affects at least 352 species across 66 families, of which 31.7% belong to the Orchidaceae family. The text describes the intrinsic and external factors that put species at risk, and presents the work of global, national, and local institutions in conserving threatened species, presenting the Strategy for the Conservation of Threatened Plants in the Department of Antioquia along with concrete examples such as the wax palm and the species Dipteryx oleifera.