Succulent plants in South Africa are threatened by poachers in the Karoo

A biodiversity hotspot in a remote part of South Africa has become a hub for the illegal trade in protected plant species, with organized crime groups taking advantage of overseas demand.

“They didn't just steal our land or our plants, they stole our heritage,” a rancher angrily told the BBC as he expressed his frustration at the social and environmental crisis caused by poaching.

Most of the plants in question are varieties known as succulents, named for their ability to retain water and survive in dry climates.

Many of the world's succulent species are found only in the Karoo Succulent Desert, which spans South Africa and Namibia.

Succulent species vary in size, shape and color – some look like little multi-colored buttons and others look like cacti, sprouting colorful flowers at certain times of the year.

Although these varieties can be cultivated in nurseries, global demand also fuels the poaching of these plants from the wild, which are then smuggled and sold online to buyers in the US, Europe and East Asia.

In Kamieskroon, a small town in the center of South Africa's Namaqualand region, the rolling hills have become a haven for poachers.

Some of the species are highly localized and can be eradicated with just a little poaching.

“In South Africa we already know of seven species that have been completely wiped out, and there are certainly more species that will disappear very soon,” says Pieter van Wyk, nursery manager at /Ai /Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.

It is difficult to get figures on how many plants have been destroyed, but the non-governmental organization Traffic reports that 1.6 million illegally harvested succulents were seized by South African law enforcement between 2019 and 2024 This only represents the contraband that has been detected, so the true figure is likely to be much higher.

The South African government is well aware of the problem and in 2022. unveiled an anti-poaching strategy. It includes conducting community programs on the need to protect the environment.

According to Mr Van Wyk and other conservationists, plant poaching has flourished since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Since international traders could not travel to South Africa during this time, they turned to local people to collect succulents for them and ship them out of the country.

Mr Van Wyk says this coincides with an increase in global demand.

“People had more time to try and find something to occupy themselves with, and plants were one of the things in your house that could connect you to the outside world.”

This has been captured by organized crime syndicates who hire teams of plant poachers and then sell the wild plants on social media and e-commerce platforms.

“The unions saw this as an opportunity to do something viral … to say to the widest possible audience, 'We have this super weird-looking thing coming from the African continent,'” Mr Van Wyk says.

“Then the public just lose their heads and say, 'I want to buy one,' and (unions) organize the poaching of the species,” he adds.

The rise of organized crime activity in the region has an indirect effect on local communities.

“This is a low-income area, people here are not rich and people will use the income opportunities,” explains Malinda Gardiner of Conservation South Africa.

Echoing a similar sentiment, the rancher the BBC spoke to said there is always an influx of money into her community when poaching takes place.

“When we see young men going up into the mountainous areas, we know they are poachers,” added the farmer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

“They use screwdrivers to uproot the succulents and carry backpacks and sacks to keep the stolen plants.”

A few days after that there was an outbreak of drunkenness and illegal activity.

“When they get the money, there's more drugs, more alcohol, the kids are neglected because mum's drunk, dad's drunk, there's no food,” added Ms Gardiner.

She worries that the tension will have long-term consequences.

“The small communities here really need each other … but it breeds mistrust. It also brings division into communities,” she says.

Mr. Van Wyk's assessment is more stark: “People are abused and enslaved by unions and buyers.”

Attempts are being made to raise awareness among buyers of the importance of understanding where a plant may have come from.

China has become a major source of demand for wild succulents in the past few years, but an Internet campaign there to educate people about the illegal trade in succulents has yielded some results.

The Clean Internet for Conophytum campaign was launched in March 2023. from the China Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development.

According to the foundation's deputy secretary-general, Linda Wong, they have seen an 80% reduction in online advertisements for conophytum – a type of succulent – of unknown origin, and buyers are starting to ask questions about where the plants sold online come from.

“The key is awareness. Once people know, they want to take action. They want to take responsibility for consuming these plants and enjoying their beauty in a very responsible way,” she told the BBC.

Conservationists are advising customers around the world to ask about the origin of the plants and never buy those advertised as growing wild.

Traffic and Kew Gardens in the UK recently announced that they are partnering with eBay to develop new ways to prevent the sale of wild succulents on its platform.

In South Africa, Mr Van Wyk says more needs to be done to promote the cultivation of succulents that can be grown and harvested legally to reduce demand for poaching.

“We as a country have to say that, 'We have this resource and there are other countries that benefit greatly from it, why not us?'” he told the BBC.

Mr Van Wyk now runs a nursery in the /Ai /Ais-Richtersveld cross-border park that cares for plants that have been confiscated by law enforcement, and he says they have received more than 200,000 so far.

“Obviously it's stressful to see things disappear. But if you study these plants, it brings so much joy and pleasure and you just forget about all the crap going on in the world,” says Mr Van Wyk.