Succulents confiscated from poachers are stored at a warehouse in the Succulent Karoo in the Western Cape, May 16, 2023.The Little Karoo — South African customs officials recently became suspicious when they noticed that shipments of"Made in China" children's toys were being sent, oddly, back to China.
It's just one kind of succulent that's being pulled out of the wilderness at what scientists say are alarming rates, and many of the rare plants -- some of which are up to 100 years old and may only be found on a single rocky outcrop -- are now nearing extinction.The Succulent Karoo biome is a globally recognized biodiversity area that stretches all the way from Namibia right down into South Africa's Western Cape province.
With people in lockdown, isolated and unable to go out into nature, a trend for houseplants started on social media, with influencers -- or"plantfluencers" -- calling themselves plant moms and dads and extolling the virtues of ornamental houseplants. The South African government has developed a national action plan to try and address the growing trade.Paul Gildenhuys, a CapeNature enforcement specialist, has been involved with cracking down on smuggling syndicates.
But prosecutions often lead to relatively small fines and suspended sentences and those caught are usually on the lower rungs of the trafficking groups -- locals working for international syndicates who go and dig up the plants. The poached plants are sent to an address in China or Hong Kong -- sometimes through Johannesburg's busy O.R. Tambo Airport, but often simply through the mail or by courier, said Gildenhuys.