The rise of illegal trade in South Africa's 'super wonder' plants

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 have not only stolen our land or our plants, they have also stolen our heritage,” a livestock farmer tells the BBC angrily, as she expresses dismay at the social crisis and ecological which caused the poaching.

Most of these plants are a variety called succulents, named for their ability to hold water and survive in dry climates.

Many of the world's succulent species can only be found in the Succulent Karoo desert, which straddles South Africa and Namibia.

Varieties vary in size, shape and color – some look like small multicolored buttons and some look like cacti, bursting with colorful flowers at certain times of the year.

While these varieties can be cultivated in nurseries, global demand also encourages the poaching of these plants from the wild which are then smuggled and sold online to customers in the USA, Europe and East Asia.

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

Some species are very local, so they 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 quickly,” said Pieter van Wyk, nursery keeper at the nursery school. /Ai/Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.

Figures for how many plants are poached are hard to come by, but the non-governmental organization Traffic reports that 1.6 million illegally harvested juices were seized by South African law enforcement agencies between 2019 and 2024. This only represents the contraband detected, so the real figure is likely to be much higher.

The South African government is well aware of the problem, and unveiled a strategy in 2022 to combat poaching. It includes running community programs about the need to protect the environment.

Sunset over a semi-desert landscape in Namaqua National Park, Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province, South Africa — Namaqualand has a rich diversity of succulent plants, with around 3,500 species. (Getty Images)

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

Since international traders could not travel to South Africa during that time, they turned to the local people to collect the juice for them and post it out of the country.

Mr Van Wyk says this coincided 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 only things in your house that could connect you to the outside world.”

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

“The syndicates saw this as an opportunity to do something viral… telling the public as wide as possible: 'This amazing looking thing comes from the African continent',” said Mr. Van Wyck.

“Then the public just lose their heads and say: 'I want to buy one', and (the syndicates) arrange for the species to be poached,” he said.

The increase in organized crime activity in the area is affecting local communities.

“This is a low-income area, there are no rich people here, and people will take advantage of income opportunities,” explained Malinda Gardiner from Conservation South Africa.

Expressing the same opinion, the livestock farmer who spoke to the BBC says that there is always money in her community when poaching happens.

“When we see young men going up in the mountains, we know they are poachers,” said the farmer, who asks not to be identified for fear of reprisals.

“They use screwdrivers to uproot the succulents and carry backpacks and bags to hold the stolen plants. “

A few days later, there is an outbreak of excessive drinking and illegal activity.

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

She worries the tension will have long-term effects.

“Small communities here really need each other… but this creates mistrust. It also divides the communities,” she says.

Mr. Van Wyk's assessment is more clear: “People are abused and trapped by syndicates and buyers.”

Efforts are being made to raise awareness among consumers about the importance of understanding where a plant has come from.

China has become a major source of demand for wild sap in recent years, but an Internet campaign there to educate people about the illegal trade has seen results.

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

According to the institute's deputy general secretary Linda Wong, they have seen an 80% reduction in online ads for conophytum – a type of succulent – with an unknown source, and buyers are starting to ask questions about where it comes from. came plants that are sold online. .

“Awareness is the most important thing. As soon as people know, they want to take action. They want to take responsibility to eat these plants and enjoy their beauty in a very responsible way,” she tells the BBC.

Conservationists advise buyers around the world to inquire about the origin of plants, and under no circumstances should they buy those advertised as wild.

Traffic and UK's Kew Gardens recently announced that they were working with eBay to develop new methods to prevent the sale of wild succulents on its platform.

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

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

Mr Van Wyk now runs a nursery at Trans-Border Park/Ai/Ais-Richtersveld which looks after plants brought in through law enforcement, and he say they have received over 200,000 so far.

“Obviously it's hard to see things disappear. But if you study these plants, it brings so much joy and pleasure and you just forget all the nonsense that is happening in the world,” said Mr. Van Wyk.