The eight species of the genus Buchanania (family Anacardiaceae) occurring in India are valued for their fruits, timber and medicinal importance, but as a result of utilization and other anthropogenic pressures several species are categorized as threatened on the IUCN Red List. Buchanania barberi, known as malamavu, is a small tree endemic to the South Western Ghats. It was previously known from only two mature trees in the Palode region (Dhyani & Anilkumar, 2017, Oryx, 51, 584), but in recent surveys we have located two additional mature trees in a school campus in Nanniyodu in South Kerala. Because of limited seedling production and developmental activities, B. barberi is categorized as Critically Endangered.

Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute has received funding from the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, UAE, to conserve B. barberi. In March 2022 and February 2023, we conducted education campaigns about the species, engaging key stakeholders such as the Forest Range Office in Palode, the Kerala Forest Department in Thiruvananthapuram, three schools (Government high school, Jawahar Colony; Upper primary school, Karimancode; Government lower primary school, Karimancode), and the local communities residing near the species’ natural habitat. Additionally, we collected seeds and initiated germination for seedling production (following the method of Dhyani et al., 2023, Plants People Planet, 5, 502–507).

Conservation and education campaign for Buchanania barberi: (a) poster, (b) water bottle and mug, (c) bag, (d) seedling planting, (e) painting by Reema Abraham, (f) school awareness campaign.

To raise awareness effectively, we developed educational materials, including a poster highlighting the species’ status, threats and conservation actions, and created water bottles, mugs and bags with conservation messages. Our sessions attracted c. 200 students (90 boys and 110 girls) and 50 local community members. These sessions, conducted in Malayalam, educated participants about the importance of conserving B. barberi, its identification and conservation status, threats to the species, propagation and potential interventions.

We also organized quiz programmes, with winners receiving awareness posters, mugs, bags and bottles, and students and teachers planted c. 15 B. barberi seedlings in their school grounds. The awareness materials have been shared with staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum, and Botanic Gardens Conservation International. A painting of B. barberi by Reema Abraham featured in the art exhibition The Endangered—Can Art Save Them organized by Art Impact International, USA.