Welcome to the Homepage of the Toromiro Management Group !

This site is maintained by the Conservation Projects Development Unit at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Please note: These are historical pages as the Toromiro Management Group is no longer coordinated at Kew.

You will find the following documents about the Toromiro Management Group (TMG) and its activities:

Introduction
Mission Statement
Minutes 5th International TMG meeting 1998
TMG - Partner Institutions

Publications and reports by TMG partners

Introduction

Sophora toromiro once formed part of the natural vegetation of the Pacific island, Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It is now extinct in the wild. A prolonged history of habitat destruction has resulted in the loss of the island's original scrub and forest. The first European navigators noted the Toromiro, recording areas as "covered with a shrubbery of the mimosa ... to the height of 8 or 9 feet." However following the introduction of domestic livestock, those surviving clumps were rapidly destroyed by browsing. The last surviving tree was recorded by Scottsberg in 1917 within the crater Rano Kau. This tree survived until 1962. The only plants that can be confirmed as genuine S. toromiro are descendants from this single founder and survive in cultivation within European and Australian botanic gardens, the National Botanic Garden in Viña del Mar, Chile and private gardens in Chile.

TMG Mission Statement

"The Toromiro Management Group is committed to the conservation of the sacred Toromiro tree through its reintroduction as a viable element of the ecology and culture of Rapa Nui."

Toromiro Management Group

The Toromiro Management Group consists of members from Botanic Gardens and research institutions in Chile, Sweden, UK, France, Germany and Australia. The aim of the TMG is ultimately to establish a viable population of S. toromiro back to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Current activities being co-ordinated by the TMG include: genetic studies of the Toromiro collections in botanic and private gardens, archaeological studies and experimental plant re-introductions.

The TMG meets at regular intervals to develop and co-ordinate conservation and research activities. The Toromiro Management Group is unique as it is a forum that brings together expertise from various sectors of plant conservation in one single group.

TMG - partner institutions

The following institutions are represented in the Toromiro Management Group (TMG):

South America
Corporacion Nacional Forestal, Chile;
Parque Nacional Rapa Nui, Chile;
Jardin Botanico Nacional, Viña del Mar, Chile;
Las Brujas de Talagante, Talagante, Chile;
Europe
Göteborg Botanic Garden, Sweden;
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom;
Department for Plant Sciences, Reading University, United Kingdom;
University Botanic Garden, Bonn, Germany;
Forschungsinstitut Senkenberg, Frankfurt, Germany;
Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, France;
Jardin Botanique Exotique, Menton, Garavan, France;
Australia
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne