Calanthe Grouville FCC/AOS
from the OrchidMania permanent collection

ORCHID CONSERVATION

The Need for a Balanced and Rational Approach

By Joseph Dougherty

No matter what your level of involvement in the orchid growing community — whether a preeminent scientist or a beginning hobbyist — one of the most crucial topics you should be concerned about is orchid conservation. This is an issue in which we all have a lot at stake; consequently, we must all make a concerted effort to promote orchid preservation around the world.

Orchid protection takes primarily two forms, in situ and ex situ conservation. Both must be employed to ensure the survival of as much biodiversity as possible, both in the orchid family and among other endangered species.

Parks and Refuges in Areas of High Biodiversity are Essential

In situ (meaning "in place") conservation involves protecting the natural habitat where a species occurs in nature. OrchidMania strongly supports in situ conservation efforts, particularly in regions whose heightened biodiversity index makes them a nexus of orchid speciation. New Guinea in the Indo-Pacific and the northwestern corner of South America are prime examples of regions with very high biodiversity and endemism (species that occur no where else). Setting aside permanent parks and other kinds of protected habitat in these regions pays huge dividends in terms of the numbers of species protected and the diversity of genetic material conserved for the future.

Unfortunately, in situ conservation is not always a viable option — habitats may be too fragmented to be sustainable, pollinators or other components of a species' lifecycle may no longer be present due to indescrimate pesticide use or other modifications of the biome, private land owners may be unsympathetic and uncooperative with conservation initiatives, or the species may simply have been grossly overcollected by unscrupulous orchid fanciers (this is a particular threat for large, showy species like Phragmipediums and Paphiopedilums). In these cases, the species' only hope for survival may be in the botanical collections of institutions and private individuals around the world.

A rainforest clearing along the road to Tena, Ecuador, shows the scars of burning and tree removal. Without a salvage effort prior to the burning, all the epiphytes in areas like this are destroyed. Photo by Joseph Dougherty.

Cultivation of Orchid Species Helps Ensure Their Survival

Ex situ ("outside its place") conservation is an important tool in the world of orchid conservation. Some orchid species are entirely extinct in their natural habitats — if not for the efforts of orchid breeders to propagate these species in captivity, they would be lost forever. For example, Epidendrum ilense, a beautiful epiphytic orchid from the lowlands of western Ecuador, is entirely extinct in the wild due to deforestation and rampant modification of its natural range to accommodate agricultural interests (primarily banana and palm plantations). Fortunately, a few plants were collected and distributed into the hands of orchid fanciers before the wild population was eliminated. Today we can enjoy Epidendrum ilense, and its genetic information can continue to be a part of the Earth's biodiversity catalog, because prudent people foresaw the need to preserve this species in their collections.

In vitro conservation is a crucial link in the chain of orchid species preservation. If you have the right growing conditions, consider helping with this distributed task of maintaining species by purchasing species seedlings from reputable breeders and conservation-minded growers.

OrchidMania plays an important role in orchid species preservation with our conservation collection of rare and endangered plants. Our conservation collection houses plants rescued from tropical deforestation, divisions of type species, and other rare plant material. We propagate these species ourselves and also send seed and pollen to other growers to help augment and strengthen the gene pool. Read more about our conservation collection.

Hundreds (maybe even thousands) of orchid species disappear every year as natural habitats around the world are slashed and burned in the name of "progress" and development. Both habitat protection and responsible salvage operations are needed to protect these species.

CITES: A Mixed Blessing

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), an international treaty which restricts world trafficking in endangered animals and plants, also strictly controls orchids. Most nations of the world, including the United States and the European Union countries, are signatories. Among orchid scientists, preservationists and conscientious environmentalists, CITES is a mixed blessing and often a source of disagreement. While the CITES treaty has helped to save the rhino and the elephant, CITES restrictions often make it difficult to save endangered orchid species which would otherwise find their way into public botanical gardens and private collections.

In Tortuguero, Costa Rica, Joe Dougherty works to salvage orchids from the crushed crown of a rainforest tree felled by loggers to feed a plywood mill in Moin, north of Limon. The orchids pulled from the mud now reside on garden trees on the grounds of El Manati resort, but the hotel's trees are full... so where will the next batch of salvaged orchids go? CITES modifications are needed to allow plants that would otherwise rot in the mud to be brought into botanical collections.

CITES currently prohibits the export of plants "salvaged" from an area destined to be burned, bulldozed, or drowned behind a new dam. Without the financial incentive of the money to be recouped by selling the salvaged plants, it is very difficult to organize local efforts to collect orchids and other epiphytes prior to a forest's cutting or the construction of a hydroelectric project. Small numbers of plants can be relocated locally, but most suitable relocation sites already host their own flora. When an entire hillside is cut down or an entire valley flooded, the only real recourse for relocation is to move the salvaged stock into cultivation.

CITES forbids this, however, and that is why many people in the orchid world have mixed feelings about this international treaty.

CITES is great for protecting animals, and does help to protect plants from unjustified collecting and overzealous exportation — but it does not tend to do a very good job of protecting plants whose habitats are being destroyed.

The regulations that govern the salvaging and relocation of orchids, as well as the movement of plants into cultivation, need to be redrafted to facilitate improved conservation of plants that are otherwise destined to disappear under the floodwaters or beneath the chain saws of developing nations.

Further Reading:

• Read the AOS's whitepaper on orchid conservation
• In vitro orchid cultivation — raising captive orchids from seed
• An article about CITES and orchid conservation