HomeCopyrights © Reserved Markus Axelsson, 2005.
The first orchid collectors were European aristocrats during the 1800's (well, the Chinese did cultivate species of orchids in history, but they probably didn't poach like this). The orchids were collected from the nature and expeditions were conducted especially for the cause of finding new orchid species. Every time a new specie was found, the collectors were there to take it home to the collection.
Today, strict rules concerning the trade and collection of orchids and other endangered plants exist. Many orchids are extinct from their natural habitat or are in risk of being extinct. Natural areas are changed or destroyed by man (e.g. wood-cutting, irrigation). Orchids are also poached from nature as many species are valuable on the world market. Species that someone can sell at a high price are smuggled.
Orchid
species have a specific pollinator which is essential to the natural spread
of the plant (there are exemptions). A reduced population of the pollinator
can limit the spread significantly. That's also a cause for the decrease of
orchids in nature.
Many propose a collecting of orchids from the nature to get them in cultivation and thus save species from extinction. It's often said that the orchids anyhow will disappear over time. Many reason that 'man' should influence nature as little as possible and let the ecosystems stay as they are and that if man would have to influence an ecosystem, there should also be actions taken to prevent a change of the ecosystem.
Photo: Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens. The Lady's Slipper orchid is endangered.
Laboratory grown orchids are often expensive. They're produced using time consuming
and expensive techniques. Smuggling of highly valued orchids have become a problem.
CITES (or the Washington convention) is a convention signed by more than 150 countries. The exploitation of wild species that were in risk of being endangered gave rise to the need of a regulated international trade. The convention was first set in action as late as in 1975 and is now up-dated every second year.
Species of plants and animals have been categorised into three lists; Appendices I-III:
According to CITES, all orchids that doesn't categorise as Appendix I plants are put into Appendix II, including hybrids. CITES have no power to protect plants and regulate business happening within individual nations. They are limited to the trade between countries that have signed the convention.
People's opinions about CITES differ. Everyone, I'm sure, agree on that CITES is good in the way that trade of certain organisms is illegal. There are however those who criticise CITES heavily since some dilemmas arise with the regulations. One problem is that orchids growing a in risk-zone (e.g. in areas that will change due to constructions) there are still the same regulations for 'trade'. One rule is that plants may not be sold. So, consider having an area that is going to be destroyed and that this area is located in a country where the economics is so bad that no one can take upon the responsibility to save the plants. However, there are always someone abroad who is more than willing to spend money to save money and in many cases, there are non-profit organisations etc. willing to work for the cause of it, still the same rules apply and since no plants may be sold, there is simply no way of financing the rescue.
There are not as many collectors nowadays that 'demand' naturally grown and collected plants. That's a development in the right direction. At the same time, more and more unusual species are cultivated. Some species are cultivated and planted out to nature in an attempt to strengthen the population in situ. There are however stil orchids that are very difficult or simply too expensive to culture and cultivate. Such orchids that have won popularity, being perhaps both rare and beautiful, are a subject of poaching and smuggling. Adding to that there is also a far too low knowledge about what the loss of a specie really means among the population in certain countries where from the smuggling is high. Smugglers have in some cases been helped by e.g. farmers in stealing valuable and rare orchids from nature.
It's strictly prohibited to pick or poach or in any other way remove or hurt a wild-living orchid; all species (families: Orchidaceae and Cypripediaceae). It's also prohibited to remove, collect, or hurt seeds and other parts of the orchids.
There is a UN-convention promoting a sustainable use of our nature and working for keeping the biodiversity that we still have in our nature today. It does not only involve plants, but every organism, the nature, and the society. It's the Swedish Ministry of the Environment that is responsible for the convention in Sweden. To it's help (that is: to the help of all those politician) there is a group of scientists working as advisers.
Many countries have signed CITES and have regulations and laws concerning orchids and other endangered species. Some countries also have national programs for rescuing or keeping populations of endangered plants. There are even nations caring for a reintroduction of orchids that have been partly lost (e.g. Singapore and the United Kingdom).
The English (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) play a vital part as an advisor to CITES (regarding plants). Nationally there is a reintroduction project of Cypripedium calceolus (Lady's Slipper) running. The Lady's Slipper was near extinction in the U.K. (limited to one single sample). (The reduction is thought to have its cause in private collection and poaching of the orchid to herbariums and gardens.)
The Chinese have been noticed for their problems with rapidly disappearing orchids. Smugglers that have seen a chance in earning money by selling plants abroad have even been able to get help from the rural population (farmers etc.). The most of what the thieves have been able to reach have been poached. The more expensive orchids have then been selected out from the large variety of plants. Today, the really rare orchids may only be found in distant mountain areas.
In China there is an association called CWFCA, the China Wild Flora Conservation Association, trying to prevent that what's left of the wild flora from disappearing. Many terrestrial orchids have been smuggled out from China. There have also been problems with overexploitation of Dendrobium species (which have been used in herbal medicine for ages).
In Italy there have previously been problems with people picking orchid flower-spikes for the use as decoration. Laws to protect the plants are now in action, but there are still problems with changing habitats (growing forests etc.).
RAMSAY M. MARGARET, STEWART JOYCE (1998) Re-establishment of the lady’s slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus L.) in Britain. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (1998), 126: 173–181
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency www.naturvardsverket.se, august 2004
The Swedish Board of Agriculture www.jordbruksverket.se, august 2004
Correspondence via Email with the Botanic Garden of Singapore, 2004.
Correspondence via Email with an orchid-grower from Vietnam, 2004.
Correspondence via Email with governmental department dealing with nature-conservation, Philippines, 2004.