Frederick, Here is my take on your questions.
Natural hybrids are not species albeit they are found in the wild. Most (please read "most but not all") have very limited populations restricted to a single plant or to a handful of plants that occasionally occur. Most do not reproduce in the wild because being a hybrid the pollinators don't visit them (for various reasons)so they don't produce seed capsules. Therefore they die out after a time. Since they are not a species they are not and should not be included in CITES. And collectors (I would not use "poachers" as it is perfectly legal to collect plant in many countries) do take them hoping they have a new species but soon reality sinks in and other than interesting they just exist in the local Floras. And before everyone jumps in I know and can also give you examples of large populations of natural hybrids. CITES is not a conservation Treaty, it is a TRADE Treaty. There is no conservation provisions in the treaty and the CITES Secretariat will tell you this also. It is a revenue producer for all countries that is why they keep usurping more things into CITES, even those expressly excluded. I would suggest you read the Treaty (it is on the web) if you find any conservation efforts please let me know, because I have gone over it ad nauseam and can find none. Regards, icones ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frederick JM Depuydt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 8:52 AM Subject: [OGD] Re: Excluding hybrids from CITES > Hi, > > I'm a bit puzzled about this...does this measure include all orchid hybrids or just the tropical or the horticultural hybrids? Many native orchid sites I've seen have a number of natural hybrids, so if I'm not mistaking the poachers get a free ticket for these plants ? Also what about variations in a species that could misleadingly be used to call it a hybrid and get it shipped as such ? I thought CITES main goal was to protect wild plants, but this measure seems to partially step back from this. I'm sure it'll do the horticultural industry a favour but it seems to erode the fundamental task of CITES. > > greetings from Belgium, > Frederick > > > >Though I am in agreement with the removal of hybrids from CITES (all plants > >should be removed from CITES as far as I am concerned since it is a trade > >agreement not, a conservation measure), it is a start. The practical part of it > >though is that to have the plants determined as hybrids you must document them > >as such, not much different than what was required for a certificate of > >artificial propagation. So, on paper we have made strides forward, when in > >actuality, it is just going to be a substitution of one for the other. For most small > >producers, it won't change anything. For the large ones, it will make it > >simpler. I hope I am wrong, but having been in government most of my professional > >career, I know how they think and work. > > > > Need a new email address that people can remember > Check out the new EudoraMail at > http://www.eudoramail.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
