quotes from an article titled 'Let's collect wild orchids before they are destroyed' :
"Wild orchid enthusiasts have been blamed for the possible dying out of various species. But these enthusiasts place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the authorities who allow forests to be cleared for development. They say that no attempts are made to save the flora in areas slated to be cleared. They also believe that the rules imposed by CITES (Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species) have only encouraged the illegal smuggling of wild orchids. "It may work well for its original intended purpose of controlling the trade in endangered animals, but I fail to understand why the same rules apply to wild orchids," said Nik Ahmad Fahmi Nik Abdullah. The 40-year-old... orchidist... has been promoting the beauty of Malaysia's wild orchids through his website Vortex's Orchids. Nik Ahmad Fahmi says because of CITES regulations, governments or companies may clear thousands of hectares of land in the name of development but, ironically, it is illegal to go into these areas and collect the orchids before they are destroyed. As for the Orang Asli trade in wild orchids, he says the percentage of wild orchids they remove from the jungle is negligible compared to what has been lost through "development". "I would rather allow the Orang Asli to collect and sell orchids in areas targeted for development. At least this will allow them to earn a decent income, and save the orchids from ultimate destruction," he said. Education, he adds, is an important tool for the survival of wild orchids. "While the Orang Asli and orchid enthusiasts need to be taught how to care for and propagate orchid species, legislators, developers and all parties need to be made aware of the importance of conservation." Nik Ahmad Fahmi feels that if the CITES rules against the trade in artificially propagated wild orchids are relaxed, growers would not resort to buying illegally collected orchids on the black market. ... "A species will have a better chance of survival in the care of orchid enthusiasts, rather than leaving them to their own devices in the wild," he said. Using bio-technology, thousands of plants could be propagated from a single seed pod in a lab, compared to maybe fewer than 10 plants surviving and reaching maturity in the wild. These plants could be used to re-introduce species into the wild as well. He added that the trade in artificially propagated wild orchids could finance the conservation of equally rare plants with little or no commercial value. ... 41-year-old Othman Ismail, who has been collecting orchids since he was 14, says the authorities should license non- governmental organisations or orchid societies to collect orchids. "Collection should be allowed only in logging areas or areas gazetted for development"... Nik Ahmad Fahmi and Othman are members of an orchid discussion group [OGD ?] on the Internet. They have helped many orchid enthusiasts to correctly identify rare specimens." http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/National/20061217094927/Article/local1_html *********** photos : 1) caption : "wild orchids being sold at a market in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah" : http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/National/20061217094927/orchids1.jpg 2) caption : "Bulbophyllum restrepia, a rare species found in Terengganu... Dendrobium spcies discovered about a year ago... Galeola nudifolia, last found in the late 1800s in Vietnam but rediscovered near a road construction site in Terengganu" : http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/National/20061217094927/orchids2.JPG ************ Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
