This week, National Geographic asked "Are Traders and Traffickers Winning the Orchid Battle?". Journalist, Rachael Bale, highlights that orchid trade and conservation isn't just about ornamental species. Orchid trade is also about hundreds of other orchid species harvested for medicinal and food products, which are often overlooked. Her article helps raise the issue of orchid conservation and the threats of illegal trade to a new, broader audience. Read it here at National Geographic Online.

The Orchid Specialist Group will host a Side Event at the 69th CITES Standing Committee in Geneva on Monday, Nov. 27th. There are more then 29,000 CITES-listed orchids, making it the largest taxonomic group within CITES. Orchids are also the most traded CITES taxa globally. Yet, there is growing concern about the scale and diversity of illegal trade of ornamental, medicinal and edible orchids—most of which is not captured in the CITES database. This means that orchid trade is often “invisible” and excluded from CITES agendas and Parties’ decision-making. The event will explore the challenge of implementing CITES for such a large family, and how we might establish different types of prioriti