We hope that highlighting the issues in making a 'non-detriment finding' for international trade of this unique orchid will not only help focus conservation efforts for orchids in general but underscore the challenges that arise due to the limited resources so often faced in developing countries - Dr Jane Cohen
The international trade in all orchids is regulated by the CITES Convention. The Convention does not prohibit the trade of most orchids, but rather requires monitoring to ensure that trade is not detrimental to the survival of the species. The CITES non-detriment finding (NDF) process encompasses taxonomic and ecological information, conservation status, management practices, and trade information in order to assess if specimens can be safely collected for trade, while protecting the species in the wild.
However, despite a global trade in thousands of orchid species, very few NDF evaluations are actually ever undertaken.
A group of researchers at Jamaica's University of the West Indies recently attempted this for one of the country's most unique orchids: the Blood Red Broughtonia, Broughtonia sanguinea.
Found only in Jamaica, B. sanguinea is also one of the country's showiest orchids. Named after the 18th century English botanist Arthur Broughton, the species is widely sought by international orchid collectors. Indeed, Jamaica hosts many beautiful orchids, 25% of which are found nowhere else in the world. Orchids make a small, but consistent contribution to Jamaica's horticultural trade and, as such, they are important to the country's national heritage and economy.
The challenge is that this orchid species grows slowly and its seed disperses poorly. Only in the most suitable habitats will these orchids flourish and form dense populations, namely in Jamaica's dry limestone forests and woodlands.
As with most orchids around the world, there is very little data on its distribution and abundance. Indeed, only populations on Jamaica's south coast have been studied, and there is not yet information on its domestic trade or on the rate of habitat loss. Such inadequate scientific information poses a significant challenge to making rigorous and effective NDF evaluations of whether sustainable trade is possible.
Flowers of Broughtonia sanguinea (photography by Elaine Fisher in: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1617138120300868)
Jane Cohen, from the University of the West Indies, and her colleagues highlighted four main challenges on the elaboration of NDF, which are relevant to orchids globally:
Lack of comprehensive population data for the species, which makes it hard to evaluate the impacts of trade
Inadequate information on ecology of the species, especially in fragmented environments, which makes it hard to predict how the species will react to harvest
No data on domestic demand or trade, which makes it hard to evaluate local pressures on the wild populations, and
Incomplete records for international trade before 2000 which makes it hard to evaluate international pressures on the species.
These huge data gaps mean that governments and scientists need to fall back on secondary data sources, as has been done for other orchids. While such data can provide useful insights, it cannot act as a substitute for systematic population surveys on native orchids. This is especially challenging in developing tropical countries, where there is often a lack of resources to successfully monitor populations of endangered species.
Since 2000, Jamaica's Endangered Species Act has protected all wild orchids. This included development of the Orchid Conservation Policy, defining goals for conservation, research, public education, and sustainable use. The need to obtain necessary population data to fulfil responsibilities to CITES, prompted the National Environment and Planning Agency to conduct two population surveys and support orchid research at the University of the West Indies. These two were the only initiatives towards a systematic assessment of orchid population densities in Jamaica.
Even with these initial efforts, NDF evaluations remain difficult because it is still not possible to assess change sin population, evaluate impacting factors such as deforestation or attempt to appraise effects of export quotas. However, based on the available data, the researchers recommended taking a precautionary approach, and progressively reducing the international export of wild B.sanguinea, from the current number of 100 to 50 and thereafter phasing down to zero.
However, the authors also note a promising opportunity: starting in the early 2000s, Jamaica's nurseries began to grow B.sanguinea in greenhouses for international trade. It is expected that future demand and trade in Jamaican orchids will be met with these produced plants, far outweighing their wild-sourced counterparts. Cohen and colleagues expect this could reduce the level of illegal trade in wild orchids, and recommended promoting sustainable, legal cultivation for all of Jamaica's native orchids. Properly managed, this could mean that Jamaica's unique orchid diversity is protected and opportunities for commercial production and trade are facilitated.
Read the full paper here.
By Emma Palser.