ORCHID CONSERVATION NEWS The Newsletter of the Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Issue 1 April 2015 Conservation of Medicinal Orchids been accomplished with orchids for horticultural Editorial purposes. As you will appreciate from the articles in this issue, There are many paths to species vulnerability that can orchids have traditional use as medicine in many parts lead to extinction. Overcollection for food, for medicine of our global community. We look forward to more or for horticulture are just a few of the many challenges community-based conservation projects and innovative to species survival. There are also random, destructive ideas to consider in the future. natural disasters such as earthquakes that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015. Each challenge impacts human and Marilyn H. S. Light, Editor [email protected] orchid survival differently but the role of all ecosystem ___________________ components to survival and sustainability of populations cannot be overlooked. It might not take much to disrupt or exploit an ecosystem but it can equally be possible, given time, to recover a sustainable balance. There are many paths toward achieving sustainability. In Nepal, conservation initiatives have been developed from strong, compassionate leadership to further public awareness and education, community involvement, as well as in-situ and ex-situ methodologies. Bangladesh, particularly the south east part of the country, has a diverse plant community but some orchid species, once widely distributed, are being impacted by exploitation Nepal Photo: Bijaya Pant for medicinal use. Conservation measures such as tissue culture methodologies are suggested but standard protocols must be developed to ensure that diversity is Our orchid conservation effort in two maintained, that bioactivity across a species population community forests of central Nepal is assessed so that plants are available for a range of future uses. A Chinese team challenged with the task of Bijaya Pant conserving a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Central Dept. of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Dendrobium officinale, has made significant progress. Nepal We read in this issue of how they collected wild plants, [email protected] bred and selected new strains with medicinal product http://cdbtu.edu.np/faculty/dr-bijaya-pant potential. This approach should reduce pressure on wild plants as a standardized protocol toward uniform Medicinal orchids are among the most important product output can provide reliable product much as has component of the Orchidaceae in Nepal. These species 1 are known to provide local medicine, food, and fodder, Of the 61 species recorded from two community forests, contributing in the livelihood and income generation we determined, based upon literature and local within rural communities. Whole plants as well as parts information, that 28 of these species (45.9%) were including tubers, roots, rhizomes, stems, pseudobulbs, orchids of medicinal use. A total of 17 orchids, that are and leaves are used in medicine but the plants are used for traditional medicine as well as for trade, were threatened with extinction due to over collection for recorded from the forest study sites. Most of these were trade, habitat fragmentation and degradation. Habitat Dendrobium species. degradation will adversely impact other natural resources as will the loss of orchids as they are an important biodiversity component. Of the estimated 460 orchid species in Nepal, we have reported 96 species as having medicinal value (Pant and Raskoti, 2013; Medicinal Orchids of Nepal.) The Government of Nepal has handed over accessible forest areas as Community Forests to the Forest User Groups for management and sustainable use. In order to create community awareness and to develop Dendrobium crepidatum Bulbophyllum leopardianum conservation strategies for two community forests in central Nepal, we designed a study using these forests as Some of the blooming orchids in the study sites. Photo: Bijaya Pant pilot sites. The goal was to identify orchid-rich One of the goals of our study was germplasm storage community forests, to educate, and to instill awareness and ex situ conservation of threatened medicinal orchids in local communities about orchids of commercial from the study areas. Seeds as well as explants of value. We wanted to familiarize local communities with medicinal orchids belonging to the genera Dendrobium the current state of community forest degradation, the and Cymbidium, as well as Papilionanthe teres, and consequences of illegal trade, and train people in both Vanda tessellata, have been cultured in vitro for mass in-situ and ex-situ conservation techniques, as well as in propagation and germplasm preservation. The long term propagation and cultivation methods. Youth are goal is to promote the local livelihood of the people by involved in this project since getting young people providing a means to legally use orchid resources interested and informed can give them a purpose. Their through the cultivation of tissue-cultured plants. This enthusiasm can then be transferred into society as a will provide income generation for the local community whole. and ensure long term conservation of species. Orchid exploration and identification in studied area by our Local women identifying orchids for local uses. Photo: Mukesh Babu Chand research team. Photo: Bijaya Pant 2 A large scale tissue-culture factory and plant production We realized that working together with communities facility for D. officinale has been built in China. The brought about changes in the attitude of local people cultivated area was over 60,000 mu (4000 ha) in 2014. regarding the wealth potential of their forest orchids. Key technologies employed for cultivation of improved They came to realize that sustainable management varieties of D. officinale have been developed by practices and eco-friendly activities leads to economic studying the relationship between factors such as growth benefit for the community. Orchid conservation requires medium, light, water, air and temperature on plant a range of disciplines and stakeholders working growth and development. Natural growth situations such together. Conservation efforts need to be integrated into as artificial living tree epiphytic cultivation, cliff the communities where the resources are located. cultivation, and stereo cultivation have been set up to guarantee highly efficient ecological cultivation. We acknowledge the Multi Stake Holder Forestry Program Furthermore, as an industry standard, ‘A Technical for the financial support to conduct this study. My special Guideline for Good Agricultural Practice in thanks goes to Ms. Shreeti Pradhan, Mr. Mukti Ram Poudel, Dendrobium officinale’ had been established. Five Mr. Mukesh Babu Chand, and all the students involved in the health products including Tiepifengdou granules, orchid conservation project. cosmetics and a toothpaste based upon D. officinale have been developed. Together, these achievements Watch this very interesting short clip of Bijaya Pant’s conservation effort together with the community people in provide effective support for protecting D. officinale Nepal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxmDP0rcXp8 resources in China, and provide substantial commercial value for the D. officinale industry. ___________________ Some experts, including Peigen Xiao and Weilun Yin of Major breakthroughs with Dendrobium officinale the Chinese Academy of Engineering, believe that the conservation made by a team in China work of the D. officinale conservation team is a model of industrialization potential for endangered medicinal Prof Yi-bo Luo plants and could lead to similar studies the world over. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing [email protected] __________________ Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo (Orchidaceae), Conservation of two medicinal orchids in is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant with second- Bangladesh grade protection. Before the 1990s, D. officinale Dr. Mohammed Kamrul Huda products were rare medical materials which could be Professor and Chairman, Department of Botany only obtained from wild sources. The D. officinale University of Chittagong conservation team, headed by Professor Si Ji-ping from Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh Zhejiang A & F University (ZAFU), has addressed key [email protected] problems with resource protection and industrial development for this species, and has achieved some Orchids are fascinating and commercially valuable notable results. plants known for their extraordinary, long-lasting flowers that are valued by garden lovers and orchid A total of 305 germplasm resources were collected. enthusiasts. Their potential horticulture value is According to their biological characteristics, active appreciated the world over and in some countries, mass components, and functional genes, a multiple propagation has satisfied demand. Some orchids may be germplasm storehouse of D. officinale was compiled. medicinally important with a potential in treating Subsequently, two provincial identified varieties and various ailments and diseases. Tropical countries like several new strains were selected from the progeny of Bangladesh are rich in orchid diversity, especially of 360 hybrids obtained by crossing within the 305 epiphytic orchids. Bangladesh has 178 wild and resources. The major breakthrough is the development indigenous orchid taxa, two-thirds of them epiphytic. of a new breeding