TRAFFIC Report "A blooming trade" makes policy recommendations for Asian orchid conservati

A Blooming Trade: Illegal trade of ornamental orchids in mainland Southeast Asia, was just released by TRAFFIC and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and is available in English and Thai.

Based on my recent Biological Conservation article, I worked with TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network, to identify key recommendations for policy makers in Southeast Asia, needed to protected botanical diversity from the pressures of large-scale commercial trade.

The report makes 11 specific policy recommendations that CITES Secretariat, Southeast Asian government agencies and conservation groups can take to help protect the region's flora diversity:

1. Government bodies in Thailand responsible for biodiversity conservation formally recognise the problem of illegal botanical trade.

2. The CITES Secretariat and Parties, notably range States and importing countries of ornamental plants, acknowledge that the legal trade of most CITES Appendix II orchid species from Southeast Asia cannot be scientifically justified, until more information becomes available. There are huge uncertainties and limitations to sustainable harvest of wild orchids, and inadequate data to complete CITES Non-Detriment Findings for most orchid species in the region.

3. CITES Parties and conservation organisations better recognise that demand for illegal wildlife is often also domestic and regional, not only driven by Western and Chinese demand.

4. International conservation organisations and government bodies include plants in wildlife trade monitoring, enforcement and educational programming, including at public markets such as Bangkok's Jatujak Market.

5. Increase domestic resources and capacity of range country Customs officers and relevant enforcement officials to enable basic species identification for botanical trade monitoring.

6. When monitoring wildlife trade and enforcing laws, enforcement and Customs agencies also collect basic data on wildlife origins, destinations, transports etc., to help inform future interventions.

7. Enforcement and conservation agencies in range state identify interventions at different points along illegal market chains, including third-party transportation providers (e.g., bus companies), Internet-based trade and public border markets.

8. Enforcement and conservation agencies consider social dimensions of enforcement and identify strategies to reduce or mitigate negative impacts of enforcement, particularly on low income harvesters and traders. Identify enforcement responses to illegal botanical trade that can help stop trade (e.g., confiscations, fines, warnings) but do not necessarily involve criminal sanctions.

9. Range countries and supporting scientific institutions invest in botanical conservation assessments to identify species most threatened by trade and inform CITES Non-Detriment Findings. Assessments should consider taxa identified in this study as heavily targeted for trade (e.g., Dendrobium orchids in the section Dendrobium, Rhynchostylis, Paphiopedilum).

10. Thailand’s Department of Agriculture and CITES Management Authorities operationalise monitoring of registered commercial greenhouses and plant nurseries to ensure wild plants are not illegally laundered as artificially propagated.

11. Outside researchers and conservation groups repeat third-party market surveys to support data cross-checking and evaluate trends in trade.