Tuesday March 17, 2009
GOOGLE “nepenthes” and you will get a string of hits on companies selling the plant. Fascination with Nepenthes has always been great but with the Internet, it has grown immense and selling the plant has never been easier.
One company is offering the N. platychila, described only in 2002 and known only from Hose Mountain in central Sarawak, for US$72 (RM266) for a small plant and US$144 (RM420), a large one. This species is prized for its funnel-shaped pitchers with unusually wide and flat peristome (the rim at the mouth of the pitcher) which is beautifully striped with red, yellow and purple.
Nepenthes platychila grows only in Hose Mountains in central Sarawak.
The N. gracillima of Gunung Tahan, Pahang, has been in cultivation for years and so is selling for only US$18 (RM66). One of the most expensive and sought-after nepenthes currently is the N. jamban of Sumatra, named such because of its large toilet bowl-shaped pitchers. Described only in 2006, a small plant is selling for US$129 (RM477) and a medium one, US$180 (RM666).
In fact, many foreign companies are selling endemic and recently described Sarawakian nepenthes species – which begs the question: How were these obtained? Queries to several web-based companies on the source of their plants went unanswered.
Sarawak has 25 nepenthes species and all are protected; permits are required to keep, propagate and trade in them. The Sarawak Forestry Corporation says only one company, Malesiana Tropicals, has been given a permit from Forest Department Sarawak to propagate nepenthes, and only second generation (F2) propagated plants can be exported. Trade in nepenthes in Sarawak peaked in 2005, with 22,483 plants exported. Numbers have since fallen to 15,220 in 2006 and 12,055 in 2007.
Dr Timothy Hatch, director of Kuching-based tissue-culture company Malesiana Tropicals, says the company was issued permits to collect wild nepenthes seeds and plants for artificial propagation when it was established over 10 years ago.
“We have since collected seeds of nearly all Sarawak nepenthes and have even found new species during our expeditions. As we have most species in the nursery producing their own seeds, we no longer need to collect from the wild,” he says.
Malesiana sells its plants globally but Hatch says that once the nursery-propagated plants have been exported, Malesiana has no control over what foreign buyers do with them.
He believes that artificial propagation has greatly reduced wild-collected nepenthes as plants can be made readily available. “But that is not to say that the problem of wild collection has been solved. Some take from the wild as they want plants with big pitchers and unfortunately, some people take pride in stealing, they get a buzz from it. It is really easy to take these plants out as they are small and the seeds are tiny.”
Easily grown
The easy availability of Sarawakian nepenthes overseas is not unusual for Kuching-based biologist Lee Ch’ien Ch’ien. He says once nursery-propagated plants have been sold and exported, private collectors in foreign countries can produce seeds of their own and eventually, propagate the plants.
Nepenthes sumatrensis boasts of a beautifully striped peristome.
“Also, even though a species has only been recently described, such as N. vogelii, plants have actually been in cultivation in other countries for many years, though they were unidentified. There are also occasional visitors to Malaysia and Indonesia who collect some seeds (illegally) and distribute them to labs.”
Lee, who has discovered several species of nepenthes, says not long after his description of the N. jamban was published, collectors were already scouring north Sumatra for the plant. So it does not surprise him to see the plant already propagated and offered for sale. But he believes that artificial propagation has played an important role in in-situ (on-site) conservation of nepenthes. “Before artificial propagation was widespread, such as in the 1980s and early 90s, a great majority of nepenthes on the world market consisted of wild-collected plants. This was driven by demand and buyers who were willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a rare species.”
The wide availability of tissue-cultured plants has seen prices dropping dramatically. The N. rajah (from Mount Kinabalu) used to cost some US$500 (RM1,850) for a single plant in the 80s.
Now, healthy propagated N. rajah plants can be had for as little as US$5 (RM18.50).
“There is therefore not much profit for people who collect them in the wild. Also, properly grown nursery propagated plants are much healthier than wild-collected ones,” says Lee, formerly a senior botanist at Malesiana Tropicals.
Fortunately, there is less demand for wild nepenthes plants as mother stock compared to something like slipper orchids as nepenthes have not yet reached the level of selective breeding as seen in the orchid trade as the market for them is much smaller, explains Lee.
Although no species of nepenthes has been wiped out in the wild from over-collection, he says species which are endemic to a small area or are highly desirable for their ornamental quality are vulnerable.
“Perhaps the most critically endangered species today is N. clipeata, which is on the verge of extinction in the wild at the single mountain on which it occurs (in Kalimantan), having suffered from both wild collection and habitat loss by fires.”
Another concern is the growing popularity of nepenthes in some Asian countries in recent years. “With this new market, a huge surge in wild collecting in those countries has begun by locals. This problem is compounded by easy access for locals who can repeatedly visit sites to collect plants, lack of concern about the conservation of the plants, very strong economic drive, and the fact that there are very few artificially propagated plants available locally. As a result, the quantity of plants now being collected in the wild is larger than ever before,” says Lee.
Scant control
Commerce in nepenthes is governed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) but in reality, the protection is patchy. Only two species – N. Rajah and N. khasiana (of India) – are on Cites Appendix I. This listing allows trade of only artificially propagated plants and not wild-collected ones. The remaining 90 or so nepenthes species are on Cites Appendix II. This listing allows trade of wild-collected plants so long as the commerce poses no threat of extinction to the species. The thing is, no studies have been done to show this.
The critically endangered N. clipeata is a victim of this weakness. The area where the species grows, Gunung Kelam in west Kalimantan, is not protected. Prized by collectors, it has been over-harvested and yet, remains a Cites Appendix II species. Many other species deemed to be imperilled suffer the same fate: N. boschiana (Borneo), N. macrophylla (Mount Trus Madi, Sabah), N. murudensis (Mount Murud, Sarawak) and N. pilosa (Sarawak).
Also, under Cites, exporters can ship plants under the name “Nepenthes sp.” and not identify them according to species. This means a Cites Appendix I species can be disguised as an Appendix II species and exported.
Another niggling point is that Cites regulates only international trade; it does nothing to protect wild plants from being collected within the country.
Lee says effective conservation of wild nepenthes will require more enforcement, education and promotion of artificial propagation. “Authorities in parks and protected areas need to take an active role in preventing collection of wild plants in their areas of jurisdiction. Enforcement also needs to be done at borders and airports. People must understand the long-term value of preserving their local natural biodiversity. This will result not only in less people willing to sell off their natural heritage for a quick buck, but also more people keeping an eye out for illegal plant collectors and traders.” -- The Star Lifestyle
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