Ray wrote:

"Reka" wrote in message
.. .
Just to irritate things more, wouldn't it be better to at least attempt
something like forbidding publication of new species discovery until
years after the fact? That would give time for propagation, albeit making
someone pretty rich selling the first flask babies. But it might protect
the wild species.

Good luck with that!

You thing the naming of Phrag. kovachii caused a ruckus in the immediate
timeframe, think of what would happen if you had to wait years. Memories
and even records can get mighty "cloudy" over time.

And it would only work in cases where a species was first discovered by
researchers. In a situation like P. kovachii, it would have no effect,
because people would want the plant regardless of whether it was named.
It would also put the burden of solving the problem on people who did
not cause it in the first place.

So, assuming that
a) in the case of the Vietnamese Paphs and South American Phrags, the
main threat is the horticultural trade (the things grow on
mountainsides and were surviving quite happily until the orchid trade
discovered them),

b) our primary goal is preserving the wild plants, and the ability to
cultivate them is secondary,

c) we want to prevent the problem of previously smuggled plants being
"laundered" when artificially propagated seedlings become available,

how about this solution:

Ban in perpetuity the sale of those species affected. Have the AOS,
RHS, and other regional societies ban from shows and judging the
species and any hybrids derived from those species. Make this ban
permanent. Blacklist any nurseries selling the plants. Fine and
confiscate the collections of anyone caught with those particular
species.

This would immediately reduce the monetary value of the plants. People
with smuggled plants could no longer hope to show or sell their plants
in the future when seedlings become more common, so there would be less
incentive to smuggle in the first place. Sure, some people would still
want to grow them secretly, but we all know that orchidists love to
show off their plants, and if there was no hope of ever ever doing
that, fewer people would be interested. The risk would be greater
than the payoff.

Since we orchid growers have created the problems for Vietnamese paphs
and P. kovachii, this solution would appropriately put the burden of
solving it on us as well.

Nick