27/05/2020
To celebrate international biodiversity day, for the next 10 days we will be learning more about a few of the native orchids of the Philippines. Filipino artist and climate advocate Gawayn Coronel will be showcasing his illustrations of the different orchids under the genus Phalaenopsis with artist and advocate Myron Anarcon for the layout.
Globally, we see how habitat loss brought about by tourism and other recreational activities is the major threat to loss of biodiversity in general, and for orchid species as well. The Philippines, recognized as one of the 17 mega biodiversity countries, is also heavily affected by biodiversity loss because of anthropogenic activities.
The Philippines is home to 141 genera of orchids, with around 1,100 species of orchids. While overcollecting for the nursery trade is often blamed for the loss of our orchids, habitat destruction is a much larger threat to our orchid biodiversity. Loss of habitat brought about by systemic and large-scale logging and mining operations have devastated orchid biodiversity in neighboring countries, and with the current destructive practices of the industries here in the Philippines, we can only imagine the extent of the damage done to our local species.
On the other hand, overcollection of our endemic orchid species has its roots in international demand and export. The large size, beauty, and fragrance of the flowers have led to a demand for these "exotic" plants in the world market. This in turn led to local overcollection, to the point of extinction in the wild, as is the case of the sanggumay or Dendrobium anosmum giganteum. Other species such as the Phalaenopsis micholitzii, originally an endemic Philippine species, are now found only in Taiwan as the last plants of this orchid species were shipped out from the Philippines in the early 90s.
With all the threats our orchid biodiversity is currently facing, we must amp up our conservation efforts in order to protect our country's rich biodiversity. We must invest in research to study and protect our natural resources, and put a stop to the destructive large-scale logging and mining operations in our country. These large-scale and foreign operations not only destroy our rich biodiversity, but also displace and steal the lands of our environment defenders, which we should never allow.
