Things have been busy as ever since the last publication of Porc!. KFBG has survived two fairly intense typhoons, the first of which was accompanied by heavy rain which resulted in several landslides, leaving damage on a scale not seen for many years. The second directed its force at our roadside trees, several being blown over and many losing branches. As usual the KFBG workforce soon cleared up and within three weeks, apart from the landslips, you wouldn't have known that the site had encountered certain difficulties!
Development of our new reception facilities is still not complete, but the new slip road for coaches and cars clearly defines the 'new look' of the front of the site.
Our security team continues to produce impressive photographs of the nocturnal wildlife on our hillside: several large pythons, barking deer and wild boar seem to be regulars amongst the recent shots - in fact the animals are quite often kind enough to 'pose' for our security guards. We hope to use these shots in future publications.
Our Education Department is expanding its outreach activities and has recently collaborated on a new initiative with the Flora Conservation Department: a Native Tree Planting Scheme for schools, which has seen 1,200 seedlings being planted on a recently burned patch of our hillside. Tree growth will be monitored as a long-term project. We are presently formalizing a volunteer programme, in order to meet the manpower levels required for different outreach activities and to carry out internships for vets and students of other disciplines.
The new reptile enclosures have been completed and already have their first occupants - two large water monitors and a selection of rare turtles. In fact, this has possibly been our busiest year in terms of numbers and diversity of animals entering our wild animal rescue centre. A recent special arrival was a young Chinese ferret badger which has had to be hand-raised. More effort has been directed toward networking with international organizations to obtain advice concerning the difficult animal groups we are holding.
KFBG staff continue to give advice to hospitals regarding snake bite cases. We dealt with four cases this year in which human life was at risk.
Our South China Biodiversity Team carries on discovering fascinating new species during their forays in mainland nature reserves. Four field trips in Hainan and Guangxi were undertaken this summer and now the team is interpreting the considerable amount of data it has amassed. The work has already proven invaluable in assessing options for the expansion of nature reserves in Hainan.
Finally, our animal waste is being recycled! The natural wastewater treatment programme has progressed rapidly, with wastes from our livestock and mammal sanctuary being diverted to the treatment terrace developed by David Sanders. The project has attracted much attention and is a model of environmentally friendly waste treatment which could possibly have extended implications in Hong Kong!
Gary Ades
Executive DirectorP.2-3
The 16th World Orchid Conference
The 16th World Orchid Conference was held in Vancouver from 22 April to 3 May. This tri-annual event is one of the most important gatherings of horticulturists and scientists in the orchid world. More than 400 delegates from all around the world attended the event. The conference is composed of 2 main elements - an extensive exhibition of orchid displays, and lecture sessions. This year Conservation was the theme of the whole event. All lectures were by invitation, and there was a total number of about 70 speakers covering horticultural and scientific topics such as taxonomy, anatomy, molecular biology, germplasm preservation and conservation actions worldwide e.g. China, India, Peru and Mexico etc. We were invited to present a lecture in the first day's conservation session and our title was "Orchid Conservation initiatives in Southern China".
On 30 April the Orchid Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN held an organizational meeting during the course of the Conference, as many of the OSG members were in attendance. Altogether about 40 OSG members came to Vancouver and turned up at the meeting which was chaired by Dr. Phillip Cribb of Kew Garden, who is also the Chairman of the OSG. Being members of the OSG, we both attended the meeting, during which the group's role and strategy were discussed. A main direction of work of OSG in the near future is to form regional networks to facilitate communication, sharing of experience in conservation and organization of collaborative action within a region by the members together.
This conference provided a good opportunity for us to meet other orchid experts and enthusiasts, especially those in the Asian region, and learn about their work. We also gained a glimpse of the latest developments in orchid studies.
Altogether three speakers talked about orchids in China and all shared the same feeling that orchid diversity in China is important for the region and there is an urgent need to act on conservation practices now. Overall the conference gave us many new ideas and stimulation for orchid conservation work in this region in the future.
Lawrence Chau & Gloria Siu
P.3
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