annual report - The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund

ANNUAL REPORT 2010 PAGE 14
Tending to 800 propagated seedlings
The shade-house was constructed near a stream next to the village
Project Details:
The local community has constructed
fire breaks and has assisted with handpollination
and seed collection. Laboratory
grown seedlings have been cared for by
local school children, who will help with
planting the orchids in the wild. The project
is providing materials for the school
including a kitchen garden, toilets, T-shirts
and books. A management plan with the
local community has been agreed.
Flowers from each inflorescence are handpollinated
to help produce seeds
Results:
The local community has been enthusiastic
about the project and has agreed to a
management plan for protecting the
wild population through fire-breaks and
monitoring. A shade-house was built near
the village and the laboratory propagated
seedlings have acclimatised well and were
looked after by local school children. A
mobile phone was provided for the school
to communicate with the conservation
team. The rains were late this season, but
in early 2011 the seedlings will be planted
on a rocky outcrop near the surviving wild
orchids. The team is constructing toilets
in the school and providing orchid T-shirts
and books.
Long-Spurred Angraecum, Angraecum longicalcar
HOW THE MOHAMED BIN ZAYED
SPECIES CONSERVATION FUND HAS HELPED
RBG Kew’s Landy Rajaovelona leans over a rock-face to hand-pollinate flowers
“The support from the Fund has enabled
us to engage with the local community
and ensure their participation in the
conservation of the orchid. This is vital
for the long-term conservation of the
species as the site is located in a remote
mountainous region.”
“The main innovation of the project is that
local school children are helping to look
after the seedlings as they acclimatise in
a shade-house built near the village and
they will help to plant the seedlings at a site
near the village to establish a new subpopulation.”
Stuart Cable
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew