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The IUCN, the SSC and other Specialist Groups |
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Other Conservation Organisations |
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Orchid Societies and Groups with conservation interests |
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Orchid Conservation Projects |
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Newsletters |
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Discussion Groups, Mailing Lists and Bulletin Boards |
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Policy and Legislation |
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Miscellaneous Reference Sources |
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Just click on an organisation's logo or name to visit its web site
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The IUCN, the SSC and other Specialist Groups |
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International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
The mission of IUCN-The World Conservation Union is “to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.” Its members from some 140 countries include over 70 States, 100 government agencies, and 750-plus NGOs. |
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Species Survival Commission (SSC)
This is our parent body, a knowledge network of some 7,000 volunteer members working in almost every country of the world. It is the largest of the six Commissions of IUCN-The World Conservation Union, serving as the main source of advice to the Union and its members on the technical aspects of species conservation. Most of SSC's members are deployed in more than 120 Specialist Groups and Task Forces, such as ours. |
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Other Conservation Organisations |
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Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)
BGCI was formed in 1987 as an international clearing house mechanism, to link botanic gardens in a global network for effective plant conservation. It now includes over 450 member institutions in 100 countries, working together to implement a worldwide Botanic Gardens Conservation Strategy for plant conservation. |
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Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI)
Founded in 1836 as the Botanical Society of London, the BSBI produces national Atlases and county Floras of the distribution of plants, publishes a scientific journal, 'Watsonia', and holds conferences on botanical subjects. |
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Fauna and Flora International (FFI)
FFI, the world’s longest established international conservation body, is one of the few organizations whose remit is to protect the entire spectrum of endangered plant and animal species on the planet, supporting conservation initiatives world-wide through partnerships, technical assistance, direct funding and consultancy. |
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Local Initiatives for Biodiversity,
Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Nepal
A Nepalese organisation formed to capitalize on local initiatives for conservation and utilization of agro-biodiversity, and to contribute in sustainable development in Nepal through participatory research and development approaches, training and advocacy. |
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Plantlife
Britain's only national membership charity dedicated exclusively to conserving all forms of plant life in its natural habitat. |
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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Arguably the world's premier botanic garden. From small beginings in 1759, the Gardens now comprise 132 hectares. Most is intensely managed, and includes a very extensive arboretum, water features, herbaceous bedding, some of the world's largest and most famous botanical glasshouses, many historic buildings, together with an extensive herbarium and various research facilities. |
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Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER)
The SER's mission is "to promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture." This it achieves through cooperation with partner organizations and the work of its worldwide membership. |
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World Resources Institute (WRI)
The WRI is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to seek practical ways to protect Earth's environment and its capacity to provise for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. |
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World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
"The Conservation Organisation". WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Its work covers many different areas; from policy work to campaigning, on-the-ground action to education and capacity building. |
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Orchid Societies and Groups with conservation interests |
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African Orchid Alliance
The specialist interest group for African orchid enthusiasts, with world-wide membership. It has a strong commitment to conservation, with an emphasis on the use of plants in cultivation as a resource for ex situ and in situ work. |
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American Orchid Society
The AOS has an active Conservation Committee, which has implemented a number of conservation initiatives. The AOS also offers research grants and conservation recognition awards. |
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Native Orchid Conference Inc.
A Yahoo! Groups forum, whose aim is to "foster the study, conservation, and enjoyment of the native orchids of the United States and Canada", but far more than simply a discussion group. |
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San Diego County Orchid Society
The conservation committee of the SDCOS (California, USA) offers grants annually for orchid conservation projects. |
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Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society
In 1999 the TTOS received funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme to conduct an inventory of native orchid species of Trinidad and Tobago as a complement to the National Biodiversity Programme. An online database of orchid species native to the islands is available. |
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Orchid Conservation Projects |
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El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, Ecuador
600 hectares of tropical montane forest between 1,600 metres and 2,600 metres on the western slope of the Andes near Quito. Privately owned but strongly supported by the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation (CFTC) and incorporating a botanic garden established with assistance from the Quito Orchid Society (Asociación de Orquideología de Quito) and the American Orchid Society. An excellent and highly informative web site. |
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Rio Atlantic Forest Trust, Brazil
The charity Riotrust - RAFT - supports the conservation of two privately-owned forest reserves in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, fragments of the mere 4% remaining of original Atlantic Coastal Rain Forest. RAFT's highly regarded in situ conservation work is only part-funded through ecotourism. There is a strong emphasis on the Orchids, although the fauna and other flora are by no means ignored. |
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Southern Highlands Conservation Programme, Tanzania
The SHCP's purpose is the conservation of important upland habitats and species in south-west Tanzania. It was set up by the Wildlife Conservation Society (the New York Zoological Society until 1994), headquartered at Bronx Zoo, New York. The WCS combines the resources of wildlife parks in New York with field projects - more than 300 in 50 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin and North America. |
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Newsletters |
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Orchid Conservation News
Our own Newsletter. All issues published to date are available on this Site, to read on-line or to download. |
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Discussion Groups, Mailing Lists and Bulletin Boards |
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Orchid Guide Digest
English-language Belgian-based successor to the Orchid List Digest. Launched in 1999, this is a subscription-only (but free) Orchid information mailing list, convering much more than just conservation matters. Probably the largest such list on the Internet. |
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NativeOrchids List
A Yahoo! Groups forum for discussing all aspects of the lives of wild, native orchids, especially terrestrial plants growing in the Northern Hemisphere. |
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Native Orchid Conference Inc.
A separate Yahoo! Groups forum, whose aim is to "foster the study, conservation, and enjoyment of the native orchids of the United States and Canada", but far more than simply a discussion group. |
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Policy and Legislation |
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1997 United Nations List of Protected Areas
From the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), established as the world biodiversity information and assessment centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). WCMC was founded jointly by IUCN, WWF and UNEP. |
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Man and the Biosphere (MAB)
This programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) develops the basis, within the natural and the social sciences, for the sustainable use and conservation of biological diversity, and for the improvement of the relationship between people and their environment globally. |
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Miscellaneous Reference Sources |
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World Checklist of Monocotelydons
This is planned as a series of comprehensive systematic alphabetical catalogues of monocotelydonous genera and species - some 75,000 species in 97 families, approximately a quarter of all flowering plants.
Material currently available on the Internet includes . . .
Provisional Checklist of Orchidaceae
Prepared by Rafaël Govaerts, Phillip Cribb and Jeffrey Wood, this contains 25,000 accepted names and about 45,000 synonyms. It is available only as a series of PDF files - Main Orchid Checklist (very large: 10.9Mb), Synonymous Genera (large: 2.3Mb) and Unplaced Names (small: 283Kb).
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Note. Adobe's 'Acrobat Reader ' software will be required to read these  documents. If you do not already have it, you can download a free copy of the latest version from Adobe's web site. Just click on their logo on the right. |
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International Register of Orchid Hybrids
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the International Registrar of Orchid Hybrid Names. This is their database, searchable on hybrid name (to determine its parentage and registration details) or on species name (to list any registered hybrids for which it is a parent). |
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World Climate
A searchable database of historical weather averages (monthly and annual temperature, rainfall and barometric pressure) for over 85,000 locations world-wide. Remarkably, this is the part-time creation of one person, computer consultant Robert Hoare. |
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World Orchid Conference Trust
The organisation responsible for the continuing series of 3-yearly World Orchid Conferences, at which events OSG always meets. |
Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) of the US