STRATEGIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING OF MEXICAN ORCHIDS

Abstract

Mexican orchids are one of the group of plants of greatest horticolous interest in the national and international scope. Since there are not enough nurseries with a management plans or reproduction programs to satisfy the present demand of these organisms, many samples have been extracted from their habitat during more than 200 years. More than1,200 species have been recorded in Mexico, and from them, around 200 have been classified under some risk category. One of the conservation strategies here discussed is to promote their sustainable harvesting in rural communities, by the registration of nurseries as Environmental Management Units (UMA, for their acronym in Spanish); this might allow to reduce the pressure upon their population that collection exerts. As it is difficult for their seeds to germinate and the time that is invested in obtaining plants by asexual division, rural nurseries must be in coordination with massive reproduction centers, where they could get, enough amounts of plants for their commercialization. Besides this, it is feasible to propagate selected materials with attractive ornamental elements which provide additional value for their trade. In this paper are exposed some experiences and strategies are proposed for the sustainable harvesting of orchids of Mexico.