IN PURSUIT OF ORCHIDS AND HAPPINESS IN THE LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON
In February of 2007, the Orchid Identification Center (OIC) at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (“Selby Gardens”) received a surprising invitation from the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), an independent branch of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The invitation concerned developing meaningful orchid research and conservation programs, and to establish sustainable ways of protecting as well as utilizing Bhutan’s rich orchid flora. As a first official step from Selby Gardens’ side as an acceptance of this invitation, the Interim Director Jessica Ventimiglia and OIC Curator Stig Dalström, together with a group of Selby staff and supporters, visited Bhutan in April 2008. The group connected well with the newly appointed Program Director of the NBC, Dr. Tashi Yangzome Dorji, and also with the staff, and learned much about the circumstances for a potential and rewarding collaboration. From a Bhutanese point of view, Selby Gardens’ Global Intern Student programs, and orchid identification resources were identified as most welcome additions to the NBC capacity building efforts.
Unfortunately, later the same year a shift in the leadership of Selby Gardens, based on some obfuscate Board agenda, made it clear that the Bhutan project was not prioritized by the newly appointed administration and had to be abandoned.
In May of 2009, Dalström together with Thomas Höijer of Jakobsberg, Sweden, therefore visited Bhutan privately for the first time. The Bhutanese government cannot and will not establish any kind of official MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with private individuals. It can only work with other governments or comparable organizations. This minor setback was solved by NBC accepting Dalström and Höijer as their first Research Associates. The “Thunder Dragon Orchid Research and Conservation Project” (TDORCP) was then adopted by the participants.
In June of 2009, the world-renown Orchid Identification Center at Selby Gardens was shut down due to a shift in “administrative priorities”, and the staff was laid off. As a result from this, Dalström decided to pursue the Bhutan project on a private basis. The most logical new partner then was the Sarasota Orchid Society (SOS), a not-for-profit organization that accepts tax deductible donations from private individuals and organizations. The Board of Directors of SOS gladly accepted becoming the official “mother” for the “Bhutan project” and a separate Bhutan account was established for donations. Once this program was established, it was time to move forward in whatever way possible.
Bhutan is geographically located in the Himalayas between two giant neighbors; the Indian States of Sikkim in the west, West Bengal and Assam in the south and Arunachal Pradesh in the east, and with China (Tibet) to the north. In 2008, Bhutan went through a challenging constitutional change from a traditional monarchy to a modern democracy. It was an effort to modernize and adjust the country to an increasing pressure from the surrounding world. This tiny country (the size of Switzerland, or West Virginia) faces formidable challenges in every aspect of this ongoing process due to their traditional restrictive foreign policy, which has kept the country closed and isolated for centuries. One of the major challenges appears to be how to preserve their traditional culture and way of living, where a “gross domestic happiness” is considered a constitutional right, and still adapt to a more modern world. This “bipolar” policy conflict creates some bureaucratic issues that domestic authorities and foreign visitors sometimes struggle with. The governmental authorities acknowledge the need for foreign funds, but not from too many visitors. The adoption of an exclusive (and rather expensive) “ecotourism” has therefore been identified as a compromising but yet successful way to address the issue. And as long as the country itself remains relatively “untouched” culturally and environmentally, it will most likely keep attracting visitors who will pay for the experience, at least once. In an unusual clear-minded understanding of the challenges Bhutan was facing while adapting to a “modern” society, the Forth King, His Highness Jigme Singye Wangchuck (who abdicated in favor for his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in 2008) managed through an admirable effort to protect Bhutan’s natural beauty and resources by including in the constitution that the country must be covered by at least 60 % of forest at all times. This is probably unique in the world and proof of a most unusual and sincere concern for the environment by a national leader.
The orchid flora of Bhutan includes a large number of species that are popular in cultivation all over the world, such as Aerides, Bulbophyllum, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Paphiopedilum and Vanda. Learning about the natural habitats for these horticulturally desirable orchids is a rewarding way to improve the artificial cultivation as well. Over the years numerous scientific and popular articles featuring various orchid genera and related topics have been published in domestic and foreign orchid journals. Many lectures on the subject have been presented to domestic and foreign orchid societies, and at World Orchid Conferences. More than a handful of new orchid species have been scientifically described from Bhutan as a direct result of the TDORCP, and plenty more are waiting to be discovered. It is therefore with the hope that the Sarasota Orchid Society and its members will continue to support this project, both administratively, financially and morally.
Yours most truly,
Stig Dalstrom
Member of the Sarasota Orchid Society for too many years to remember!
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