Despite the very best of intentions, but for good reasons, it was not possible to visit Bhutan during the covid epidemic. The country locked the borders in a one-way fashion for everybody. You could leave but you could not enter. This lasted from early in 2020 until 2022. Then shortly before opening the country’s borders again for foreign visitors, the government announced a steep increase of the daily fee with $ 200-250 per day in the case for invited guests and volunteers. Fortunately, and rather predictably, this did not last for very long. A rapidly shrinking flow of revenue from tourism, the second largest national income (second after the export of hydroelectric power to India), convinced the authorities to reduce the fee, or to cancel it altogether in our case. It is still somewhat unclear, however, whether a covid-free and/or vaccination certificate is needed to enter the country. In any case, it is hoped that the Sarasota Orchid Society supported Thunder Dragon Orchid Conservation Project once more will roar among the Himalayan mountains during the winter of 2024-25. This is a collaboration between our society and the National Biodiversity Centre, which is an independent branch of the Royal Government of Bhutan. Many articles about orchids in Bhutan have been published mainly in the American Orchid Society’s journal Orchids. New species have been discovered and described, and a book about one hundred new orchid reports in Bhutan have been published, with a second edition. But there is a lot more to come!
By Stig Dalstrom