As I think about all the tasks involved to insure world cycad
conservation, it seems to be an impossible job for one person
to handle. Our society has many members from every walk of life,
with a multitude of talents. Whether you own a nursery, have a
talent for writing, or just like to keep your yard looking nice,
you can in some way help with cycad conservation.
Let's at least look at some of the problems at hand. All over
the world, cycad habitats are being destroyed. In some countries,
the forests are being clear cut for timber, with no regard for
the other plants in the area. In many countries, small populations
of cycads will get wiped out to plant crops. In Mexico, I have
heard of five hundred-year-old specimens of Dioon edule being
destroyed to plant twenty dollars worth of corn in their place.
In probably all countries where cycads are native, plants are
being destroyed for housing of one kind or another. We are not
immune to this here in the United States. In Florida, thousands
of the native Zamias are being wiped out every year for subdivisions,
shopping centers, and other kinds of land use. If you own land,
and want to build on it, you can destroy all the coontie you want
without even having to get a permit. If you want to dig the plants
up and try to sell them, then you need to get a permit for that.
Coontie that are in wetlands, or coastal areas, are protected
just because of the location and not because they are on the endangered
species list.
Even though the C.I.T.E.S. regulations have reduced poaching to
some extent, it still happens in many countries. With the demand
for cycads on the increase, prices have also gone up. Encephalartos
species in Africa are selling for a premium, with large specimens
going for thousands of dollars. For the most part, the only way
to get a large plant is to remove it from the wild. In Florida,
with the increase in demand for native plants, thousands of Zamias
are being poached every year.
Our botanical gardens are the repositories for our endangered
species throughout the world. A botanical garden can get a permit
to remove a cycad from the wild for research purposes, where a
nursery owner cannot. As far as I know, there are only three botanical
gardens in the United States that have a regular cycad pollination
program. I was asked not to mention the names of these gardens
for security reasons. After asking many of the directors from
other gardens why they don't pollinate their cycads I got a variety
of answers. For the most part, they felt they did not have the
money to pay someone to do this. Others had no interest at all
in trying to propagate their cycads. Even though these gardens
are allowed to bring cycads into this country, they are dooming
the cycads to a slow death without the chance to reproduce themselves.
As if all these problems aren't enough to worry about, it seems
that many of the cycad experts can't even get along with each
other, yet alone agree on ways to conserve cycads. Many collectors
fight amongst themselves for reasons such as jealousy, or competition
for plants with a marginal availability. You would think a group
of people with a common goal would work together to reach this
goal. This is why cooperation amongst society members is essential
to make world cycad conservation a reality.
Now that I have discussed the problems, what can we do to help
solve these problems? The most important way is to preserve the
natural habitats, and the insect pollinators associated with the
various species. There are wildlife funds, and rain forest preservation
funds that are set up to save many of our forests. Many times
they are not specifically trying to save cycad habitats, but on
the other hand, there are many cycads in some of these forests.
Eco-tourism is starting to become a big business. One group in
Costa Rica has helped to preserve the habitat of Zamia fairchildiana
by bringing tourists out to see the cycads. If people can make
a living from the land without destroying it, the plants can be
preserved. I have heard of ecotour companies in Costa Rica, Peru,
and South Africa, and I am sure there are others.
There are two projects that have the best direct influence to
save the cycad populations. One project headed by Andrew Vovides
in Mexico, and one by the kaNgwane Parks Corporation in South
Africa. A small township of people in Mexico has decided to pick
the seeds from the native Dioon edule population, and grow them
in a nursery situation. Portions of the seedlings produced are
planted back into the habitat, and the rest are sold to make an
income. In the first year, they doubled what they had made growing
crops the year before. In South Africa, the Mananga Village is
working on a similar project where they are trying to save Encephalartos
lebomboensis, and E. paucidentatus. They have sold seedlings locally
and throughout the world.
Another important way to save the cycads is to propagate them
in any possible way. This may simplify the matter just a little,
but if there were just three hundred individuals, nurseries, and
botanical gardens that would propagate larger quantities of just
one species each, none of the species would become extinct. There
are many people who could take on the task of growing five species
at a time. We would only need sixty people this way. If someone
were to do this, they should make sure that the group of species
could not cross- pollinate with each other. The two examples I
have already mentioned are a great way to save the plants and
the habitat. Others could start their own corporation and save
a habitat of their choice. People who live in countries where
cycads are native could buy habitats in their own area. Even if
you don't have cycads that are native, it still would help to
choose a target species that may grow well and produce cones in
your area. This will reduce the pressure from the wild populations,
at least from poaching. Many of the botanical gardens might want
to propagate their cycads but can't pay someone to do the job.
If each botanical garden would target a single species, it would
not take a lot of time to do this. Many species will drop pollen
and become receptive over a three or four week period. This way
a worker could spend twenty minutes a day at the most for four
weeks and propagate these plants. Many gardens have a problem
with theft. They also normally don't want to have a large group
of the same species on display. If the garden took aside a small
area in a more private location, they could take care of a colony
and avoid these two problems. If you want to propagate cycads
but really don't have the area to do it, ask your local botanical
garden if you could propagate theirs. The three gardens that are
pollinating their plants now are doing this mainly with volunteer
help. I would also like to see cooperation between interested
individuals and national parks, where someone could come in, fertilize
the cycads, and increase the seed production. A fraction of the
seedlings could be planted back in the habitat, and some could
be distributed to botanical gardens, and concerned individuals.
If you can't work directly with cycads but like to write, you
can write our local government agencies to see what they can do
to help preserve our native habitats and plants. It also wouldn't
hurt to write to officials in other countries, praising them for
their efforts in saving cycad habitats. I know Costa Rica and
Thailand have turned over quite a bit of their land to use as
national parks. Writing any kind of article about cycad conservation
or propagation can help get the word out to as many people as
possible.
As a society, we should get along together for the benefit of
cycad conservation. With the free exchange of information, we
can all benefit. The cycad list on the Internet has been an excellent
way to exchange information all over the world. Our society as
a group, or an individual chapter could fund projects like the
installation of a cycad garden at a local college. By teaching
our students about cycads early, they would get exposure to these
great plants where normally they might not even be taught anything
about them. A chapter could provide a small scholarship to the
student who learned the most about cycads, or had performed some
sort of research with cycads. I think this would be very motivating
for students.
Even if all you want to do is keep your yard looking nice; you
can help with promoting cycads. Display your cycads, and invite
classes from a local school to tour your collection. I know if
someone had taught me about cycads when I was in high school,
I would have started growing them 25 years earlier. The school
children of today, will be the cycad experts and conservationists
of the future.
There are many people throughout the world that are doing their
part to promote cycad conservation in their own way. No matter
what your forte may be, we can all do our part in the task to
conserve cycads. If we all work together, and do what is best
for the cycads, world cycad conservation can become a reality.
