Hi,
Thanks for the support guys.
Today, I met one of the poachers... Don't ask me how I managed to restrain myself...
All the
thorelii were sold, probably in Thailand as there is no real CP market here and most of the plants come from Thailand or from... the wild.
I did see the hybrid between
mirabilis and
thorelii like the one which appeared on the deleted pictures.
The poacher refused kindly to give me any infos about any other
thorelii location pretending he didn't know. Exactly what the other poacher said (and the one we could see with the unrooted plant and the shovel :
).
I' m not even mad at these guys. They just have not a single clue about what conservation is. They started a collection of bizarre plants and learned by internet (MY big mistake) that it was a valuable plant. So, they tried to get some monopoly.
Each time I tried to explain conservation issues, a cheeky smile appeared on the face of the poacher as if I was saying a big joke.
They're just kids. I hope they can grow up. Like Charles Clarke told me before he returned to KL, we need at least one generation before hobbyists realize the whole situation.
Now, they're just bullies or selfish kids. Whatever.
I did meet one young 15 years old grower called Tran Minh (a member of this forum) who is really aware - a very nice teenager- and who tries to spread the good word. But no one listen to him. Tran, you just have to keep on.
This was my last day in Vietnam. A failure. I spent the whole day in one of the type location where I extensively searched for some swamps but almost everything has been turned to rubber plantations more than 30 years ago. People remembered the plants though.
Like I already said,
N. thorelii might grow somewhere else in some 10 square meters but I just can't afford time and money to do a random search. I will return there only if I have help from the Vietnamese hobbyists. Until, then I will focuse all my efforts on Cambodia where I have full supports fron friends, biologists and NGO who will even grant me some funds for the following years.
I will post some pictures of the
thorelii locations quite soon.
Tomorrow, I will return for one week in Cambodia where I will visit a few new locations and doing some work at the herbarium of Phnom Penh.
I' ll keep you updated.
Cheers,
Francois.