Deforestation

Habitat destruction is the most effective form of removal of any particular form of life from the face of earth. As far as the South Indian orchids are concerned , destruction of natural forests is the greatest threat to their existence. During the mad plunder of the Himalayan orchids during the pre-independence days, the orchids of South India escaped a similar fate, because they were not as showy as their ill-fated Himalayan counterparts and also because this stretch of orchid-growing land is rather isolated from the other parts. There is also probably a third reason, which is that the people of South India are not yet quite aware of the wealth of orchids their mountains possess, nor have they realized what these plants are worth in the foreign market. So long as this state of affairs prevails , there will be no threat of overcollection for South Indian orchids.
But ever since the various plantation crops were introduced here and especially during the past two decades , there has been an unprecedented amount of clearing or forest land for purposes of agriculture . This has been true particularly in the State of Kerala where the Government has recently passed regulations to take over all privately owned forest lands. The land owners, in order to retain land , went into a fenzy of converting forest lands into plantations ,with the result that acres of orchid-inhabiting areas were destroyed.
Fortunately not all kinds of forest clearing affects natural orchid population ,eg. , the cardamom plantations usually need heavy shading and there is need for only selective felling of trees , before the land is prepared for planting . This usually involves a clearing of the undergrowth ,while the tall trees are left as they are . Orchids are benefited rather than harmed by such selective felling . The free air movement and the increase in sunlight provided by the clearing away of several crowded trees and the undergrowth in an otherwise dense tropical rain forest , encourage growth of epiphytic orchids. This fact was evident in many of the cardamom plantations we visited during our survey . Rather unfortunately not all plantation crops need heavy shading .
Even in forest areas which have been left unmolested by the above agencies ,threats to the peaceful existence of orchids occur in one form or other . The people who eke out a living by selling the natural produces of the forests like honey, cane , etc., are the main agents of destruction here. In the dry summer months , in order to make their forest trails clear and to keep away reptiles etc., are the main agents of destruction here . In the dry summer months , in order to make their forest trails clear and to keep away reptiles etc.,they set fire to the dry grass. This fire may destroy not only the grass , but also the various terrestrial orchids that grow among the grass, particularly those which do not possess underground tubers . It has been suggested that this may be the reason why the much sought after Paphiopedilum druril,which according to Col. Druru were growing abundantly at the top of the Calcad Hills at one time is now practically extinct .
It is indeed a consoling fact to those who love orchids, that moves are being made at international level for the conservation of orchids . The American Orchid Society has formed an Orchid Conservation Committee with W.W.G. Moir as Chairman and six others as members . The international Union for the Conversation of Nature and Natural Resources has a Survival Service Commision functioning under it . This Commision also has a pilot scheme for spotting and conserving endangered species . Saving of endangered species is only one half of the picture . Only by providing proper sanctuaries to these species can their safe future survival be assured . Just as we provide sanctuaries for wild animals and birds , so should proper habitats be provided for the orchid species as well , so that the infinite variety and colour which these unusual group of plants contribute these lines in India is now being initiated under the leadership of the Director of the Botanical Survey of India .