Indonesia is a country that has plenty of orchid varieties. There are approximately 6000 species of 35,000 species around the globe. Orchid plants in Indonesia, however, are given less attention, especially in terms of preservation.
Dr. Aziz Purwantoro, M.Sc., lecturer of Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), expressed that the study of tropical orchids, both biologically and ecologically, is very important to support the conservation of orchids. That information is useful to design the conservation actions that will be taken, also to determine areas which are suitable to grow this species.
A study showed that the orchid can actually be used as a basic indicator, showing that an ecosystem is healthy. "This is because orchids can only grow in a conducive environment. Further research about it, however, is still required," he said in a Workshop on Writing Efsd Based on Research Proposal on Tropical Biodiversity in the Faculty of Biology, UGM, Monday (3/5 ).
Dr. Yao Chien Alex Chang, the lecturer at the Department of Horticulture, National Taiwan University (NTU), in the event shared information about orchid research development and industry in Taiwan. Yao Chien said that the orchid is a contributor to state revenue and is one of Taiwan’s best export commodities. "Orchids have a relatively large variaties in terms of color and size. Besides, these flowers bloom for a long period, which is three months, on condition it is given adequate nutrition. It is also able to survive in a long journey (export). These conditions make the orchid business industry increasingly popular, so it can contribute to Taiwan’s revenues," he explained.
Added Yao Chien, from a business point of view, orchids have a promising prospect and the orchid industry is predicted to be increasing from year to year. Various projects have been made by a number of groups in Taiwan to produce quality orchid species, such as intensive orchids breeding program, mass production and the construction of quality greenhouse. For the moment, Taiwan is solely the biggest America’s largest orchids exporter followed by the Netherlands and Thailand.
Separately, Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M. Agr. Sc., lecturer of Faculty of Biology, UGM, said this workshop is part of the Indonesian Managing Higher Education for Relevance and Efficiency (I-MHERE) funded by the World Bank. This activity is intended to improve the efficiency and relevance for excellent higher education. UGM, he added, is one of the universities that receive the grants in addition to ITB, UI, Unair, and Unibraw. He said that only 3 UGM faculties that exclusively received the I-MHERE project, namely Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Agriculture.
On the condition of orchids in Indonesia, Budi explained that Indonesia has many tropical orchid species diversity; yet unfortunately, conservation of the plant which has been named Indonesia’s main flower is still lacking. "It’s true that efforts have been made, but only to the level of cultivation while preservation is still lacking. If no one focuses on the conservation, orchids in Indonesia will extinct. Furthermore, increased illegal logging, forest fires and climate change will further accelerate the extinction of this species," he asserted
He added that based on these phenomena, the Faculty of Biology in cooperation with various institutions, i.e. several Indonesian universities, research institutions and relevant government agencies, will do the research on orchid plants. The Faculty strives to be a center of excellence for the conservation of orchids in the tropics. The various efforts that have been developed, among others, are orchids identification, cultivation, and plant tissue culture, local hybrid as well as transgenic orchids.