Data kindly provided by the curators of the collections.
Rutgers University, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden in Brazil, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Fiji, to name but a few). Private collections belonging to orchid lovers are another source of sometimes rare specimens. In total, around 50% of global diversity (in terms of the number of species) is thus conserved in these collections, essentially in the form of whole plants, in vivo or sometimes in vitro.
However, in most cases, the material is poorly identified in terms of taxonomy and the conservation methods used do not guarantee complete security for the resources. In vivo collections are not shielded from plant health risks (introduction of parasitic fungi or viruses and vectors of viral disease in greenhouses) or climate risks (storms, cyclones). Viral indexing has shown that 40% of the vanilla plants conserved in botanical gardens are infected by the Cymbidium mosaic virus (Grisoni et al., 2007). In vitro culture techniques for vanilla plants have been mastered (see Chapter 5) and ensure protection of plant material from contamination. However, in vitro conservation of collections requires regular maintenance operations that imply a large number of qualified workers. Furthermore, the succession of subcultures means that somaclonal variants may appear and the original genetic resources may be lost. For these reasons, methods to secure the collections must be developed as a matter of urgency. Cryopreservation could be an option for the future. In India, cryopreservation of pollen has been successfully conducted as a part of interspecies hybridization research. This technique solves the problem of the synchronization of flowering in different species. Likewise, a protocol for the cryopreservation of the apex of vanilla plants has been standardized for the storage of genetic resources (see Chapter 5). Protocols for the cryopreservation of meristems are being studied, particularly in Mexico (Gonzalez-Arnao et al., 2009) and France.
In Reunion Island the collection of vanilla genetic resources is the central element of the VATEL Biological Resource Centre, which was accredited in 2009. This recognition implies resource management that follows a quality process similar to the ISO 9001 international standard, and requires compliance with procedures on conservation technologies, the introduction of biological material, and the dissemination of genetic resources.
Rules on the Transfer of Vanilla Genetic Resources
Similar to the rest of the Orchid family, the genus Vanilla is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), also known as the Washington Convention (http://www.cites.org/index. html). The aim of this international convention, signed by 175 countries, is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not endanger the survival of the species to which they belong. Indeed, although we can consider that cultivated vanilla is not endangered, almost all the species grow in natural forests located in high-risk zones. As the Orchid family is listed in Appendix 2 of the CITES convention, which includes over 28,000 plant species, vanilla is subject to the application of strict rules on the transfer of and trade in plant material between States (Figure 3.1). This protection concerns all parts of plants and all by-products, with a few exceptions, especially concerning fruits and their parts and products of cultivated vanilla.
Article IV
Regulation of Trade in Specimens of Species Included in Appendix II (extract)
For full text of the convention see http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.shtml#IV and http://www. cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml#hash1 (appendices I, II and III of the convention)
Main rules
2. The export of any specimen of a species included in Appendix II shall require the prior grant and presentation of an export permit. An export permit shall only be granted when the following conditions have been met:
(a) a Scientific Authority of the State of export has advised that such export will not be detrimental to the survival of that species;
(b) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that the specimen was not obtained in contravention of the laws of that State for the protection of fauna and flora; and
(c) a Management Authority of the State of export is satisfied that any living specimen will be so prepared and shipped as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.
4. Th e import of any specimen of a species included in Appendix II shall require the prior presentation of either an export permit or a re-export certificate.
For the Orchidaceae, these rules concern all parts and derivatives, except: (a) seeds, spores and pollen (including pollinia);
(b) seedling or tissue cultures obtained in vitro, in solid or liquid media, transported in sterile containers;
(c) cut flowers of artificially propagated plants; and
(d) fruits and parts and derivatives thereof of artificially propagated plants of the genus Vanilla.
Article VII
Exemptions and Other Special Provisions Relating to Trade (extract)
6. Th e provisions of Articles III, IV and V shall not apply to the non-commercial loan, donation or exchange between scientists or scientific institutions registered by a Management Authority of their State, of herbarium specimens, other preserved, dried or embedded museum specimens, and live plant material which carry a label issued or approved by a Management Authority.
However, point 6 of Article VII of the convention (“Exemptions and Other Special Provisions Relating to Trade”) facilitates exchanges of noncommercial plant material for scientific purposes.
Each member country of CITES must implement a legislation to guarantee compliance with the convention at the national level. Countries have the right to adopt more binding legislation.
The second level that regulates access to plant genetic resources in general and to vanilla in particular is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), or Rio Convention (http://www.cbd.int/). At the level of the plant kingdom, the CBD covers all species that are not included in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (http://www.planttreaty.org/index_en.htm). The CBD came into force on December 29, 1993. It has 191 parties (member countries) and its three main objectives are: to conserve biological diversity, to use biological diversity in a sustainable fashion and to share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and equitably.