International Orchid Conservation Congress 5

The orchid family is the largest family of flowering plants, and many species rely on a complex set of interactions for their survival. Their seeds cannot germinate without a relationship with a fungus and many have very specific pollinators. In a changing world, conserving orchids presents huge challenges as not all of the interactions will be affected in the same way by global change, habitat degradation etc. For this reason, we have decided to make «Oechid Conservation – making the links » the theme of the Congress. We expect that more than one hundred experts from around the world will attend the Congress, and with this gathering of expertise, we will be able to make some real progress towards the goal of conserving the orchids of the world.

We encourage contributions on the main topic (Orchid Conservation – making the links), but results from any other field are also welcome – we will have about 10 sessions, in which each orchid enthusiast will find a niche, we believe. We are sure that each of the sessions will strongly contribute to the common message of the congress, as it is time for a synthesis approach, where various lines of investigation are examined with the goal of defining gaps and future initiatives.

More information: http://iocc5.univ-reunion.fr/