[Editor’s note]

Recently, the Botanical and Horticultural Working Committee of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) was informed by volunteers to pay attention to the crisis concerning all Conophytum species. In 2018, Conophytum plants became popular in the Chinese market due to puffery from interest holders, which caused some unlawful merchants try to make quick profits by digging out wild plants of such species. In 2019, two groups of Chinese sellers were detained and fined for illegally digging out Conophytum species in South Africa. 

In order to help with the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), assist Chinese  and South African law-enforcement authorities to fight against illegal wildlife trade, conserve biodiversity and build a shared future for all life on Earth, CBCGDF Botanical and Horticultural Working Committee launched “Clean Internet for Conophytum” on March 9, 2023, calling for attention to the illegal trade of such species in the hope of building a shared future for all life on Earth.

Conservation and Conophytum

Many Chinese conophytum growers know my name and some even know me personally. I have friends in China. I was sending conos to Chinese enthusiasts twenty years ago when only a few people knew of them, long before so many more people discovered and decided to grow them.
It is well known and publicised that our planet has problems. Global warming, pollution, too much plastic, etc, etc, most the problems are man-made. Only we can change things for a better future. 

Many people know my feelings about the habitat plants arriving in China and the people doing it. I know they like to smear my name. They claim I am as bad as they are, that I sell or sold wild plants. It’s not true and I would like to see their proof, as there is none. They simply try to deflect my criticism of them back on to me. Conophytums with SB (Steven Brack), TS (Terry Smale) and others were also multiplied from very small amounts of original habitat material which had little or no impact on the wild populations and simply cannot be compared to the huge numbers of large, old plants taken over the last few years which continue to arrive in China and other Asian countries. 

All the CR and R&Y numbers on conophytums were propagated and grown for years before being sold or shared. Only a few seedlings, cuttings or seeds were ever taken from habitat and from these, with skill and patience, many more have been produced and spread worldwide. This approach is ethical and eco-friendly and can in no way be compared to the many thousands of old and mature wild plants being ordered from South Africa by people such as Dr Flower and J-F who are only interested in profit. They have no conscience or shame about what they do. They exploit poor local people who get paid very little to do their illegal work for them. 

Due to their greed and others like them who formed the N&S Union to buy habitat plants in wholesale amounts, many conophytums are now extinct in their homeland. This is a shocking and despicable fact. Plants which have been growing there for many thousands of years are now gone simply for financial gain. Species such as bachelorum, mirabile, roodiae ssp. sanguineum, regale, crateriforme and others are gone. Others like pageae and concavum have been sent to China by 100,000’s and so are also close to extinction. 

I know there are excellent Chinese growers who also have the skills to propagate the plants and produce them in quantity for sale. But until collectors stop buying cheap wild plants the poaching will never stop.  Before these Chinese “businessmen” started ordering, the local South African people didn’t even notice the plants, they were just part of their natural landscape. But now they know they have value and continue to dig them out for Chinese orders or just in the hope of finding a buyer. There are more of them every day and the police cannot catch them all. 

Only we as cono lovers can stop or slow the trade in wild plants. The good guys have to work together to stop the bad guys from destroying any more wild populations of plants. Chinese growers need to raise their voices in anger to stop a few bad guys from continuing this trade and just stop buying wild plants. It should be seen as part of the effort to conserve our planets natural resources. 

Most people know that in 2019 Yu Shi and others were arrested in South Africa for digging wild plants. They were charged and paid a large fine to avoid prison. I don’t think many people know that it also happened to Dr Flower, Fan Yang and Lu Zhenyu a few months later. They were also arrested for taking wild plants, imprisoned for a few days, made to pay a fine to avoid a longer prison sentence and kicked out of the country. These and others who support them are the people who bring shame on your country. The same could be said for those who buy their illegally obtained plants. 

So I ask again, please stop buying wild plants. Pay a little bit more for nursery grown plants and grow from seeds. It’s ethical, very satisfying and your conscience will be clear. I’m sure most people will understand it is the right thing to do. 

Thank you for allowing me to. 

Chris Rodgerson

保护肉锥种群

中国的肉锥种植者和爱好者们，你们应该听过我的名字，有些人或许认识我，在中国我也有不少朋友。二十年前，我给和中国的肉锥爱好者们开始接触，很少有人知道肉锥植物，那时候它并没有像当下这么流行。 

众所周知，我们的地球存在许多问题。全球变暖、大气污染、塑料污染等等，大多数问题都是人类活动造成的。地球只有一个，需要我们共同努力才能改变地球环境，创造更美好的未来。 

近几年，或许很多人知道，我看到南非野生植物运往中国的感受，是难过、是愤怒。难过的是当地生态被破坏，大量的种群消失；愤怒的是这些利益熏心商的贪婪。我深知在中国，有一些人会去抹黑我的名字，那些人声称我和他们一样贪婪，说我也贩卖过野生植物。但这不是事实，我想看看他们的证据。我确信不会有，这些利益熏心的商人只是想把我对他们的批评，转移到我的身上。我和SB（Steven Brack）、TS（Terry Smale）等人的肉锥植物是由非常少量的幼苗和种子开始繁殖，这些对野生种群几乎没有影响，根本没办法和在过去几年里持续运往中国和其他亚洲国家的大量的大群的植物相比。 

我出售和分享的所有CR、R&Y编号肉锥植物，它们都是经过很多年的繁殖和生长。最初，我来到肉锥植物的栖息地，只带走了很少的种子和幼苗，凭借耐心繁殖出许多的后代，我繁殖出的植物和种子多年以后开始在世界各地传播。这样的做法并不破坏肉锥植物种群和繁衍，是符合道德和环保的要求。这绝不能与J-F和和Dr Flower等极少数只对利润感兴趣的人相比，他们从南非订购的数千种古老且成熟的野生植物，他们对自己的所作所为毫无良心或羞耻，他们雇佣当地收入微薄的穷人为他们做非法工作，他们是让稀有物种灭绝的推手，是破坏地球环境的罪人。 

物以类聚、人以群分，由于他们的贪婪，所以诞生了N&S联盟。这些人和组织以批发的方式购买栖息地植物，许多肉锥植物现在，它们在自己的家乡被灭绝，这是令人震惊和羞耻的罪恶行为！几千年来，肉锥植物一直安逸地生长在那里，现在某些人只为了经济利益，而让它们一个又一个的消失了。消失的名单：bachelorum（金币纽扣）、mirabile（小美毛球）、roodiae ssp. Sanguineum（鲁提辖亚种）、regale（大眼空蝉）、crateriforme（小酒杯）和其他的少部分肉锥物种都被遭到了毁灭。其他的如pageae（P嘴）和concavum（空卡佛）已经在很久很久之前被送往中国，因此也濒临灭绝。 

我知道中国有许多优秀的种植者，他们有大量繁殖植物的能力，但是在收藏家和爱好者停止购买廉价野生植物之前，偷猎永远不会停止。前几年，中国的野生植物商人雇佣当地人挖掘植物，当地人只把野生植物当作景观的一部分，现在他们知道这些植物值很多钱，所以冒着违法的风险去挖掘，并且更多的人主动挖掘野生植物，在全世界寻找买家。中国的商人利用了他们，冠冕堂皇的说给当地低收入人群增加收入，却是让这些缺乏知识和远见的人，以破环本地生态环境的代价而快速赚钱。前者是高知识的贪婪商人，后者是无知的贪婪。 

我和绝大多数人一样，是一名肉锥爱好者。只有我们爱好者们停止购买，才能减缓或终止野生植物的非法交易。我们全世界的肉锥爱好者必须共同努力，才能阻止利益熏心的人破坏更多的野生植物种群。中国的爱好者、种植者们和园艺家们，我们一起提高愤怒的声音，阻止这些人继续这种非法交易，停止购买野生植物。让我们共同保护这地球自然资源中——可爱而有趣的一部分。 

大多数人都知道，2019年Yu Shi等人在南非被捕，他们被指控并支付了巨额罚款以避免监禁。但是，我想很多人不知道，几个月后，同样的事情发生在了Dr Flower、Fan Yang和Zhenyu Lu 的身上，他们三人因为携带了非法挖掘的野生植物，被拘留了几天。最后，他们缴纳了罚款免除了更长时间的监禁 ，随后被驱逐出境。这些人非法贩卖野生植物的商人，会使得中国蒙羞。 

最后，我再次恳求肉锥爱好者们，请停止购买野生植物，去购买中国优秀种植者手里的种子和园艺植物。多花一点时间，从种子开始播种，享受肉锥植物成长的过程。我相信绝大多数真正的肉锥爱好者都能理解我。                                    

 感谢你们的倾听。 

克里斯·罗杰森

Translator: 独眼鹰

Checked by Linda

Editor: Victoria

Contact: V10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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