1 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:10,150 James Wong: A bright January afternoon in 2014, the sunlight slants through 2 00:00:10,150 --> 00:00:13,389 James Wong: the panels of the Princess of Wales Conservatory in the 3 00:00:13,389 --> 00:00:17,090 James Wong: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Where even in the dead of 4 00:00:17,090 --> 00:00:24,410 James Wong: winter, preparations are underway for the Annual Orchid Festival. 10 5 00:00:24,410 --> 00:00:29,070 James Wong: climate controlled zones display a magnificent array of rare and 6 00:00:29,070 --> 00:00:35,159 James Wong: remarkable plants from across the planet. As the staff busy 7 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:39,229 James Wong: themselves readying for the big event an apprentice is doing 8 00:00:39,229 --> 00:00:43,779 James Wong: the rounds, checking the water levels in the ponds. Somewhere 9 00:00:43,780 --> 00:00:46,909 James Wong: near the concrete bridge, he stops in his tracks, all 10 00:00:46,909 --> 00:00:50,190 James Wong: around him is the hubbub of visitors and busy staff. 11 00:00:50,879 --> 00:00:54,540 James Wong: But his focus is chained on one thing, a small 12 00:00:54,540 --> 00:00:59,450 James Wong: hole in the abundant flora, the scraper fingers, almost visible 13 00:00:59,450 --> 00:01:04,060 James Wong: in the mud. Holding his breath he leans in, but 14 00:01:04,060 --> 00:01:05,459 James Wong: he already knows what's missing. 15 00:01:16,459 --> 00:01:20,340 Speaker 2: When you find that someone has acted illegally, unlawfully and 16 00:01:20,340 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 2: selfishly in stealing one element of that collection, particularly something 17 00:01:24,399 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 2: as valuable as this plant, it's very disappointing. 18 00:01:28,410 --> 00:01:31,950 James Wong: Missing from the mud was one of 24 specimens of 19 00:01:31,970 --> 00:01:36,670 James Wong: Nymphaea thermarum, one of the world's most endangered species. The 20 00:01:36,670 --> 00:01:41,699 James Wong: world's smallest and rarest waterlily. Its delicate white flowers are 21 00:01:41,699 --> 00:01:44,269 James Wong: now extinct in the wild. And Kew is one of 22 00:01:44,270 --> 00:01:47,500 James Wong: the few botanic gardens in the world to be guardian 23 00:01:47,500 --> 00:01:51,650 James Wong: of this species, which had once lived in Rwandan hot springs. 24 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,700 Carly Cowell: The high price of these individual plants and the rarer 25 00:01:55,700 --> 00:01:59,150 Carly Cowell: they are, although there's a risk of being caught, there's 26 00:01:59,150 --> 00:02:03,450 Carly Cowell: very little prosecution and jail time. And the fines are 27 00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:07,939 Carly Cowell: minuscule compared to the prices that these items are actually 28 00:02:07,940 --> 00:02:09,300 Carly Cowell: sold at the end. 29 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,010 James Wong: I'm James Wong and I'm a botanist. In this series 30 00:02:14,070 --> 00:02:17,950 James Wong: I'm unraveling the secrets of the world of plants and fungi, 31 00:02:19,139 --> 00:02:23,769 James Wong: from one tiny waterlily to the pre- historic giants hidden 32 00:02:23,769 --> 00:02:28,489 James Wong: in multi- million pound mansions. We'll find out about the criminal 33 00:02:28,489 --> 00:02:33,649 James Wong: underworld that threatens to devastate entire species and the future of 34 00:02:33,650 --> 00:02:34,140 James Wong: our planet. 35 00:02:35,340 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 4: Wildlife trafficking has surged in recent years, generating billions in 36 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 4: illicit profits. Criminals are helping themselves to the environment's precious resources 37 00:02:45,700 --> 00:02:48,269 Speaker 4: without a care for the cost to our planet. 38 00:02:48,269 --> 00:02:52,549 Speaker 2: The scale of the internet is a real challenge for the 39 00:02:52,549 --> 00:02:57,230 Speaker 2: monitoring and surveillance of wildlife crime. It's still important to 40 00:02:57,230 --> 00:03:00,439 Speaker 2: involve human judgment in these decisions. 41 00:03:01,780 --> 00:03:06,760 James Wong: You're listening to Unearthed: Mysteries from an unseen world, from 42 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:15,639 James Wong: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Kew's tropical nursery is a huge 43 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:21,730 James Wong: partitioned glass house split into 21 different climatic zones. It's 44 00:03:21,730 --> 00:03:26,150 James Wong: home to 10,000 plants, and it's the most diverse collection 45 00:03:26,179 --> 00:03:31,169 James Wong: of cultivated plants on the planet. This is where a 46 00:03:31,169 --> 00:03:35,080 James Wong: talented team, tends plants behind the scenes and where many 47 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,450 James Wong: waterlilies begin their Kew journey. It's from this oasis of 48 00:03:39,450 --> 00:03:42,890 James Wong: life that the specimens visitors see in the gardens are 49 00:03:42,890 --> 00:03:46,860 James Wong: often born. It was here that the ideal conditions for Nymphaea 50 00:03:47,170 --> 00:03:53,520 James Wong: thermarum were decoded by Kew's botanical horticulturist, Carlos Magdalena. Known 51 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,150 James Wong: to some as the plant Messiah, due to his ability 52 00:03:57,150 --> 00:04:01,550 James Wong: to coax plants back from the brink of extinction. Fast 53 00:04:01,550 --> 00:04:04,210 James Wong: forward a few years and some of the rare waterlilies 54 00:04:04,270 --> 00:04:07,480 James Wong: now extinct in the wild, run show at the Princess 55 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:13,250 James Wong: of Wales Conservatory. Richard Barley is Director of Horticulture Learning 56 00:04:13,250 --> 00:04:17,729 James Wong: and Operations at Kew. He arrived in 2013 and it 57 00:04:17,729 --> 00:04:21,250 James Wong: was not long after this, that the waterlily theft took place. 58 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:27,510 Speaker 5: The story of the Rwandan waterlily is a really interesting 59 00:04:27,510 --> 00:04:32,089 Speaker 5: one. It only grew in the natural habitat at one 60 00:04:32,089 --> 00:04:36,089 Speaker 5: location in Rwanda on the edge of a thermal spring. 61 00:04:36,170 --> 00:04:39,330 Speaker 5: Just in the sort of moist mud with a thin 62 00:04:39,330 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 5: film of water. They send some seed across here to 63 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:47,740 Speaker 5: Kew. And I think that was in about 2008, 2009. And 64 00:04:47,740 --> 00:04:51,810 Speaker 5: that's when one of our own horticulturist here, Carlos Magdalena 65 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,950 Speaker 5: did a number of trials with the seed that it 66 00:04:54,950 --> 00:04:58,750 Speaker 5: germinated, it grew, it stayed alive. And then we were able 67 00:04:58,750 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 5: to multiply the numbers of plants and ultimately finish up 68 00:05:02,070 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 5: with a really good collection. So at least we'd preserve 69 00:05:05,919 --> 00:05:09,150 Speaker 5: the material and the plant, which was by then extinct 70 00:05:09,150 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 5: in the wild. It had disappeared, I think in about 71 00:05:12,050 --> 00:05:16,270 Speaker 5: 2008, but we still then had saved the plant from 72 00:05:16,719 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 5: becoming extinct altogether. 73 00:05:18,500 --> 00:05:20,640 James Wong: It really is so distinct, as soon as you look 74 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,200 James Wong: at it. It's like, honey, I shrunk the kids kind 75 00:05:23,370 --> 00:05:25,609 James Wong: of got the Ray gun and aim that at a waterlily. 76 00:05:25,610 --> 00:05:25,630 Speaker 5: Yeah. 77 00:05:26,669 --> 00:05:29,050 James Wong: And it doesn't grow with its parts floating on the 78 00:05:29,050 --> 00:05:30,890 James Wong: surface of water. It just grows in mud. 79 00:05:31,190 --> 00:05:31,900 Speaker 5: Yeah, that's right. 80 00:05:32,130 --> 00:05:36,049 James Wong: What's it like when you've spent years, maybe even decades 81 00:05:36,050 --> 00:05:40,159 James Wong: in some situations trying to conserve a particular species and 82 00:05:40,159 --> 00:05:42,070 James Wong: then notice that, that has been stolen. 83 00:05:42,180 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 5: Look, its always disappointing. I mean, I'm sure it'd be 84 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,969 Speaker 5: the same with anyone working with any valuable collection of 85 00:05:47,969 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 5: anything at all. When you find that someone has acted 86 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:56,210 Speaker 5: illegally unlawfully and selfishly in stealing one element of that 87 00:05:56,210 --> 00:05:58,939 Speaker 5: collection, particularly something as valuable as this plant. 88 00:05:59,450 --> 00:06:01,479 James Wong: Were you surprised when you found out it was missing? 89 00:06:01,650 --> 00:06:05,909 Speaker 5: Yes, I was. Honestly, I think any plant theft surprises 90 00:06:05,909 --> 00:06:09,529 Speaker 5: me because I inherently always think the best of people at 91 00:06:09,529 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 5: large and don't expect something like that to happen. And 92 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,749 Speaker 5: also frankly, I was surprised because it was not right 93 00:06:16,750 --> 00:06:19,210 Speaker 5: next to a pathway. You could just be walking along, 94 00:06:19,210 --> 00:06:22,339 Speaker 5: bend down and scoop it up. It did require someone 95 00:06:22,339 --> 00:06:25,989 Speaker 5: to traverse some fairly soft going and to get to 96 00:06:25,990 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 5: the edge of a pond and get it and get 97 00:06:28,719 --> 00:06:33,419 Speaker 5: it out and not be noticed doing that. These conservatories 98 00:06:33,419 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 5: are not left empty during the day. They have people 99 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,849 Speaker 5: in them. As I said earlier, we need to tell 100 00:06:38,849 --> 00:06:43,260 Speaker 5: the stories of why those plants are rare, because ultimately 101 00:06:43,260 --> 00:06:46,129 Speaker 5: we want all our visitors and the wider community to 102 00:06:46,130 --> 00:06:51,049 Speaker 5: understand the importance of looking after biodiversity around the world. 103 00:06:51,049 --> 00:06:53,070 Speaker 5: We want them to know what the issues are. And 104 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,740 Speaker 5: if that means they make some sensible decisions about anything 105 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,670 Speaker 5: in their lives, then that's been a very positive outcome. 106 00:07:02,620 --> 00:07:07,369 James Wong: This story is far from lighthearted or eccentric. In reality, 107 00:07:07,539 --> 00:07:11,179 James Wong: a multi- million pound trade in plant trafficking is seeing 108 00:07:11,390 --> 00:07:15,360 James Wong: rare species ripped from their natural habitats. Mules, employed to 109 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,460 James Wong: break the law and species smuggled without regard to consequences 110 00:07:19,460 --> 00:07:24,530 James Wong: for disease, sustainability and life on earth. So the question 111 00:07:24,530 --> 00:07:29,040 James Wong: is who would steal an endangered plant? I met up 112 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:33,889 James Wong: with Carley Cowell. Carley is Kew Senior Science Policy advisor 113 00:07:34,090 --> 00:07:37,220 James Wong: for the CITES team. You might want to remember that 114 00:07:37,220 --> 00:07:40,550 James Wong: acronym CITES, because you're going to hear a bit more 115 00:07:40,550 --> 00:07:44,960 James Wong: of it. CITES is the Convention on International Trade in 116 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,869 James Wong: Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. Bit of a 117 00:07:48,870 --> 00:07:51,570 James Wong: mouthful, so you can see why they needed a snappier title. 118 00:07:52,630 --> 00:07:55,580 Carly Cowell: South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot. One of the smallest 119 00:07:55,580 --> 00:07:58,940 Carly Cowell: plant kingdoms in the world, being only in a single 120 00:07:58,940 --> 00:08:03,080 Carly Cowell: country, whereas there's other plant kingdoms that span continents, and 121 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,210 Carly Cowell: this just leads to that element of being rare and 122 00:08:06,210 --> 00:08:09,220 Carly Cowell: having a high status. And when I was living and 123 00:08:09,220 --> 00:08:12,670 Carly Cowell: working there, my role was to go and to search 124 00:08:12,670 --> 00:08:16,840 Carly Cowell: for these rare plants and to locate them, check their 125 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,850 Carly Cowell: population, see that they were surviving in the wild and that they were 126 00:08:19,850 --> 00:08:22,970 Carly Cowell: healthy. And there were no threats to them. The conservation, the 127 00:08:22,970 --> 00:08:27,360 Carly Cowell: basic form of conservation. What we did find unfortunately, was 128 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,309 Carly Cowell: that there was the dark side of things where people 129 00:08:30,310 --> 00:08:34,120 Carly Cowell: wanted to then collect these rare plants and sell them 130 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:39,030 Carly Cowell: for their rarity. We would often find that we'd go 131 00:08:39,030 --> 00:08:42,340 Carly Cowell: to a population, count the numbers, and then return to 132 00:08:42,340 --> 00:08:44,280 Carly Cowell: go back and see if they'd set seed or some. 133 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,140 Carly Cowell: And they were gone. They'd been collected, ripped out the 134 00:08:47,140 --> 00:08:51,410 Carly Cowell: ground. There were just holes left. Taken to garden centers 135 00:08:51,410 --> 00:08:54,640 Carly Cowell: or collectors in South Africa, but a lot for export 136 00:08:54,829 --> 00:09:01,130 Carly Cowell: to the states, Europe and Singapore. We were aware of 137 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,110 Carly Cowell: an individual who'd come through from Eastern Europe and was 138 00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:07,640 Carly Cowell: traveling in South Africa, had been known to collect reptiles 139 00:09:07,770 --> 00:09:13,439 Carly Cowell: illegally, and we were tracking him. And the news came 140 00:09:13,439 --> 00:09:16,429 Carly Cowell: that he had entered a national park and that he 141 00:09:16,429 --> 00:09:19,730 Carly Cowell: was in the vicinity and we tracked him down and 142 00:09:19,730 --> 00:09:22,610 Carly Cowell: got to his guest house. We searched and in his 143 00:09:22,610 --> 00:09:28,389 Carly Cowell: bathroom, we found over 2000 succulent plant species. We found 144 00:09:28,390 --> 00:09:32,969 Carly Cowell: reptiles, snakes and lizards, but plants. An entire bathroom with 145 00:09:32,980 --> 00:09:39,600 Carly Cowell: 2000 meticulously labeled and packaged. It was just unbelievable, but 146 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,739 Carly Cowell: it was gut wrenching at the same time, because he 147 00:09:43,740 --> 00:09:47,650 Carly Cowell: was not a botanist and a conservationist. If you collect 148 00:09:47,650 --> 00:09:50,069 Carly Cowell: something as a botanist, you take the locality, you know 149 00:09:50,069 --> 00:09:51,980 Carly Cowell: where it came from, because you'd like to go back 150 00:09:51,980 --> 00:09:55,000 Carly Cowell: and see if the rest of the population, because you wouldn't take 151 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,881 Carly Cowell: an entire population was still thriving. These plants were just taken. 152 00:09:58,881 --> 00:10:05,469 James Wong: Carly is often found in Kew's Jodrell laboratory, working with 153 00:10:05,470 --> 00:10:08,189 James Wong: teams in the wood anatomy lab and the taxonomist as 154 00:10:08,189 --> 00:10:12,339 James Wong: well. She's also regularly based in Kew's millennium seed bank 155 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:16,809 James Wong: at Wakehurst and works closely with government departments. She is 156 00:10:16,809 --> 00:10:20,380 James Wong: passionate that we can change our attitude to what's green 157 00:10:20,459 --> 00:10:21,199 James Wong: and unseen. 158 00:10:22,350 --> 00:10:26,400 Carly Cowell: I think growing up in South Africa and seeing the 159 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,420 Carly Cowell: species in the wild ray and common plants and just 160 00:10:29,569 --> 00:10:34,670 Carly Cowell: ecosystems functioning on a more natural level, I want others 161 00:10:34,670 --> 00:10:38,530 Carly Cowell: to experience that. I want it to remain as it 162 00:10:38,530 --> 00:10:43,030 Carly Cowell: is. My belief is that we are custodians for the 163 00:10:43,030 --> 00:10:45,360 Carly Cowell: earth. We are to look after it and guard it 164 00:10:45,809 --> 00:10:50,020 Carly Cowell: and let it function as it is meant to be. It's 165 00:10:50,020 --> 00:10:53,189 Carly Cowell: not for us to plunder and pillage and use for 166 00:10:53,189 --> 00:10:57,589 Carly Cowell: our own personal gain, come what may for nature. That's 167 00:10:57,589 --> 00:11:01,089 Carly Cowell: my driving factor. I want to be a custodian. I 168 00:11:01,089 --> 00:11:03,709 Carly Cowell: want to protect the earth and I want generations to 169 00:11:03,709 --> 00:11:06,160 Carly Cowell: come to experience what I've experienced. 170 00:11:07,300 --> 00:11:11,609 James Wong: So one of the things that I find really intriguing is how do these plants smuggling 171 00:11:11,610 --> 00:11:14,620 James Wong: networks operate? Like how do they operate on the ground? 172 00:11:14,969 --> 00:11:20,609 Carly Cowell: From my past experience of working in conservation and particularly 173 00:11:20,610 --> 00:11:26,439 Carly Cowell: protected areas, they function the same way as any illegal 174 00:11:26,439 --> 00:11:29,959 Carly Cowell: crime syndicates would function. You've got the kingpins at the 175 00:11:29,959 --> 00:11:33,790 Carly Cowell: top with lots of money, supplying a demand for something 176 00:11:33,790 --> 00:11:37,800 Carly Cowell: rare and highly valuable. And it filters down to those 177 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,630 Carly Cowell: who are actually on the ground doing poaching, are often 178 00:11:41,699 --> 00:11:45,510 Carly Cowell: the poor poverty- stricken people who are desperate, who don't 179 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:50,829 Carly Cowell: have other options in society. And don't have a fallback 180 00:11:50,829 --> 00:11:54,689 Carly Cowell: from government for funding. So they are the ones actually 181 00:11:54,689 --> 00:11:56,750 Carly Cowell: putting their lives on the line and going out and 182 00:11:56,750 --> 00:11:57,589 Carly Cowell: doing the poaching. 183 00:11:57,929 --> 00:12:01,589 James Wong: It's quite difficult. It's a network of organized crime, that's 184 00:12:01,589 --> 00:12:04,770 James Wong: really analogous to things like the trade in drugs, for 185 00:12:04,770 --> 00:12:08,479 James Wong: example. And it can be almost impossible for non- geeks 186 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,309 James Wong: to think about plants as being that valuable. 187 00:12:12,250 --> 00:12:16,929 Carly Cowell: The ones we're talking about are newly discovered species, species 188 00:12:16,929 --> 00:12:21,500 Carly Cowell: on the brink of extinction, where there's only a handful. 189 00:12:21,500 --> 00:12:23,900 Carly Cowell: And what I mean by a handful, I mean like literally five. As 190 00:12:23,900 --> 00:12:29,500 Carly Cowell: in five fingers, that's left. So they become sought after, 191 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:33,290 Carly Cowell: a bragging right for these collectors that have them. I've 192 00:12:33,290 --> 00:12:37,410 Carly Cowell: got one of the last remaining 15 plants. So they 193 00:12:37,410 --> 00:12:41,400 Carly Cowell: put this value on them that is just exorbitant and 194 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:44,510 Carly Cowell: is unrealistic. When you think of the fact that you 195 00:12:44,510 --> 00:12:46,929 Carly Cowell: could mass produce them like the ones in the garden 196 00:12:46,929 --> 00:12:50,089 Carly Cowell: center and everyone could have, but then you wouldn't have 197 00:12:50,089 --> 00:12:54,589 Carly Cowell: that status of owning that rare plant. It's soul destroying 198 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,319 Carly Cowell: at a level. You feel you've failed them in the 199 00:12:57,319 --> 00:13:04,139 Carly Cowell: wild. There's a term known as plant blindness, which is 200 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,969 Carly Cowell: prevalent across the world through all societies. As humans, we've 201 00:13:08,969 --> 00:13:12,309 Carly Cowell: evolved from being chased by things that could eat us. 202 00:13:12,309 --> 00:13:15,599 Carly Cowell: So we needed to actually see them coming first, rather 203 00:13:15,599 --> 00:13:18,179 Carly Cowell: than the green plants, which weren't so much of a 204 00:13:18,179 --> 00:13:21,929 Carly Cowell: threat. So we phase out the green into the background 205 00:13:21,929 --> 00:13:23,979 Carly Cowell: and we look for things that are moving or bright 206 00:13:23,980 --> 00:13:28,160 Carly Cowell: colors or hairy. So we're blind to plants. They're just 207 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,269 Carly Cowell: there. They always have been and they always will be. 208 00:13:33,410 --> 00:13:36,849 James Wong: These are organized criminal networks, and that can have a 209 00:13:36,849 --> 00:13:40,880 James Wong: very human cost when plants may be worth millions of 210 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:45,110 James Wong: pounds. The consequences to conservationists on the ground, trying to 211 00:13:45,110 --> 00:13:48,770 James Wong: protect both can be illness. Like I understand you have 212 00:13:48,770 --> 00:13:51,640 James Wong: experience of this in national parks in Mozambique. 213 00:13:52,199 --> 00:13:56,189 Carly Cowell: Yes, I personally wasn't there, but I had colleagues that 214 00:13:56,189 --> 00:13:59,740 Carly Cowell: we work closely with on the Kruger National Park, Mozambique 215 00:13:59,740 --> 00:14:04,239 Carly Cowell: border. The rangers protecting very rare cycads that grow in 216 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,490 Carly Cowell: Mozambique and across the border in South Africa, were being 217 00:14:07,490 --> 00:14:12,309 Carly Cowell: poached. And they were being shot at, and people lost 218 00:14:12,309 --> 00:14:17,219 Carly Cowell: their lives because of protecting rare plants. 219 00:14:18,339 --> 00:14:21,920 James Wong: So apart from orchids and cacti, cycads are this other 220 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,550 James Wong: group of plants where there's a massive business. 221 00:14:25,610 --> 00:14:29,640 Carly Cowell: Yes. So cycads hold the dubious title of being some 222 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,020 Carly Cowell: of the oldest plants in the world. They're known as 223 00:14:32,020 --> 00:14:36,009 Carly Cowell: living fossils. And they were around during the Jurassic period 224 00:14:36,010 --> 00:14:40,570 Carly Cowell: with the dinosaurs. They probably covered the entire earth, but 225 00:14:40,570 --> 00:14:45,090 Carly Cowell: now they're just stuck in a few pockets, clinging onto 226 00:14:45,090 --> 00:14:49,869 Carly Cowell: the edge of survival. They're highly sought after. They're extremely 227 00:14:49,870 --> 00:14:53,050 Carly Cowell: old and the older the cycad and the fewer they 228 00:14:53,050 --> 00:14:56,330 Carly Cowell: are of its kind, the price is then a lot 229 00:14:56,330 --> 00:15:00,710 Carly Cowell: higher. And we're talking hundreds of thousands of pounds to 230 00:15:00,710 --> 00:15:05,050 Carly Cowell: millions, depending on the species, its rarity and its age. 231 00:15:05,950 --> 00:15:09,749 Carly Cowell: The high price of these individual plants and the older they 232 00:15:09,750 --> 00:15:13,160 Carly Cowell: are and the rarer they are, although, there's a risk 233 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:17,660 Carly Cowell: of being caught, there's very little prosecution and jail time. 234 00:15:17,660 --> 00:15:23,080 Carly Cowell: And the fines are minuscule compared to the prices that 235 00:15:23,330 --> 00:15:26,940 Carly Cowell: these items are actually sold at the end. The people 236 00:15:26,940 --> 00:15:29,570 Carly Cowell: who know the plants and love them and have studied 237 00:15:29,570 --> 00:15:33,370 Carly Cowell: them, don't get paid very well for it. It's not 238 00:15:33,370 --> 00:15:38,170 Carly Cowell: a high profile, highly paid job. So they do sometimes 239 00:15:38,170 --> 00:15:42,040 Carly Cowell: turn to the illegal trade where they can then use 240 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,629 Carly Cowell: their skills and expertise to sell these plants on to 241 00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:47,920 Carly Cowell: those collectors who will pay thousands or millions for them. 242 00:15:48,530 --> 00:15:51,720 James Wong: Thanks for listening to Unearthed. I'll be back again in 243 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,250 James Wong: just a minute, but first here's a message from our 244 00:15:54,370 --> 00:15:55,619 James Wong: supporter, Kim Katra. 245 00:15:57,570 --> 00:16:01,999 Speaker 7: As a charity, the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew is facing 246 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 7: a severe funding crisis right now. The impact of coronavirus 247 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:11,470 Speaker 7: has created a financial shortfall of 15 million pounds. This 248 00:16:11,470 --> 00:16:14,650 Speaker 7: money is vital for the upkeep of these beautiful botanic 249 00:16:14,650 --> 00:16:20,650 Speaker 7: gardens and crucial to continuing its global conservation work. Plants 250 00:16:20,650 --> 00:16:23,750 Speaker 7: and fungi hold many of the answers to the world's 251 00:16:23,750 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 7: biggest challenges such as climate change, food security and biodiversity 252 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,060 Speaker 7: loss. And Kew needs to play a role in furthering 253 00:16:33,060 --> 00:16:38,060 Speaker 7: the science and identifying desperately needed solutions. If there's one 254 00:16:38,060 --> 00:16:41,450 Speaker 7: positive thing that could come out of this pandemic, it 255 00:16:41,450 --> 00:16:44,330 Speaker 7: will be to encourage each and every one of us 256 00:16:44,330 --> 00:16:48,820 Speaker 7: to look afresh and with urgency at these global challenges. 257 00:16:49,270 --> 00:16:52,950 Speaker 7: If you are enjoying this podcast and feel inspired by 258 00:16:52,950 --> 00:16:57,009 Speaker 7: the work that Kew does, please go to kew.org to 259 00:16:57,010 --> 00:17:01,530 Speaker 7: donate today. To help not only protect Kew, but also 260 00:17:01,530 --> 00:17:04,179 Speaker 7: preserve the future of our planet. 261 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,889 James Wong: Accidental crime can happen when people aren't used to thinking 262 00:17:12,940 --> 00:17:17,139 James Wong: about the global impact of small actions, but what about 263 00:17:17,139 --> 00:17:21,359 James Wong: the more conscious and perhaps more sinister trade. A global 264 00:17:21,409 --> 00:17:26,080 James Wong: illegal plant trade doesn't respect the natural population, habitat or 265 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,310 James Wong: biodiversity of a species. I spoke to Guy Clark at 266 00:17:30,310 --> 00:17:32,540 James Wong: the UK Border Force at Heathrow airport. 267 00:17:37,350 --> 00:17:41,159 Guy Clark: I've been doing this work for approximately 25 years. And 268 00:17:41,159 --> 00:17:44,800 Guy Clark: before that I ran a drugs anti- smuggling team at 269 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,179 Guy Clark: Heathrow for 10 years before that. So my whole career 270 00:17:48,180 --> 00:17:51,840 Guy Clark: is mainly airport based with a few visits to the 271 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:56,139 Guy Clark: UK ports thrown in. Some of the more unusual items 272 00:17:56,139 --> 00:18:00,409 Guy Clark: we've seized. We've had tins of soup made from sea 273 00:18:00,409 --> 00:18:03,960 Guy Clark: turtles and the sea turtle is listed on appendix one 274 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,750 Guy Clark: of CITES. So there's no commercial trade. We've had motor 275 00:18:07,750 --> 00:18:11,530 Guy Clark: vehicles made here in the UK that have been exported 276 00:18:11,530 --> 00:18:15,609 Guy Clark: abroad and all the leather inside was crocodile skin. And 277 00:18:15,609 --> 00:18:19,430 Guy Clark: they didn't have any of the right CITES permits because 278 00:18:19,430 --> 00:18:23,240 Guy Clark: all crocodiles and alligators are controlled. So not only your 279 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,340 Guy Clark: expensive handbags, but any skin items and- 280 00:18:27,340 --> 00:18:29,970 James Wong: But just the idea of not knowing where to look. If someone 281 00:18:29,970 --> 00:18:33,190 James Wong: was exporting a car, I just would never, ever have 282 00:18:33,190 --> 00:18:35,850 James Wong: imagined that UK Border Force would need to look at it. 283 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,510 Guy Clark: Now, what varies in the detection side of things is 284 00:18:39,649 --> 00:18:43,519 Guy Clark: not just the illegal wildlife trade. It's drugs, its illegal 285 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:48,019 Guy Clark: migrants, it's conflict diamonds. So we have a wide range 286 00:18:48,090 --> 00:18:51,480 Guy Clark: of duties, but we do have a number of the 287 00:18:51,700 --> 00:18:56,550 Guy Clark: more unusual tasks allocated to us, dealing with the restricted 288 00:18:56,550 --> 00:19:01,320 Guy Clark: parts and animals, is one of those where the large numbers 289 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:07,400 Guy Clark: of species controlled under the CITES convention. Now there's about 28, 290 00:19:07,590 --> 00:19:12,100 Guy Clark: 000 plants and trees controlled under the CITES convention and round about 7, 291 00:19:12,100 --> 00:19:16,570 Guy Clark: 000 animals. We know where our high risk countries of 292 00:19:16,570 --> 00:19:20,330 Guy Clark: origin are. We know where high risk plant and timber 293 00:19:20,330 --> 00:19:24,409 Guy Clark: species come from. So we can narrow down our controls 294 00:19:24,450 --> 00:19:29,850 Guy Clark: and focus and deploy to those flights or those ships 295 00:19:29,850 --> 00:19:32,480 Guy Clark: that bring in containers or flights that bring in air 296 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:36,450 Guy Clark: cargo and mail for the high risk countries. So for 297 00:19:36,450 --> 00:19:42,139 Guy Clark: plants where we're talking about Southeast Asia, India, sometimes the 298 00:19:42,139 --> 00:19:46,290 Guy Clark: United States. So we can focus in on those areas 299 00:19:46,340 --> 00:19:50,119 Guy Clark: that we know are high risk. And with our intelligence 300 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,810 Guy Clark: exchanges, that helps make our job a bit easier. It 301 00:19:53,810 --> 00:19:54,560 Guy Clark: is difficult. 302 00:19:55,030 --> 00:19:57,379 James Wong: So how does the Border Force work with Kew? 303 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:02,280 Guy Clark: We rely on the botanists at Kew to identify the 304 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,139 Guy Clark: species, particularly orchids. Now, there's a large number of orchid 305 00:20:06,139 --> 00:20:09,350 Guy Clark: species from Southeast Asia that have the highest levels of 306 00:20:09,350 --> 00:20:13,050 Guy Clark: protection under CITES. So there should be no commercial trade 307 00:20:13,050 --> 00:20:16,439 Guy Clark: in these species. When we see a plant, it's probably 308 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,629 Guy Clark: going to have no indication of what the species is. 309 00:20:19,629 --> 00:20:23,010 Guy Clark: It'll just be wrapped up in newspaper. So we have 310 00:20:23,010 --> 00:20:26,359 Guy Clark: had occasions where it's taken two or three months before 311 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:30,179 Guy Clark: the plant has actually flowered before the botanists are able 312 00:20:30,179 --> 00:20:34,149 Guy Clark: to determine the exact species. We have had a commercial 313 00:20:34,149 --> 00:20:39,590 Guy Clark: importer who was smuggling appendix one, orchids in his suitcases 314 00:20:39,590 --> 00:20:43,040 Guy Clark: through terminal three. And he got a custodial sentence for 315 00:20:43,210 --> 00:20:46,609 Guy Clark: three months in prison on each of the charges, when 316 00:20:46,609 --> 00:20:50,439 Guy Clark: the botanists at Kew or Peter Gasson, the wood anatomist. 317 00:20:50,770 --> 00:20:55,240 Guy Clark: Now they will do their examinations and should a case 318 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,680 Guy Clark: go to court and the orchid case that I referred to earlier. 319 00:20:59,030 --> 00:21:02,369 Guy Clark: It was the first time an impact statement had been 320 00:21:02,369 --> 00:21:07,129 Guy Clark: prepared by a scientific institution in a UK court. The 321 00:21:07,129 --> 00:21:12,040 Guy Clark: impact statement is now used in all wildlife cases, both 322 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,330 Guy Clark: here in the UK now and abroad. And that actually 323 00:21:15,330 --> 00:21:19,629 Guy Clark: provides the court with information about the damage the smugglers 324 00:21:19,629 --> 00:21:22,750 Guy Clark: are causing by taking the plants from the wild in 325 00:21:22,750 --> 00:21:25,790 Guy Clark: their range states. If you're going to buy plants, it's 326 00:21:25,790 --> 00:21:30,560 Guy Clark: much better to buy plants from nurseries, approved nurseries that 327 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,659 Guy Clark: have got a chain of documentation to show where their 328 00:21:33,659 --> 00:21:38,020 Guy Clark: products originated rather than digging plants up in the wild. 329 00:21:38,210 --> 00:21:40,850 Guy Clark: Not only do you damage the environment there, but you 330 00:21:40,850 --> 00:21:45,980 Guy Clark: risk bringing disease and other pests into the UK when 331 00:21:45,980 --> 00:21:48,070 Guy Clark: you smuggle them through. And no one really wants that. 332 00:21:50,149 --> 00:21:54,300 James Wong: The global wood industry has seen a boom. This in 333 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,439 James Wong: demand oil found in fragrances and cosmetics can be purchased 334 00:21:58,439 --> 00:22:02,359 James Wong: for a small fortune on the high street. It's created 335 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:06,639 James Wong: from the wood chips or shavings of Agarwood, a resonance 336 00:22:06,639 --> 00:22:11,220 James Wong: timber found at the hardwood of Aquilaria Chis native to 337 00:22:11,220 --> 00:22:15,900 James Wong: Southeast Asia. When trees are infected by a certain mold, 338 00:22:16,139 --> 00:22:19,119 James Wong: it turns the wood dark and the tree then creates 339 00:22:19,169 --> 00:22:23,700 James Wong: a strongly centered resin to protect itself. Tips from these 340 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:28,550 James Wong: infected hardwoods are used to create the purist extract, but 341 00:22:28,550 --> 00:22:31,100 James Wong: the leftover shavings can be used to make a lower 342 00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:35,929 James Wong: quality, less intense oil too. High value is placed upon 343 00:22:35,929 --> 00:22:39,550 James Wong: wild sources of the soil, but this hasn't been without 344 00:22:39,659 --> 00:22:43,670 James Wong: its problems. And over- harvesting has led to habitat loss 345 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:51,159 James Wong: and international monitoring of the wood trade. Carly told me more. 346 00:22:51,159 --> 00:22:54,590 Carly Cowell: Many cultures are being spread around the world and the 347 00:22:54,770 --> 00:22:59,750 Carly Cowell: elements of this oil are it's so potent. You only 348 00:22:59,750 --> 00:23:02,919 Carly Cowell: need a few drops in the base of a fragrance 349 00:23:03,220 --> 00:23:08,760 Carly Cowell: for it to last for ages and to be fantastic. It's 350 00:23:09,169 --> 00:23:12,450 Carly Cowell: the best I can describe it. The thing is that 351 00:23:12,450 --> 00:23:16,629 Carly Cowell: to produce this oil, certain trees known as Agarwood trees 352 00:23:17,090 --> 00:23:21,929 Carly Cowell: actually have to be infected by a certain fungus. So 353 00:23:21,929 --> 00:23:25,119 Carly Cowell: they get a wound, a tree loses a branch in 354 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:29,619 Carly Cowell: a storm and it gets infected. And the infection actually 355 00:23:29,619 --> 00:23:34,869 Carly Cowell: forms this oil, which is then extracted and only 2% of 356 00:23:34,869 --> 00:23:38,359 Carly Cowell: trees that are infected, even produce this oil. So it's 357 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:43,970 Carly Cowell: very rare and it's just escalated from being very rare 358 00:23:43,970 --> 00:23:47,280 Carly Cowell: in the trees and being harvested to being very potent. 359 00:23:47,649 --> 00:23:51,669 Carly Cowell: And therefore with those two factors that it's a really 360 00:23:51,669 --> 00:23:56,159 Carly Cowell: good oil and it's also rare, the price is astronomical. 361 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:02,499 Carly Cowell: It's roughly about 1000 pounds for 500 moles of the 362 00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:04,080 Carly Cowell: essence of the oil. 363 00:24:06,919 --> 00:24:10,810 James Wong: Carly and her Kew colleagues are also actively engaged in 364 00:24:10,810 --> 00:24:16,070 James Wong: good old fashioned intelligence work to track and intercept illegal 365 00:24:16,070 --> 00:24:20,030 James Wong: plant trading in other places. I caught up with David 366 00:24:20,030 --> 00:24:24,409 James Wong: Whitehead from Kew's conservation policy team. He's been working on 367 00:24:24,409 --> 00:24:28,310 James Wong: a project called Flora Guard, which sees teams from Kew, 368 00:24:28,550 --> 00:24:34,510 James Wong: the University of Southampton, criminologists and computer scientists, all joining 369 00:24:34,510 --> 00:24:37,770 James Wong: forces to combat wildlife crime on the web. 370 00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:42,959 David Whitehead: It might be natural to assume that wildlife cyber crime 371 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,820 David Whitehead: is taking place in these sort of more secretive parts of 372 00:24:45,830 --> 00:24:49,139 David Whitehead: the internet, the deep web or the dark web. But 373 00:24:49,139 --> 00:24:53,850 David Whitehead: in fact, studies have shown that, that's a rarity. The 374 00:24:53,850 --> 00:24:56,340 David Whitehead: vast majority takes place on the surface web. 375 00:24:56,649 --> 00:25:00,889 James Wong: And this awareness is important, because many people engaging in 376 00:25:00,889 --> 00:25:03,939 James Wong: this trade may have absolutely no idea, both from a 377 00:25:03,939 --> 00:25:07,639 James Wong: buyer and seller side that what they're doing is illegal. 378 00:25:07,919 --> 00:25:10,310 James Wong: So how do you even go about this tracking with 379 00:25:10,310 --> 00:25:13,929 James Wong: your team? Because with the pure number of entries on 380 00:25:13,929 --> 00:25:17,939 James Wong: online search engines, it must be so difficult. You must 381 00:25:17,939 --> 00:25:21,350 James Wong: be talking about literally billions of entries that you'd have 382 00:25:21,350 --> 00:25:22,070 James Wong: to trail through. 383 00:25:22,970 --> 00:25:26,519 David Whitehead: The scale of the internet is a real challenge for 384 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:32,330 David Whitehead: monitoring and surveillance of wildlife crime. And Flora Guard has 385 00:25:32,330 --> 00:25:38,739 David Whitehead: tried to address this challenge by bringing together sophisticated web 386 00:25:38,740 --> 00:25:43,210 David Whitehead: searching and information extraction tools, which fall under the umbrella 387 00:25:43,210 --> 00:25:45,389 David Whitehead: of artificial intelligence or AI. 388 00:25:46,109 --> 00:25:50,759 James Wong: So you literally have robot police officers, well, not... Yeah, 389 00:25:50,889 --> 00:25:53,019 James Wong: literally, and also figuratively. 390 00:25:53,609 --> 00:25:58,149 David Whitehead: Perhaps to some extent, it's still important to involve human 391 00:25:58,149 --> 00:26:03,470 David Whitehead: judgment in these decisions, particularly with an area as complex 392 00:26:03,530 --> 00:26:09,489 David Whitehead: as wildlife crime. It's very difficult to prove illegality. You 393 00:26:09,490 --> 00:26:13,419 David Whitehead: have to read between the lines slightly. So keeping a 394 00:26:13,419 --> 00:26:17,019 David Whitehead: human in the loop we might say is also important. 395 00:26:17,460 --> 00:26:22,899 David Whitehead: So the Flora Guard methodology combines AI, web searching and 396 00:26:22,899 --> 00:26:29,139 David Whitehead: information extraction tools with human analysis and judgment as well. 397 00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:32,840 David Whitehead: Because there's always a human story at the other end 398 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,109 David Whitehead: behind it. There's a human story behind the poaching. There's a 399 00:26:35,109 --> 00:26:39,409 David Whitehead: human story behind what drives people to collect these plants 400 00:26:39,409 --> 00:26:44,689 David Whitehead: and buy and sell them. And understanding that is important 401 00:26:44,689 --> 00:26:49,679 David Whitehead: as well, to help formulate softer interventions to raise awareness 402 00:26:49,679 --> 00:26:53,700 David Whitehead: or change perceptions or perhaps reduce demand for these species. 403 00:26:57,879 --> 00:27:01,409 James Wong: Our exploration of the secret world of plant crime leaves 404 00:27:01,409 --> 00:27:04,820 James Wong: me more curious than ever as to the psychology of 405 00:27:04,820 --> 00:27:08,510 James Wong: the modern day plant collector. Where poachers and mules may 406 00:27:08,510 --> 00:27:12,830 James Wong: be motivated by hefty or much needed financial rewards, just 407 00:27:12,830 --> 00:27:15,730 James Wong: what is it that drives someone who values a plant 408 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:20,560 James Wong: so highly to paradoxically risk the future of the species so 409 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,289 James Wong: that they may have it as their own. And the 410 00:27:23,290 --> 00:27:25,939 James Wong: team at Kew are more torn than ever between their 411 00:27:25,939 --> 00:27:29,060 James Wong: passion to share many of these incredible plants with the 412 00:27:29,060 --> 00:27:33,080 James Wong: public and their duty to protect them from theft, damage 413 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:37,560 James Wong: or even extinction. How can we move forward to create 414 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,449 James Wong: a world where respect for plants extends to an understanding 415 00:27:41,449 --> 00:27:47,439 James Wong: of how individual actions can impact entire ecosystems? Perhaps when 416 00:27:47,439 --> 00:27:49,820 James Wong: we have a culture where the green is more visible 417 00:27:50,100 --> 00:27:53,100 James Wong: and people are educated on the crucial role that plants 418 00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:58,159 James Wong: play, we'll be able to better protect life on earth. So 419 00:27:58,159 --> 00:27:59,580 James Wong: whose place is it to speak for plants? 420 00:27:59,580 --> 00:28:05,999 Carly Cowell: I think it's everyone's. Everyone who interacts with plants should be 421 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,259 Carly Cowell: speaking for them and recognizing them and dismissing the plant 422 00:28:10,260 --> 00:28:15,879 Carly Cowell: blindness and valuing them more. There's support for wildlife crime 423 00:28:15,879 --> 00:28:22,269 Carly Cowell: of animals in mess, but there's no fund for cycads, 424 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:27,210 Carly Cowell: for developing countries to get these agricultural systems going, that 425 00:28:27,340 --> 00:28:30,879 Carly Cowell: could produce these plants that are highly sought after and 426 00:28:30,939 --> 00:28:33,010 Carly Cowell: being pillaged from the wild. 427 00:28:34,070 --> 00:28:36,929 James Wong: In the meantime, life looks set to get a lot 428 00:28:36,929 --> 00:28:41,150 James Wong: trickier for illegal plant traders. Thanks to the intelligence work, 429 00:28:41,380 --> 00:28:43,990 James Wong: there's fighting to keep plants where they're supposed to be. 430 00:28:45,010 --> 00:28:48,940 James Wong: Next time on Unearthed, from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 431 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 10: She was in possession of the raw material, with evidence 432 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,499 Speaker 10: that it was in the Curry. So if we could put every bit 433 00:28:59,610 --> 00:29:03,650 Speaker 10: of the stage together, enable the police to have a 434 00:29:03,650 --> 00:29:05,610 Speaker 10: pretty solid case. 435 00:29:06,060 --> 00:29:09,090 James Wong: We'll find out how a love spurns murderer was brought 436 00:29:09,090 --> 00:29:12,519 James Wong: to justice, thanks to the plant detectives here at Kew. 437 00:29:13,340 --> 00:29:15,620 James Wong: Make sure you don't miss it by subscribing on your 438 00:29:15,620 --> 00:29:20,040 James Wong: podcast app now. Share this episode with a hashtag Kew 439 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,950 James Wong: Unearthed and follow us at Kew Gardens on social media. 440 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,980 James Wong: I'm James Wong. Thanks for listening.