海角大神

A band of humid rainforest hugs Colombia鈥檚 Pacific coast, isolated from the rest of South America by the formidable Andes mountain range. Known as the Choc贸 biogeographic region, it is a treasure trove of biodiversity. And Las Orqu铆deas National Park, straddling the border between the rainforest and the mountains, is like a jewel in the crown.

Despite the biological bounty of Las Orqu铆deas, much of it remains unexplored. For 13 years research was all but suspended here because of the presence of illegal armed groups in and around the park. But stepped-up security efforts by the Colombian government have recently made it safe enough for a team of scientists from the New York Botanical Garden and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia to return in a three-year effort to document its ecological riches.

Earlier this month, the researchers returned from their second expedition into remote areas of the park with close to 900 plant specimens 鈥� among them are perhaps dozens previously unknown to science. The goal of the project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is to create an inventory of as many plants as possible.

鈥淭he tropical Andes is now the top priority for conservation in the whole world,鈥� said New York Botanical Garden biologist Paola Pedraza-Pe帽alosa, one of the project鈥檚 leaders. 鈥淚t鈥檚 far more diverse than the Amazon region, far more endemic species.鈥�

Conservation International (CI) agrees that it is one of the world's most ecologically important and threatened places, having designated both the tropical Andes and the Choc贸 biogeographic regions as biodiversity hotspots 鈥� among the top priorities for conservation in the world because of their combination of high plant endemism and rapid deforestation. But in order to protect them, they must be better studied, according to Erwin Palacios, coordinator for CI鈥檚 Amazon region.

鈥淭here are black holes of knowledge about our diversity, for the Choc贸 and for many areas in the country,鈥� said Mr. Palacios. Like Ms. Pedraza-Pe帽alosa, he believes that if better documented, Colombia could prove to have the highest concentration of biodiversity on Earth.

The Las Orqu铆deas project is a significant step.

鈥淲e have been waiting for the right moment to do this for the longest time,鈥� said Pedraza-Pe帽alosa.

An ecosystem isolated by violence and threatened by deforestation

Named for the more than 200 species of orchids known to grow within its boundaries, Las Orqu铆deas lies at the junction of the Choc贸 and the tropical Andes regions. Rising from lowland rainforest to peaks of more than 10,000 feet, the park鈥檚 geographic and climatic diversity make for a wealth of ecosystems that are home to thousands of plants and animals, including many endemic species found nowhere else.

Nowhere in Colombia is there more at stake than in the tropical Andes and the Choc贸 biogeographic regions.

For decades, Colombia鈥檚 armed conflict between the government and rebel groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has impeded research and left huge gaps in the scientific record. Universities were often reluctant to send researchers into the field because of the security risks. Preoccupied with the social unrest, the Colombian government put relatively few resources into research and conservation 鈥� even as deforestation ravaged some of the most biologically significant places on earth.

鈥淒eforestation is very, very bad in Colombia, it鈥檚 more serious than we realized,鈥� said Pedraza-Pe帽alosa. 鈥淏ut [conservation] has never been in our language. It's always been security problems, people talking about war. So of course there has never been the time or urgency to talk about this.鈥�

Now, with growing international awareness of Colombia鈥檚 ecological importance and the increasing threats posed by deforestation, there is a new urgency to make thorough inventories of the country鈥檚 flora and fauna so that they can be better protected.

Finding a balance between conservation and sustainable economy

Getting to Las Orqu铆deas is not easy. During their first expedition in January, the researchers had to travel into the park seven hours by mule, the only animal capable of navigating the treacherously steep mountain trails. They identified five new plant species, dozens of endemics, and other species not formerly known to exist in Colombia.

On its latest expedition, the team descended deep into a part of the park where tropical rainforest and mountain forest converge near a remote indigenous reserve seldom seen by outsiders 鈥� a place of extreme diversity. They collected hundreds of specimens, carefully pressing the plants between thick layers of newspaper to be transported back to Universidad Nacional in 叠辞驳辞迟谩 for analysis.

Having an inventory of flora also opens the door for further research on regional fauna, such as the hummingbirds, bats, and insects that may pollinate the plants, said Pedraza-Pe帽alosa's co-investigator, biologist Julio Betancur of Universidad Nacional.

鈥淭his is the first step for us, but there is great potential for the discovery of other groups of plants and animals,鈥� he said.

Pedraza-Pe帽alosa and Mr. Betancur will share their inventories with the national park system so its staff can better protect endangered species and perhaps develop sustainable economic alternatives for the indigenous peoples and farmers who eke out a living clearing the forest to grow crops. The Colombian government frequently uses the plight of the poor as an argument for developing timber, mining and industrial scale agriculture projects 鈥� all of which are associated with deforestation.

But conservation need not be a deterrent to economic growth, said Pedraza-Pe帽alosa. Instead, she argues that the country now has a window of opportunity to devise stronger conservation plans and determine which plants could be sustainably harvested by local communities.

鈥淲hat I鈥檝e learned from living in Colombia is you never know what things are going to be like 10 years from now,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is a good chance and we should take it.鈥�