Bogoria moorei

Orchids are popular with specialist growers and a potential threat is over-collection by orchid enthusiasts, although in Queensland, Australia, it was considered largely undisturbed in 2008 (DEHWA 2008). The drivers of forest change in Papua New Guinea's forests were identified as subsistence agriculture, logging, forest fires, clearance for plantations and mine-related forest clearance (Shearman et al. 2008). In parts of its wide range it is likely to have been subject to such threats, for example, the lowland forests of West New Britain, in general, are threatened by large scale timber operations (Sekhran and Miller 1995) and the province of West New Britain has more than 60,000 hectares of oil palm plantation with plans to increase production (University of the South Pacific 2012), with the greatest impact is in lowland areas. It has been recorded from the Sogeri Plateau area of Central Province, Papua New Guinea, where online images suggest that the area is known as 'cattle country' with large cattle ranches and vegetable farms; rubber and pineapple plantations are also found in this area. The grasslands on the plateau are thought to have formed as a result of shifting cultivation and burning and maintained by burning activity (Eden 1974). The likelihood of fire increases particularly in dry years and droughts associated with El Niño events, impacts are becoming more frequent and severe in Papua New Guinea (Shearman et al. 2008) and there is a low frequency and diversity of epiphytic plants in many forests known to have been burned (Johns 1989). Drought itself may cause declines in orchid populations (E. De Vogel pers. comm. 2017). Coastal areas may have specific threats, for example, human settlements, tsunamis, storm surges and rising sea levels. Global climate change in the Solomon Islands is thought likely lead to altered rainfall patterns, increasingly severe cyclones and the possibility of sea level rises. This may lead to associated changes in coastal ecosystems and landforms (Ministry of Environment Conservation and Meteorology 2008). However, this orchid occurs in a variety of habitats, both coastal and lowland forest inland at higher elevations, and these processes are not considered to constitute major threats to the overall population at this time.

This orchid is listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Queensland) and as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and also listed as vulnerable under the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 (Queensland) (DEWHA 2008). Vulnerable in Queensland is defined as: its population is decreasing because of threatening processes, or its population has been seriously depleted and its protection is not secured, or its population, while abundant, is at risk because of threatening processes, or its population is low or localised or depends on limited habitat that is at risk because of threatening processes (Queensland Government 2016). A number of conservation actions are recommended including surveys and monitoring, taxonomic studies, ex situ storage techniques, conservation arrangements investigations and tagging system to help identify illegally collected orchids. It is found in the Iron range and Kulla (McIlwraith Range) National Parks and occurs within the Cape York (Queensland) Natural Resources Management Region (DEWHA 2008). In Papua Province it is also found in the Mamberamo Foja Wildlife Reserve and close to (and probably to be found within) the Lorentz National Park, a 2.35 million ha protected area, which is the largest in South-East Asia and incorporates a continuous ecological transect from mountain peaks to the coast (UNESCO 2017). It is conserved in three ex situ sites (BGCI 2017). There is relatively little information about its life history and ecology with which to identify any specific threats, for example, to pollinators or any significant mycorrhizal associates and further research may be beneficial.