by Lynda Chambers, editor, InRoads

Dr. Brian White, Director of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at RRU, has seen rhododendrons 24 metres high (80 feet) with trunks you can barely wap your arms around in Huang Lien National Park. __________

Mix the magic of Middle Earth from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings with the wonders of Pandora from James Cameron’s Avatar and what do you have?

A place that looks very like the slopes of Phan Si Pan mountain in Vietnam’s vast Huang Lien National Park.

It’s here that Dr. Brian White, Director of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at RRU, has conducted five research expeditions since 2002.

At the invitation of the government of Lao Cai Province and the Hoang Lien National Park Authority, he and Peter Wharton – from the Center for Plant Research at the University of British Columbia – have taken a team of graduate students to the southern side of Phan Si Pan to survey the slope’s distinct plant species and recommend approaches to biodiversity protection. The team is also helping to develop environmental education programs for local hill tribe children.

“This region – home to rare, endangered and even a few never-before-identified plants – is one of the most spectacularly diverse and ecologically significant landscapes in the world,” says White. “There are magnolias, orchids, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, begonias and violets as well as huge Dr. Seus-like ferns, rare conifers, and shrubs growing in what is essentially a mountain wonderland”.

Ancient conifers and lichen grow in a highly complex landscape that is basically wet granite with hardly any soil. __________

Tragically, Peter Wharton died of pancreatic cancer in 2008 but White says the exploration, identification and preservation of new species on Phan Si Pan continues as a legacy and tribute to his friend and colleague.

The RRU research is part of a long-term program to preserve the botanical treasures that abound in the area while also developing a sustainable park that integrates the needs of the local people and allows an appropriate level of ecotourism.

Work is being done in a collaborative fashion with a number of partners including Huang Lien National Park, Flora Fauna International and Hanoi Open University.

“In addition to two graduate students from Royal Roads visiting Viet Nam over the years, we’ve also had exchanges whereby faculty members from Hanoi Open University have come to B.C.,” says White who began his research while at Capilano College in Vancouver. “B.C. also hosted the premier of Lao Cai Province.”

Preserving the flora of Mount Phan Si Pan involved first collecting leaf, flower and berry samples during the daylight hours, noting their location and elevation. In the evenings at camp, notes were prepared and the material was stored in plant presses. Three sets of herbarium vouchers were prepared: one for the renowned herbarium at Edinburgh; one for Huang Lien National Park; and one for the botanical garden at the University of British Columbia.

The slopes of Phan Si Pan mountain look very like a cross between Middle Earth and Pandora. __________

“Herbarium vouchers are pressed plant samples deposited for future reference. The ones sent to Edinburgh were accompanied by DNA samples to see if we’ve found a previously unknown species, or to identify variation within species across the Himalayan mountain chain” explains White. 

Collecting herbarium specimens on the slope of Mount Phan Si Phan (3143m), the highest peak in south East Asia, is not a “walk in the park”. The route is steep, vertical at times, and dangerous.

“Trail conditions vary from awful to terrible to just awful again,” says White. “The weather is mostly damp, windy and freezing cold at that elevation and there are frequent lightning strikes to be wary of, not to mention hordes of leeches and slimy bamboo stems with razor-sharp spikes.”

Despite the challenges, the rewards have been tangible and of note. White and his team have, for example, already seen a number of their recommendations adopted.

“Some areas of the mountain have been closed to hikers, and parts of the pathway up the mountain have been made safer. When we pointed out that hunting was affecting the ecosystem, the premier of Lao Cai Province banned guns in the park,” says White.

As a result of the hunting ban, indigenous animals such as parrots, monkeys and squirrels have returned.

The Hoang Lien mountain ecosystem stretches from the Yunnan border 130 kilometers southwards to the Van Ban District. __________________

White’s collaborative project is a superb example of RRU’s specialty: “action” research focused on real world problem-solving.

When faced with the problem of how to run a park, for example, with an annual budget of only US$35,000, the park staff - with commercial partners – came up with an ingenious plan.

What if an orchid specialist helped the park staff set up a lab to propagate orchids from plants confiscated from illegal collectors? What if the orchids were then sold and proceeds went towards park management?

“That’s what’s happening now in the resort town of Sapa,” says White of the decidedly practical outcome to a problem with poachers.

What’s next? White has been growing from seed some of the rhododendrons from Phan Si Pan mountain and hopes that in cooperation with the gardeners at Royal Roads, a small collection of high altitude Vietnamese rhododendrons can be established in the gardens on campus.

“Many of the species are proving to be hardy here and some have the additional advantage of being fragrant so I hope that they can be propagated for wider use,” he says.

A presentation of Brian White's Treasures of the Cloud Forest was featured recently as part of a new lunchtime series focused on the varied and action-oriented studies being conducted at RRU. Roads to Research provides faculty with the opportunity to disseminate research, present papers and contribute to the research focus of the University while offering staff, students, alumni and the general public a behind-the-scenes look at major long-term projects.