News from Brazil

[Lauro Baldini]

Dear Friends:

It's me again with some brazilian news. Please let me know whether this is considered off-topic or doesn't interest anyone in the board.

A major brazilian newspaper, "Folha de São Paulo", released today a very comprehensive article on biopiracy in Brazil. Below I translated some parts of the article. All data is a result of Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and Federal Police's investigations.

1. How things work!

--> Collecting
Biopirates illegaly collect from Amazon rainforest plants, animals, micro-organisms, fungae, etc.
--> Disguise
All objects leave Brazil disguised in biopirates luggage, who acts like tourists or researchers.
--> Patents
Products got from Amazon are sold to laboratories ou collectors, who patents substances obtained from plants and animals.
--> Numbers
According to the brazilian government, biopiracy commerce is about 1 billion dollars a year.
--> The damage
Without the patent, Brazil, indians and riverine populations don't receive royalties.

2. Where things happen!

Cities: Alvarães, Barcelos, Borba, Coari, Fonte Boa, Nova Olinda do Norte, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, São Paulo de Olivença, Tefé and Uarini.
Most wanted itens: fishes, micro-organisms, spiders, beetles, butterflies, plants and animals.
Destination: Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Sweden, USA, England.

3. Who was caught from 1994 to 2003:

29 foreigners (22 from 1999 to 2003). Some cases:

Name: Ulrich Gerharb Friedhelm.
Objects: ants and fungae.
Destination: Texas University, USA.

Name: Milan Hrabovsky.
Objects: plants.
Destination: USA.

Name: Tino Hummel and Dirk Helmut Reinecke.
Objects: fishes.
Destination: Germany.

Name: Willy Robert Fournier, Jean Claude Craviolini, François Léonard Titzé, Bernadette Therese Thonossi, Pierre Andre Berguerand and Louis Jules von Roten.
Objects: butterflies.
Destination: Sweden.

This is just a very condensed version of some of the information released today. If anyone wants more information, just drop a line, ok?

Regards,

Lauro.

[Ardan]

Hi,
SOme of the research is legitimate and worthwhile, but care must be taken to not wipe things out for good. Once its gone, its gone.

A very interesting article. BIG Business!

thank you, good to hear from there!

[Ralph]

How would you like to go to jail for stealing fungus?

Thanks for posting Lauro, very interesting. I bet those numbers are a small fraction of the actual smuggling that goes on.

Ardan

Your right...some of the research IS important....but I dont think thats really the point here.
People are stealing these resources from South America.
If you dont go through the proper channels...its theft.
The people who live there should be getting the royalties, not a thief.

No different from someone stealing from YOUR or MY backyard and profiting from it.
JMO....

Tony

[Ardan]

I agree Tony!

[Francisco_Borrero]

Very true and very bad. Thanks Lauro.
A similar problem has been going on forever with all sorts of items: fossils, orchids, pre-columbus art pieces, and most recently mummies from Peru are among them.
And it is true that what is captured is a fraction of what is taken, and that together, the amounts dutily reported and those stolen are a mere pittance compared to the total that leaves the countries of origin.
But it is also true that many reserach programs are legitimate and need samples for further study. It is hard to draw the line.

Thanks Lauro. Cheers, Francisco.

[jim_shedden]

:thumbsup:

[Lauro Baldini]

New organization in Brasil:

http://www.renctas.org.br/index.html

Cheers,

Lauro.

[hanleong]

It's a new perspective of things.. thanks for sharing, Lauro!