[Taxacom] The dangers of conservation work

[Paul van Rijckevorsel]

Yesterday it was big news here, making both national radio and national television: primatologist, and botanist, Marc van Roosmalen has been sentenced to 14 years of prison time for the crime of having a shelter for monkeys at his home in Brazil.

Working in the Brazilian Amazon, van Roosmalen was named a Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine in 2000. Regularly discovering new species, especially of monkeys, he is among those who offer to name species, of both animals and plants, after a benefactor, with the proceeds to go to either research or to conservation.

As reported by the press here, van Roosmalen was too active in his conservation work, crossing too many commercial interests. The monkey shelter, holding 28 orphaned monkeys, does require a license. This was duly applied for in 1998 and in the absence of an official response to this request within 45 days this license was automatically granted; at least that is the position taken by van Roosmalen. He has appealed the verdict, but awaits the results behind bars.

Paul  

Hero for the Planet :
http://www.time.com/time/reports/environment/heroes/heroesgallery/0,2967,roosmalen,00.html

Highly publicized new species of monkeys : 
http://www.primates.com/monkeys/newspecies.html and 
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-24-06.asp

New species, available to be named after a benefactor :
http://marcvanroosmalen.org/pages/nsspag.html