[Taxacom] Why Taxonomy does NOT matter

[Haas, Fabian]

Is that the PPBIO programme? Heard of it on the CBD COP in 2006. Seems to work!

so can we make a case, that if the *poor* South spends money on it, then it must be really important?? and so the North will need ot too?

I know, poor and South and so on are rather blurry categories, and Brazil doesnt really fit that simple image.

Best 



________________________________________
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Fernando Vaz-de-Mello [vazdemello at gmail.com]
Sent: 19 April 2011 14:07
To: anadm_public-news at yahoo.com
Cc: taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Why Taxonomy does NOT matter

I once received that exact reply from a Brazilian funding agency. Then
I wrote them a letter explaining it, they passed it through another
reviewer, and gave me the grant. It was also for my PhD. So, maybe the
first opinion can be changed with further explanations. Yes we do have
many problems for funding in Brazil, but it must be said that we never
had so many money for alpha-taxonomy as today.... and I would also
tell, nor so many taxonomists.

cheers

F

On 18 April 2011 23:27,  <anadm_public-news at yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 4/18/2011 9:36 AM, Kim van der Linde wrote:
>
>> Let's play advocate of the devil.
>
>> * to repeat the call in my recent post: what Fabian is asking for is
>> *specimens* of actual arguments made by those in a position to influence
>> the underfunding of taxonomy/systematics.
>
>> Maybe these don't exist, and the underfunding of taxonomy is either an
>> unspoken conspiracy or an accident? I'm intrigued by the absence of a
>> flood of "My adminstrator told me taxonomy doesn't deserve funding
>> because..." stories.
>>
>> fred.
>
> One of the times I asked money to do my doctorate in taxonomy, I got it denied because
>
> "What the candidate is proposing to do can be easily performed using DNA. Several laboratories in this country have been doing it for groups close to insects. There is no need to visit museums."
>
> This was a Brazilian funding agency speaking.
> Interestingly the same agency today takes pride in saying they are increasing resources for taxonomy.
> Bad part is, half of the money is exclusively for barcoding, and barcoders can apply for the other half as well.
>
> A.
>
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--
Fernando Z. Vaz-de-Mello
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Instituto de Biociencias,
Departamento de Biologia e Zoologia.
Av. Fernando Correa da Costa, 2367
Boa Esperanca
78060-900 - Cuiaba, MT
BRASIL
Tel: +55-65-3615-8875/8878/8870
(none in my own office)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ignorato genere proprio, nulla descriptio, quamuis accurate tradita,
certum demonstrat, sed plerumque fallit.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Today I had a choice of doing something important that no one would
ever realize, or doing something useless that would look like an
accomplishment. So I attended meetings until I could no longer
appreciate the difference. (Scott Adams)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/workers/FVazdeMello.htm
publications: http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.jsp?id=K4767878J5#Producaocientifica
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Microsoft formats: I may be unable to read them correctly.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IMPORTANT WARNING: When sending specimens to our museum, under no
circumstances use a private courier (UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc.). The
material must be sent by regular postal service only. In Brazil, the
private couriers have been under closer scrutiny by regulatory Federal
agencies. These agencies too frequently have, without justification,
temporarily retained (and worse, even destroyed) inert biological
samples sent for scientific studies.

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