[Taxacom] Collecting permits... is there a country that trusts us?

[Pekka T. Lehtinen]

On 16.2.2012 19:48, Cris Habibe wrote:
> Hi all, just curious to learn from another countries were biodiversity
> study permits aren't harder to get than getting a permit to destroy it...
> we need models to propose in order to stop this nonsense.
>
>
> Government makes fun of Colombian scientists...
> http://www.agenciadenoticias.unal.edu.co/detalle/article/gobierno-se-burla-de-los-cientificos-denuncian-expertos/index.html?fb=1
>
> Thanks,
>
> ___________________________________
> Maria Cristina Martinez-Habibe
> Ph.D. candidate
> Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
> Claremont Graduate University
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Dear Cris,
	The difficulty in getting research permits is quite often connected to 
POSSIBILITIES TO GET MONEY FROM THE TAXONOMIST (for strictly personal 
use of the person, who undersigns the permit). I remember too well my 
last personal experience in 2011, for which I had just read the leaflet, 
where it was WRITTEN THAT ALL PERMITS (research permit as well as export 
permit will be given GRATIS). When the government officer then began to 
write them he told me that it will cost 150 US $. When I told him about 
that written information and also told him I have not such an amount 
with me he simply told THAT HE CAN SIMPLY REFUSE TO WRITE THE NECESSARY 
PERMITS and wanted to see the contents of my wallet !!! As the specimens 
that I had collected were very important for my revision, I decided to 
show him my wallet and he took ALL my 110 $ from the wallet, although i 
mentioned that I MUST ALSO PAY MY TAXI (35 km from my hotel!), but he 
simply told that the taxi driver will certainly wait until I HAVE FOUND 
ENOUGH MONEY SOMEWHERE!! This was my last day before my flight back to 
Europe from that West-African country - better not to name it more 
exactly here.
	This was not my first experience about such a behavior of government 
officials, but for me it was very difficult, as I paid now all my 
traveling from my small pension - and the avariciousness was shown in 
exceptionally outrageous way.
	I never can forget (and forgive!) that my export permit actually was 
given only for four specimens of the most important species, although 
the careless action of the local people DESTROYED HUNDREDS OF SPECIMENS 
EVERY DAY in the same locality only with various agricultural 
techniques, road construction, etc. It must also be emphasized here that 
this species belongs to the dominant arthropods of this region ! But 
this is, unfortunately, ONE OF THE MAIN RESULTS OF THE RIO CONVENTION. 
We taxonomists cannot anymore change it. One of the useful goals of the 
Rio convention was informed to be THE PROMOTION OF BIODIVERSITY 
INVENTORIES, while the actual result in many cases seems to be STRICTLY 
THE OPPOSITE.
	Pekka T. Lehtinen
	pekleh at utu.fi