TROPINET Vol. 6, No. 4
Suriname Crisis Illustrates Global Threat to Biodiversity
by Russell A. Mittermeier, President, and Ian Bowles, Vice President for Policy, Conservation International, 1015 18th Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington DC 20036.
As some 1,000 government officials met in Jakarta, Indonesia last month for the second Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, they could have pointed to the small South American country of Suriname to illustrate a trend that is a very real threat to global biological resources. Suriname is facing a critical decision that will determine the fate of one of the largest unbroken stretches of tropical rain forests on earth. The choice it faces is whether to pursue long-term economic development that uses its natural resources in an environmentally sound manner, or sell off its assets to foreign loggers for a small amount of short-term cash. What is taking place in Suriname is indicative of a disturbing predatory pattern emerging from certain wealthy or rapidly developing nations that have cut down much of their own forests or never had much to begin with. They are moving in on economically vulnerable but biologically very rich tropical countries. As Indonesian and Malaysian logging companies seek major logging concessions in Suriname, another Indonesian timber company just landed a 3.7 million acre concession in Cambodia. A Malaysian company is after a large concession in Belize. A Korean company has a 9.9 million acre concession in Guyana. And a Taiwanese firm unsuccessfully sought a major concession in Nicaragua not long ago. The crisis in Suriname reveals what is at stake, and also offers hope for turning the tide of rainforest destruction.
Since gaining independence from the Dutch, Suriname has been in virtual political isolation, and today it is economically poor. Yet this country's natural riches can be the basis of a wealthy and sustainable economy. About the size of New England, Suriname claims the highest remaining percentage of tropical rain forest of any country on earth, at 90 percent. Most of the country's 400,000 people live in the capital Paramaribo and coastal towns, with small populations of native Amerindians and unique cultures of African origin maintaining traditional, ecologically sustainable lifestyles in the forest of the interior. This leaves the vast expanse of forest largely undisturbed and a clean slate for real sustainable development.
Suriname may never get the chance to pursue this course, however, if logging companies tear down huge tracts of forest. The concessions currently sought could wipe out a quarter of the country's forest in 25 years, and probably much sooner. Suriname's government reduced the original request from covering almost half the country, and may reject one proposal outright. The two remaining concessions are sought by Malaysian and Indonesian companies with track records that don't inspire much confidence for environmental protection or tribal people's human rights. This reputation led to one of the companies being expelled recently from Makira in the Solomon Islands. The bulldozers were subsequently shipped to Suriname.
Suriname is a microcosm of the wealth of resources throughout the New World tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean. Combined, the Neotropical region occupies only 16 % of the earth's land surface, and is home to only 8 percent of the world population. Yet it claims an extremely high percentage of the world totals for nearly all groups of living things: 37% of the reptiles, 47% of the amphibians; 27% of the mammals; 43% of the birds; and 34% of percent of the flowering plants (CI data). Forest resources in the Neotropics total 426 tons per capita, compared to 36 tons per capita for Asia, 145 tons per capita for Africa, and 121 tons per capita worldwide. Suriname tops out at an astonishing 9196 tons per capita (CI data).
In terms of lands and development, these biological riches offer an enormous global competitive advantage, particularly in tourism, non-timber forest products, and bioprospecting. Nature tourism is a booming worldwide industry, generating up to billion annually. According to the Minister-Counselor for Trade and Tourism, tourism brings in $600 million a year for Costa Rica, and is expected to bring in $1 billion within three years. Suriname, richer in forests and one of the first to offer rain forest tourism in the 1970's, makes at most $2 million a year from tourism today (CI data).
Bioprospecting, the search for medicines and other natural ingredients from the forest, is emerging as an important international industry. In Suriname, a significant bioprospecting venture is already underway. In an agreement arranged by Conservation International, with support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Suriname's government, local people and a Suriname pharmaceutical company are working with the U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers-Squibb. The agreement provides local people with royalties and patent rights, as well as employment and a small grants fund for immediate benefits. In turn, local people's knowledge of the rain forest helps in the search for medicinal plants. Royalties from one new plant-derived drug would dwarf revenues of all the foreign concessions combined, without taking down a single tree.
Carbon offset agreements offer another alternative to logging, with northern utilities paying tropical countries for reforestation or to maintain forests to offset carbon emissions. In Costa Rica these are taking place through Joint Implementation, a concept stemming from the Framework Convention on Climate Change signed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Río de Janeiro. Under the convention, more than 100 countries committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Compare this to the proceeds from a 370,500 acre concession held by one of Indonesia's companies requesting a new 2.47 million acre concession. Since the latter part of 1993, the net proceeds to Suriname from this concession has been an absurd total of $700.
Several of Suriname's Parliamentarians met recently with Costa Rican President Jose Figueres Olsen to learn about Costa Rica's success with tourism, bioprospecting, and joint implementation of carbon offset agreements. Figueres urged the Surinamers not to undervalue themselves and their nation's resources.
For sustainable development to truly take hold worldwide, especially in economically poor countries like Suriname, leading industrialized nations must assume more responsibility. In Suriname, the InterAmerican Development Bank reportedly is offering up to $30 million in funds to promote sustainable development projects as alternatives to the logging concessions-and other offers are on the table. Suriname's government, however, has been slow to respond.
Suriname is fortunate to have no population pressures, vast natural resources, and a great variety of sustainable economic alternatives. Will it choose to sell itself short, like so many other tropical countries, or instead become a model for a new kind of sustainable development? For years, Suriname was barely known to most of the world. Now it has been thrust into an international spotlight, and the global community anxiously awaits its decision.
OF SPECIAL INTEREST
ATB on WWW. The Association for Tropical Biology announces its new World Wide Web pages at http://ecology.umsl.edu/atb/. The site will include information for submission to Biotropica, Tables of Contents for Biotropica, Tropinet, announcements of upcoming symposia, subscription information, and more. A section will also highlight links to tropical biology web pages around the world. The ATB site will be open for viewing 1 January 1996, and remains under construction until then. Advice, suggestions, and relevant web addresses can be sent to mulkey@ecology.umsl.edu. --Stephen S. Mulkey, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 6312-4499. Tel:(314) 516-6214; Fax: (314) 516-6233, and Research Affiliate, Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteIn Panama: STRI, Unit 0948, APO AA, Miami 34002-0948; Phone: 507-227-6022. Fax: 507-232-5978. Email: mulkey@joline.umsl.edu, or mulkey@ecology.umsl.edu; http://ecology.umsl.edu.
Summer Field Course. The University of Florida and the Makerere University of Uganda is offering a summer field course in tropical ecology and conservation. The five-week course will be held in June and July in the Kibale Forest National Park of western Uganda at the Makerere University Biological Field Station. The 1995 course will be taught by Dr. Lauren Chapman, Dr. Colin Chapman, and Dr. Tom Crisman (and possibly others) who between them provide expertise in a number of fields including: fish ecology, wetlands ecology, primate ecology, limnology, restoration ecology, forest regeneration, and conservation ecology. The course will be structured in two parts: a series of intensive introductory lectures and field trips (all in the forest or at lakes/wetlands/streams) designed to orient students to tropical ecology and conservation biology and a period where the students will have the opportunity to conduct independent research projects of their own design. For application forms contact: Overseas Studies, 123 Tigert Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Tel: (904) 392-5206; Email: jellis@nervm.nerds.ufl.edu. For detailed information about the nature of the course of Kibale contact Colin or Lauren Chapman at Dept. of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611. Tel: (904) 392-1196 or 392-7474; Email: cachapman@zoo.ufl.edu or ljchapman@zoo.ufl.edu.
Herpetological Conference. Interest has been expressed in an international conference, "Conservation and Biodiversity of Amphibians and Reptiles of Tropical Rain Forests". The proposed venue is Viet Nam, sometime in 1998. Comment or expressions of interest and/or intent to attend are welcome. Those responding should comment on interest in presenting a paper or poster, what would be the best time of year, what specific topics should be covered, and any potential funding sources. Contact one of the following: Dr. Harold Heatwole, Dept. Zoology, Box 7617, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695 USA, Tel: (919) 515-2741; FAX: (919) 515-5327; Email: harold-heatwole@ncsu.edu.; Dr. Natalia Ananyeva, Dept. Herpetology, Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia. Email: anv@zisp.spb.su.; Dr. Cao Van Sung, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Nghia Do, Tu Liem, Hanoi, Viet Nam. Tel: 361 440; FAX: (844) 361 196; Email: sung@iebr.ac.vn.
II Ecuadorian Botanical Congress. The Ecuadorian Foundation for Research and Development of Botany (FUNBOTANICA) and numerous NGOs sponsored the II Ecuadorian Botanical Congress at the Pontifica Universidad Católica del Ecuador in Quito, 16-20 October 1995. Nearly two hundred people from 16 countries attended the congress; 76 talks were given on plant taxonomy, ecology, phytogeography, ethnobotany, economic botany, and sustainable management of forests. The organization of the meeting was excellent in spite of periodic lapses of electricity due to the energy crisis the country is presently enduring. The organizers successfully reached their goal to share updated botanical information among researchers in Ecuador and neighboring countries. Given the high quality of this congress and the enthusiasm of the participants, FUNBOTANICA plans to hold similar symposia on a biennial basis. The meeting abstracts are available now upon request at the address below. The Proceedings will be published as two separate volumes: (1) Memorias del II Congreso Ecuatoriano de Botánica, edited by R. Valencia & H. Balslev. (2) Memorias del II Simposio Ecuatoriano de Etnobotánica y Botánica Economica, edited by M. Roos & H. Borgtoft Pedersen. FUNBOTANICA invites all researchers interested in promoting botanical research and conservation in Ecuador to join them by contacting Dr. Katya Romoleroux, Apartado 17-01-580, Quito, Ecuador. Email: katyar@puce.edu.ec. If anyone is willing and able to help this non-profit network of botanists, they are in immediate need of a computer and printer to continue publishing their bulletin and maintain their operations. --Peggy Stern, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Ave.,Cambridge, MA 02138 pstern@oeb.harvard.edu
Honduras Meeting for New Society of Biologists. A meeting of new organization of biologists working in northern Central America will be held at Lake Yojoa, Honduras, on 12-14 January 1996. Northern Central American currently has no such organization. The purpose of the organization will be to foster scientific communication in the region by hosting annual scientific congresses and producing a bulletin. A longer-term vision is the publication of a peer-reviewed journal. During the meeting a founding council will be formed, with representatives from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. Participation is encouraged by representatives from Canada, the U.S., Costa Rica, and Panama. Information: Oliver Komar, Dept. of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware OH 43015. Tel: (614) 369-0175; Email: ookomor@cc.owu.edu, or Gerardo Borjas, Depto. de Biología, Edificio C.B., UNAH, Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., Honduras C.A. Tel: (504) 32-2110 ext. 243.
University of El Salvador Herbarium. After more than a decade of near inactivity, the Herbarium of UES is again ready to contribute to the study of plants. The herbarium's collection includes some 28,000 specimens representing all plant groups, lichens, and fungi. Loans will be made provided the borrower pays shipping costs. The Herbarium Library is accepting donations of books, reprints, and specimens, particularly those related to the Neotropics. Information: Lic. Nohemy Ventura, Curator, Herbario, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de El Salvador, Ciudad Universitaria, San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America.
Brazilian Ecological Congress. The III Brazilian Congress of Ecology will be held in Brasília, from 6-11 October 1996. The scientific program will include symposia, round tables, contributed paper sessions, short courses, and scientific field trips. The Program Committee is currently accepting suggestions for session topics and field trip themes. The deadline to submit abstracts is March 30, 1996. Information: Comiss'o Organizadora, 3deg. Congresso de Ecologia do Brasília, Departamento de Ecologia/UnB, Caixa Postal 04355, 70.919-970-Brasília, DF. Tel: (061) 348-2326 or 348-2592 or 348-2282; FAX: (061) 272-1497 and 272-4571; Email: congecol@guarany.cpd.unb.br.
Biodiversity Workshop. An Iberamerican Workshop on Biological Diversity will be held in Chile, 22-25 April 1996. The workshop will be organized by the Iberamerican Program for Development, Science and Technology (CYTED), the Chilean National Commission for Scientific Research and Technology (CONICYT), and the Mexican National Commission for Discovery and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO). The workshop is envisioned as a meeting of specialists to discuss the problems involved with inventory and monitoring of biological diversity in Latin American and the Iberian Peninsula, but open to other general topics such as the analysis of participation in international programs. The results will be published as a book by the CYTED Biological Diversity Program. Information: Dr. Gonzalo Halffter, Coordinador Taller Iberoamericano Sobre Diversidad Biológica, CYTED, A.P. 63-91000, Xalapa, Veracruz, México. Tel. And FAX: 28 12-18-97; Email: halffter@sun.ieco.conacyt.mx.
Herbarium for the Bahamas. Dr. Lee B. Kass of Elmira College, Elmira, NY has been awarded a Fulbright grant to lecture and conduct research at the College of the Bahamas in Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas. Her research centers on local and Bahamian flora and the history of science. Dr. Kass plans to help initiate a National Herbarium for the Bahamas. Botanists who have worked in the Bahamas and the Caribbean are invited to correspond on suggestions for starting the herbarium. Information: Dr. Lee B. Kass, Division of Natural Sciences, Elmira College, Elmira, NY 14901. Tel: (607) 735-1888; Email: LBKBHWON@AOL.COM.
The 1996 meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology will be held in conjunction with the Ecological Society of America, the Society for Conservation Biology, Smithsonian Institution/Man and the Biosphere, and the American Society of Naturalists at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island, 11-15 August 1996. The meeting will include symposia, contributed poster and paper sessions, workshops, field trips, social events, and business meetings. Information: ATB Program Chair, Dr. Colin Orians, Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155. Tel: (617) 627-3543; FAX: (617) 627-3805; Email: corians@emerald.tufts.edu. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 31 January 1996. This year, abstracts will be accepted in electronic form (paper copies accepted only if you document you have no computer access). Instructions for electronic submission are available from ESA Program Chair, Dr. Jill Baron, National Biological Service, Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523; Email: jill@nrel.ColoState.edu. Instructions for written abstract submission are available from ESA Publications Office, 328 E. State Street, Ithaca NY 14850-4318.
Sustainable Coffee Congress. A conference focusing on the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the coffee sector, will be held in Washington, DC,16-18 September 1996. The conference will be sponsored and organized by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, in conjunction with a number of other organizations with interest in the coffee sector. Information: Russell Greenberg or Robert A. Rice at the SMBC, (202) 673-4908, (202) 673-4916 (FAX) or Email: mbpnzp01@sivm.si.edu and mbpnap08@sivm.si.edu, respectively.
NBS and ASC electronic directories. A cooperative agreement between the National Biological Service and the Association of Systematics Collections will develop two directories of resource information: one on taxonomists and their areas of expertise, and another on natural history collections. Both will be available on the Internet accessible at http://www.nbs.gov/nbii. An important objective is for NBS and ASC to identify additional measures to help automate information bout significant museum collections, and to foster an electronic network of natural history collections information. Information: Anne Frondorf, Tel: (202) 482-3980 or Jamise Liddell, Tel: (202) 482-3048.
Forgotten Pollinators Campaign. This public awareness campaign aims to inform conservationists, farmers, and the public about the importance of animals that pollinate economically important crops and rare plants. The campaign will alert people to the ecological and economic perils of declining populations of wild and managed bees, butterflies, moths, bats, and other pollinators. A recent survey of wild plants documented that over 60% of species studied may suffer reduced seed set due to a paucity of pollinators. One in every three kinds of food plants is animal-pollinated. Only one in 15 plants on the U.S. endangered species list has had its pollinator identified, and an even smaller percentage have had the health of pollinators assessed. The Forgotten Pollinators campaign is developing a directory of speakers and advocates, along with slide sets, briefing sheets, and other support. Information: FPC, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Rd.., Tucson AZ 85743. Tel: (520) 883-3007; FAX: (520) 883-2500; Email: fpollen@azstarnet.com.
International Conference on Ecotourism Impacts. The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Yale Student Chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters is organizing a conference entitled "The Ecotourism Equation: Measuring the Impacts", 12-14 April at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. The goal is to identify and balance the environmental, economic, and social benefits of ecotourism. The conference should result in recommendations to ecotourism professionals for conscientious management. The proceedings will be published as part of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Bulletin. Information: Kelly Keefe, ISTF Conference, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 205 Prospect Street, New Haven CT 06511. Tel: (203) 432-6999; FAX (203) 432-5942; Email: istf@minerva.cis.yale.edu or kkeefe@minerva.cis.yale.edu.
Facilities Profile: Kakum National Park, Ghana.
The only canopy walkway on the African continent was completed in Ghana on March 4th of this year. Designed for use by both tourists and researchers, the 350-m bridge connects seven treetops via a system constructed of rope, ladders, wooden planks and safety netting.
The West African Forest is one of the most diverse ecosystems on the continent; it is also among the most highly altered by humans. The forests of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea now cover perhaps only a fifth of their former range. In the Central Region of coastal Ghana, a rare preserve contains one of these remaining forest fragments: four-year-old Kakum National Park and the adjacent Assin Attandaso Wildlife Protection Area protect 360 square kilometers of this endangered moist tropical forest. Together, they contain such unique animals as forest elephants, bongo, yellow-backed duiker, and diana monkeys -- all globally endangered -- as well as an estimated 550 butterfly species, 250 species of birds, 100 mammal, reptile and amphibian species and perhaps a quarter of a million species of insects.
The high levels of biodiversity and endemism at Kakum, coupled with the extreme threats to this forest block prompted Conservation International's classification of this area as one of fifteen global hot spots for conservation. Conservation International provides technical assistance to Ghana's Department of Game and Wildlife whose mission for the Park is to combine a strong foundation in science with sustainable economic development. Preliminary surveys of primates, elephants, small mammals, herpetofauna, birds, and butterflies, have been completed, and monitoring continues. Studies of human use of natural resources are planned. Visitor facilities and a GIS are being developed. The United States Agency for International Development has recently contributed substantial funding toward providing facilities for infrastructure development for research and ecotourism.
Information: The Ghana Program, Conservation International, 1015 18th St., NW Suite 1000, Washington DC 20036, USA, Tel.: (202) 429-5660, Fax: (202) 887-0193.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings and Events
1996
International Meeting: The Bamboos. London, U.K. 25-29 March. Information: G.P. Chapman, Organizing Secretary, Wye College, Ashford, UK, TN25 5AH.
*Society of Ethnobiology 19th Annual Conference. Santa Barbara CA USA, 27-30 March. Information: Jan Timbrook, Department of Anthroplogy, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Rd.., Santa Barbara CA USA. Tel: (805) 682-4711 x 307.
*Population and Community Dynamics in the Tropics: BES Annual Symposium. Cambridge, UK. 1-3 April. Information: The British Ecological Society, 26 Blades Court, Deodar Road, Putney, London UK SW15 2NU.
*Global Genetic Resources: Access, Ownership, and Intellectual Property Rights. Beltsville, Maryland, USA, 19-22 May. Annual Meeting of the Association of Systematics Collections. Information: Amy Rossman, Tel: (301) 504-5364; Email: amy@fungi.ars.grin.gove.
*44th Annual Meeting North American Benthological Society. Kalispell, Montana, USA. 3-7 June. Information: Dr. Jack A. Stanford, Program Chair, Flathead Lake Biological Station, 311 Biostation Lane, Polson MT 59860 USA. Tel: (406) 982-3301; FAX: (406) 982-3201.
*8th International Coral Reef Symposium. Panama City, Panama, 24-29 June. Information: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, STRI Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, USA. Email: stri01.naos.brenesm@ic.si.edu.
*Ecology and Problem Solving. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 11-15 August. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Information: Dr. Jill Baron, Program Chair, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523. Tel: (303) 491-1968; Email: jill@nrel.colostate.edu.
*Pan-African Ornithological Congress. Accra, Ghana, 1-8 December. Dr. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, Ghana Wildlife Society, PO Box 13252, Accra, Ghana.
*Natural Science Collections: A Resource for the Future. Durham, England. 19-21 December. 2nd International Symposium and Work Congress on the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Information: Chris Collins, Natural Science Congress '96, Geological Conservation Unit, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK.
Courses
1996 Summer Field School at La Suerte Biological Field Station, Costa Rica. The La Suerte Biological Research Station in northeastern Costa Rica encompasses 700 acres with primary and secondary forests, swamps, marshes, and pasture. The field school offers undergraduate and graduate training in Rainforest Ecology, Diversity, Ecology and Behavior of Neotropical Birds, and Tropical Herpetology. All courses are four weeks long and cost $U.S. 1350, which includes tuition, room and board, and transportation within Costa Rica. Information: La Suerte Biological Station, 9439 FBB # 207, Miami FL 33172. Tel: (305) 961-2055 and (305) 957-0444 (at 5:00 p.m.); FAX: (305) 221-8329; Email: lasuertecr@aol.com.
Rainforest Workshops. The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) and Costa Rica Expeditions, a pioneering ecotourism agency, have agreed to collaborate on a series of Rainforest Ecology Workshops to be offered to the general public during 1996. The purpose of the rainforest workshops is to provide a quality experience that inspires a life-long commitment to the tropics, while offering more people the opportunity to encounter sites recognized internationally as premier facilities for rainforest research, education, and natural history observation. These educational tours are taught by experienced biologists and interpretive naturalist guides. Three workshops have been scheduled to date. The first two (2-10 January and 8-18 February 1996) will take place at OTS' Las Cruces Biological Station in the cool mountains of southern Costa Rica, and at a pristine tropical beach site adjacent to Corcovado National Park. The third workshop (24 March - 1 April 1996) will take place at OTS' La Selva Biological Station and Tortuguero National Park. Information: OTS Rainforest Ecology Workshops, P.O. Box 1554-2100, San José, Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 257-0767; FAX: (506) 257-0758; Email: newing@sol.racsa.co.cr
Positions
Director, Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. The Tropical Science Center (TSC) is inviting applications for the new post of Director for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Candidates should have had prior experience in the administration of wildland preserves and associated biological field research and conservation training programs. TSC is a private, non-profit Costa Rican association founded in 1962 with headquarters in San José, Costa Rica. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve encompasses some 10,500 hectares of mostly undisturbed primary mountain forest. The preserve is managed to protect its very high biodiversity, for research, and for environmental education, including ecotourism. Apply with C.V. and three references before 31 December 1995 to: Monteverde Committee, TSC PO Box 8-3870-1000, San José, Costa Rica. FAX: 506-253-4963; Email:cc225@sol.racsa.co.cr.
Fellowships and Funding
Conservation Impact Grants Program: Request for Proposals. The Biodiversity Support Program (BSP)--a consortium of World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute--funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), requests proposals from developing country researchers for applied field-based research and analysis relevant to the conservation of biological diversity in selected USAID-assisted countries. Conservation Impact Grants submitted to BSP should aim to produce knowledge that will offer solutions to specific conservation and development challenges. Projects to be supported may be primarily ecological, economic, anthropological or socio-political in focus, or may use an interdisciplinary approach. Eligible topic areas are: 1) utilization, management, and monitoring of biological resources; 2) cultural and societal influence on biodiversity conservation; and 3)economic and other incentives for biodiversity conservation. Research must be carried out in a USAID-assisted country and will only be considered if the principal investigator is from a developing country. However, a portion of the budget may support the collaborative efforts of a developed country researchers. Partnerships between researchers and NGO's whose collaboration would increase the potential for significant conservation impact are especially encouraged. Deadline: 15 March 1996; awards announced by 31 July 1996. Information: Biodiversity Support Program, c/o World Wildlife Fund 1520 24th Street, NW, Washington DC 20037. Tel: (202) 293-4800; Fax: (202) 293-9211.
Bullard Fellowships in Forest Research. Fellowships are offered by Harvard University to individuals in biological, social, physical, and political sciences to promote advanced study, research, or integration of subjects related to forest ecosystems. The fellowships are intended to provided individuals in m id-career with an opportunity to utilize the resources and to interact with personnel in any department with Harvard University to develop their own scientific and professional growth. In recent years Bullard Fellows have been associated with the Harvard Forest, Department o Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Kennedy School of Government and have worked in areas of ecology, forest management, policy, and conservation. Fellowships are available for periods ranging from four months to one year and can begin at any time during the year. Annual deadline for applications is February 1. Applications from international scientists, women, and minorities are encouraged. Information: Bullard Fund for Forest Research, Harvard University, Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA 01366 USA.
Smithsonian Minority Intern Program. Internships are available for students to participate in research and museum-related activities for periods of 10 weeks during summer, fall, and spring. U.S. minority undergraduate and beginning graduate students are invited to apply. The appointment carries a stipend of $250/wk for undergraduate and $300/wk for graduate students, and may provide a travel allowance. Deadline is 15 February 1996. Information: Smithsonian Institution, Office of Fellowships and Grants, 955 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7000, Washington DC 20560. Email: siofg@sivm.si.edu.
Publications
Lecythidaceae of a Central Amazonian Moist Forest. Scott A. Mori and Nadja Cunha, 1995. This treatment of Lecythidaceae is part of a larger study, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Instituto de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), to assess the effects of fragmentation on tropical rainforest. Mori and Cunha provide a taxonomic treatment of Lecythidaceae, including habitat, phenology distribution and representative specimens of the family. Three new species are described. Also included are a description of the subfamily Lecythidoidae and keys to the genera. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden, vol. 75. ISBN 0-89327-396-1. $12.50 plus postage and handling (US orders: $3.50 + 5% of subtotal; non-USA orders: $4.50 + 6% of subtotal). The New York Botanical Garden, Scientific Publications Department, Bronx, New York NY 10458-5126 USA. FAX: (718) 817-8842.
Biodiversity and Conservation of Neotropical Montane Forests: Proceedings of the Neotropical Montane Forest Biodiversity and Conservation Symposium, June 1993. S. P. Churchill, H. Baslev, E. Forero, and J. Luteyn (eds.), 1995. In June of 1993, nearly 200 scientists converged upon The New York Botanical Garden to share information that would lead to a better understanding of the biodiversity fond in the montane regions of the Neotropics and to exchange ideas on fostering greater public awareness of the vast deforestation taking place there. This resulting volume is both a biological inventory and a call for immediate protection and conservation. ISBN 0-89327-400-3. $85.00, plus postage and handling (US orders: $3.50 + 5% of subtotal; non-USA orders: $4.50 + 6% of subtotal). The New York Botanical Garden, Scientific Publications Department, Bronx, New York NY 10458-5126 USA. FAX: (718) 817-8842.
Extractivism in the Brazilian Amazon: Perspectives on Regional Development. M. Clusener-Godt and Ignacy Sachs (eds.), 1995. UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France.