This is from one of our students, Mario Blanco: "Dear Orchid Systematists/Taxonomists,
An article titled "CITES and the Herbarium Voucher" by Dr. Pat Duncan Raven appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Plant Science Bulletin (PDF available at ftp://flmnh.ufl.edu/public/ODG with permission of the editor). It summarizes the problems that current CITES regulations pose for sending herbarium material (loans, gifts for determination, exchanges) across countries, mainly for Orchidaceae, but also Cactaceae and other groups listed in CITES appendices. These problems have been discussed in length but surprisingly no organized proposal to the CITES Secretary-General has ever been made. During the recent 3rd Orchid Conservation Congress in Costa Rica, the IUCN-SSC Orchid Specialist Group drafted a resolution to support the exclusion of herbarium material from CITES control (hightlighted in the article). Dr. Raven is collecting information on the experiences of various institutions or individuals on this subject, to provide background documentation for such a proposal. It is critical that this proposal has wide international support to convince the CITES parties of its importance. So, please email her ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) with a brief statement of your experience and/or opinion. Please feel free to forward it to others that might be concerned and who might provide useful information. Thanks for your time, Mario Blanco" -- ******************************************************************* Mark Whitten Senior Biological Scientist 385 Dickinson Hall Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida P.O. Box 117800 Gainesville, FL 32611-7800 tel. 352-392-1721 ext 214 FAX 352-846-2016 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bush is listening... use big words! ******************************************************************** _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
