CPI of Biopiracy, final report, 2005. Citations for “Amazon Conservation Team.” Forbidden to enter areas and interact with Indians. Did it anyway. Worked with USAID but said it didn’t. So say a number of witnesses. Nonsense, says the ACT president, who founded an NGO for his father the monkeyman and funded it. Reading …
Top headline in the Estado de S. Paulo today (via the blog of Luis Nassif):
O Planalto vai fechar o cerco às organizações não-governamentais ONGs, na tentativa de coibir a biopirataria, a influência internacional sobre os índios e a venda de terras na floresta amazônica. A primeira ação de controle consta do projeto da nova Lei do Estrangeiro, que está na Casa Civil e será enviado ao Congresso até junho. Se a proposta for aprovada, estrangeiros, ONGs e instituições similares internacionais, mesmo com vínculos religiosos, precisarão de autorização expressa do Ministério da Defesa, além da licença do Ministério da Justiça, para atuar na Amazônia Legal. Sem esse procedimento, o “visitante” do exterior terá seu visto ou residência cancelados e será retirado do País.
The Brazilian executive branch will tighten controls on NGOs in a bid to crack down on biopiracy, international influence over indigenous peoples and the sale of land in the Amazonian forest. The first action is part of a new bill on foreign persons, being drafted in the Casa Civil and due to be sent down to Congress in June. If approved, foreigners, NGOs and similar international institutions, even those with religious ties, will need express authorization from the Ministry of Defense and permission from the Ministry of Justice to operate in the Legal Amazon. Without this permission, the foreign “visitor” will have his or her visa or residency revoked and will be deported.
The celebrated case of the Monkeyman — Dr. Roosmalen — loomed large in a Congressional commission on biopiracy a couple of years back. See
- Too Much Monkey Business? The Monkey Man and the Indian Agent
- Too Much Monkey Business? The Son of the Monkeyman Speaks
- Too Much Monkey Business? The Monkeyman, The Lawman, and the Biopiracy Debate in Brazil
The doctor’s cause was taken up as a case of “political persecution” by Fox News at one point.
Preparado pela Secretaria Nacional de Justiça, o projeto prevê multas que vão de R$ 5 mil a R$ 100 mil para os infratores. A ofensiva não pára aí: além dessa iniciativa, o governo alinhava estatuto específico para regulamentar a atuação das ONGs em todo o País. O alvo são organizações que atuam em terras indígenas, reservas ecológicas e faixas de fronteira. Trata-se de instituições que, apesar do endereço doméstico, são patrocinadas por dólares, euros, libras e outras moedas fortes.
Drafted by the National Secretary of Justice, the bill provides fines ranging from R$5,000 to R$100,000 for violators. The offensive does not stop there: Along with this initiative, the government has lined up a statute specifically regulating NGOs in all of Brazil, targeting organizations that operate in indigenous territories, ecological reserves and frontier zones. These are institutions which, though domiciled in Brazil, are sponsored with dollars, euros, pounds and other strong currencies.
I hereby promise not to abuse my alien residency to steal public intellectual property — with the exception of the bossa nova guitar style. I am trying my damnedest to reverse-engineer the stylings of João Gilberto, but there is little risk of my succeeding.
Filed under: Regulation
