Marc van Roosmalen
Encyclopedia
Dr. Marc van Roosmalen is a Brazilian primatologist of Dutch birth living in Manaus
in Brazil
. He was elected as one of the "Heroes of the Planet" by Time Magazine
in 2000. His research has led to the identification of several new monkey species, as well as other animals and plants, although some of these identifications are challenged as dubious, unconvincing, or contradictory to the evidence. He is also an activist in the protection of the Brazilian rainforest. Van Roosmalen was awarded the honour of Officer in the order of the Golden Arch by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1997.
, a city in the southern portion of the Netherlands
. His father was a chemist. He met and married his first wife while living in Amsterdam
, where he had moved for school at age 17. They had two sons. In 2003, while married and living with his wife, he began seeing a young Brazilian woman. In early 2008, he divorced his first wife and married his Brazilian girlfriend.
in Suriname
. He later did two more years of work in French Guiana
, following which he published the book Fruits of the Guianan Flora. In 1986 he was hired by the INPA (Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research, where he initially thrived. During this period, he launched a non-governmental organization
focused on creating wilderness preserves in the deep Amazon. He became a naturalized Brazilian citizen in 1997. Marc considers Alfred Russel Wallace
a hero and is an advocate of Wallace's "river barrier" hypothesis that the major rivers of the Amazonian basin serve as barriers that create separate genetically distinct evolutionary regions.
Van Roosmalen irked some INPA colleagues by failing to do the burdensome paperwork that the institute required prior to fieldwork. Some questioned his methodology, including identifying new monkey species on the basis of single orphan
s of unknown provenance or soliciting donations for his NGO with the offer of naming a new species after the donor.
(Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's Enforcement Agency) for illegal transportation of monkeys and orchids from the unexplored Amazonian region of Serra do Aracá. In April 2003, Roosmalen was fired from his job with the INPA for illegally exportation of environmental genetic samples to outside Brazil. Around this time, his younger son learned of his affair
and told his mother, leading to separation. Also around this time, the board of the NGO removed him as President and removed its resources from his control.
In 2007, he was arrested by the Brazilian government for illegally keeping orphaned monkeys in a monkey refuge at his house in the Amazon and for misappropriation of Brazilian public funds. He was sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison. Van Roosmalen claims that he applied for permits for his monkey preserve, which he could legally do after he didn't receive a response within 45 days. The bulk of his sentence was for an embezzling charge after he was accused of stealing scaffolding tower in 1996. The tower did disappear at some point, but it was never found in Van Roosmalen's possession. The rightful owner of the tower was never asked to testify at his trial. Van Roosmalen was not given the special treatment that most prisoners with advanced college degrees receive when imprisoned in Brazil. He was placed in the notorious Raimundo Vidal Pessoa Penitentiary, where he claims to have witnessed two murders that occurred during his incarceration. At one point Van Roosmalen shared a cell with two violent crack addicts whose drug debts he paid. He is currently free on appeal. The WWF
is investigating his case and is expecting worldwide support for van Roosmalen.
Van Roosmalen told a Wired News reporter that he has a video of two ex-policemen knocking on his door immediately after tucking revolvers into their pants. Believing that he would be killed if he stayed, he and his wife are on the run with no plans to return to their home in Manaus as of May 2008.
In September 2008 the blog monkey initiative was started as an attempt to help Van Roosmalen get out his current predicament. The initiative is a collection that seek to raise $31 000 to help pay legal fees and allow Van Roosmalen to get back to work. Van Roosmalen has pledge to name a monkey species Lagothrix blogosphera, the blog monkey if the initiative is successful.
Roosmalen's Dwarf Porcupine and Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
are discovered by and named after him. He named the Prince Bernhard's Titi
after Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, co-founder and former president of the WWF.
Manaus
Manaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination....
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He was elected as one of the "Heroes of the Planet" by Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
in 2000. His research has led to the identification of several new monkey species, as well as other animals and plants, although some of these identifications are challenged as dubious, unconvincing, or contradictory to the evidence. He is also an activist in the protection of the Brazilian rainforest. Van Roosmalen was awarded the honour of Officer in the order of the Golden Arch by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1997.
Personal life
Marc grew up in TilburgTilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
, a city in the southern portion of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. His father was a chemist. He met and married his first wife while living in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, where he had moved for school at age 17. They had two sons. In 2003, while married and living with his wife, he began seeing a young Brazilian woman. In early 2008, he divorced his first wife and married his Brazilian girlfriend.
Career
Van Roosmalen studied biology at the University of Amsterdam and did four years of doctoral fieldwork beginning in 1976 studying the Red-faced Spider MonkeyRed-faced Spider Monkey
The red-faced spider monkey, Guiana spider monkey, or red-faced black spider monkey, Ateles paniscus, is a species of spider monkey found in the rain forests in northern South America....
in Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
. He later did two more years of work in French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
, following which he published the book Fruits of the Guianan Flora. In 1986 he was hired by the INPA (Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research, where he initially thrived. During this period, he launched a non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
focused on creating wilderness preserves in the deep Amazon. He became a naturalized Brazilian citizen in 1997. Marc considers Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
a hero and is an advocate of Wallace's "river barrier" hypothesis that the major rivers of the Amazonian basin serve as barriers that create separate genetically distinct evolutionary regions.
Van Roosmalen irked some INPA colleagues by failing to do the burdensome paperwork that the institute required prior to fieldwork. Some questioned his methodology, including identifying new monkey species on the basis of single orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
s of unknown provenance or soliciting donations for his NGO with the offer of naming a new species after the donor.
Troubles
In 2002, he was fined by the IBAMAIbama
Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's enforcement agency...
(Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's Enforcement Agency) for illegal transportation of monkeys and orchids from the unexplored Amazonian region of Serra do Aracá. In April 2003, Roosmalen was fired from his job with the INPA for illegally exportation of environmental genetic samples to outside Brazil. Around this time, his younger son learned of his affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
and told his mother, leading to separation. Also around this time, the board of the NGO removed him as President and removed its resources from his control.
In 2007, he was arrested by the Brazilian government for illegally keeping orphaned monkeys in a monkey refuge at his house in the Amazon and for misappropriation of Brazilian public funds. He was sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison. Van Roosmalen claims that he applied for permits for his monkey preserve, which he could legally do after he didn't receive a response within 45 days. The bulk of his sentence was for an embezzling charge after he was accused of stealing scaffolding tower in 1996. The tower did disappear at some point, but it was never found in Van Roosmalen's possession. The rightful owner of the tower was never asked to testify at his trial. Van Roosmalen was not given the special treatment that most prisoners with advanced college degrees receive when imprisoned in Brazil. He was placed in the notorious Raimundo Vidal Pessoa Penitentiary, where he claims to have witnessed two murders that occurred during his incarceration. At one point Van Roosmalen shared a cell with two violent crack addicts whose drug debts he paid. He is currently free on appeal. The WWF
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
is investigating his case and is expecting worldwide support for van Roosmalen.
Van Roosmalen told a Wired News reporter that he has a video of two ex-policemen knocking on his door immediately after tucking revolvers into their pants. Believing that he would be killed if he stayed, he and his wife are on the run with no plans to return to their home in Manaus as of May 2008.
In September 2008 the blog monkey initiative was started as an attempt to help Van Roosmalen get out his current predicament. The initiative is a collection that seek to raise $31 000 to help pay legal fees and allow Van Roosmalen to get back to work. Van Roosmalen has pledge to name a monkey species Lagothrix blogosphera, the blog monkey if the initiative is successful.
Roosmalen's Dwarf Porcupine and Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
Roosmalens' Dwarf Marmoset
Roosmalens' dwarf marmoset , also known as the black-crowned dwarf marmoset, is a small New World monkey native to the Amazon Rainforest, on the east bank of the lower Madeira River, and the west bank of the Aripuanã River, in Brazil. It has the smallest distribution of any primate in Amazonia...
are discovered by and named after him. He named the Prince Bernhard's Titi
Prince Bernhard's Titi
Prince Bernhard's titi is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil. It was formally described in 2002 by Marc van Roosmalen and Russell Mittermeier, and named after Prince Bernard of the Netherlands. This titi has dark orange sideburns and chest, a reddish brown back, and a...
after Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, co-founder and former president of the WWF.
External links
- Marc van Roosmalen's official website
- Blog monkey Initiative - Help Van Roosmalen and name a monkey species after the blogosphere.
- Interesting interview with Marc van Roosmalen
- The Guardian (23/06/2007) - Jailed rainforest campaigner claims he was framed by Brazilian loggers
- NYTimes - As Brazil Defends Its Bounty, Rules Ensnare Scientists
- IBAMA
- INPA