Dear Conch-Lers -
 
I would like to introduce you to a very nice and knowledgeable young man
from The Netherlands who is now a member of Conch-L.  I met him several
years ago at COA in San Diego.  His name is Gijs Kronenberg, and I remember
him well as the author of the new Personid species Distorsio ventricosa
which he named in 1994.  In a recent email to me, he made some interesting
comments regarding environmental problems and I asked his permission to pass
these on to you.
 
"Slowly now governments are getting aware of the enviornmental dangers to
larger projects.  In the Netherlands we now have a law which is entitled
'milieu effect rapportage' (reports on the effects to the enviornment) for
larger projects.  Fortunatelay we are in a position (because of booming
economy) to look at enironmental effect of larger projects.  But you try to
tell that to third world countries who think of short term profits from
tourist industry.  The problem we are discussing is extremely complex.  We
can easily say e. g. the elephant must be protected, but you just try to say
that to some poor person in Kenya, who has to wonder every day whether he
and his family will have something to eat the next day, but who will have
enough money for one year by shooting an elephant for the tusks, or a
rhinoceros for the horn, as long as there are people willing to pay a lot
for money, or who really do believe that the horn is a reliable aphordisiac?"
 
What Gijs has written is not a solution, but it points out just how complex
the problem is.  I thought you would find it interesting.
 
The Tall One
Betty Jean Piech
Wilmington,DE,USA
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__@/- "Laughter is an instant vacation"  -\@__
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