Marc van Roosmalen

Dr. Marc van Roosmalen (born 24 July 1947, Tilburg) 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.^[1] 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.^[2] He is also an activist in the protection of the Brazilian rainforest.^[3] Van Roosmalen was awarded the honour of Officer in the order of the Golden Arch by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1997.^[4][5]

Personal life

Marc grew up in Tilburg, 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.^[2][6]

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 Monkey 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. ^[2]

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 orphans of unknown provenance or soliciting donations for his NGO with the offer of naming a new species after the donor. ^[2]

Troubles

In 2002, he was fined by the IBAMA (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.^[7] 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.^[2]

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.^[7] 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.^[6] He is currently free on appeal.^[8][9] The WWF is investigating his case and is expecting worldwide support for van Roosmalen.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[6]

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.^[10]

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.

References

1. ^ Time. http://www.time.com/time/reports/environment/heroes/heroesgallery/0,2967,roosmalen,00.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Edinger, Claudio (February 2008). "Trials of a Primatologist". Smithsonian 38 (11): 82–95. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/roosmalen-200802.html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
3. ^ http://marcvanroosmalen.org/bijlage/curriculum_vitae.pdf
4. ^ http://marcvanroosmalen.org/pages/aboutpag.html
5. ^ Orde van de Gouden Ark
6. ^ ^{a b c} Why Does This Prominent Amazon Researcher Face 14 Years in Prison for Biopiracy? - Wired Article
7. ^ ^{a b} Pesquisador holandês é condenado no Amazonas. - Folha Online
8. ^ Rohter, Larry (28 August 2007). "As Brazil Defends Its Bounty, Rules Ensnare Scientists". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/science/28biop.html?8dpc. Retrieved 12 May 2010. 
9. ^ DutchNews.nl - 'Hero' biologist jailed in Brazil
10. ^ - Blog monkey initiative

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

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Name	Roosmalen, Marc van
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Date of birth	24 July 1947
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