I haven´t been able to get on the internet for a while. It seems Iguape has been going in and out. I´m still in Iguape having a good time just loafing around and playing games with Paulos crianças. Last night I went to the festival again. It´s was still going on but yesterday was the last day. Unfortunately Lucas and I got rained on making it a rather cold and wet experience. Cold being that it is winter here and last night it got down to a whopping eight degrees (C). I would say I laugh at them being cold at that temperature but I was cold as well. The biggest problem is that most houses don´t have any system for heating or cooling. Thus when it gets to 8 grau its 8 grau everywhere. Fortunately it only gets that cold at night for about a month. This morning I spent working with Paulo on plotting where to do projects and how to set them up on the 43000 Ha (90000+ acre) Baliza MST farm. We are looking to set up a large jaguar project on the large 7000 Ha Legal reserve bordering the Araguia where we can bring in jaguar, peccary, capybara, turtles, tourists, and perhaps even anaconda. The anaconda is a hard one because in this area the big ones have all been killed so only small ones (1-5m) are around. Today I learned that an anaconda (sucuri) can live in excess of 100 years (like a turtle), and at full size they have been known to take medium sized cattle. Back to the project, an issue we have with this farm is the people. The 9000 Ha reserve bordering the Araguia is more than enough to cover the legal reserve limit of 20%. Thus the rest of the 43000 Ha can be clear cut except for areas that are “permanent reserves” bordering the rivers and lakes and covering the mountains (roncador). As of now there is about 9000 Ha of 30-50Kg/Ha biomass dense cerrado that will likely be clearcut if we can´t convince the people of its value for sustainabile extraction of plants and animals. Fortunately Pro-Fauna is not alone in it´s efforts in so doing, Agrotech is also interested in this for the extraction of phytotherapeutical plants. Thus these highly uneducated people (only about 50% can read) are getting a full degree in conservation methods for sustainable utilization (which is the only TRUE conservation).

I´m going to jump on my soapbox for a second here. Conservation vs. Preservation! Many of the organizations in the US especially the radicals and activists are for preservation not conservation. What they don´t realize is that PRESERVATION IS NOT SUSTAINABLE!!! I quote the international foundation for the conservation of wildlife: Protectionist attitudes must be altered so as to encourage the sustainable production of valuable fauna and flora, in order to open and/or develop controlled national and international markets for this biodiversity, so as to justify and motivate its long-term conservation and development. Our ultimate motivation as a civilization is to survive and improve our quality of life. Thus there has to be an economic incentive as justification for our actions in managing flora and fauna and there is no such incentive with protectionism or preservationism. Even tourism is a form of sustainable utilization and thusly true conservation.

Jumping back off again. Things are winding down here, I´m starting to have to deal with buisness back in Ames and at home. I guess I do have to go back afterall, though I would love to spend a whole year down here to truly learn the language, and all aspects of the Brasilian wildlife system. I´ve gotten a wonderful education but my work is just beginning. I have a whole village of indians and a large group of trabaliadores (fazenderos) who are eagerly promoting my continued work with indigenous populations and wildlife. The problem associated with my continuing is the money. Unfortunately wildlife is not considered as a major food or socio-economic resource in most countries, and thus it is nowhere in the national statistics and not taken into consideration as a viable option for rural survival and development. This is a problem as wildlife provides as much as 80% of the protein for certain populations. Since wildlife is not considered economically important in many countries, funding for work with wildlife is similarly underfunded, and corruption in third world countries has proven that monetary contributions to government institutions seldom end up in the pockets of those who are actually making things happen. As a word to the wise, do your research before donating to an organization that claims to be for conservation you would be better off to find a specific person or group who is actualy doing something of value. (Back on again) Of course if your only goal is for a tax writeoff from an NPO then I suggest taking tbe money that you wanted for a write off and go to a country to see first hand what´s going on. I can almost guarantee that you will not return to the US with the “American mentality” that everything is about money. It is true that money drives the world but you can not buy happiness, as so many people I know seem to think, you can only buy comfort. If you don´t believe me I will suggest some places that I have been for you to visit. One such place is Piedras Negras, Mexico just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas (this is a place anyone can get to for fairly cheap). It is true that the poorest part of Mexico is at the border of the US as all the poor people flock there in hopes of making it to the “land of opportunity” but in the heart of the poorest colony of Piedras you will find a spirit of happiness and giving, and though the people have nothing but each other and a small portion of food on their plate, they will still always invite you in and offer you a coffee or something to eat and they will sing songs and play their buckets or whatever make-shift instrument they can put together. I suggest contacting Constructores para Cristo for a first hand experience with Piedras. As you have probably guessed from my writings I have visited some of the poorest people in the world (I haven´t been to Africa yet though, that will happen soon) and if there is any one thing I would like to instill in anyone who reads this it is to be thankful for what you have, greed and longing for what you don´t have leads to worries and discomfort. In the end you can´t take any of it with you anyway and when you get to those pearly gates what will you say? Would you prefer; I always wanted more but never got it, or I loved my life and praise the Lord for giving me all the gifts which I received. I think we all know the answer to that one.

OK so I´ve really been on my soapbox tonight. I will try not to do that too much in the future. I hope I didn´t bore you with my writings but I´ve spilled my guts here and this is what you get when you spend enough time working for the good of mankind through helping all living things.
Via com Dios