[NHCOLL-L:3513] RE: Sending materials to Brazilian researchers on loan

[Bentley, Andrew Charles]

There are numerous issues when dealing with transfer of scientific materials to and from Brazil:

 

1.	Material Transfer agreement (MTA) these were brought about to try and protect scientific property rights and exchange of biodiversity and genetic heritage.  I agree with David that even if the regulations have recently changed, these are a good idea
2.	Dangerous goods regulations - any specimens sent in ethanol are required by IATA and DOT regulations to be sent by courier (FedEx, DHL or UPS) using small/excepted quantity regulations.  Unfortunately, Brazil is one of a long list of countries that the courier companies do not have the rights to transship dangerous goods within.  Hence, you can get the parcel to the designated international airport but no further using conventional express service.  I have had some discussions with FedEx about sending the material by freight service which obviates some (but not all) of the express requirements and have been told that door to door service is possible using this method.  I have yet to try it out
3.	Postal service woes - there are untold stories of people having parcels go missing/hijacked by postal authorities in Brazil or just never reaching their destination.  There are conflicting stories about what paperwork is required to get such a parcel through customs in Brazil (veterinary certificate stating that the material is preserved and poses no threat to the environment/wildlife certificate outlining contents and endangered status etc etc.).
4.	The language barrier is sometimes a challenge with documentation in English being misread or misinterpreted by Brazilian officials.

 

With no official word coming from any reputable source within Brazil about what is required we have taken the step of not sending material on loan to Brazil.  We hope that some clarification will be forthcoming as we hate to disadvantage Brazilian researchers based on the policies (or lack thereof) of their country.

 

If anyone has some hard and fast information concerning this please distribute to all, as this issue has arisen numerous times on NHCOLL-L without resolution.

 

Andy

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Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager/Specify Usability Lead
University of Kansas
Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863
Fax: (785) 864-5335
Email: ABentley at ku.edu       
                                                
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________________________________

From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Furth, David
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 11:48 AM
To: fpenati at comune.genova.it; NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:3510] RE: Sending materials to Brazilian researchers on loan

 

Your institution must have a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with each Brazilian institution you send loans to.  And they must have a reciprocal MTA with your institution in order to send the material back to you (see attached samples).

 

There have been some 2007 changes in the Brazilian laws that indicate that the MTAs are not necessary any longer; HOWEVER, after consulting with several Brazilian scientists indications are that these sound good, BUT in practice will probably NOT work.  This may be further complicated by the fact that IBAMA is supposedly about to undergo a major re-organization.

 

******************************************************

David G. Furth, Ph.D.

Department of Entomology

MRC 165, P.O. Box 37012

National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, D. C. 20013-7012  USA

Phone: 202-633-0990

Fax: 202-786-2894

Email: furthd at si.edu

Website: www.entomology.si.edu 

________________________________

From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Fabio Penati
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 4:53 AM
To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:3504] Sending materials to Brazilian researchers on loan

 

Dear colleagues,

 

at the Museum of Natural History "G. Doria" of Genua (Italy) we are facing the problem of sending type specimens (dried and preserved in alcool) of the entomological collections to Brazilian researchers. 

In fact, we have heard that present Brazilian laws originate a lot of troubles in sending and receiving materials even though for scientific purposes. For this reason, we are afraid of encountering difficulties with the return of our specimens from Brazil to Italy.

Nevertheless, we don't want to deny a loan, unless very good reasons exist.

I'll be glad of reading your opinions about this subject and, above all, your good/bad experiences.

Every suggestion will be welcome!

 

Cheers,

Fabio

 

 

 

Dr. Fabio Penati
Curator
*********************************************************
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria"
Via Brigata Liguria, 9
I-16121 Genova, Italia
tel. (+39) 010 564567, 010 582171
fax (+39) 010 566319
e-mail: fpenati at comune.genova.it

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