From pdh@u.washington.edu Wed Jun 25 23:25:51 1997 Received: from jason01.u.washington.edu (root@jason01.u.washington.edu [140.142.70.24]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.04/8.8.4+UW97.05) with ESMTP id XAA31368 for ; Wed, 25 Jun 1997 23:25:51 -0700 Received: from saul2.u.washington.edu (pdh@saul2.u.washington.edu [140.142.56.21]) by jason01.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.04/8.8.4+UW97.05) with ESMTP id XAA07338; Wed, 25 Jun 1997 23:25:48 -0700 Received: from localhost (pdh@localhost) by saul2.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.04/8.8.4+UW97.04) with SMTP id XAA17622; Wed, 25 Jun 1997 23:25:47 -0700 (PDT) Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 23:25:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Preston Hardison To: Indknow List cc: ELAN List Subject: Cultural Library Rescue, Belize Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 13:24:03 -0700 From: Arctos@worldnet.att.net Newsgroups: sci.bio.conservation Subject: Library Rescue The Central American Institute of Prehistoric and Traditional Cultures at Belize urgently needs your assistance. The Institute focuses its interests on the ethnobotany of sacred and medicinal plants, shamanism, states of=20 consciousness, and ancient traditions. The Institute has the largest research and educational library in Belize, consisting of irreplaceable boo= ks, photographs, artifacts, field notes, and other archival materials. The=20 recent rain storms and hurricanes have damaged the library and archival=20 storage. Algae, worms, and the dense tropical moisture have penetrated our= =20 building and are rapidly destroying the collection. =20 We estimate that in one month, one-third of the collection will be damaged;= in=20 two months, three-quarters may be beyond repair. In three months, there ma= y be=20 nothing left to salvage. This is a loss that the people of Belize cannot afford. Several of our staff members have returned to the United States to= =20 appeal for help in rescuing this irreplaceable resource. We have initiated= =20 a Rescue Operation to raise emergency funds, and urgently need your support= =2E =20 The Central American Institute was established under a registry charter in= =20 1991, and granted full recognition by the Ministry of Education of the=20 Government of Belize, in accordance with the Education Act of 1991, Section 38. The Institute is a non-profit research and educational institution, established for the purposes of promoting the preservation of= =20 ancient and traditional worldviews and materials, and to act as a center fo= r=20 the dissemination of knowledge and interest in the study of such cultures. = =20 The Institute aims at preserving indigenous cultures through the preservati= on=20 of traditional knowledge. Now, this traditional knowledge is about to be= =20 destroyed. The Institute=B9s library and archives contain documentation of indigenous = groups=20 that have already disappeared. If these field notes, slides, photographs, = and=20 artifacts are destroyed, there will be no way to replace them. The collect= ion=20 also consists of plant specimens and ethnobotanical fieldwork, documenting = and=20 exploring the medicinal value of rain forest flora. The destruction of thi= s=20 collection would be a great loss to all who value our planet=B9s biodiversi= ty and seek new medical solutions to today=B9s health problems. Further, the Institute=B9s collection consists of rare and out-of-print books, providing= an=20 extremely valuable resource to ethnologists, botanists, scientists, and=20 students alike. The Institute=B9s collection contains priceless research a= nd documentation about the Maya, Creole, and Garifuna populations of Belize an= d=20 the neighboring regions. The collection, however, is not limited to Centra= l=20 America, but contains information from around the world: from South America= ,=20 to the Middle East, to Siberia. Once this material is lost, this cultural= =20 and educational resource will be gone forever.=20 Time is of the essence. We need $60,000 now (Phase I). We are appealing t= o=20 foundations, corporations, research societies, institutes, individuals, and= =20 television and radio announcements to raise these funds. We urge you to he= lp us cope with this emergency situation by contributing whatever you can. Yo= ur=20 contribution will be acknowledged on our homepage. Also, please, help us= =20 spread this message to friends and colleagues who may be interested in=20 supporting this Rescue Operation. =20 We can provide documentation of our non-profit and educational status, and = a=20 detailed break-down of the allocation of funds. Further information about = the=20 Institute can be obtained on our Website at http://world.std.com/~chacmol/.= =20 The Institute is also listed in Issue 3 of the People and Plants Handbook,= =20 published by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), UNESCO, and Royal Botanic=20 Gardens-Kew. In these times of modernization, Westernization, and technology, traditiona= l life is being displaced and destroyed irrevocably. It is imperative that w= e preserve cultural and natural resources, traditional epistemologies, and biodiversity. We appeal to you to support the Central American Institute i= n its drive to preserve these resources for the benefit of the developing=20 country of Belize, as well as the global community. Please, make checks=20 payable to: Central American Institute. We all thank you for your support. Sincerely, Dr. Michael Naxon Director ************************************************************* Emergency Fund Central American Institute 8033 Sunset Blvd. Suite 2040 Los Angeles, CA 90046 818-344-8516 (Emergency Fund line) Arctos@worldnet.att.net http://world.std.com/~chacmol/ ************************************************************** .