2005 Honorary Fellows

Abstract

At the annual meeting in Ûberlandia, Brazil, in July 2005, the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) selected two Honorary Fellows. This award recognizes two individuals who have made extraordinary contributions in research and service to tropical biology and conservation in Brazil and Peru, as well as around the world. They serve as an inspiration to all tropical biologists. Paulo Nogueira-Neto, a zoologist and specialist in animal behavior, ecology, and stingless bees, has been responsible for more conservation in Brazil than any other individual. He continues to teach and conduct research. He was the first federal environmental official—Special Secretary for the Environment (SEMA)—in the country's history. SEMA subsequently became part of the Ministry of the Environment and the Amazon. While Special Secretary, he laid the groundwork for the vast majority of Brazil's environmental law and also created a series of protected areas under SEMA (in addition to the national parks which were under a different federal entity) totaling 3.2 million ha. Paulo has been and continues to be active in nongovernmental conservation organizations (e.g., WWF-Brasil; SOS Mata Atlantica, etc.), as well as serving on the environmental councils for Brazil (CONAMA), Sao Paulo State (CONSEMA), and the city of Sao Paulo (CADES). He has twice served as Vice President of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) program. He also served on the Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development, where he was the principal spokesperson for biological diversity. John Terborgh adds the Honorary Fellow Award of the ATBC to a long list of previous awards. John received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1963. He has been a faculty member of the University of Maryland, Princeton University, and Duke University, where he is now “James B. Duke Professor of Environmental Science.” John has published several hundred scientific papers and books. He was a central figure as the new science of conservation biology took shape in the 1970s. His own work has repeatedly demonstrated the crucial role large vertebrates play in structuring tropical forests. John may be best known to the membership of ATBC for the service he continues to provide in maintaining the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in the Manu National Park, Peru. The station has generated over 500 scientific publications since John's arrival in 1973 and is one of a handful of tropical field stations with an intact vertebrate fauna. Among his many awards and honors, John is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (1989) and received the Distinguished Achievement Award of the Society of Conservation Biology (1989), a Pew Scholarship in Conservation and the Environment (1992), and a MacArthur Fellowship (1992). The Peruvian Congress recognized John for his service to the country in 2003. John continues to be prolific—with 12 papers published in 2004 and 2005. We can all look forward to interacting with John at many future ATBC meetings. Paulo Nogueira-Neto John Terborgh