Do I need a special permit for collecting in Ecuador?

[777]

My father and I are planning to go to Ecuador in about two years, but I’m wondering if I need a permit to take any insects from there.

[exoticimports]

I believe so. You will also need a USFWS import license to import, and must be able to ID down to the species.

[Paul K]

Jan 15, 2019 17:47:21 GMT exoticimports said:

I believe so. You will also need a USFWS import license to import, and must be able to ID down to the species.

What a pain !!!!

[trehopr1]

Well, since all that sounds like utter nonsense and simply impossible I'll tell you what a friend of mine did. My friend and his brother spent 10 days down there in 2008 at someplace akin to a modest resort popular with birders. Togather they collected day and night much of the time. They papered up everything and then coded the envelopes with a number which corresponded to their field notebook so everything had full data.
At the end of the trip they put the contents into 5 separate boxes and had the resort owners send them direct to an address back home (one at a time/ once a week). My friend paid postage on all the packages before he left and left the resort proprietors with an agreed upon stipend which he wired them whenever a package arrived.
My friend was happy, the resort owners were happy, and not a hitch occurred. He figured by sending several parsels most would likely get through and nobody would ever be the wiser. The only thing he brought back on the plane were some of his collecting supplies.
I should mention however, that by the time he received the 4th and 5th boxes there were some specimens lost to mold issues. His first box contained whatever large beetles he had collected so no problem (they arrived first). His 2nd and 3rd boxes contained his butterflies (no problems). He said his Saturniids and Sphingids were in the last 2 boxes along with an assortment of smaller moths and that was a mistake on his part as those large things had not enough time to dry out properly. All in all he still managed to get 50% good stuff out of the 4th and 5th boxes respectively. He got a decent haul for his efforts filling up 12 Cornell drawers and it only cost him $200 in gratuity money ($40 a package) to receive it.
If there is a will there is a way !

[nomad]

According to this site, you actually should have Ecuadorian permits.

www.coleoptera.org/p2336.htm =


ECUADOR: Another difficult Latin American country to collect. Permits are all issued through the Ministerio del Ambiente. The entire system is fraught with infighting and red tape. But, permits can still be obtained if you make a contact within the Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales. Ecuador has large problems with drug smuggling and they are preoccupied with more serious crimes than insect collecting, so once a permit is obtained, you will not be hassled. 50% of collected species must be deposited in the national collection before departing the country. A more detailed account of Ecuadorian permit issues here.

[nomad]

I also suggest you read this before you go.

www.butterfliesofecuador.com/contribute.html

I know a number of people do collect in a country where you need permits without them and everything's OK (luck) but we have seen a number of times where people should have had them and did not and got caught.  Better safe than sorry.

[jmg]

I collected in Ecuador and I had the permits for Imbabura: authorization of collecting and authorization of exit of the specimens. In addition, half of the collection should be given to a local scientific institution with the identifications made. We must also know that bureaucratic delays are important and that the authorization of collection is only valid for one province. If you want to collect in several regions, you need several licenses to recover each in the capital of each province. Hence significant losses of time. For example, the day of my arrival at the chief town, the manager was absent and did not sign the documents. We had to wait two days! That said, I do not remember being controlled in the field.

The verification of the export permit is carried out at the premises of the sanitary service of Quito airport, the day before departure (better to go there the day before the day of the flight!).

 

[alandmor]

From the Skeptical Moth website of Chris Grinter:

ECUADOR: Another tricky Latin American country to collect. Permits are all issued through the Ministerio del Ambiente and can be written by the National Museum or Catolica University. Country-wide permits are issued, however to obtain an export permit separate “permiso de movilizacion” clearances are needed for each province you collect in. Contact the Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales or Universidad Catolica and it is likely that an Ecuadorian will have to collaborate with you and possibly join you in the field. Ecuador has large problems with drug smuggling and they are preoccupied with more serious crimes than insect collecting, so once a permit is obtained, you will not be hassled. A more detailed account of Ecuadorian permit issues here.

Much more detail on the Butterflies of Ecuador website mentioned above about how to go about it.

[777]

Thank you all for the information! 

[trehopr1]

Geez, after reading jmg's and alandmor's comments it sounds worse than ever trying to lawfully collect there. Talk about having to "jump through hoops" like a circus dog. And then still get shafted by leaving 1/2 your catch there to likely get ruined in one of their pathetic repositories (which run on like -- no gov't funding). And last but not least have someone or several somebodies holding out the hand for payoffs is crazy...

Maybe try looking into another place to visit. Their may be more relaxed measures in place. I know some members have been to French Guiana, Panama, Belize etc. They seem to have all come away with specimens with minimal bother. Get some suggestions here maybe on their thoughts as to where the best place was that they have visited in terms of "red tape" or the lack of it. There are insects everywhere all over the tropics and no matter where you wind up you will catch great stuff.

It's all about leaving with the bulk of your collected material and doing it with minimal fuss to make your trip expense worth it all !

Things seem to have evolved so quickly and so badly as regards entomology and enthusiasts of it. The drug trade/ trafficking has every gov't and agency on edge for everything coming or going in/out of country. And then you arrive back here and have more issues. I'm sure glad I did my foreign collecting back in the late 80's and early 90's when everyone travelled in a much more "relaxed" atmosphere!

No wonder Ebay is so damned popular these days. Just place your bet (bid).

[Ed]

Why not contact a local researcher to accompany you in the field and take you to the best spots, and then have them send you the specimens as a loan. Much easier in my opinion, since they maybe already have a permit and they can get those specimens legally to you with no problem. By loan I mean a indefinite loan!

[jmg]

French Guiana is a good option for discovering neotropical lepidofauna. The forest is well preserved, there are trails that allow a real intimacy with its wildlife and small hotels (called "carbets") often dedicated to entomology. There is no need to remind that in this country, where there is no deforestation (except in a few limited areas), the collection of butterflies is not prohibited. However, diversity and mainly abundance are less than at the foot of the Andes.

[jmg]

I collected butterflies in Belize (over 20 years ago, it was then very good) and in Panama. As far as I know, we now need collecting authorizations for these two countries. As far as Panama is concerned, it must be known that on the Pacific coast, deforestation is intense. Non-anthropized landscapes are only found at altitude. The forest is better preserved on the eastern side (caribbean) but is often difficult to reach (this explains that). I did not go to the east of the Canal (in the Darien), a region certainly rich in butterflies but difficult to access and locally dangerous (drug traffickers, etc.). I would like to go there soon .....

Meanwhile, next March, I will return to French Guiana and probably to Suriname.

[joee30]

Jan 16, 2019 7:01:42 GMT trehopr1 said:

Well, since all that sounds like utter nonsense and simply impossible I'll tell you what a friend of mine did. My friend and his brother spent 10 days down there in 2008 at someplace akin to a modest resort popular with birders. Togather they collected day and night much of the time. They papered up everything and then coded the envelopes with a number which corresponded to their field notebook so everything had full data.
At the end of the trip they put the contents into 5 separate boxes and had the resort owners send them direct to an address back home (one at a time/ once a week). My friend paid postage on all the packages before he left and left the resort proprietors with an agreed upon stipend which he wired them whenever a package arrived.
My friend was happy, the resort owners were happy, and not a hitch occurred. He figured by sending several parsels most would likely get through and nobody would ever be the wiser. The only thing he brought back on the plane were some of his collecting supplies.
I should mention however, that by the time he received the 4th and 5th boxes there were some specimens lost to mold issues. His first box contained whatever large beetles he had collected so no problem (they arrived first). His 2nd and 3rd boxes contained his butterflies (no problems). He said his Saturniids and Sphingids were in the last 2 boxes along with an assortment of smaller moths and that was a mistake on his part as those large things had not enough time to dry out properly. All in all he still managed to get 50% good stuff out of the 4th and 5th boxes respectively. He got a decent haul for his efforts filling up 12 Cornell drawers and it only cost him $200 in gratuity money ($40 a package) to receive it.
If there is a will there is a way !

I thought about doing that myself being that since my mother retired, she has moved to El Salvador and I am planning to go once a year down there. Might be easier, but just don't want to deal with the bs if a package gets intercepted.