INSECT TRAFFICKING: CAN IT AFFECT ME?
By: GERMAN VIASUS TIBAMOSO, Owner of the beetles breeding methodology patent “Transformation of solid organic waste using Coleoptera”.
Environmental and sanitary engineer, born in Tunja City (Boyacá-Colombia-south America), I am working in complex civil engineer projects, involving environmental management that guarantees the supported development of the environment. Thanks to this I had a particular feeling that the communities should take their role in preserving of the ecosystem seriously. In order of getting further in my job, I started post-grade studies where the knowledge showed me that the only logical way for achieving further ecological development of humanity is to understand the complex mystery of life. In the year 2000 I discovered the role of the more than 300 000 beetle species in the nature.
Thus I developed an hypothesis: “Transform organic waste into humus, that can be used for agriculture.” In the beginning it was quite hard to find sponsors, but my results, which I was obtaining through field studies, showed a simple result: In the native forest more waste than through human activities is developing. This waste could be injurious for the forest but through the particular work of beetles and other organisms it is transformed into humus very fast. The plants are using this rich humus in order to grow and the whole cycle starts again. Today my work is based on breeding of beetles of several species, feeding them with organic waste that in Latin-America poses a common contamination source.
The process is realized by the larval stages, but when they grow up until they become adults, some of those species are really appreciated as exotic insects in other countries. My investigation has been going deeper and now I am able to breed the required beetle species for collectors in foreign countries. However, there is still a problem: The lack of conscience and knowledge in order to establish worldwide environmental protection laws. Due to a lack of laws, governments allow beetle traffickers to export insects illegally without taking care about the damage which is thus generated in the native forest where beetles are hunted. Each year huge amounts of beetles are being commercialized with out any control; for that reason the captive breeding project, which I developed, is a helpful tool to avoid extinction (with its subsequence results) and can easily be used in different countries.
It has not been easy to get the approval of working permissions for the breeding and exporting process, but I hope that this information will be useful for ecologist organizations and others. To conclude, environmental impact that is caused in any part of the world will affect in a direct or indirect way humans. Take a role in this field and support the ecological development of the insect commerce. In the following images you can observe my way of beetles breeding and as an additional bonus produce humus, and the resulting quality in beetles.
“THE HARD WORK SINCE YEAR 2000 HAS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY THE DESIRE TO MAKE MY DREAM COME TRUE, WITH NOBODY'S HELP OR COOPERATION, I HOPE THAT THE DREAM FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IMPROVE, ONLY COULD BE REALIZED IF EACH ONE OF US MAKES AN EFFORT”.
PS: If you want to contact German Viasus Tibamoso, please write an email to me, and I will connect you with him:
All Pictures © Copyright of their respective owners.