Because I've done a fair amount of CITES work, I have been exposed to
information on plant trade and smuggling. You wouldn't believe what people
will do to illegally obtain plants and animals. You can regulate (or
restrict map access) until you're blue in the face. If Joe Plantnut wants to
collect wild fly traps bad enough, he'll find a way to do it. These guys
don't need a map.
Producing the map eliminates one small step in the process. Books, journal
articles, herbarium specimens and data and the internet make all of this
information available to everyone.
I take no position on whether it should be done or not. I really haven't
thought it through and don't know. Do the maps of the homes of Hollywood
stars cause them to be robbed more than others?
I think there is a minor but real, logically fallacy in assuming a causal
relationship between the existence of this data and plant poaching.
Carlo
Carlo A. Balistrieri, J.D. Email: CABalist@facstaff.wisc.edu
P.O. Box 327
Ashippun, WI 53003-0327
U.S.A.
Voice: 414.474.7771
Telefax: 414.474.7772