Pergamon Museum 44anagement and ('t*rator~ktp 'v'ol. 15, No 3, pp. 314 325. 1997

Published b~ Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain 0260.4779/97 $17 O0 + 0(10

World of Museums

Update on the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy

Following the collapse of New Era Philanthropy in May 1995, the Federal Bankruptcy Trustee has filed a motion in the Federal Bankruptcy Court seeking approval for an agreement under which the founder of New Era, John G. Bennett Jr, will hand over $1.2m in assets as a contribution towards the huge losses incurred by more than 600 religious bodies, colleges, museums and philanthropists. Claims totalling some $536m have been filed and the full extent of the damage sustained by American nonprofits is only slowly becoming apparent. John G. Bennett himself has issued a statement (quoted by The New' York Times, 25 January 1996):

Immediately upon the collapse of the foundation, 1 pledged my deep desire and total commitment to do whatever I could within my power and God's grace to help make the charities whole. Today I have given the trustee everything I own--literally all of my assets, for that purpose.

The agreement has to go to a public hearing in due course and it remains to be seen whether the museums and other creditors will object to it. However, the question of the fiduciary responsibility of individual trustees to exercise due diligence in the administration of their trusts remains and the views of the Court are awaited with some trepidation.

P E T E R C A N N o N - B R ( ) ( ) K E S

Natural History Collections and the National Museum of Natural History in Cuba

Cuba is an archipelago composed of a main island surrounded by more than 1,600 small islands and keys, that together amount to11,000 km 2. It is the country with the richest biota in the West Indies, comprising over 25,000 known species of terrestrial plants and animals, estimated to represent not more than 60% of the actual native flora and fauna. Rates of speciation have been greater in Cuba than in other territories of comparable size and ecological diversity, and major

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taxonomic groups have attained levels of endemism ranging from 80 to 95%. Cuba's marine shelf, with its remarkable fauna and immense expanses of mangrove forests and coastal wetlands, is the most diverse in the Antilles. It is as well the island that harbors the highest number of migratory bird species from North America.

Stimulated by such wonders, studies on Cuban natural history are known to have started around 1770 and continued sparingly throughout most of the 19th century. These were generally conducted by European naturalists on transit to South America, or temporally residing. Without exception, the collections thus made found their way into prominent European museums in Madrid, London, Paris, or Berlin. However, by the middle of the 19th century, a significant group of local naturalists had already laid the foundations of Cuban natural history. Outstanding among them, and leader of the group, was Felipe Poey. The Royal Academy of Sciences, established in Havana in 1861, had a positive influence in furthering the progress of local natural history. Through donations from its members, the Academy assembled the most important natural history collec- tions, followed by the Havana Institute of Secondary Education as the only other major repository of such collections in Cuba to the close of the century.

Along with the dedicated activities of Cuban naturalists during the second half of the 19th century, another important process was developing in relation to foreign priorities in the study of the Caribbean basin; namely, the gradual substitution of European scientists by United States researchers with a growing interest in Tropical America. Cuban natural history was to become an American- oriented discipline. Naturalists from the North had been contributing to Cuban natural history in earlier decades, mainly through collaborations with Felipe Poev and his followers. But what really allowed for United States primacy in Cuban natural history were the political and economic advantages derived from the involvement of the United States in the Cuban War of Independence, from Spain, at the end of the 19th century, and subsequent military interventions in Cuba after the foundation of the Republic in 1902.

During the first six decades of the 20th century, numerous explorations and collecting expeditions were undertaken by American scientists over most of the Cuban territory and adjacent seas. By this means, museums in the United States were able to build up important collections of nearly every major group of plants and animals on the archipelago, as well as geological and paleontological collections. Most relevant among those institutions were the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the National Museum of Natural History, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Field Museum of Natural Histor> Chicago. Throughout that same period, five other institutional collections developed in Cuba: the botanical collection of LaSalle School; the botanical and entomological collections of the Agronomic Experimental Station; the geological and paleontological collections of the Ministry of Mining; and two general teaching collections for the natural sciences, known respectively as the Poey Museum of the University of Havana and the Ramsden Museum of the University of Oriente. At the same time, private collections originated in many parts of the country.

From the foregoing summary of nearly 200 years of coliecting and collections of natural history specimens in Cuba, it may be observed that, up to the sixth decade of the present century, collections that remained in the country were

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instrumental either in teaching at university faculties and other centers of formal education, or for research at governmental agencies or private foundations. Aside from a few unsuccessful attempts during such a long span, Cuba was unable to set up a natural history museum, as an independent institution committed to the basic functions of collecting, research, and public education. In 1961, shortly after a popular revolution came to power in Cuba, the new government officially announced the founding of the "Cuban Museum of Natural Sciences". The old collections of the Royal Academy and of the Havana Institute of Secondary Education were transferred to the new museum, together with those of the former Agronomic Station and Ministry of Mining; likewise, other important collections were privately donated. In 1964, extensive galleries with gracefully designed exhibit halls, impressive dioramas, a 1:1 reproduction of a Cuban cave, a planetarium, and a number of other attractions and facilities, were opened to the public in a part of the magnificent Capitol building in Havana, but owing to a lack of understanding of what a true museum of natural history should be, no research staff or curators were appointed at that time, and subsequently some of the collections were redistributed among newly created research centers. For the next 22 years the Cuban Museum of Natural Sciences and its collections were managed by a group of high-school teachers exclusively for the purpose of public educational programming. Nevertheless, during that period, 7 million persons visited the displays, representing the highest visitor rate amongst the 120 museums of all kinds located throughout the country.

The institution was substantially reorganized in 1986, to become the National Museum of Natural History, with a research staff of 35 curators and technicians in the field of geology, paleontology, botany, and zoology, and a group of qualified educators and interpreters. First steps were then taken to deal professionally with issues of collections management and care in the adverse climatic conditions of Cuba. At this time the Museum's mission and mandate were formulated in terms of its exceptional position as national repository of reference collections in all fields of natural history. This formulation included clear statements on the responsibility of the Museum for the preservation and care of such collections in perpetuity, and on its unique potential to make knowledge, understanding and interpretation of Cuba's natural assets accessible to the widest possible audiences in a meaningful and enjoyable way. The purpose was to promote social awareness among Cubans as to their responsibility in preserving the nation's natural heritage.

During the first 4 years following the reorganization of the Museum, research and educational activities developed intensively. Visitor behavioral research was initiated to build user interest and sensitivity, together with evaluations of the educational effectiveness of displays as an important tool in their upgrading. Educational and cultural programs were diversified and outreach was expanded, including regular spaces on radio and television for promoting environmental education. Through collecting expeditions, curators were able to add to the collections some 60,000 properly documented specimens, and to discover more than 100 taxa new to science or to the Cuban territory. A program was implemented in coordination with the National Institute of Physical Planning to sample natural areas expected to undergo severe modification because of socio- economic development. Research on the collections provided the basis for the publication of numerous articles in international scholarly journals, and relations

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with foreign scientists covered 20 institutions in 12 countries. In 1989--now under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment--the Museum was allocated a large and solidly constructed building for its new headquarters, located in one of the most important city squares in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Havana. A master plan, including the appropriate budget and time-flame for its implementation, was developed for the extensive renovations required to adapt the building to its new functions, and for the installation in it of all the Museum facilities.

The following year Cuba entered a major economic crisis due to the political collapse of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, with which Cuba had enjoyed 85% of its commercial relations. Under such circumstances, the Museum's master plan had to be postponed, and the institution began to lose the progress it had achieved since its reorganization in 1986. With the strengthening of the United States trade embargo on Cuba, shortages of all kinds began to appear, further deepening the economic crisis--something which, in many a country, would have led to the Museum's demise. But the institution kept struggling for its social goals and public image. Even during these hard years the Museum has been able to make significant contributions to the fulfillment of Cuba's commitments to the Biodiversity Convention, by participating in national inventories of biodiversity, in assessments of environmental impact, and in work to set up new protected areas. Moreover, in 1993 the MacArthur Foundation approved a package of grants designed to connect Cuban conserva- tion biologists with counterparts in the United States, based on exceptional U.S. legislation providing for such interactions. Through this initiative our curators were able to visit the United States, to study collections and recover associated archival information in several of the major museums, where an estimated 60% of the holotypes of Cuban plant and animal species are deposited. Likewise, joint expeditions with American and Caribbean colleagues have been mounted to the main islands in the Greater Antilles, aiming at achieving a better understanding and interpretation of the common geological and biotic origin of the region.

Nevertheless, the Museum's overall performance has continued to decline dramatically. At present, field work is practically nil due to shortages of fuel, means of transport, and victuals. The lack of critical supplies makes proper care of collections impossible, and the displays had deteriorated to such an extent that the decision to close them indefinitely had to be taken in October 1995, leaving the institution with little public presence. At this very moment, the Museum is seeking international funding to implement its master plan. Let's hope it will.

GILBERTO SILVA TABOA1)A