Noel Kempff Mercado (February 27, 1924 in

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River in the eastern Tropical Lowlands of Bolivia ...

, Bolivia – September 5, 1986 in the Serranía de Caparuch, Bolivia) was a Bolivian

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

. Kempff Mercado studied at the University of Santa Cruz where he received his

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1946. During a field campaign in the Huanchaca National Park in 1986 he and several other scientists discovered a cocaine factory in the Bolivian forest. Kempff Mercado and most of the scientists were killed by the criminals. The Huanchaca National Park was renamed in 1988 as

Noel Kempff Mercado National Park Noel Kempff Mercado National Park is a national park in northeast Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz Department, Province of José Miguel de Velasco, Bolivia, on the border with Brazil. Description Noel Kempff Mercado National Park cover ...

References

*Laura Riley, William Rile
Nature's strongholds: the world's great wildlife reserves
Princeton University Press, 2005

* * Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert, Historia de Bolivia, Editorial Gisbert, La Paz, 2008, 7e éd., 739 p. (), p. 584 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kempff Mercado, Noel 1924 births 1986 deaths Bolivian scientists Bolivian beekeepers People murdered in Bolivia People from Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bolivian environmentalists Bolivian people of German descent 1986 murders in Bolivia