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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2416
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0338
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0357
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0513
RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 0331
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0378
RUEHOR/AMEMBASSY GABORONE 0334
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0340
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 0341
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0861
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0320
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0562
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 5768
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0547
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 6548
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 3922
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 2567
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 4710
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 7031
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 1553
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7489
RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO 1621
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 4216
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 8430
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 2710
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6577
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASH DC
RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC
RUEHC/DOI WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEANAT/NASA HQ WASHDC
RUCPDC/NOAA WASHDC
RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 18 BRASILIA 001219
SIPDIS
DEPT PASS USAID TO LAC/RSD, LAC/SAM, G/ENV, PPC/ENV
TREASURY FOR USED IBRD AND IDB AND INTL/MDB
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE: LIZ MAHEW
INTERIOR FOR DIR INT AFFAIRS: K WASHBURN
INTERIOR FOR FWS: TOM RILEY
INTERIOR FOR NPS: JONATHAN PUTNAM INTERIOR PASS
USGS FOR INTERNATIONAL: J WEAVER
JUSTICE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES: JWEBB EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL: CAM HILL-MACON USDA FOR ARS/INTERNATIONAL
RESEARCH: G FLANLEY NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL: HAROLD STOLBERG
E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAGR EAID TBIO ECON SOCI XR BR
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1. The following is part of a series of newsletters, published by the Brasilia Regional Environmental Hub, covering
environment, science and technology, and health news in South America. The information below was gathered from news
sources from across the region, and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Hub office or our
constituent posts. Addressees who would like to receive a user-friendly email version of this newsletter should contact
Larissa Stoner at XXXXX. The e-mail version also contains a calendar of upcoming ESTH events in the region. NOTE: THE
NEWSLETTER IS NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE BRASILIA INTRANET PAGE, BY CLICKING ON THE 'HUB' LINK.
2. Table of Contents Agriculture
--(3)Climate Threat to Brazil's Soya Exports
--(4)Argentina: Soy - High Profits Now, Hell to Pay Later Water Issues
--(5)Chile Starts Effort to Protect Watersheds Forests
--(6)Amazon Rainforest Threatened by New Oil and Gas Exploration
--(7)Brazil Launches Ambitious Fund for Amazon Forest
--(8)Argentina: Forest Impacts of Pig-Iron Plant Debated
--(9)Brazil President Signs Decrees Toughening Environmental Enforcement in Amazon
--(10)Guyana to Get US$200,000 from Forest Carbon Partnership
--(11)Dow Gives $1.5 Million to Preserve, Restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest Protected Areas
--(12)Chile: Six New Wilderness Areas
--(13)Iron, Diamonds May Turn Legal to Mine in Amazon Indigenous Reserves
--(14)Brazil Mulls Sugar Cane Limit to Protect Wetland Science & Technology
--(15)Brazil Harnesses Space Technology to Monitor Deforestation Energy
--(16)Argentina, Brazil to Develop Nuclear Energy Agency
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--(17)Chilean Government Pushes Solar Energy Incentives for Households
--(18)Brazil's Biofuel Plane Fleet Grows
--(19)Brazil Wants United States Help Managing Nuclear Waste
--(20)Biodiesel to Bring Electricity to Amazon Villages
--(21)Brazil: Petrobras Launches Biofuels Subsidiary
--(22)Russia and Venezuela Will Coordinate on Energy Climate Change
--(23)Peru Mountain Glaciers 'Receding Rapidly' Sustainable Development
--(24)Bolivia: Businesses Take On the Green Challenge
--(25)Latin America: Ingenuity at the Service of Sustainable Business
--(26)Implementing a Butterfly Farm: Guyana's Latest Sustainable Initiative SPECIAL FEATURE!!NEWS FROM THE FRONT *US
Embassy ESTH Work in South America*
-(27)Colombia: Marine Environmental Security Workshop
-(28)Ecuador: Sustainable Urban Mobility Expert -(29)Chile and Argentina: Renewable Energy Speaker from NREL; EPA
Environmental Law Enforcement Training
-(33)Peru: Sustainable Biofuels Workshops -(34)Suriname: Fighting Illegal Wildlife Trafficking -(35)Guyana: Aquaculture
Partnership -(36)Bolivia: Biofuels Energy Workshop
----------- Agriculture -----------
3. Climate Threat to Brazil's Soya Exports AUG. 10 2008 - Brazil's soya exports could slump by more than a quarter over
the next 12 years as a result of climate change, according to a study to be presented at an agribusiness conference in
Sao Paulo. The study will add to concern over worsening food shortages around the world. It shows that even moderate
rises in temperatures would cause significant damage to a range of agricultural products in Brazil, which has emerged
over the past decade as one of the world's biggest suppliers of food crops. By
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2020, the study says, the value of six of Brazil's food crops - rice, coffee, beans, manioc, maize and soya - could fall
by between 6.5bn reals ($4bn) and 7.1bn reals if average temperatures rose by between 1:C and 2:C. The most serious
damage would be to soya. The amount of land suitable for soya cultivation would fall by more than 21 per cent under the
best-case scenario, which assumes that action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and by almost 24 per cent if
emissions continue at present rates. Source - Financial Times
4. Argentina: Soy - High Profits Now, Hell to Pay Later JUL. 29, 2008- At a time when the price of soy, Argentina's main
export crop, has reached record highs on the international markets, family agriculture experts and environmental groups
are warning about its severe social and environmental effects. Covering 16.6 million hectares, more than half of the
country's cultivated land, soybeans command prices of around 600 dollars a ton and are expanding at the expense of
maize, wheat, citrus fruits and cattle ranching, among other farming activities. This expansion is likely to continue
after the recent repeal of the controversial hike in export taxes on soy adopted by the government in March. "Soy is an
example of the 'boom and bust' model, much like fishing, mining or intensive logging," said Jorge Cappato, of the
Fundacisn Proteger. "An ecosystem is pressured beyond its limits, to generate enormous profits in the short term, at the
cost of renewable natural resources." Source - IPS News
------------ Water Issues ------------
5. Chile Starts Effort to Protect Watersheds JULY 2008 - Watershed protection, one of Chilean President Michelle
Bachelet's chief campaign promises to environmental advocates, has officially gotten underway with three pilot projects.
The projects are being conducted on the Copiaps River in the north, the Rapel River in the country's center and the
Baker River in southern Patagonia. Ana Lya Uriarte, Chile's environment minister, said recently that the pilot projects
will seek to "analyze the behavior of the water, install a public-private planning model and involve in a sustainable
way all activities around these resources." Uriarte
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added that the Baker River, the proposed site for a controversial hydroelectric project, lies "in an area of our country
with particularly special ecosystem characteristics, a large quantity of virgin zones, and important tourism
development". At the national level, the new strategy calls for the creation of an inter-ministerial Watershed Ministry
Council to propose watershed-management policies that "will reconcile diverse interests". To assist the council, the
government is creating a technical secretariat to be managed jointly by Chile's Water Agency and the National
Environment Commission (Conama).The new strategy also contemplates the creation of local bodies charged with drafting
and implementing watershed-management plans. These public-private Watershed Organizations would include water users,
government officials, green activists and other relevant stakeholders. Source - EcoAmericas
------- Forests -------
6. Amazon Rainforest Threatened by new Oil and Gas Exploration AUG. 13, 2008 - Vast swathes of the western Amazon -
including Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia - are to be opened up for oil and gas exploration, putting some
of the planet's most pristine and biodiverse forests at risk, conservationists have warned. A survey of land earmarked
for exploration by energy companies revealed a steep rise in recent years, to around 180 zones, which together cover an
area of 688,000 sq km, almost equivalent to the size of Texas. Detailed mapping of the region shows the majority of
planned oil and gas projects, which are operated by at least 35 multinational companies, are in the most species-rich
areas of the Amazon for mammals, birds and amphibians. Researchers used government information on land that has been
leased to state or multinational energy companies over the past four years to create oil and gas exploration maps for
western Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia. The maps showed that in Peru and Ecuador, regions designated for
oil and gas projects already cover more than two thirds of the Amazon in their countries. Of 64 oil and gas regions that
cover 72% of the Peruvian Amazon, all but eight were approved since 2003. Major increases in activity are expected in
Bolivia and western Brazil. Source - Guardian
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7. Brazil: INPE Releases Numbers of Amazon Deforestation for 2007-2008 Brazil's Space Research Institute (INPE) revealed
that, according to its real-time deforestation detection system (DETER), 8,147 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest
were deforested between August 2007 and July 2008. According to INPE, these numbers do not correspond to the annual rate
of deforestation, which is calculated by PRODES, a more detailed system which only considers deforestation in its final
stage (i.e. clear-cutting). For more information please refer to
8. Brazil Launches Ambitious Fund for Amazon Forest AUG. 04, 2008 - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
launched an international fund to finance conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon as deforestation rates
rise. The fund will support forest conservation, scientific research and sustainable development projects, such as
rubber tapping, forestry management, enhanced concession programs, and development of pharmaceutical drugs from
rainforest plants. The government hopes to raise US$1 billion within one year and as much as US$21 billion by 2021,
according to Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES), which will manage the fund. It is open to companies, countries
and nongovernmental organizations. In September, Norway will make the first donation -- US$100 million -- said Eduardo
Bandeira de Mello, head of Environment and Social Responsibilities at BNDES. Source - Planet Ark
http://www.planetark.org. SEE ALSO BRASILIA 1159
9. Argentina: Forest impacts of pig-iron plant debated JULY 2008 - Chaco, located on the border with Paraguay, ranks
among Argentina's poorest provinces. The region's income comes mostly from farming and logging. That, in large part,
explains why provincial authorities have leapt to the defense of a proposal by Vetorial, a Brazilian company, to build a
US$200 million pig iron plant near Resistencia, Chaco's capital. Pig iron is a key ingredient in the manufacture of
steel, and project proponents say the Chaco plant will generate jobs by helping to supply steel mills not only in
Argentina, but eventually also in Brazil and southeast Asia. Conservationists contend that the project would accelerate
deforestation as trees are extracted from native woodlands to produce charcoal that is used to make the pig iron. Citing
the
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project's environmental-impact study, they point out that the Vetorial facility would consume 90,000 tons of charcoal
annually for the first three or four years, then double that amount as production rises. Chaco already produces
approximately 220,000 tons of charcoal annually, the provincial government says. The new plant, which would be the first
of its kind in Argentina, also would draw wood for charcoal from forests in Formosa and Santiago del Estero provinces.
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article)
10. Brazil President Signs Decrees Toughening Environmental Enforcement in Amazon JULY 23, 2008 - Brazil's president
signed two new decrees Tuesday aimed at cracking down on illegal deforestation in the Amazon. The first decree gives
inspectors the power to seize property and goods from people caught with illegally logged wood, and shortens the period
during which landowners can appeal fines for environmental violations from eight years to one. The other decree provides
for more agents to police the vast Amazon basin, which covers an area larger than Western Europe. The number of new
agents is still to be determined. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the measures are necessary to keep Brazilian
soybeans and biofuels competitive worldwide, explaining that some consumers might boycott those goods if they feel their
production is hurting the rain forest. "Not protecting the environment would hurt Brazil's competitive advantage," Silva
said. "We'd be shooting ourselves in the foot." Brazil has some of the world's toughest environmental legislation. But
enforcement is spotty, and environmentalists say less than 1 percent of fines levied in the Amazon were collected in
2007. Source - International Herald Tribune
11. Guyana to Get US$200,000 from Forest Carbon Partnership JULY 25, 2008 - Guyana will receive US$200,000 from the
World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) to prepare its Readiness Plan (R-Plan) for combating tropical
deforestation. The R-Plan will outline among other activities, the methodologies to be used in carrying out assessments
of historical and current greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation at a national level. It
will also look at mechanisms to project and model future emissions from deforestation and degradation, and to update
biomass field estimates across all land uses, both of which will be done at
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the national level. The World Bank named Guyana as one of 14 developing countries selected as the first states to
receive money for combating tropical deforestation and climate change from an initial US$82M partnership between those
countries and nine industrialized states. The FCPF aims to reduce deforestation and forest degradation by compensating
developing countries for greenhouse gas emission reductions. The 14 tropical and sub-tropical countries will receive
grant support as they build their capacity to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and tap
into future systems of positive incentives for REDD. Source - Stabroeknews
12. Dow Chemical Gives $1.5 Million to Preserve, Restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest JULY 17, 2008 - The Dow Chemical Co.
is collaborating with The Nature Conservancy to restore the shoreline of the Cachoeira reservoir in the Cantareira
System in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Dow's $1.5 million pledge through its charitable foundation was announced at the
company's first-ever Latin American Sustainability Forum. The reforestation will take place in a highly degraded
landscape. The land's freshwater services are critical to the health and well-being of millions of people in Brazil.
Goals of the reforestation project include sequestering carbon to mitigate climate change, and ultimately selling
certified carbon credits to support ongoing reforestation in the Atlantic Forest. The ultimate goal is to join efforts
to reforest all the degraded riparian areas and protect the existent forest remnants of the Cantareira system. The
Atlantic Forest is the source of drinking water for 70 percent of Brazil's population including Rio de Janeiro and Sao
Paulo - for more than 130 million people. The most acute risk to the survival of the Atlantic Forest's biodiversity is
the very fragmented state of forest remnants and their ecological isolation from one another. Source - Midland Daily
--------------- Protected Areas ---------------
13. Chile: Six New Wilderness Areas AUG. 26, 2008 - Chile's extensive system of national parks, reserves, and natural
monuments will soon boast six new additions. In 2009, wilderness areas in the Arica-Parinacota, Antofagasta, BRASILIA
00001219 008.2 OF 018 O'Higgins, Biobo and Los Ros regions will join the state's National System of Protected Wilderness
Areas (Snaspe). The new additions include National Park Alerce Costero (Region XIV), Natural Reserves Altos del Loa
(Region II), Laguna Cahuill (Region VI), Cordillera del Pemehue (Region VIII), Cordillera del Noguen (Region VIII), and
Natural Monument Quebrada Cardones (Region XV). These areas were chosen due to the presence of native plants, animals,
or geological formations, said government officials. National Reserve Laguna Cahuil, for example, is home to 46 species
of aquatic birds, many on the verge of extinction. The parks will focus on preservation of Chile's natural environment,
and will also help grow th
nation's burgeoning tourism industry. Source - Santiago Times
14. Iron, Diamonds May Turn Legal to Mine in Amazon Indigenous Reserves AUG. 21, 2008 - For decades, Valeria Paye
Pereira and her tribe of Tiriyo Indians in Brazil's Para state have fought wildcat miners who slip across the northern
border from Suriname and French Guiana to illegally extract gold. The miners, known as garimpeiros, have cut trees,
polluted waters with mercury, cyanide and other chemicals, and attacked the tribe's wood-and-straw homes. Now, the
1,100-member tribe is taking its fight to the nation's capital to stop legislation that would allow more mining on its
lands. ``The garimpeiros bring violence, disease, alcohol and prostitution,'' said Paye Pereira, 34. She has been
lobbying against the measure in Brasilia. Opening up Indian territories would ``lead to exploitation, not only of the
lands and the environment, but of the Indians.'' Lawmakers are debating whether to allow companies such as Cia. Vale do
Rio Doce and Anglo American Plc to tap unexplored land after rising global demand caused minerals prices to surge and
strained existing deposits. While supporters say doing so will curb violence and environmental damage caused by illegal
mining extraction, indigenous groups say it threatens their way of life. Source - Bloomberg
15. Brazil Mulls Sugar Cane Limit to Protect Wetland AUG. 05, 2008 - Brazil would restrict sugar cane planting in one of
the world's largest wetland areas if the government approves a proposal to protect the Pantanal area's ecology,
according to the Environment Ministry. The agriculture ministry has been working for a year with state-run agencies on a
law to restrict cane planting in
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the Pantanal, amid concern about the environmental impact of the crop's rapid expansion. No new ethanol plants, which
produce biofuel for Brazil's fast-growing fleet of ethanol-powered cars and for export, will be allowed in the
Pantanal's plains under the proposal, but it will permit restricted planting in the region's highlands. The proposal
would require planters in this region, where cane has been cultivated for more than 10 years, to use direct, or no-till
planting methods, eliminating the use of machinery and agrochemicals, the ministry's statement said. About 90 percent of
Brazil's sugarcane is produced in the center-south region, which includes Pantanal. Source - Yahoo UK
-------------------- Science & Technology --------------------
16. Brazil Harnesses Space Technology to Monitor Deforestation JULY 22, 2008 - Brazil will launch a satellite in 2011 to
monitor deforestation and urban expansion around the world. Amaztnia-1 will carry a UK -made high resolution camera. The
United Kingdom-Brazil collaboration was announced July 14 at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for
Progress in Science. It is part of the continuing UK -Brazil Partnership in Science and Innovation, and stems from
discussions between governments and research partners that began in 2007 during the UK-Brazil Year of Cooperation on
Science and Technology. Amaztnia-1 will orbit the Earth 14 times a day at a distance of 400 miles, collecting images of
several countries. It will have three cameras in total, two of them made in Brazil and one made in the UK. Source -
SciDev
------ Energy ------
17. Argentina, Brazil to Develop Nuclear Energy Agency AUG. 28, 2008 - Argentina and Brazil are scheduled to address the
creation of a bi-national nuclear energy agency when Presidents Lula da Silva and Kirchner meet in September in Recife
in northeast Brazil, reports the Brazilian press. Working together, the two-country agency could become one of the
world's leading providers
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of enriched uranium. In addition to the plans by Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Venezuela to set up nuclear plants, Argentina
has two in operation, is finishing a third, Atucha II, and is planning to build two more. Brazil has Angra I, Angra II,
is planning Angra III and six more by 2030, revealed the Brazilian official. The creation of the Bi-national Nuclear
Energy Committee (Coben) represents one of 17 agreements reached in the recent meeting by Presidents Cristina Fernandez
de Kirchner and Lula da Silva. However, Coben does not have the full support of the Brazilian establishment,
particularly from the Brazilian Navy which for years has been working in the development of a nuclear powered submarine
and allegedly is jealous of its expertise and experience. Source - MercoPress http://www.mercopress.com
18. Chilean Government Pushes Solar Energy Incentives for Households AUG. 27, 2008 - Chile's Finance Ministry announced
proposed tax breaks as an incentive for solar water panel installation in middle to low-income new home construction.
The plan also includes a fund to support renewable energy development initiatives. If approved by Chile's Congress, the
proposal will grant tax breaks to partially or completely cover the installation of solar-powered water-heating systems
in certain homes. Solar installation costs will be completely covered in homes valued at approximately US$80,000 and
less, while installation costs will be partially covered for homes valued up to approximately US$180,000. Installation
costs for the solar panels on each home are estimated at US$1,340, according to the state-owned Chilean daily La Nacisn.
Each solar panel system would generate over half the energy necessary to heat its household's water, reported La Nacisn.
Officials said making the switch from natural gas to solar-based water-heating systems will mean monthly savings of up
to US$19 for low and middle-income families. The Finance Ministry predicts that the initiative will cost the government
US$40 million in 2009Source - Santiago Times
19. Brazil's Biofuel Plane Fleet Grows AUG. 20, 2008 - Brazilian biofuel, already available for nine out of 10 cars on
the roads, is also keeping a small but growing fleet of aircraft aloft. Some 200 single-engine, single-seat Ipanema
planes made by Neiva, a subsidiary of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, are now burning cheap ethanol made from
sugarcane for their crop-dusting and public health missions. The first of the ethanol-fueled EMB
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202As took to the air in 2005, and the company has steadily increased production, with 32 turned out this year, said the
head of the factory in the central west town of Botucatu. Next year, production should stabilize at 36 planes per year.
The biofuel technology is only used for the propeller-driven planes, in accordance with the substantial restrictions for
light aircraft. Source - Yahoo 20. Brazil Wants Help from the United States in Managing Nuclear Waste AUG. 06, 2008 -
Brazil asked the United States for help managing waste from its nuclear reactors during a visit from American Deputy
Secretary of Energy Jeffery Kupfer. Brazilian Mines and Energy Secretary Edson Lobao said the United States has made
significant advances in the storage of residue from reactors. Kupfer's visit comes as Brazil is preparing to restart
work on its third nuclear plant, Angra 3. One of the requirements for the plant's environmental license was the
development of a better waste storage system. Currently, Brazil's nuclear waste is stored in a system of "pools", long
criticized by environmentalists who say the system risks spilling waste into the ocean. "The United States sees nuclear
energy as an essential part of its energy supply into the future. We are in the process of constructing new reactors
after a long period and the theme of waste management is an essential component of that process", Kupfer said. Source -
IHT
21. Biodiesel to Bring Electricity to Amazon Villages JUL. 31, 2008 - Oil from native tucuma, ouricur and murumur palm
trees will be used to provide electricity to isolated communities in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon, which are too
remote to supply with power by conventional means. A research team is preparing to start producing biodiesel this year
at a plant in Carauar, a district of 25,000 people that can only be reached by a 1,600-kilometre river journey, or by a
two-and-a-half hour flight from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state. Roberto Figliuolo, an expert with the National
Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), told IPS that there are "10 promising palm species", which are found in "dense
natural stands" and yield good quantities of oil. However, the team has worked most intensively with the tucuma palm
because it is abundant and already has a partially developed production chain. The Brazilian government has for several
years been implementing its
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program "Light for All", with the aim of supplying electricity to millions of Brazilians who still do not have it. In
more populous areas, extending power lines was the method of choice. But in the Amazon region, an area of five million
square kilometers with low population density, alternatives are being sought based on local energy production, such as
solar or wind energy, or thermoelectric generation using oil from native species or wood residues. Source - IPS News
22. Brazil: Petrobras Launches Biofuels Subsidiary JULY 30, 2008 - Brazil's semi-public oil company Petrobras has
launched a new subsidiary to run its growing biofuels operations, looking towards building production capacity to meet
growing global demand for ethanol exports. The new subsidiary, called Petrobras Biocombustivel, will coordinate
Petrobras' significant biofuels investments (US$1.5 billion over five years) which are currently run by various units of
the company. Through joint ventures with foreign investors, Petrobras plans to buy minority stakes in ethanol mills in
Brazil and abroad, with an eye towards markets such as Venezuela, Japan and the U.S. Source - RIO DE JAN 00000205
23. Russia and Venezuela Will Coordinate on Energy JULY 23, 2008 - President Hugo Chvez of Venezuela and President
Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia declared that their countries would more closely coordinate their actions on global oil and
gas markets, and work together on foreign policy issues. Russian officials stressed the business significance of the new
cooperation, including three new deals to expand the presence of Russian oil and gas companies in Latin America.
Russia's gas and oil giants, TNK-BP, Lukoil and Gazprom, each signed agreements in Mr. Chvez's presence to explore
reserves in Venezuela's Orinoco Valley. Lukoil and TNK -BP signed agreements to conduct joint explorations with the
Venezuelan state oil company, Petrsleos de Venezuela. Gazprom agreed to conduct a geological study of gas reserves in
the area, and reportedly was discussing the possibility of helping to build a pipeline to Brazil. Source - The New York
Times
-------------- Climate Change --------------
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24. Peru Mountain Glaciers 'Receding Rapidly' July 29, 2008 - Climate change-induced glacier melts have cost northern
Peru's mountains 26 per cent of their surface area in the last 33 years, satellite images have confirmed. The reduction
is equivalent to 188 square kilometers of the Cordillera Blanca, the highest tropical mountain chain in the world. The
mountain range is home to more than seven hundred glaciers, with the glacier Huascaran declared a world heritage site by
UNESCO. Marcos Zapata, head of the glaciology unit at the National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA), says that
the glaciers are melting by around 20 meters per year - compared to a rate of nine meters per year recorded until 1977.
"At present, there are more melting glaciers and therefore there is a relative increase in flows in rivers and streams",
Nelson Santillan, a researcher at the INRENA glaciology unit, told SciDev.Net. Santillan says that while the melting
currently does not pose have any significant problems, people must be warned about the correlation with future
reductions in water flow, water storage, and year-round water availability. INRENA estimates that reductions in water
flow could occur as soon as 2020. This could have severe consequences since recent Peruvian population growth and
agricultural expansion has centered on water-rich areas downstream of the glaciers Santillan says. Source - SciDev
----------------------- Sustainable Development -----------------------
25. Bolivia: Businesses Take On the Green Challenge AUG. 20, 2008 - What do Bolivia's largest textile mill, an organic
cacao cooperative and an indigenous-run tourist hostel in the Amazon have in common? The answer lies in the path, shaky
but inspiring, that they are all taking towards sustainable production. In the factories of the Bolivian corporation
America Textil S.A. (Ametex), even the light switches invite you to "Save Energy". The company says it is committed to
optimizing its production processes, reducing pollutants, saving resources and recycling inputs and materials. Based in
La Paz, Ametex is Bolivia's largest textile factory. More than 3,000 workers produce 150 to 190 tons of textiles per
month -- 85 percent of it for the U.S. market. All of its factories are oriented towards sustainable production, in
compliance
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with the Environment Act. Source - IPS News 26. Latin America: Ingenuity at the Service of Sustainable Business JULY 28,
2008 - Four creative sustainable development projects that have enjoyed success in Latin America received media
attention in July, demonstrating a shared common denominator: the possibility of replication elsewhere in the region.
The four sustainable examples are a company that will extract silver from the same contaminants it proposes to clean up;
a cooperative of the formerly unemployed that will export designer clothing; small farmers planting new varieties of
manioc that double the yield with fewer agro-toxins; and groups in linking agriculture in the Amazon with protection of
the forest. The article goes into detail about the following four experiences:
1) Bolivia: Recovering Potos's Silver;
2) Argentina: Unemployed Come Together (Argentine Movement of Unemployed Workers (MTD) of La Matanza);
3) Venezuela: Cassava Twice Over (small farmers in the central Venezuela state of Cojedes); and
4) Brazil: Coexistence of Forest and Crops. For more information please go to Source - IPS News 27. Implementing a
Butterfly Farm: Guyana's Latest Sustainable Initiative JULY 20, 2008 - Iwokrama, a center for rainforest conservation in
the heart of Guyana's rainforest, is known worldwide for its innovative approach to preserving tropical rainforests and
creating livelihoods for local communities. Their focus has been to create programs that utilize the forest sustainably,
allowing for a mutual benefit between the people and the forest itself. Currently, Iwokrama has a number of initiatives
under its umbrella, including eco-tourism, sustainable forestry, on-going research projects, and training programs. Amid
these bustling projects, a new one has emerged: butterfly farming. Sitting on one million acres, the Iwokrama reserve is
managed by the seventeen local communities within the reserve called the North Rupununi District Development Board
(NRDDB). The butterfly farm is a partner with University of Warwick, England and was provided a 333,629 pound start-up
grant from the Darwin Initiative. Source - Mongabay NEWS FROM THE FRONT - ESTH ACTIVITIES IN SOUTH AMERICA
28. Colombian Marine Environmental Workshop - (Larry Gumbiner,
BRASILIA 00001219 015.2 OF 018
William Popp, Larry Sperling): ESTH officers from US Embassy Colombia and OES and OMC representatives from Washington,
DC collaborated in the organization and implementation of US Military Southern Command-sponsored Marine Environmental
Security Workshops in Cali and Cartagena in July, 2008. Workshop themes covered marine environmental security,
protection, and law enforcement training with interactive participation of representatives from the Colombian navy,
Colombian environmental and fisheries authorities, and NGOs. Specific topics included multilateral environmental
agreements; illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing; marine protected areas; marine pollution and ballast waters;
CITES; and coral reef crime scene investigations. 29. Ecuadorian Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility (ridget
Premont, Peter Martin):