Cablegate: Brazilian Environmental Agency (Ibama) to Take

VZCZCXRO3739
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1399 2981736
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241736Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2721
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 2958
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6784
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 8620

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001399

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR OES/ENRC, WHA/BSC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KSCA ETRD BR
SUBJECT: BRAZILIAN ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY (IBAMA) TO TAKE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL CITES-RELATED IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

1. SUMMARY. In an effort to improve handling of trade in products
covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES) the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and
Natural Resources (IBAMA) will assume responsibility for all imports
and exports. Pursuant to a rule that will take effect in January
2009, all CITES imports and exports will be restricted to a few
major ports of entry. This should improve compliance with U.S.
import regulations. END SUMMARY.

2. On October 15, 2008, Embassy Science Officers met with Joao
Pessoa, the Coordinator for the Management of the Use of Fauna
Species for the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural
Resources (IBAMA.) Pessoa said that Executive Instruction Number
188 issued by IBAMA on September 11, 2008 designated certain
authorized ports for all imports and exports subject to the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
IBAMA will place inspectors at each of these ports to carry out all
necessary cargo inspections and enforcement activity. The new rule
enters into effect in January 2009 and will give inspection and
clearance authority over these shipments to the IBAMA agents rather
than customs officials (Receita Federal), who currently handle such
shipments. The goal of this change is to enhance Brazil's ability
to meet its CITES obligations, Pessoa said. The change will also
allow Brazilian trade in goods subject to CITES approval to better
comply with the U.S. requirement that a government official confirm
the contents and quantity of goods at the time of export.

3. The only designated international airports will be: Brasilia,
Fortaleza, Salvador, Belem, Sao Paulo, and Porto Alegre. The only
seaports will be: Belem, Santos, Vitoria, Paranagua, Itajai, and
Uruguaiana. To date, the only airport in this group with direct
flights to and from the United States is Sao Paulo (soon to be
joined by Salvador).

4. Pessoa commented noted that the customs authorities had
encountered difficulties in meeting the new U.S. requirement to
certify the quantity of items being shipped. He explained that
while customs officials could easily tell how many containers were
included in a shipment, they were reluctant to open them up and
count how many specimens were inside each shipping container. He
attributed this reluctance in part to the lack of sufficient
personnel. He expected an improvement in compliance when IBAMA
personnel took over responsibility in January.

SOBEL

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