SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 91

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 15 BRASILIA 000510

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS USAID TO LAC/RSD, LAC/SAM, G/ENV, PPC/ENV
TREASURY FOR USED IBRD AND IDB AND INTL/MDB
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JUSTICE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES: JWEBB
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EAGR EAID TBIO ECON SOCI XR BR
SUBJECT: SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 91

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1. The following is the ninety-first in 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
stonerla@state.gov. The e-mail version also contains a calendar of
upcoming ESTH events in the region.


2. Table of Contents

Agriculture
--(3)Brazil Uses Agriculture to Fight Poverty in Africa
--(4)Seminar on Responsible Soy Production in Berlin
--(5)Colombia Approves GM Corn

Health
--(6)IDB Donates USD 900,000 to Combat Chagas Disease in Latin
America

Forests
--(7)Paraguay Extends Forest Conversion Law
--(8)Peru Lowers Mahogany Export Quota
--(9)Brazil: Officials Arrested for Illegal Amazon Logging

Wildlife
--(10)Brazil to Introduce New Biopiracy Legislation
--(11)Chile's Melting Ice Caps Draw New Species to Antarctic
--(12)Frogs Fading into Silence

Science & Technology
--(13)Government of Colombia to Double S&T Investments
--(14)Brazil to Enter Satellite Launching Market with Ukraine's
Help

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
--(15)Venezuela: Biodegradable Plastic on Its Way
--(16)Brazil: Banana's Useful Fibers

Climate Change

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--(17)Climate Change: Bolivia at Risk

Energy
--(18)Ethanol Is Not A Threat To The Amazon, says Brazilian
President
--(19)Mean, Green, Vegetable-Oil Machine Arrives In Santiago, Chile
--(20)Venezuela, Cuba Ethanol Production Agreement
--(21)Argentina Replacing Refrigerators for Energy Efficiency
--(22)Chile Announces Plans to Research Nuclear Energy
--(23)Chile Launches Energy Saving Initiative

General
--(24)Argentina: Small Towns on the 'Endangered' List
--(25)Argentina, Venezuela Boost Energy/Farm Cooperation
--(26)Environmental Health Conference Highlights Potential for
Diplomatic Engagement
--(27)First Amazon Basin Conservation Initiative Partners Meeting

Update on Avian Influenza
--(28)Brazil Produces Cheaper and More Potent Avian Flu Vaccine

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Agriculture
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3. Brazil Uses Agriculture to Fight Poverty in Africa

MAR. 05, 2007 - Representatives of Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de
Pesquisa Agrcola - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) met
on Friday, March 2, in Braslia, with diplomats of 18 African
embassies to present the objectives of the organization's new office
in Africa. "We want to associate ourselves with the African
countries. We want to make agreements for cooperation in the area of
technology transfer for tropical agriculture," stated the acting
head of the international area at Embrapa, Washington Silva. The
Embrapa Africa office is an initiative in the Brazilian policy to
transfer agricultural technology to the African nations. Since
December last year, when the office was opened in the city of Acra,
researchers of the International Cooperation Advisory at the Embrapa
have been discussing ways to promote the use of Brazilian technology
to generate growth, reduce social inequality, fight hunger and
poverty and work with small farmers for a sustainable cycle.

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Source - Brazzilmag


4. Seminar on Responsible Soy Production in Berlin

MAR. 15, 2007 - On 28 February, some 60 participants attended a
seminar addressing responsible soy production. The seminar was
organized by WWF and GTZ (German agency for technical cooperation).
The negative social and environmental impacts of increasing
conventional soy production in Latin America are severe. One way of
addressing problems is through the RTRS (Roundtable on Responsible
Soy),an international roundtable dialogue group with stakeholders
throughout the supply chain committed to developing globally
applicable criteria for more responsible soy production,
procurement, and use. The development process is expected to begin
soon and continue for about two years. Some progressive companies
such as Campina and Imcopa have also moved ahead with producing and
sourcing soy according to the Basel Criteria, the pioneer standards
first adopted by the Swiss retailer Coop in 2004. The first "Basel
soy" arrived in Europe from Brazil in June 2006. The Berlin seminar
looked at whether already existing production models address social
and environmental concerns, and at experience already gained.

Source - WWF News


5. Colombia Approves GM Corn

MAR. 7, 2007 - Colombia has allowed genetically modified (GM) corn
to enter its borders for the first time, and will authorize
plantations of other GM products later in the year. The Colombian
Institute of Agriculture (ICA) approved one hundred kilograms of GM
corn for import last month, half of which is resistant to a
herbicide and the other half to insects. Andres F. Arias, from the
Ministry of Agriculture, says growers from four regions of Colombia
- Csrdoba, Huila, Sucre and Tolima - will be allowed to buy the
seeds. Ana Luisa Diaz, of ICA, told SciDev.Net that authorization
has been given only to regions where the Institute has done
controlled biosafety assessments. The ICA will conduct follow-up
biosafety studies of the seed from planting until harvest. Colombia
is one of the 22 countries to have planted GM seeds. Of its cotton
plantations, 41 per cent (22.7 hectares) are the GM variety Bt.


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Source - SciDev

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Health
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6. IDB Donates USD 900,000 to Combat Chagas Disease in Latin
America

FEB. 27, 2007 - The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) has donated
USD 900,000 to combat Chagas disease in Latin American - one of the
most prevalent diseases in the region. The project, announced on
February 16 will apply to Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The money will be invested in vector control and the elaboration and
application of communication strategies to ensure the participation
of local communities in preventing the disease. Funds will also
be used to treat children under the age of 15 who are infected since
the disease can be reverted during this age period.

Source - SciDev

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Forests
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7. Paraguay Extends Forest Conversion Law

MAR. 15, 2007 - The government of Paraguay has extended a law to
curb deforestation rates in the Upper Paran Atlantic Forest. The
Zero Deforestation Law, which came into force in December 2004, and
would have expired at the end of 2006, was extended in December by
another two years. To date, the law has helped cut the
deforestation rate in Paraguay by more than 85 per cent. The Upper
Paran Atlantic Forest is one of the world's most ecologically
important regions. It is known for its rich biodiversity and high
level of species endemism. But the forest is also one of the world's
most endangered tropical forests. In many areas over 95 per cent of
the natural forest has been lost as a result of agricultural
expansion, especially for soy production and cattle ranching. A WWF
report indicates that Paraguay does not need to cut down more forest
to continue agricultural production, especially for soy and

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livestock. Data from Oil World indicates that the deforestation law
has not affected soy production in Paraguay, the world's fourth
largest soybean exporter. Production has actually increased in
spite of the law.

Source - WWF News


8. Peru Lowers Mahogany Export Quota

MAR. 12, 2007 - The Government of Peru has lowered its mahogany
export quota to 13,476 cubic meters. While significantly lower than
last year's quota of 23,000m3, NGOs and Peru's scientific authority
for CITES believe that the quota is still too high. The quota also
does not permit (much less give a preference for) much of the
certified mahogany that USAID and NGOs have been striving to
establish as the alternative to unregulated mahogany exports. The
recent visit of Deputy Assistant USTR for Natural Resources gave US
Embassy Lima an opportunity to press NGO and Government contacts to
suggest reconsideration of the quota, as NGO's have threatened to
push for a complete trade suspension at the next CITES meeting in
July.

Source - LIMA 707


9. Brazil: Officials Arrested for Illegal Amazon Logging

MAR. 2, 2007 - Brazilian police arrested 18 people accused of
allowing illegal logging in the Amazon rain forest and were
searching for 19 others, including environmental protection agents,
the environment minister said. Marina Silva told Agencia Brasil,
the official government news agency, that Friday's operation by
federal police and environmental officials was aimed at ending
violations of government rules limiting deforestation of the vast
rain forest in the eastern Amazon state of Para. The suspects
include loggers, members of the environmental protection agency,
Ibama, and government workers of the Para state Finance Department
and the Department of Science, Technology and the Environment,
Agencia Brasil reported. The accused will be charged with crimes
including corruption, forging documents, money laundering and
environmental destruction, Agencia Brasil said. The amount of
lumber illegally logged has not yet been calculated, said Antonio
Carlos Hummel, Ibama's director of forests. The gang operated in the

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state capital of Belem and six other cities, he said.

Source - Washington Post

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Wildlife
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10. Brazil to Introduce New Biopiracy Legislation

MAR. 07, 2007 - The Government of Brazil (GOB) is preparing new
legislation to address biopiracy in Brazil, which the GOB believes
fuels a USD 100 million a year market for chemical, pharmaceutical
and cosmetics industries worldwide. The new legislation will
feature electronic registration for researchers seeking government
authorization and may also require payment into a "conservation and
development" fund, for use by the Ministry of the Environment. If
passed, the new law would seek to help combat biopiracy while at the
same time improve bureaucratic efficiency for scientific research
requests and encourage foreign investment in biotechnology.

Source - BRASILIA 401. See also



11. Chile's Melting Ice Caps Draw New Species to Antarctic

MAR. 7, 2007 - Scientists have discovered a multitude of new species
inhabiting Antarctica's icy waters. The collapse of the Larsen
icecaps - once in 1995 and then again in 2002 - allowed an
international scientific team access to the previously ice-covered
seabed 850 meters off the Antarctic Peninsula. The team's star find
was a 10- centimeter-long shrimp, but their search revealed worrying
changes caused by global warming. The new discoveries are the work
of 52 scientists from 14 different countries who, during December
2006 and January 2007, boarded the German research ship Polarstern
to carry out the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) project.
The collapse of the Larsen icecaps (Larsen A and Larsen B) was the
largest ice shelf collapse ever observed by man. The size of Larsen
B alone is the size of the state of Rhode Island. The weakened ice
split due to global warming, which is affecting parts of Antarctica
more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. According to marine
ecologist Julian Gutt, the opening of the sea bed revealed area

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sealed off for at least 5,000, maybe up to 12,000 years.

Source - Santiago Times (no link)


12. Frogs Fading Into Silence

MAR. 05, 2007 - Frogs and other amphibians are rapidly becoming
extinct around the world and in Latin American countries in
particular. In the Caribbean as many as 80 percent of these species
are endangered, while in Colombia there are 209 and in Mexico 198
amphibians may soon disappear. Environmental degradation along with
habitat loss, ultraviolet radiation, disease and climate change are
all factors involved in these unprecedented losses. "Amphibians are
telling us that there is something wrong with our ecosystems," says
Robin Moore, amphibian conservation officer with Conservation
International (CI),a U.S.-based international non-governmental
organization.

Source - Tierramerica

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Science & Technology
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13. Government of Colombia to Double S&T Investments

MAR. 01, 2007 - The Government of Colombia has decided to double its
science, technology, and innovation funds for next year. In other
words, the 2008 budget for the Colombian Institute for Science and
Technology Development (Conciencias) will be 160 billion Colombian
pesos (USD 72.2 million). According to Monica Salazar, advisor for
the directory of Conciencias, Colombia currently invests a total of
0.37 percent of its GDP in S&T. The current (reelected)
government's Development Plan calls for reaching 0.77 percent of the
country's GDP by attracting the private sector to invest in S&T
innovation.

Source - SciDev


14. Brazil to Enter Satellite Launching Market with Ukraine's Help

FEB. 19, 2007 -The Brazilian government has informed that a joint

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venture company for rockets and satellites, established by Brazil
and Ukraine, should begin operating this year. The information was
disclosed by the Director for Space Policy and Strategic Investments
at the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB),Himilcon Carvalho, in an
interview to the state-owned Radio Nacional radio station. The
partnership is aimed at launching rockets and satellites from the
Alcantara Base, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao. The
first launch should take place by 2009, according to the AEB, which
completed 13 years of existence on February 10th, 2007. Carvalho
also said that another goal of AEB is to launch the third satellite,
built in partnership with China, which will provide images of the
national territory, such as deforested areas in the Amazon, for
instance. "We are currently preparing our third satellite, to be
launched in 2007. The satellite is being finished after a test
assembly phase in the city of Sao Jos dos Campos (southeastern
Brazilian state of Sao Paulo),at the National Institute for Space
Research (Inpe)," he claimed.

Source - Brazzilmag

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
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15. Venezuela: Biodegradable Plastic on Its Way

MAR. 12, 2007 - A team led by physicist Alejandro Muller, of the
polymer research department at Venezuela's Simon Bolvar University,
is working on a new biodegradable plastic based on a mixture of
polycaprolacton and manioc fiber (Manihot esculenta). The two
materials "are as different as oil and water, but by making them
compatible with a simple mixture, without many additives, we can
achieve a type of plastic that, although costly, is more
environmentally friendly," Muller told Tierramerica. The product
"developed as a plastic packing material, can degrade once it is
thrown out as organic garbage and become part of the biomass. The
ideal is for everything to be biodegradable," he said. The new
plastic can be used for manufacturing medical supplies to plates and
utensils. "We are still in the laboratory phase, but industries are
already showing interest," said the physicist.

Source - Tierramerica

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16. Brazil: Banana's Useful Fibers

MAR. 5, 2007 - Students from the State University of Rio de Janeiro
(UERJ) are taking advantage of the banana stalk to develop
BananaPlac, a colorful laminate that can be used for furniture,
walls, car panels, among other things, replacing traditional
formica. "It's an ecological product whose raw materials -- plant
fibers and resins -- are biodegradable and are cold pressed,
consuming little energy," says Bernardo Ferracioli, a partner at
Fibra Sustainable Design, founded by the UERJ industrial design
students who created BananaPlac. Production will be fomented among
small cooperative factories, as a means to increase incomes in the
communities that produce bananas, which tend to be poor.

Source - Tierramerica

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Climate Change
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17. Climate Change: Bolivia at Risk

MAR. 09, 2007 - Flooding in the eastern Bolivian department of the
Beni has prompted a media debate about the link between this latest
catastrophe and climate change; it has also generated discussion of
the long-term consequences of the latter. While current water
levels are only five centimeters higher than those of 1992, when
Bolivia last faced massive floods, this year's disaster is arguably
more serious than events of the past. That said, much of the
flooding may be more closely linked to population growth and related
deforestation than to climate change. Also in the news, accelerating
glacier melt provides abundant evidence of climate change, and
studies suggest that a future of ever harsher and more frequent
natural disasters is a distinct possibility, with severe droughts
and floods increasingly common features of everyday life. Even in
relatively conservative scenarios, climate change poses a
significant threat to Bolivia's long-term economic development; as
such, it deserves the attention not only of the Bolivian government
and population, but also of the international community.

Source - LA PAZ 661

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Energy
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18. Ethanol Is Not A Threat To The Amazon, says Brazilian President

MAR. 13, 2007 - The President of Brazil, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva
stated he will not encourage the production of biofuels in the
Amazon or in the Pantanal region. In his weekly radio program, Lula
said that his administration proposes the use of already cultivated
agricultural areas to produce raw material for biofuel production

Source - O Estado de Sao Paulo. See also "U.S.-BRAZIL SIGN
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON BIOFUELS", BRASILIA 433


19. Mean, Green, Vegetable-Oil Machine Arrives In Santiago, Chile

MAR. 6, 2007 - Alongside the new Transantiago buses, another
spectacle could be seen trundling through the roads of Chile's
capital city on March 5. A converted fire truck, fueled by
vegetable oil and biodiesel, made for an unusual sight as it joined
the Las Condes traffic on its way to the local McDonald's. When the
truck's drivers, Seth Warren and Tyler Bradt, rolled into the
fast-food restaurant to feed their truck, it wasn't a guilty
hamburger they were looking for - it was food for their
vegetable-oil-guzzling vehicle. Waiting in the parking lot, along
with U.S. Ambassador Craig Kelly, were 12 vats of used cooking oil
which will help propel the young environmentalists towards their
destination of Ushuia, Argentina. Tyler and Seth, both professional
kayakers from Montana, U.S., have been on the road since March 2006
promoting alternative fuel and sustainable energy through The Oil
and Water Project, which forms part of the Biofuels Education
Coalition (BEC). During the presentation, Ambassador Kelly praised
the project and the incessant work of its protagonists. "As
ambassador, I want to stress that respect for the environment and
the search for new sources of energy is not only an issue for
government, but also for the private sector and for citizens," he
said.

Source - Santiago Times (no link)


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20. Venezuela, Cuba Ethanol Production Agreement

MAR. 07, 2007 - Cuba and Venezuela have signed an agreement to
develop ethanol production from sugarcane, despite mixed signals
from Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The agreement, signed in Havana
February 28, is part of a joint effort to preserve the environment,
reduce fossil fuel consumption and stimulate the use of alternative
sources of energy. It follows a meeting in 2000 at which the two
nations agreed to collaborate in the areas of health, education,
agriculture, and information communication technology. Eleven
ethanol production plants will be established in Venezuela,
according to the Granma newspaper. The agreement states that the
plants will provide a "starting point...to stimulate a high level
collaboration [to] allow the development of new alternatives for
energy sources in Cuba and Venezuela, contributing to the
development of other nations".

Source - SciDev


21. Argentina Replacing Refrigerators for Energy Efficiency

MAR. 5, 2007 - The Argentine government will grant credits and
subsidies in 2007 to consumers to exchange -- over the next three
years -- old refrigerators for new ones that are more energy
efficient. The initiative, coordinated amongst several government
agencies, aims to cut overall household energy use. Roberto Lenzi,
president of the Argentine Chamber of Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning Industries, told Tierramerica that the new units use 20
to 30 percent less energy, and factories are investing to
accommodate higher demand for efficient refrigerators. The
"exchange plan" includes a subsidy of 25 percent of the value of the
new refrigerator, if the consumer turns in the old unit for
recycling and destruction. Credits are being made available to cover
the difference.

Source - Tierramerica


22. Chile Announces Plans to Research Nuclear Energy

FEB. 28, 2007 - Energy Minister Karen Poniachik announced that her
ministry would begin technical studies into the potential use of
nuclear energy in Chile. Facing criticism from both the governing

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Concertacion coalition and opposition Alliance for delays in the
government-mandated studies, Poniachik said the ministry would
present a plan to assess the implementation of nuclear energy in
March. Chile currently produces 7,500 megawatts of electricity a
year, but studies show that the country's growing economy will need
an additional 5,000 megawatts within ten years to cover the needs of
both households and the nation's burgeoning mining sector. Chile's
interest in nuclear energy comes as Argentina admitted last year
that its natural gas supplies to Chile might be permanently cut as
early as 2007.

Source - Santiago Times (no link)


23. Chile Launches Energy Saving Initiative

MAR. 7, 2007 - Chile's government commemorated World Energy
Efficiency Day on March 5 by launching a new energy plan aimed at
saving USD 10,000 million in energy-related costs in the next 10
years. The Country's Energy Efficiency Program (PPEE) hopes to
bring about a 1.5 percent reduction in annual energy consumption.
Chile's increasing demand for energy currently grows by 6.8 percent
every year. Finance Minister Alejandro Ferreiro and Mining and
Energy Minister Karen Poniachik introduced three key areas where
they hoped the country could seriously tackle its energy
consumption. First, all new electronic domestic goods, such as
fridges and microwaves, will be labeled to indicate their energy
efficiency, as is currently practiced in Europe. Second, companies
will be routinely audited to assess their energy management. Third,
social housing is to be redesigned to minimize energy use and gas
emissions. Without referring to recent discussion of nuclear
energy, Poniachik stressed such energy savings would be the first
step towards reducing energy demand and ensuring better energy
security for the nation.

Source - Santiago Times (no link)

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General
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24. Argentina: Small Towns on the 'Endangered' List


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MAR. 12, 2007 - Hundreds of small towns in Argentina's richest
agricultural region are taking their last breaths as a result of the
unregulated expansion of soybean fields, their growing isolation,
and the government's indifference. At risk of disappearing are 602
towns of fewer than 2,000 residents, another 124 that haven't seen
population growth in a decade, and 90 that no longer figure in
official statistics, says the Responde Association, a group
dedicated to the social recovery of endangered towns. Although a
total of about 270,000 people still live in those towns, there is a
steady flow of migration to more urban areas, where they face
marginalization and poverty.

Source - Tierramerica


25. Argentina, Venezuela Boost Energy/Farm Cooperation

MAR. 9, 2007 - President Nestor Kirchner and his Venezuelan
counterpart Hugo Chavez signed accords on March 9 to boost energy
and agriculture cooperation. The highlight was a treaty to work
toward the creation of a South American organization to coordinate
exports of natural gas, signed in a ceremony at Argentina's suburban
presidential residence. Argentina and Venezuela also agreed to
jointly cooperate on scientific and technological improvements to
boost agricultural outputs in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar. And
the countries signed a commercial agreement to expand four research
centers on potato crops and agreed to work together on the
construction of two animal reproductive biotech labs in Venezuela.

Source - MercoPress


26. Environmental Health Conference Highlights Potential for
Diplomatic Engagement

MAR. 08, 2007 - On February 1-2 experts working in the environmental
protection and health fields convened in Washington, DC to discuss
opportunities to improve global environmental public health. The
conference, entitled "Integrating Environment and Human Health",
highlighted challenges to people's ability to secure safe drinking
water, breathe clean air, and avoid contact with harmful toxins,
while sounding an urgent call for better coordination and planning
to overcome these challenges. The conference also highlighted two
issues that are attracting increasing attention by people working in

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the area of global environmental health: urban planning and global
climate change. The international scope of topics discussed at the
conference points to potential opportunities for diplomatic
engagement on environmental health issues, including outreach to
raise awareness of links between environment and health and
promotion of cross-sectoral cooperation.

Source - STATE 00029246


27. First Amazon Basin Conservation Initiative Partners Meeting

MAR. 07, 2007 - USAID held the first Amazon Basin Conservation
Initiative (ABCI) partners meeting from February 5-8 to lay the
foundation for developing detailed work plans to implement this
regional, five-year, USD 65 million dollar program. Over seventy
participants from the six partner consortia, USAID, Department of
State, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the
Government of Peru discussed a wide range of conservation
challenges, opportunities and program management issues.
Participants agreed to carry out the following priority actions: 1)
formalize ACTO/ABCI relationship; 2) define priority basin-wide
policy issues; 3) produce ABCI briefing packages for Embassies; 4)
present ABCI program to national governments (by March 30),with
discretion given to any local sensitivities to the ABCI program; 5)
identify areas to support NGO partners in training and capacity
building, communication and knowledge management, and monitoring and
evaluation; 6) finalize life-of-project and first 18 month work
plans; and 7) launch ABCI program with public events in each
country. In addition to generating consensus on next steps, this
event provided an invaluable opportunity for participants to
identify synergies and outline priority actions. The design of this
landmark program aims at building the capacity of organizations and
public commitment for the effective stewardship of the Basin's
unique and globally important biological diversity.

Source - LIMA 672

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Update on Avian Influenza
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28. Brazil Produces Cheaper and More Potent Avian Flu Vaccine

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MAR. 06, 2007 - Butantan Institute, an organization connected to the
Secretariat of Health of the State of Sco Paulo, in southeastern

SIPDIS
Brazil, is going to produce a vaccine against avian flu using
Brazilian technology that grants greater efficiency, productive
capacity and a cost reduction when compared to the technology used
by other countries. According to professor Isaias Raw, president of
Butantan Foundation, the vaccine should be ready for large-scale
application in humans in 180 days at the most. What guarantees this
differential to the Brazilian product is the use of an adjuvant,
developed by the Butantan over three years of research, which
increases the efficiency and reduces the volume necessary for safe
immunization. In this case, it is a component called Monophosphoryl
Lipid A (MPLA),one of the products in the development of the
whooping cough vaccine. Butantan is one of the five centers for
vaccine production that the World Health Organization (WHO) has
chosen for its task force to fight the disease all around the
world.

Source - Brazzil

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