FURTHER INFORMATION ON STRUCTURAL CHANGES AT BRAZIL'S

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000822 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR G FOR PBATES STATE FOR OES/ENV DBROWN; OES/PCI LSPERLING STATE FOR OES/ETC SCASWELL AND DGRIER STATE FOR WHA/BSC WPOPP STATE PLS PASS TO EPA HILL-MACON STATE PLS PASS TO USGS JWEAVER STATE PLS PASS TO PARK SERVICE FOR SMORRIS STATE PLS PASS TO US FOREST SERVICE FOR EMAYHEW STATE PLS PASS TO DOI FOR KWASHBURN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV TNGD TRGY KSCA EAGR BR SUBJECT: FURTHER INFORMATION ON STRUCTURAL CHANGES AT BRAZIL'S MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT REFTEL: 07 BRASILIA 771 ¶1. This week new details are emerging about the massive reorganization at Brazil's Ministry of the Environment first announced April 25, 2007 (Ref). The four new secretariats created were Climate Change and Environmental Quality Secretariat (SEMUC), Water Resources and Urban Environments (SRU),Extractive Activities and Sustainable Rural Development (SDR) and the Institutional Articulation and Environmental Citizenship (SAIC). The new secretariats will replace, respectively, the following ones: SIPDIS Environmental Quality Secretariat (SQA),Water Resources Secretariat (SRH),Policies for Sustainable Development (SDS) and the Coordination of the Amazon Secretariat (SCA). ¶2. All secretariats are part of the Ministry of Environment and shall report to Minister Marina Silva on their duties. The detailed responsibilities and duties are as follow: ¶3. The Climate Change and Environmental Quality Secretariat will deal with all matters related to climate change, as well as policies and instruments to regulate the carbon market with special attention to Clean Development Mechanism projects. The Secretariat will also be responsible for other subjects such as strategic environmental evaluation, different kinds of pollution, environmental degradation and the development of a new environmentally sustainable energy matrix. ¶4. The Secretariat responsible for matters related to water and environmental aspects of urban environments, such as the control of pollution in urban areas and the management of solid waste is the Water Resources and Urban Environments (SRU). SRU was also delegated the responsibility for the formulation and monitoring of the implementation of the National Water Resources Policy. ¶5. The Extractive Activities and Sustainable Rural Development Secretariat (SDR) will deal with all land management issues as well SIPDIS as agricultural activities, forest recovery policies, the sustainability of environmental activities linked to tourism, the development of ecotourism and the environmental aspects of biofuel production. Another major responsibility will be the activities related to genetic material of the country's biodiversity. ¶6. The Institutional Articulation and Environmental Citizenship Secretariat(SAIC) will work on the integration of the Ministry's SIPDIS internal and external actions in order to facilitate implementation of new environmental public policies, bilateral and multilateral agendas, as well as coordinate actions of all of the Ministry's units. ¶7. At the Brazilian Environmental Agency (IBAMA),a new institute called Instituto Chico Mendes, the Brazilian Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, was created. The Institute will be responsible for IBAMA's conservation duties and for managing Brazil's two hundred and eighty eight units of protected areas. All the activities concerning the sustainable use of protected areas and units of conservation will the dealt by Instituto Chico Mendes, together with the execution of research programs and the protection, preservation and conservation of biodiversity. ¶8. IBAMA will now be responsible exclusively for authorizing, licensing and supervising issues related to the environment. The agency will concentrate its action in the execution and enforcement of environmental policies concerning environmental licensing, the control of environmental quality, the authorization for the use of natural resources, monitoring and environmental control. ¶9. The Ministry's Executive Secretary, Joco Paulo Capobianco is the interim President of Instituto Chico Mendes and Bazileu Alves Margarido Neto is the interim President for IBAMA. ¶10. The changes have at IBAMA have not been well received by its employees. Presently, the employees of five states are on strike and a National protest is set for Wednesday May 9, 2007, in Brasilia. SOBEL