SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 113

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 15 BRASILIA 001294 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 SUBJECT: SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 113 BRASILIA 00001294 001.2 OF 015 ¶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 stonerla@state.gov. 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)Brazil: Small Farmers to Join Brazil Sustainable Cane Movement --(4)IDB, Guyana to Sign Agro-Energy Agreement Water Issues --(5)Ecuador Seizes Dam Constructor Assets, Water Initiatives May be Affected Forests --(6)Brazil: Chico Mendes Reserve threatened by Cattle Grazing --(7)Brazil Welcomes Foreign Money for Amazon Fisheries & Marine Conservation --(8)Brazil: Currents, Overfishing Cited In Unusual Penguin Strandings --(9)Rumors of New Salmon Disease Surface in Chile --(10)Argentine Navy Ordered To Steer Clear of Whales Protected Areas --(11)Colombia Designates high Andean wetland as RAMSAR site --(12)Guyana: Kaieteur National Park Being Closely Monitored For Illegal Mining --(13)Colombia Creates Park to Protect Medicinal Plants Science & Technology --(14)Uruguay: Pasteur Director Announces Plans to Create Biotech Center BRASILIA 00001294 002.2 OF 015 --(15)Colombia: New Science Law Moves Ahead in Congress Climate Change --(16)Brazil to Invest U$63 Million on Climate Research --(17)Andean Countries Team to Monitor Glacial Melt --(18)President of Guyana Shares his Views on Climate Change, Forest Conservation Energy --(19)Brazil to invest US$ 12 billion in Biodiesel Projects --(20)Chile Warming Up To Solar Energy Solutions (Sustainable) Development --(21)Environmental-Licensing Overhaul in Brazil --(22)Ecuador's Draft Constitution Has Green Hue --(23)Controversial Paving of the Darin Gap between Colombia and Panam Free Trade Agreement --(24)Trade-Related Decrees Triggering Protests in Peru NEWS FROM THE FRONT *US Embassy ESTH Work in South America* --(25)Peru: Mercury Recapture Devices in Peru's Amazon --(26)Colombia: Promoting Sustainable Biofuels Development -------------- Agriculture -------------- ¶3. Brazil: Small Farmers to Join Brazil Sustainable Cane Movement SEPT. 01, 2008 - Dozens of small and medium-scale farmers in Brazil's Sao Paulo state will grow sugar cane certified as meeting strict social and environmental standards, according to the region's cane producers association. Several ethanol companies like Cosan and Louis Dreyfus signed deals to produce and export verified sustainable ethanol in the last couple of months to address consumers' concerns over the impact of ethanol, but now some of the state's small producers in the world's top sugar cane producing state will be able to join them. The sustainability of Brazil's cane-based ethanol has been called into question by Europe, which is BRASILIA 00001294 003.2 OF 015 likely to demand stricter environmental and labor standards on imports. The program will have 50 small and medium-scale cane suppliers who farm up to 3,500 hectares and produce an estimated 260,000 tons of cane per year. They must refuse the use of child or slave labor, limit their use of agrochemicals, and gather their cane with mechanical harvesters as opposed to cutting it manually. Production standards, which will come into force on Aug. 30, were set by Organizacao Internacional Agropecuaria (OIA),a private company which provides inspection and certification services. Source - Planet Ark ¶4. IDB, Guyana to Sign Agro-Energy Agreement AUG. 21, 2008 - The Guyana government and the Inter-American Development Bank are to sign a cooperation agreement for institutional strengthening and technical support in developing national agro-energy capacity. Guyana Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud told the Stabroek News that the funds, which will provide technical support in developing institutional capacity to facilitate foreign investment in the sector, are already available but a date has to be set for the signing. In April the IDB announced that the sum of US$925,500 in grants had been approved to encourage private investment in bio-fuel production. The Guyana government has emphasized that no agricultural lands in use would be put under cultivation for bio-fuel production and forests would not be felled for this purpose. Source - Stabroek News -------------- Water Issues -------------- ¶5. Ecuador Seizes Dam Constructor Assets, Water Initiatives May be Affected SEPT. 24, 2008 - Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has called on Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht to speed up the rehabilitation works on the San Francisco hydroelectric dam in Pastaza province or risk being asked to leave the country. The plant suspended its operations in June due to large structural problems found during a routine inspection. Correa met with authorities from the country's electric sector to discuss the problems, which have also been BRASILIA 00001294 004.2 OF 015 detected in other Odebrecht hydro-electric projects such as the Toachi Pilatsn initiative in Pichincha province. Aside from requesting the company to fix the damages found in the dam's turbines and conduction tunnels, the firm has also been requested to cover the economic losses generated since the facility halted its operations. The president also requested that Odebrecht return a US$20mn award it received from delivering the project before the deadline established in its construction contract. Correa added that foreign construction firms that fail to comply with their commitments and responsibilities will be forced to exit the country. The measure could affect sectors such as power generation, transport infrastructure, and water initiative projects in which Odebrecht is involved. Source - BN Americas -------------- Forests -------------- ¶6. Brazil: Chico Mendes Reserve threatened by Cattle Grazing SEPT. 21, 2008 - Twenty years after the assassination of the rubber-tapping leader and environmentalist Chico Mendes, deforestation rates reach up to 6.3% in the Federal Nature Reserve in Acre dedicated in his honor. According to the news report, there is only one forest ranger monitoring fires and deforestation in the reserve, which is six times the size of the city of Sao Paulo. Nearly 10 thousand cows are being grazed in the reserve, according to Acre's Institute of Agriculture and Forestry. According to the management plan, families living in the reserve are allowed to have between 15 and 30 cows. Vaccination records show, however, families with as much as 648 cows in one area. A preliminary study shows that nearly 15% of the families living in the Chico Mendes reserve are in this irregular situation. According to Minister of Environment Carlos Minc, "everyone knows the region is poor" and containing deforestation there is very difficult. Source - Folha de Sao Paulo (hard copy; Brasil/A6) ¶7. Brazil Welcomes Foreign Money for Amazon SEPT. 10, 2008 - Brazil's environment minister fought off charges that a new international Amazon conservation fund, which recently BRASILIA 00001294 005.2 OF 015 received a large contribution from Norway, could threaten the nation's sovereignty. Nationalist politicians and media have warned that foreigners donating to the Amazon Fund, which Brazil unveiled in August, might try to impose their own agenda on Latin America's largest country. Norway made an initial $20 million donation [and pledged additional contributions through 2015, possibly as much as US$1 billion] during a visit to Brazil by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Other countries are looking into making contributions. Asked whether the growing presence of foreign farmers and non-governmental groups in the region was cause for concern, Minc responded: "Today, those who destroy the Amazon are Brazilians. Nationalists, especially in Brazil's military and intelligence circles, have long harbored conspiracy theories that foreigners are scheming to take Amazon resources. The Amazon Fund will support forest conservation, scientific research and sustainable development projects such as rubber tapping, forestry management and the creation of drugs from plants. Brazil's national development bank BNDES will manage the fund, Minc said. The government hopes to raise $1 billion within a year and as much as $21 billion by 2021, the bank said last month. Source - Alertnet -------------- Fisheries & Marine Conservation -------------- ¶8. Brazil: Currents, Overfishing Cited In Unusual Penguin Strandings AUG. 2008 - Stronger than usual ocean currents are being cited as a prime cause of the unprecedented number of wayward penguins washing up on the beaches of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, but some experts believe depleted fisheries may also be to blame. The gray-and-white Magellan penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) that wind up here are typically young birds that became separated from their group during their first fishing expedition, scientists say. Approximately 120 penguins reportedly arrived last month on the coast of Sao Paulo state, far more than in July 2007. And penguins - 200 last month - even reached northeastern Bahia state, which is 600 miles (970 kms) north of Rio de Janeiro state and 6,000 miles (9,700 kms) from southernmost Patagonia. Never have such cases been reported so far north, according to Eduardo Pimenta, head of the Rio de Janeiro BRASILIA 00001294 006.2 OF 015 State Coastal Environmental Protection agency (GMA). Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) ¶9. Rumors of New Salmon Disease Surface in Chile SEPT. 16, 2008 - Chile's already wounded farmed-salmon industry, which has suffered major problems this year and shed as many as 3,000 jobs, could have a new problem on its hands: Pancreas Disease (PD). Rumors suggest that the new viral disease, which can be lethal to fish but does not affect humans, has somehow made it into the country. PD is already present in other top farmed-salmon-producing countries such as Norway and Scotland, where it first appeared in 1976. While the suspicions have yet to be confirmed, the Chilean government's National Fishing Service (SERNAPESCA),for one, is taking them seriously - so much so that it recently hired the Universidad Austral's Animal Pathology Institute to investigate the matter. Source - Santiago Times (no link) ¶10. Argentine Navy Ordered To Steer Clear of Whales AUG. 2008 - Argentina's defense minister has pledged to keep naval operations at the "lowest possible level" in the vicinity of Patagonia's Peninsula Valds during the period of the year that Southern Right whales (Eubalaena australis) use local waters as a calving ground. The pledge follows the discovery last month that a whale had been killed by the propellers of an Argentine Navy destroyer, Herona. At the time of the accident, Herona was among a group of naval vessels leaving the coastal city of Puerto Madryn following a visit there for a July 9 Independence Day ceremony. "For two years we've been warning that this might occur and demanding that Navy ships not enter the area when pregnant whales come to give birth," says Guillermo Caille, a biologist with Natural Patagonia Foundation. "This was an avoidable accident, but at least it turned into a lesson learned." Source - EcoAmericas -------------- Protected Areas -------------- BRASILIA 00001294 007.2 OF 015 ¶11. Colombia Designates high Andean wetland as RAMSAR site SEPT. 11, 2008 - Colombia has designated its fifth Wetland of International Importance, a high Andean site called Complejo de Humedales Laguna del Otn. Support for this site designation was provided by WWF International's Freshwater Program, as a contribution to the Ramsar Regional Initiative on High Andean Wetlands. Source - UN MEA Bulletin ¶12. Guyana: Kaieteur National Park Being Closely Monitored For Illegal Mining SEPT. 10, 2008 - Illegal mining is one of the encroachments that the management of the Kaieteur National Park has been monitoring closely over the years. Chairman of the Park, Shyam Nokta told Kaieteur News that while miners have started to conform with to respect the protected area, there are sporadic infringements. The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission has been working with the Park's rangers to address this problem. Kaieteur National Park is situated on the Guyana Shield, a plateau that is one of the world's oldest and remotest geological formations. The entire Kaieteur National Park area is located within one of the largest and most bio-diverse rainforests in the world. Over the years, Kaieteur Park has been subject to competing interests for its rich natural wealth. The Park was downsized in the 1970s to facilitate mining in the area, and then expanded in the 1990s to protect the watershed and the integrity of the area from that very same mining. Source - Kaieteur News ¶13. Colombia Creates Park to Protect Medicinal Plants AUG. 2008 - In a unique undertaking blending cultural and environmental protection, Colombia has created a new national park to preserve the hallucinogenic and medicinal plants important to the culture of five Indian tribes. Colombian officials say creation of the 25,000-acre (10,000-ha) Orito Ingi-Ande Medicinal Plants Sanctuary in the southwestern departments of Nario and Putumayo will protect tropical rainforests providing habitat to more than 400 species of birds. But they say the prime goal is to safeguard some 100 medicinal plants, including the hallucinogenic yag BRASILIA 00001294 008.2 OF 015 (Banisteriopsis spp) and the yoco (Paullinia yoco),which lie at the core of the religious and spiritual practices of Indian tribes in the southwestern part of Colombia`s Andean-Amazon Piedmont region. "This marks the first time a national park has been created in Colombia to harmonize biological conservation with the protection of the ancestral practices and knowledge of indigenous communities," said Juan Lozano, Minister of the Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, in an interview with EcoAmricas. Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) -------------- Science & Technology -------------- ¶14. Uruguay: Pasteur Director Announces Plans to Create Biotech Center Sept. 09, 2008 - According to the director of South America's Branch of the Pasteur Institute (in Montevideo, Uruguay),Guillermo Dighiero, human capital, business and academic integration, and political will are essential elements needed to stimulate the development of biotechnology in Uruguay. Dighiero highlighted the need for a "stronger articulation between the academic and the business sectors." The Pasteur Institute director stated that they are partnering with the state university, Montevideo's administration, the Ministry of Industry, the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII),and pharmaceutical industries to create a biotechnology center in Uruguay in 2011. According to Dighiero this idea is still in an initial phase. Source - SciDev ¶15. Colombia: New Science Law Moves Ahead in Congress AUG. 30, 2008 - Colombia's Congressional Representatives approved on August 19 a proposed a bill for science, technology, and innovation (ST&I) which aims to strengthen this sector in the country. The proposed bill will now be sent to Senate and, if approved, will need the president's signature to be converted into law. The bill aims to allocate 1% of Colombia's GDP to ST&I by 2010. Current investment is 0.37%. It also creates a National Fund for Financing ST&I. Expectation is that the law will be signed by December this BRASILIA 00001294 009 OF 015 year. Source - SciDev -------------- Climate Change -------------- ¶16. Brazil to Invest U$63 Million on Climate Research SEPT.15 2008 - The State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) has announced a new US$63 million investment initiative for research on global climate change and its impact on Brazil. Over the next ten years, FAPESP will offer US$6-7 million every year to climate researchers. FAPESP will also look to bring in other institutions to add more funding to the program. A US$10 million initial investment for this will be shared between FAPESP and the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The FAPESP program will also finance the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) to buy equipment to develop global climate models. The FAPESP program aims to help understand the causes of these changes and trends in Latin America, particularly in Brazil, and establish mitigation and adaptation strategies for the region. Source - SciDev ¶17. Andean Countries Team to Monitor Glacial Melt SEPT. 02, 2008 - The Andean Community (CAN) launched on August 26 a project to help Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru to adapt to the impact of accelerated glacier retreat caused by climate change. The announcement was made during the Workshop on Climate Change and Water Resources held in Lima. The World Bank will allocate US$10 million whereas the Andean nations will invest US$22 million in the four-year project. The retreat of glaciers will be monitored through a network devices donated by Japan. The areas to be monitored are considered as some of the most vulnerable in the Andes: Antisana (Ecuador),Cordillera Real (Bolivia),Huaytapallana and Salkantay snow peaks and Shulcas-Mantaro and Vilcanota-Urubamba rivers (Peru). In May this year, CAN presented a study "Climate Change has no borders" in which it calculates that damages from climate change can reach up to US$30 billion per year for the Andean countries by 2025 - 4.5% of the region's GDP. Source - SciDev BRASILIA 00001294 010 OF 015 ¶18. President of Guyana Shares his Views on Climate Change, Forest Conservation SEPT. 08, 2008 - Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo spoke to BBC on his views on how to reduce the 18% of greenhouse gas emissions caused by tropical deforestation. Here are some highlights: "In Guyana, we are ready to play our part [in fighting climate change], and to provide a model for other rainforest countries to share. Our deforestation rate is one of the lowest in the world and we want it to stay that way [...] I frequently receive proposals from investors to convert our forest into land for agriculture or biofuels. Agreeing to these would be a quick way to meet the development challenges we face. But in Guyana, we are acutely conscious of climate change. We recognize that as a nation where over 80% of our surface area is tropical rainforest, we have an obligation to our own people and the wider world to seek to preserve it. This is why in 2006, I suggested that the UK and Guyana could work together to identify bold rainforest solutions that could be used as models for the world. For our part, we are willing to place almost our entire rainforest - which is larger than England - under internationally verified supervision if the right economic incentives are created. This does not mean sacrificing sovereignty over our forest or restricting the development aspirations of our people. It simply means allowing globally recognized supervision to verify that activities within the forest are sustainable." Source - BBC News -------------- Energy -------------- ¶19. Brazil to invest US$ 12 billion in Biodiesel Projects SEPT. 08, 2008 - The Government of Brazil will invest 22 billion reais (USD 12.8 billion) to finance research projects in biodiesel. The main focus is to reduce environmental and public health impacts of using this type of biofuel. The money will also be allocated for research and development of new technologies for producing raw materials; for the production of ethanol-based biodiesel; and in the promotion of the decentralization of biofuel production. These *********************** * Missing Section 011 * *********************** BRASILIA 00001294 012 OF 015 permitting process in 13 months instead of the current 24. The steps set first-ever licensing deadlines for Ibama, the Environment Ministry's permitting arm. Ibama will have 60 days to notify project organizers of issues that must be addressed in their environmental-impact assessment; 180 days to analyze the assessment; and 75 days after granting a preliminary license to decide on a construction license. Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) ¶22. Ecuador's Draft Constitution Has Green Hue AUG. 2008 - Starting in October, Ecuador will regard the environment as "a someone to respect and not a something to exploit." That, at least, is the approach of the country's new draft constitution, environmentalists who support approval of the document say. The constitution, completed by a constituent assembly on July 24 and slated for a Sept. 28 public referendum, includes rights related to the environment and specific green measures likely to require implementing legislation. The draft-constitution sets a goal of "buen vivir," or living well, for all Ecuadorians in a context of harmonious coexistence with nature. "There's a shift from an anthropocentric vision to a vision of coexistence with nature," says Alberto Acosta, former president of the constituent assembly. "To achieve it, the door will be opened to a sustainable- development regime inspired by the goals of living well." Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) NOTE from US Embassy Quito: Also see Unclass QUITO 913. The new constitution definitely has a green hue, but also places greater responsibility on the state, suggesting uncertain outcomes. ¶23. Controversial Paving of the Darin Gap between Colombia and Panam AUG. 2008 - For decades, Panamanians and Colombians alike have dreamed of plugging the so-called Darin Gap, a vast borderland network of rainforests, mangroves and swamps lying smack in the path of the 16,000-mile (25,500-km) Pan-American Highway's last remaining unbuilt section. The 69-mile (111-km) gap in the continental BRASILIA 00001294 013 OF 015 roadway, which runs from Fairbanks, Alaska to the southern tip of Chile, has long been seen as an impassable barrier preventing the movement of people and products between South and Central America. Only the most fearless have dared to cross the snake- and caiman-infested region by foot or dugout canoe. So when Colombia's presidential advisor Fabio Valencia told a June 6 meeting of the Organization of American States in Medelln that Colombia would spend US$130 million to build 33 miles (53 kms) of road on its side of the border, completing Colombia's portion of the highway by 2010, the government expected applause. Instead, it encountered hostility. Panamanian officials said privately they feared an invasion by Colombian guerrillas, paramilitaries and refugees if either the Colombian portion of the highway or the 36 miles (58 kms) remaining to be built in Panama were completed. And environmentalists on both sides of the border asserted that roadwork would threaten one of the world's treasures of biological diversity. Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) -------------- Free Trade Agreements -------------- ¶24. Trade-Related Decrees Triggering Protests in Peru AUG. 2008 - Protesting decrees issued earlier this year by President Alan Garca, members of various indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon marked Aug. 9, the International Day of Indigenous People, by occupying facilities operated by oil, gas and hydropower companies. The protest action targeted oil and hydroelectric plants in the northern departments of Loreto and Amazonas, as well as facilities in southeastern Peru's Camisea natural gas field. Demonstrators are calling for the government to cancel more than two dozen decrees issued in the first half of the year that attempt to bring Peruvian legislation in line with the country's free-trade agreement with the United States. The free-trade agreement was signed in 2006 and has since been ratified by both countries, which must modify their laws to put it into effect. Among the most controversial aspects of the new decrees are provisions that would facilitate private purchase of public lands; reduce the number of votes required by members of an indigenous group or peasant community to sell communal land; and promote private investment, particularly in farming and logging. BRASILIA 00001294 014 OF 015 Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) UPDATE from US Embassy Lima: The principal problematic decrees were repealed, so protests have stopped. -------------- NEWS FROM THE FRONT -------------- ¶25. EPA and Argonne National Labs install mercury recapture devices in Peru's Amazon - (Miguel Yepez, Marcos Mandojana) US Embassy Lima ECON Office supported the visits in May and September of EPA / Argonne National Lab experts to Peru. On Sept. 15 the experts presented their project at the Peruvian Mining & Energy ministry then travelled to the remote jungle region of Madre de Dios to install their locally-built, $450 mercury recapture device in a gold shop. They immediately obtained great results, and had over 60 locals attend a presentation in Madre de Dios on Sept. ¶19. The Mining & Energy Ministry has asked EPA/Argonne Nation Lab to return to help in spreading this device throughout Peru's mining areas. Mercury pollution from artisanal mining is a huge problem in Peru, as virtually no attempt is made to recapture the mercury from gold refining, which ends up going into the atmosphere and water. ¶26. Colombia: Promoting Sustainable Biofuels Development - (William Popp, Larry Gumbiner) On September 3-5, US Embassy Bogota hosted the visit of sustainable biofuels expert Charlotte Opal from the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels Ms. Opal met with local biofuels industry representatives, government policymakers and environmental and development NGOs to discuss the development of standards and certifications processes for sustainable biofuels around the world. Ms. Opal emphasized the importance of Colombian producers and policymakers participating in ongoing international discussions on establishing global sustainability standards for biofuels in order to ensure local industry incorporates environmental and social protections in their operations which consumer nations are increasingly poised to require. Government interlocutors confirmed that Colombia would provide input into the Roundtable's current draft of sustainability standards and continue to engage o the issue through the Global Bioenergy Partnersip. BRASILIA 00001294 015 OF 015 KUBISKE