BRAZIL: MEETING OF BILATERAL PROTECTED AREAS WORKING GROUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 001265 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAGR EAID KGHG BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL: MEETING OF BILATERAL PROTECTED AREAS WORKING GROUP SETS STAGE FOR COOPERATION REF: BRASILIA 1153 BRASILIA 00001265 001.2 OF 003 (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The first meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Protected Areas Working Group on September 10 highlighted existing areas of cooperation and identified possibilities for future activities. These new possibilities include assistance with preparing economic studies on concessions, developing methods to attract more visitors, and training of personnel. Also, the meeting obtained the blessing - and backing - of the Ministry of External Relations (MRE) for the ongoing and planned cooperative work in the field of protected areas. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) On September 10, 2009, the first meeting of the Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG) created under the Common Agenda for the Environment (CAE) took place via videoconference facilities in Washington and Brasilia. The USG delegation was led by Lawrence Sperling, Acting Director of State Department's Office of Policy Coordination and Initiatives (OES/PCI). Carlos Henrique Moscardo de Souza, Deputy Chief of the Division for the Environment and Special Themes (DEMA) of the Ministry of External Relations (MRE) led the Government of Brazil's (GOB) delegation. Sperling traced the history of the PAWG back to the 1996 U.S.-Brazil Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that created the CAE. Moscardo pointed to the helpful role played by working groups to address important subject areas under the CAE, specifically water resources (REFTEL) and now protected areas. ¶3. (SBU) The USG agencies highlighted their activities, interests and priorities with respect to Brazil as follows: - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) described its ongoing projects in Brazil through the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) regarding concessions on public lands and public use. USAID expected to continue working in protected areas, especially with respect to sustainable landscapes, biodiversity and climate change. - The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has had a relationship with Brazilian counterparts, dating back to the 1990's, such as with fire management and control. Since November 2008, there had been a series of exchanges and visits between USFS officials and those from the Institute Chico Mendes for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), which manages most national public lands. These efforts have focused on a variety of topics such as recreation, special uses, establishing and monitoring concessions and permits, wilderness conservation and pubic use planning. At the time of the September meeting, there was another USFS team in Brazil to explore possible areas of cooperation. In particular, this team was looking at issues of permits and multi-use, including recreational use. - The National Park Service (NPS) indicated it wanted to revive a sister park relationship between the Everglades National Park and the Pantanal National Park in Brazil, both of which are World Heritage sites. There are already plans for a Brazilian official from the Pantanal National Park to spend six weeks in the United States. This sister park relationship will focus on research and science. In addition, the NPS was considering a request for cooperation from the State of Sao Paulo to help in developing a trail similar to the Appalachian Trail in the United States. Moreover, the NPS representatives offered to share their experiences with ecosystem-wide management, which involved coordinating with other USG agencies, states, municipalities and the private sector that managed neighboring terrain to a national park. - The U.S. Department of State (State) described how it could help support cooperation through its voluntary visitors programs that could be used to organize productive visits of Brazilian officials who are in the United States. ¶4. (SBU) The Brazilian agencies' set forth their key activities, interests and priorities with respect to cooperation with the USG as follows: - The Institute Chico Mendes for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) is only two years old, but already has tremendous responsibilities. ICMBio manages 304 protected areas consisting of about 100 million hectares. These protected areas receive about three million visitors a year, and the GOB wants to greatly increase this number. The GOB has identified 65 protected areas as priorities for attracting more visitors. ICMBio identified four lines of action or themes for cooperation with USG counterparts: (1) Increasing quantity and quality of visits to protected areas in Amazonia, the Cerrado (the central-west savannah region),and the Atlantic Forest. This would include cooperation on economic BRASILIA 00001265 002.2 OF 003 feasibility studies. (2) Providing technical manuals for protected area staff on visitation, such as visitor guides and how to design a trail. (3) Sharing technology for protected areas. (4) Building capacity among ICMBio's staff for both enforcement and serving as park rangers. ICMBio has about 700-800 people in enforcement, though there is not a specific park ranger position. Park rangers are important for greeting visitors and offering advice at visitor centers. This effort would include training for ICMBio specialists in public use planning and its specialists in monitoring concessions, as well as providing technical assistance in all areas related to public use planning In addition, ICMBio indicated it would like to learn from the USG about how to better utilize the internet and new media to attract visitors. - The Ministry of the Environment's (MMA) Secretariat for Biodiversity and Forests (SBF) expressed an interest in cooperating with the USG more in the area of biodiversity conservation. SBF sees developing wildlife corridors as a priority, which would mean coordinating efforts across national, state and even private lands. Also, SBF has responsibility for public policy development and is interested in the area of economic feasibility studies. Increasing public awareness for protected areas was a priority. NEXT STEPS ¶5. (SBU) The USFS and NPS representatives responded positively to the proposals for possible cooperation by the GOB. They both indicated that they had experience in the four lines of action described by ICMBio, as well as with using the internet and new media, and they could look at possible cooperation in these areas. USAID indicated it could look into the possibility of supporting USFS and/or NPS in cooperation in these areas. ¶6. (SBU) The MMA representatives said that they would like to see a bilateral instrument of some sort to formalize the work of the PAWG. This could include such steps as identifying focal points, developing a plan of action, and laying out terms of reference. ¶7. (SBU) The MRE and State Department agreed to prepare minutes from this first meeting of the PAWG. These minutes would then be presented at the next session of the CAE, which may take place later in 2009 or early 2010. The two delegations will follow up through agency-to-agency channels on the ideas and proposals raised during this first PAWG meeting. PARTICIPANTS ¶8. (SBU) The USG participants were: - Lawrence Sperling, Director (Acting),OES/PCI, State Department - Cathy Karr-Colque, Ph.D., Senior Conservation Officer, Office of Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation (OES/ENRC),State Department - Anne Dix, Ph.D., Regional Environment Team Leader, Latin and Caribbean (LAC) Bureau, USAID - Peter Keller, Regional Environmental Advisor, Latin and Caribbean (LAC) Bureau, USAID - Darren Manning, Desk Officer for Brazil and Ecuador, Latin and Caribbean (LAC) Bureau, USAID - Stephen Morris, Chief, Office of Int'l Activities, NPS - Jonathan Putnam, Western Hemisphere Affairs Officer, Office of International Affairs, NPS - Michelle Zweede, Brazil Program Officer, Office of International Programs, USFS - Richard Driscoll, Environment, Science and Technology, and Health Counselor, U.S. Embassy Brasilia - Eric Stoner, Ph.D., Senior Environment Advisor, USAID, Embassy Brasilia - Mark Mitchell, USAID, Embassy Brasilia ¶9. (SBU) The Brazilian participants were: - Carlos Henrique Moscardo de Souza, Deputy Chief, DEMA, MRE - Julio Cesar Baena, International Affairs Advisor for Cooperation Matters, International Affairs Office (ASIN),MMA - Julio Gonchorosky, General Coordinator for Visiting & Business, ICMBio - Ricardo Araujo, Deputy General Coordinator for Visiting & Business, ICMBio - Juliana Von Sperling, Advisor to the President, ICMBio - Fabio Franga Silva Araujo, Director, Department of Protected Areas, SBF, MMA BRASILIA 00001265 003.2 OF 003 ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT. The first meeting of the PAWG served to inform the interested parties on both sides of the variety of ongoing and projected cooperative activities. Further, it helped to lay out a path forward for increasing bilateral cooperation in the important field of protected areas. One substantial benefit from this meeting of the working group is that it served to obtain the critical blessing of the MRE for continued cooperative work with protected areas. END COMMENT. KUBISKE