26/05/2010
The Brazilian Environment Minister, Izabella
Teixeira, arrives today in the Norwegian
capital to attend the Oslo Climate and Forest
Conference. The
minister travels accompanied by the director
of the Department of Climate Change at the
MMA, Thais Linhares Juvenal, the consultant
of the ministry Tasso Azevedo and Sergio
Serra, Ambassador Extraordinary for Climate
Change at the Ministry of External Relations.
The event will be formally
opened tonight with a dinner hosted by the
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
for the heads of national delegations -
it is expected the participation of 35 countries.
The discussions and negotiations take place
on Thursday, 27, throughout the day. The
opening session is scheduled for 9 am (local
time).
At the Oslo Climate
and Forest Conference, the participating
countries will negotiate a global partnership
aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation
and forest degradation in developing countries
(REDD+). It is expected that the meeting
signals a new era in global climate change
efforts.
REDD+ is one crucial element
of the global effort to contain climate
change. REDD+ could provide large, timely
and cost-effective emission reductions.
REDD+ also has significant benefits for
biodiversity, climate change adaptation
and livelihoods.
According to event organizers,
the purpose of the Oslo Climate and Forest
Conference is to help get effective, transparent
and coordinated fast start action on REDD+
started while UNFCCC (United Nation Framework
Convention on Climate Change) negotiations
continue, culminating in the conference
scheduled for the end of the year in Cancun,
Mexico.
For more information visit: http://www.oslocfc2010.no/
+ More
Brazil celebrates today
the National Day for the Atlantic Forest
27/05/2010
In this Thursday, May 27, Brazil celebrates
the National Day for the Atlantic Forest.
In 2010 - established by the United Nations
the International Year of Biodiversity -,
the celebrations were held in conjunction
with the celebration of the International
Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated
on May 22.
To commemorate the date,
the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment
promoted a seminar at the Ibirapuera Park,
in São Paulo, last week. The defenders
of the biome met to discuss the actions
that have been carried out to curb the destruction
of the forest, which has already lost more
than 70% of its original vegetation.
The Atlantic Forest
is one of the richest sets of ecosystems
in biodiversity in the world. Its original
area covered approximately 15% of the country,
an area equivalent to around 1.3 million
square kilometers. Nowadays the Atlantic
Forest region is inhabited by 120 million
people; it covers partially or entirely
close to 3,400 municipalities in 17 states
including the two largest metropolises in
the country, São Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro.
The Atlantic Forest
is the set of ecosystems most affected by
the intense economic exploitation and occupation,
which has happened since the colonial period.
But even after having been reduced to approximately
27% of its original size, the remnants of
native vegetation still retain high levels
of biodiversity of flora and fauna.
+ More
Oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico raises the discussion on prevention
strategies
31/05/2010
The environmental accident occurred in the
Gulf of Mexico in April became an opportunity
for political mobilization in Brazil aiming
to avoid a similar incident in the country.
Last week, at the House of Representatives,
in Brasília, members of the Parliament,
representatives of the Ministry of the Environment
(MMA) and of the oil production sector discussed
the conditions and advances in Brazil to
control this type of environmental disaster.
According to Sérgia
de Oliveira, from the MMA, environmental
accidents "always bring lessons".
She said new techniques that include risk
and emergency measures in oil extraction
activities are under discussion. "We
are enhancing our institutional and legal
framework to deal better with this kind
of problem."
Sérgia said that,
in order to promote research and capacity
to mitigate the impacts of a similar situation
in Brazilian territory, IBAMA's technicians
were sent to Mexico to monitor the procedures
adopted by BP (British Petroleum), and to
help identify details, reasons and solutions
for the accident.
José Carlos Laurindo,
Manager for Exploration and Production at
Petrobras, said that the equipment used
by the company in the oil drilling is one
of the most modern in the world. "In
those incidents, there are contingency plans
for fire, oil spill and rescue, among other
emergency measures. In the specific case
of oil spills, each unit (oil platform)
has an emergency plan, which was presented
to IBAMA in the environmental licensing
process", he says.
Laurindo also said Petrobras
has 27 vessels for the control of any accidents
involving the leaking of oil, plus a set
of barriers that have the capacity to contain
the spill within a radius of 6.5 km. He
also informed that Brazil has chemical dispersants
enough to be used in mitigation actions
if there is any accident in Brazil.
