14 Apr 2008 - With climate
change focusing attention on water generally,
WWF’s Brazil Springs Movement is promoting
the theme that water sources need to be
considered alongside water resources. Nominated
areas include springs, headwaters and recharge
areas such as mountain tops.
“The focus of WWF-Brazil
is to mobilize the country for the protection
of water resources, both in quality and
quantity,” said Denise Hamú, WWF-Brazil’s
CEO.
Brazil, the world’s
fifth largest country with 5.7 per cent
of its land area, contains 13.7 per cent
of the available fresh water of the planet.
Springs in Brazil are
classified as Permanent Protections Areas
(PPAs) and headwaters are important river
basin conservation areas.
But WWF maintains that
despite these protections headwaters are
suffering increasing levels of degradation
from land misuse and deforestation. Silting
and increasing impermeability of soils in
key recharge areas are affecting the health
of many springs.
“These areas need further
attention by governments and society,” said
Hamú. “Acceptable water quality elsewhere
depends on the health of the headwaters.”
A model draft bill is
available on WWF-Brazil site (www.wwf.org.br/agua),
and Brazilians are being encouraged to adapt
it locally and promote it with local governments
and city councils in order to turn it into
a bill. The idea is that local governments
gives incentives to communities taking on
the responsibility of protecting springs
in their area.
It is based on the successful
programme “Adopt a spring” by the Federal
District Government and supported by WWF-Brazil.
Today, over 140 springs in the Federal District
are protected by “adopters”, with support
and supervision of the local Government.
The Brazil Springs Movement
is part of the HSBC Climate Partnership
global initiative, a US$ 100 million environmental
programme developed to respond to the urgent
threats caused by climate change worldwide.
Among other initiatives,
WWF-Brazil plans to bring the movement into
the Pantanal region, one of the world’s
largest wetland areas and richest biodiversity
reserves. This area, a part of which lies
in Cerrado, is under heavy pressure from
agriculture.
In Brasilia, the programme
is supporting the Save the Urubu Creek project,
which aims at mobilizing the community to
protect its water resources.
“We want people to think
about water in an holistic – not only on
utilitarian way”, explained Carlos Alberto
Scaramuzza, director of WWF-Brazil’s conservation
and thematic programmes.
For further information: Denise Oliveria,
WWF-Brazil, Communications coordinator
Gadelha Neto, Communications Officer
