07/04/2010 - The Action
Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation
in the Caatinga (PPCaatinga) is expected
to be implemented until the end of the semester,
as determined by the new minister of the
Environment, Izabella Teixeira. The urgency
is justified by the need to control, as
soon as possible, the deforestation in the
biome, the only exclusively Brazilian, rich
in biodiversity, but that has already lost
45% of its forest cover.
The monitoring of the
Caatinga shows that 0.33% of its biomass
is annually transformed into charcoal to
be used as a source of energy, in the region
where the biome is present as well as in
others. This situation, which shows a growing
demand of charcoal, leads to deforestation
levels comparable only to those of the Amazon
when the prevention programs began to be
implemented in the forest.
Considered one of the
most vulnerable to climate change, the biome
is one of the planet's regions that will
be most affected by global warming. Estimates
indicate that one third of the economy of
the Northeast, where 80% of the biome is,
may disappear. Therefore, the Brazilian
government included the region in the reduction
of CO2 program, established by the National
Policy on Climate Change - signed by President
Lula in 2009.
Recent data on the situation
of Caatinga were discussed this week in
a meeting with representatives of the Ministries
of Planning, Trade and Industry, Agriculture
and Agrarian Reform, IBAMA, ICMBio and MMA,
to set a model to the PPCaatinga. This model
will define the goals, how to achieve them,
the stages of implementation and the source
of the funds that will be applied.
The Ministry of the
Environment intends to release the preliminary
stage of the PPCaatinga until April 28,
when it is celebrated the Caatinga's Day.
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MMA awaits the approval
of rules for waste management by the Senate
06/04/2010 - Brazil
annually produces 155 thousand tons of urban
garbage. Of this total, it is estimated
that about 50% is disposed directly into
open dumps, contaminating the soil, hydrographic
basins, rivers and the sea, causing diseases
and producing incalculable losses to the
State.
On the other hand, these
same residues are a source of livelihood
for thousands of Brazilian families - the
so-called scavengers (collectors) of recyclable
materials, whose associations and cooperatives
total over 34 thousand people across the
country, joining another 800 thousand scavengers
that, informally, also survive by collecting
recyclable materials.
This reality, which
still presents unfavorable results for health
and the environment, should be amended with
the approval of the National Policy on Solid
Waste (PNRS) by the Senate. The new policy,
which will define the general guidelines
for the proper disposal of all kinds of
garbage, determines, for example, how the
performance of the business sector might
facilitate the correct disposal of the residues.
The PNRS will also require from the government
entities a proper public management of the
waste.
After 19 years, Brazil
expects to approve a law that defines responsibilities
and tools for the management of several
types of solid waste, among them, electronic
materials, for which there is still no federal
law defining how the disposal might happen.
The PNRS will define the general guidelines
for waste management. Its regulation will
be made later by presidential decree.
The proposal approved
by the House of Representatives in March
is the result of a broad consensus involving
all the actors who are part of the many
different cycles of production of solid
waste. It deals with issues that are already
part of daily routine of people, involving
concepts such as contaminated area, the
product life cycle, selective collection,
social control, waste management, recycling,
shared responsibility and urban cleaning
services.
The new policy aims
at the protection of public health and environmental
quality, as well as at the adoption, development
and improvement of clean technologies to
minimize environmental impacts, and at the
reduction of the volume of hazardous waste,
amongst other actions.
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President Lula appoints
the new minister of the Environment
01/04/2010 - President
Lula installed Izabella Teixeira as the
new minister of the Environment in a ceremony
held yesterday (March 31) at the Palácio
do Itamaraty, in Brasília. Izabella,
who was the Executive Secretary of the Ministry,
replaces Carlos Minc, who left the post
to contest general elections in October.
The new minister stated
that she will maintain the policies and
actions initiated during the administration
of Carlos Minc. "I'll work hard and
I do expect to succeed, with the support
of the entities linked to the Ministry",
she said at the ceremony.
In his speech, President
Lula highlighted the advances achieved during
the administration of Carlos Minc, such
as the approval of the plant of Belo Monte,
in the Amazon, which is very important for
energy supply in the country; the Brazilian
proactive and prominent participation at
the United Nations Convention on Climate
Change (COP-15), in December 2009 in Copenhagen
(Denmark); and the significant drop in Amazon
deforestation.
To President Lula, the
work of Carlos Minc has strengthened the
role of the MMA in the discussion and formulation
of public policies in the country. "Minc
worked with dedication and loyalty".
After nearly two years
in the MMA, Minc left the post saying that
his "dream" is that the climate
and environmental issues would be at the
center of all political discussions. "We've
fought to defend our ideas and to involve
the MMA in the preparation of the public
policies", he said.
