23/08/2010 - The 1st
South American Forests Dialogue, sponsored
by the Brazilian Forest Service, will bring
together leaders of forest agencies from
the South American countries. The event
will be held from August 24 to 26 in Manaus
(AM).
The goal is to share
experiences on forest management and present
successful initiatives and the challenges
faced by state institutions. "The meeting
will also strengthen relationships among
the participating agencies and will promote
partnerships for the development of a sustainable
economy in the region", says the director
of Forestry Research and Information, Claudia
Azevedo-Ramos, from the Brazilian Forest
Service.
The 1st South American
Forests Dialogue is supported by the Amazon
Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and
GTZ.
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Minister Izabella Teixeira
regrets fires that proliferate in the country
27/08/2010 - At a meeting
of the National Environmental Council (CONAMA)
held this week in Brasília, the Minister
of the Environment, Izabella Teixeira, regretted
the large number of fires that are occurring
in the country. "The fire is due to
illegal customary practices in the Cerrado",
she said, referring to the habits of farmers.
She said seven thousand firefighters are
working to control the fires, as well as
soldiers and fire brigade members.
Izabella said that about
90% of the Parque Nacional das Emas, in
the state of Goiás, was burned due
to fires in neighboring farms. Almost the
entire 132 hectares of the Protected Area
were damaged. The minister further stated
that there are also fires in settlements
and indigenous areas. The Ministry of the
Environment requested inspections to determine
causes and apply punishment under the Law
of Environmental Crimes.
At the meeting, Izabella
also talked about the National Policy on
Solid Waste, approved by President Lula
on August 2. The policy's regulation proposal
is being prepared by the Ministry of the
Environment, to be forwarded to the Civil
House in the next few months.
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Brazil already has R$
200 million to combat the effects of climate
change
19/08/2010 - The National
Fund on Climate Change already has R$ 200
million for investment in mitigation and
adaptation actions to the effects of climate
change in Brazil in 2011. The announcement
was made by the Secretary for Climate Change
and Environmental Quality of the Ministry
of the Environment, Branca Americano.
On Wednesday (August
18), the Secretary took part in a debate
on Financing Strategies for Sustainable
Development of the Semi-arid Regions, as
part of the programming of the II International
Conference: Climate, Sustainability and
Development in Semiarid Regions (ICID 2010).
The conference is being held in Fortaleza
(Ceará) since Monday (August 16)
and ends tomorrow (20). The event gathers
more than 2,000 people from 90 countries.
Branca explained that
the so-called "Climate Fund" will
receive part of the oil exploitation profits.
According to the Secretary, the steering
committee of the Fund will be installed
later this year.
The Climate Fund was
created at the end of last year and is the
world's first initiative to use oil resources
to combat climate change. With a budget
that could reach R$ 1 billion per year,
the money from the fund will be applied
in research and actions for mitigation and
adaptation to climate change, helping vulnerable
regions such as the semi-arid and coastal
regions in Brazil.
