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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 BRASILIA 000954 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS USAID TO LAC/RSD, LAC/SAM, G/ENV, PPC/ENV 
TREASURY FOR USED IBRD AND IDB AND INTL/MDB 
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE: MZWEEDE 
INTERIOR FOR DIR INT AFFAIRS: K WASHBURN 
INTERIOR FOR FWS: TOM RILEY 
INTERIOR PASS USGS FOR INTERNATIONAL: J WEAVER 
JUSTICE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES: JWEBB 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL: CAM HILL-MACON 
USDA FOR ARS/INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH: G FLANLEY 
NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL: HAROLD STOLBERG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR EAID TBIO ECON SOCI XR BR
SUBJECT: SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 74 
 
¶1.  The following is the seventy-fourth in a series of newsletters, 
published by the Brasilia Regional Environmental Hub, covering 
environment, science and technology, and health news in South 
America.  The information below was gathered from news sources from 
across the region, and the views expressed do not necessarily 
reflect those of the Hub office or our constituent posts. 
Addressees who would like to receive a user-friendly email version 
of this newsletter should contact Larissa Stoner at 
stonerla@state.gov.  The e-mail version also contains a calendar of 
upcoming ESTH events in the region. 
 
¶2. Table of Contents 
 
Agriculture 
--Brazil Launches Lab for Agricultural Nanotechnology 
--Six South American Nations Seek Fund to Fight Foot-And-Mouth 
Disease 
 
Health 
--Thorium Reserves Being Pirated In Amazon State 
--Andean Countries Join in Fight Against Malaria 
--Brazil and Kenya Push For Neglected-Disease Research 
 
Water Issues 
--Pleas for Bogota River Clean-Up Ignored 
--Argentina: Nitrates Cited in Water-Contract Cancellation 
 
Forests 
--Brazil Shuts Down Amazon Logging Operation 
 
Wildlife 
--Venezuela Guarantees Protection of the Arrau Turtles 
--'Breakthrough' Reached On Access to Biodiversity Data 
--Brazil Takes Active Steps against Biopiracy 
 
Protected Areas 
--Ecuadorian Official Weighs Oil Drilling In National Park 
--U.S. Shareholders Criticize Goldman Sachs for Park Deal in Chile 
 
Science & Technology 
--Chilean Science Initiative Boosts Research Output 
 
Industrialization & Pollution 
--Update on Uruguay-Argentina Pulpmill Dispute 
--Other Environmental Problems to Focus on in Argentina 
--How Mercury Rules Designed for Safety End up Polluting 
--Nitrogen Emissions Threaten Biodiversity 'Hotspots' 
 
Energy 
--The next X-Prize: How about a 250 m.p.g. car? 
--French Firm Mulling Nuclear Power Plant in Chile 
--Canadian Company Might Build Dam In South Of Chile 
--Argentina: The Environmental Costs of Biofuel 
--Brazil Seals Biggest Carbon Credit Deal with German Bank 
 
General 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  002 OF 013 
 
 
--Chile Signs Bill to Establish Environmental Minister 
--Chile-Argentina: Critics of Andean Mine Project File Complaints 
--Protesters in Chile Fight Pulp Plant 
--Greenpeace go Home, Say Bumper Stickers in Brazilian City 
--Brazilian Receives Environmental Prize in the U.S. 
--Fossils of What May Be the Latest King of the Carnivores Are Found 
In Argentina 
 
Update on Avian Influenza 
--PAHO Hosts Regional Conference on Avian Influenza in Bogota 
--State Department Attends USAID Avian Influenza Preparedness 
Meeting in Lima 
 
----------- 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶3. Brazil Launches Lab for Agricultural Nanotechnology 
 
APR. 26, 2006 - Brazil is taking steps to increase the value of its 
exports by developing agricultural nanotechnologies - microscopic 
products intended to improve the quality of farm produce.  The 
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) said 17 April 
that it would be building a USD 1.9 million laboratory dedicated to 
the field.  The National Nanotechnology Laboratory for Agribusiness 
will be housed at Embrapa's agricultural instrumentation unit in Sao 
Paulo.  Areas of research have already been defined.  They include 
producing 'nanofibers' to strengthen natural fibers, for example 
those from coconut and sisal, and making 'nanoparticles' that 
contain pesticides and control their release.  Additional funds will 
support a network of researchers from Embrapa units, universities, 
research institutions and the private sector to encourage research 
collaborations. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
¶4. Six South American Nations Seek Fund to Fight Foot-And-Mouth 
Disease 
 
APR. 10, 2006 - Six South American nations have asked the 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for a 100-million-U.S.-dollar 
loan to help fight foot-and-mouth disease.  The six countries -- 
Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay -- discussed 
the issue at the meeting of the Southern Agricultural Council, of 
which the countries are members, on April 10th in Brasilia.  The 
loan will be used to put into action a three-year plan to fight the 
disease, according to Brazil's Minister of Agriculture Roberto 
Rodrigues, who added that the money was very likely to be granted, 
as it had been requested by such a large number of countries.  The 
agricultural council meeting took place alongside the second 
International Conference on Agricultural Produce Tractability. 
Foot-and-mouth disease is a fast spreading virus which affects 
cattle, buffalo, pigs, goats and sheep. The disease is particularly 
a serious problem for Brazil, the world's largest beef producer, as 
it has faced import bans following outbreaks in the north of the 
country. 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  003 OF 013 
 
 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
¶5. Thorium Reserves Being Pirated In Amazon State 
 
MAY 09, 2006 - Brasilia's main newspaper reports that recently 
discovered thorium veins located at the banks of the Araguari River, 
in the Serra do Navio, Amapa State, are being illegally extracted 
and sold by the local population.  This creates health hazards for 
the population because of the mineral's radioactivity and also a 
security risk, given that enriched thorium "can be used to make 
nuclear weapons," the report says. 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia 
 
¶6. Andean Countries Join in Fight Against Malaria 
 
MAR. 28, 2006 - Health officials from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and 
Venezuela have signed a joint agreement to control Malaria in 
transborder regions between these countries.  A plan of action was 
put together by the Andean Health Organization and received USD 28 
million from the Global Fund to Combat AIDS, TB, and Malaria.  The 
main objective of the plan is to reduce the number of cases by half 
in five years. 
 
Source - El Tiempo 
 
¶7. Brazil and Kenya Push For Neglected-Disease Research 
 
APR. 19, 2006 - Brazil and Kenya will call for an international fund 
for research on 'neglected diseases' at a World Health Organization 
meeting in May.  The diseases, which include leishmaniasis, malaria 
and sleeping sickness, kill more than 35,000 people each day in 
developing countries but get little attention from the global 
scientific community.  Paulo Buss, president of the Oswaldo Cruz 
Foundation (FIOCRUZ), a Brazilian research center, will propose the 
fund at the World Health Organization's annual policy-setting 
meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.  The proposal urges the 192 World 
Health Organization member countries to commit funds for research on 
new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic kits.  It also suggests 
simplifying systems for protecting intellectual property to make new 
health innovations more accessible to people in developing 
countries. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
------------ 
Water Issues 
------------ 
 
¶8. Pleas for Bogota River Clean-Up Ignored 
 
APR. 2006 - Bogota's once-clean waters now receive 190,000 tons a 
year of residential and industrial waste upstream of the reservoir 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  004 OF 013 
 
 
of Muna, built in 1948 to impound water from the Bogota River for 
two hydroelectric plants.  Muna has become a haven for infection, 
rats and mosquitoes-an estimated 74 million of which breed in the 
water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) carpeting the reservoir's 
nutrient-rich waters.  For 15 years, local residents have held 
demonstrations, filed lawsuits and lobbied authorities to get the 
government to take action.  In 2004, local residents thought relief 
was at hand.  A lower court ordered the city of Bogota as well as 
the surrounding counties and departments, which are similar to 
states, to build wastewater-treatment plants.  But many parties to 
the ruling, including the county and departmental governments, 
appealed to a higher court, arguing everything from excessive costs 
to insufficient time.  With no decision yet handed down, the 32,000 
inhabitants of this town are losing faith.  They want Emgesa, the 
operator of Muna, to stop pumping the Bogota's putrid water into the 
reservoir.  The scenario is not unique to Bogota.  Strapped budgets 
and a lack of political will hobble efforts to clean up urban rivers 
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.  From Lima, Peru, where 
a cholera epidemic broke out in 1991, killing thousands of people, 
to the putrid waterways of the U.S-Mexico border, water management 
tends to be chaotic. More than 50 million people lack access to 
sewer service in urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, 
according to 2006 World Bank figures. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶9. Argentina: Nitrates Cited in Water-Contract Cancellation 
 
April 2006 - Citing nitrate contamination of drinking water, 
Argentina has rescinded the contract under which French- and 
Spanish-owned Aguas Argentinas provided water and sewer service for 
Buenos Aires and 17 nearby municipalities. Government officials said 
that tests done in Lomas de Zamora, a city of 600,000 just south of 
the federal capital, detected nitrate concentrations up to 40 
percent higher than permitted in household drinking water and 220 
percent higher than allowed in well water.  Authorities charge the 
findings reflect nitrate problems elsewhere in the service area, 
though they say the contamination in Lomas de Zamora is the most 
serious.  They say Aguas Argentinas, in which Suez of France and 
Spain's Aguas de Barcelona hold stakes of 40 percent and 25 percent, 
respectively, has in recent years failed to make the investments 
needed to ensure adequate quality of service. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (contact Larissa Stoner for complete article) 
 
------- 
Forests 
------- 
 
¶10. Brazil Shuts Down Amazon Logging Operation 
 
APR. 10, 2006 - Environmental authorities shut down an illegal 
logging operation in the Amazon on April 10th, confiscating dozens 
of felled tropical hardwood trees in an area that only recently was 
pristine rain forest.  The Norte Wood logging company was operating 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  005 OF 013 
 
 
without a license in the Amazonas state town of Novo Aripuana.  The 
agency seized 500 cubic meters (17,655 cubic feet) of wood and 
arrested one man in the raid. It was the largest seizure of illegal 
hardwood this year in Amazonas, the country's largest state.  An 
overflight revealed extensive logging in the region, which only 
recently was largely untouched rain forest where scientists had 
discovered several new monkey species. During the past three years, 
loggers from the neighboring state of Para have been moving to Novo 
Aripuana after having largely deforested the southern edge of their 
home state. 
 
-------- 
Wildlife 
-------- 
 
¶11. Venezuela Guarantees Protection of the Arrau Turtles 
 
MAY 12, 2006 - Thirty-five thousand Arrau turtles were released in 
the Orinoco River after being raised in the Arrau Turtle Wildlife 
Refuge and Protection Zone.  According to the Minister of 
Environment Jacqueline Faria, the Indigenous communities are the 
best preservers of the species since they have been taught the 
importance of how and why to conserve the species. 
 
Source - kindly shared by US Embassy Caracas 
 
¶12. 'Breakthrough' Reached On Access to Biodiversity Data 
 
APR. 07, 2006 - Governments could come under pressure to make 
information on biological resources openly available, following a 
decision approved at the conference of parties (COP) to the 
Convention on Biological Diversity in Brazil.  According to its 
decision, the COP "invites parties and other governments, as 
appropriate, to provide free and open access to all past, present, 
and future public-good research results, assessments, maps and 
databases on biodiversity, in accordance with national and 
international legislation".  The language is vague, but according to 
Donat Agosti, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural 
History and the Swiss Naturmuseum, "This is breakthrough."  "It 
means we can talk to our governments and argue for open access to 
this body of information, referring to this COP decision," he says. 
"But nothing will happen unless pressure and demand can be built up 
to implement it."  Agosti has long pointed to the irony that 
researchers in developing countries - where most biodiversity is 
found - cannot access information about their nations' species. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
¶13. Brazil Takes Active Steps against Biopiracy 
 
APR. 19, 2006 - The GOB is concluding a list of more than 3,000 
species of Brazilian plants that it will send to patents offices 
throughout the world to prevent them from being appropriated by 
foreign governments and companies for commercial use. Brazilian 
officials note the registering of the "cupuassu" fruit by a Japanese 
company in 2003 which has since been reversed. 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  006 OF 013 
 
 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia 
 
--------------- 
Protected Areas 
--------------- 
 
¶14. Ecuadorian Official Weighs Oil Drilling In National Park 
 
APR. 2006 - Ecuadorian Environment Minister Ana Alban says that by 
mid-year she will decide whether the state-owned Brazilian company 
Petrobras can resume its controversial project to drill for oil in 
Yasuni National Park; a highly biodiverse portion of Ecuador's 
Amazon region.  Petrobras suspended preparations for the project 
last August, after Alban ordered the company out of the park pending 
a review of its plans.  Petrobras had begun work on a road and pier 
in Yasuni and planned other support infrastructure. It has indicated 
that it would halt construction of the road permanently, locate its 
support facilities outside the park and transport all materials to 
and from its Yasuni well sites by helicopter.  As of mid-April, 
however, Petrobras had not submitted a revised 
environmental-management plan addressing the new approach. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶15. U.S. Shareholders Criticize Goldman Sachs for Park Deal in 
Chile 
 
APR. 17, 2006 - Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson has come under fire 
from irate shareholders who say he is using company assets to 
further his own personal environmental goals in Chile.  In 2004, 
under Paulson's leadership, Goldman Sachs donated a 2,750 square 
kilometer tract of land in southern Chile to the Wildlife 
Conservation Society (WCS), creating the Karukinka wildlife reserve. 
 As part of the arrangement, Goldman also put up USD6.6 million of 
its own money to fund the Chile environment project.  However, a 
group of shareholders has charged that Paulson had no right to use 
company assets in what they described a personal project, and 
suggest that his commitment to environmental conservation 
constitutes a conflict of interest.  On April 6, a group called the 
Action Fund Management LLC (AFM) requested that Paulson reimburse 
the company for "any shareholder assets spent to advance his 
personal interests." 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
-------------------- 
 
¶16. Chilean Science Initiative Boosts Research Output 
 
APR. 26, 2006 - A Chilean initiative aimed at boosting the nation's 
research output has substantially increased scientific publications 
and trained more than 300 young researchers in its first four years. 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  007 OF 013 
 
 
 These are the main findings of a progress assessment for Chile's 
Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), released on 19 April.  The MSI 
is a collaboration between Chile and the World Bank.  It was 
launched in 1999, creating three cutting-edge research institutes 
and five smaller centers called 'nuclei'.  According to the study, 
the number of publications by researchers at these initial MSI 
centers increased by 30 per cent compared with their outputs before 
joining the centers - to an average of 3.1 per researcher per year 
between 2000 and 2003.  The number of undergraduate and postgraduate 
scientists being trained at the centers increased eight-fold in the 
same period. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
----------------------------- 
Industrialization & Pollution 
----------------------------- 
 
¶17. Update on Uruguay-Argentina Pulpmill Dispute 
 
APR. 27, 2006 - In Uruguay there has been widespread dissatisfaction 
over reports from Sao Paulo that Brazil and Argentina will not 
support the pulpmill dispute's submission to Mercosur's conflict 
resolution mechanism, as Presidents Lula da Silva and Nestor 
Kirchner apparently consider the affair to be purely bi-lateral. 
The reports also maintained that Argentine President Kirchner has 
called for another environmental impact study on the plants.  The 
news came on the eve of President Vazquez' April 25 departure for a 
nine-day official visit to Mexico and the U.S.  Uruguay contends 
that the dispute is multilateral in nature because the continued 
international bridge blockades have also affected commerce with 
Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia -- and indirectly involve Finland and 
Spain because their private companies are building the contested 
plants. Uruguay also maintains that the plants have been 
sufficiently studied for environmental concerns. 
 
Source - MONTEVIDEO 000376 
 
¶18. Other Environmental Problems to Focus on in Argentina 
 
APR. 27, 2006 -  The severe pollution of the Matanza-Riachuelo 
basin, which runs right through the metropolitan area of Buenos 
Aires, the failure of authorities to do anything about the problem 
for decades, and the indifference of most local residents stand in 
sharp contrast to the recent protests led by the people of the 
Argentine town of Gualeguaychu, near the Uruguayan border.  For the 
past few months, thousands of residents of that town in the province 
of Entre Rios have held demonstrations against the construction of 
two paper pulp factories on the Uruguayan side of a river that forms 
the border between Argentina and Uruguay.  The provincial government 
and local businesses and residents in Entre Rios, worried about the 
pulp mills' potential impact on the environment, have joined forces 
in an attempt to get the Finnish and Spanish companies building the 
plants to move them away from the border.  But little fuss has been 
made over the Matanza-Riachuelo basin, which has been heavily 
polluted for over a century, and has never been the focus of any 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  008 OF 013 
 
 
concerted clean-up effort. 
 
Source - Inter Press Service (kindly shared by US Embassy Buenos 
Aires).  Please contact Larissa Stoner for complete article 
 
¶19. How Mercury Rules Designed for Safety End up Polluting 
 
APR. 20, 2006 -  Instead of being permanently removed from the 
environment, recycled American mercury frequently travels through a 
secretive and unregulated chain of processors and brokers that can 
 
SIPDIS 
often end with primitive African, Asian and Latin American gold 
mines.  These operations make up one of the world's biggest markets 
for mercury.  They're also one of the world's biggest sources of 
mercury pollution.  In the northern Brazil town of Creporizao, 
miners buy flasks of recycled mercury from stores along the town's 
dusty street. Later, they use it to extract gold from the gravelly 
soil.  The process sends the metal into the atmosphere where it can 
orbit the world as many as four times before settling in distant 
places, such as Maine's seemingly protected lakes. 
 
Source - The Wall Street Journal (please contact Larissa for 
complete article) 
 
¶20. Nitrogen Emissions Threaten Biodiversity 'Hotspots' 
 
APR. 10, 2006 - Researchers have warned that rising nitrogen 
emissions from developing nations will soon threaten plant life in 
some of the most biodiverse parts of the planet.  A team led by 
Gareth Phoenix of the University of Sheffield has shown that, in the 
mid-1990s, the average amount of nitrogen deposited on the planet's 
34 biodiversity 'hotspots' was more than 50 per cent higher than the 
global average.  They say this figure could more than double by 
2050, at which time nitrogen levels in 17 of the 34 hotspots will 
exceed critical levels that European nations have set to protect 
their sensitive ecosystems.  Brazil's Atlantic forest, the temperate 
forests of south-west China, much of South-East Asia, Sri Lanka and 
the Western Ghats mountain range in southern India are some of the 
hotspots facing the greatest increase in nitrogen deposition. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶21. The next X-Prize: How about a 250 m.p.g. car? 
 
MAY 08, 2006 - The challenge: Build the world's most fuel-efficient 
production car - one that gets maybe 250 miles per gallon and causes 
little or no pollution.  The payoff: prize money from the group that 
awarded USD10 million for the world's first private spaceflight two 
years ago.  When the X-Prize Foundation unveils its new high-mileage 
car contest later this year, it will join a small but growing number 
of competitive prizes for energy development.  Proponents say it's a 
cheaper and faster way to unhook America from its oil dependency. 
Several of the prize ideas are coming from the federal government. 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  009 OF 013 
 
 
For example: 1)The Department of Energy (DOE) is authorized to award 
up to USD10 million in incentives for next-generation technology 
that could turn wood and other fiber into ethanol; 2) The DOE was 
also authorized by last fall's energy legislation to offer a USD5 
million "Freedom Prize" for tangible methods to cut US dependence on 
imported oil.  In hearings April 27, Congress weighed a proposal for 
a new "H-Prize," which would dangle USD100 million in awards to 
speed up development of hydrogen-powered cars. 
 
Source - Christian Science Monitor 
 
¶22. French Firm Mulling Nuclear Power Plant in Chile 
 
APR. 25, 2006 - The largest operator of atomic reactors in the world 
is considering installing power stations in Chile within 10 to 25 
years. French nuclear giant Areva Group is interested in developing 
nuclear energy in Chile to make an "atomic power station" (nuclear 
reactor) that would connect the electrical systems of the Great 
North and the central electric zone.  "A thermonuclear power station 
is a solution to the Chilean power problems of the coming years," 
said Richard Chopplet, representative of Areva's Chilean branch. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶23. Canadian Company Might Build Dam In South Of Chile 
 
APR. 2006 - The Canadian mining company Falconbridge announced March 
31 that it is studying a plan to build a USD600 million 
hydroelectric dam on the Cuervo River in southern Chile's Aisen 
region.  The 740-megawatt facility would be erected, possibly as 
early as 2010, on some of the land previously intended for the 
ill-fated Alumysa aluminum-plant project.  Alumysa was shelved 
indefinitely by the Canadian firm Noranda in Sept. 2003 after it 
drew strong opposition from environmentalists, the salmon-farming 
industry and, ultimately, then-President Ricardo Lagos.  In June 
2005, however, Noranda was acquired by Falconbridge, a top world 
producer of copper, zinc and nickel.  Falconbridge now appears 
determined to make use of the Patagonian water rights Noranda had 
held for the three hydroelectric dams it had planned to build to 
power its Alumysa plant. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶24. Argentina: The Environmental Costs of Biofuel 
 
April 20, 2006 - After two years of debate, the Argentine Senate 
approved on April 19th a bill that will grant tax incentives to the 
producers of biofuels while guaranteeing them a share of the market 
for 15 years.  The new legislation grants tax exemptions to farmers 
who use vegetable oil to produce biodiesel, sugar cane or corn to 
produce ethanol, or organic waste to produce biogas.  To ensure a 
market for the alternative fuels, the state will guarantee that four 
years after the law goes into effect, gas stations will be under the 
obligation to offer gasoline that contains five percent ethanol and 
diesel comprised of five percent biodiesel.  A report released in 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  010 OF 013 
 
 
late 2005 by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on 
Agriculture (IICA) on biofuel prospects in Argentina and Brazil 
warned that the development of this sector would not come without a 
price for Argentina.  The potential negative impacts included the 
replacement of other crops, disturbance of land rotation systems and 
undesired effects on the soil. As a result, the IICA stressed that a 
careful estimation of these impacts should form part of the overall 
evaluation of the costs and benefits of biofuel production 
initiatives. 
 
Source - Inter Press Service 
 
¶25. Brazil Seals Biggest Carbon Credit Deal with German Bank 
 
APR. 06, 2006 - A Brazilian firm sealed the world's biggest carbon 
credit contract registered so far for an existing pro-environment 
project.  Econergy International, the New York-based clean energy 
investment, management and consulting group which is responsible for 
the deal, said local company Biogas's project to generate 
electricity from garbage sold carbon credits is worth 1 million tons 
in reduced gas emissions to German state development bank KfW.  In 
total, the Biogas project, which is a partnership with Sao Paulo 
mayor's office, should generate 8 million tons in carbon credits 
until 2012, which will be negotiated later.  The project receives 
half of all waste in South America's biggest megalopolis, Sao Paulo, 
or about 80,000 tons per day, and uses the methane gas from the 
waste to generate 22 megawatts of electric power.  Out of 207 carbon 
credit projects registered by the United Nations, 45 are Brazilian 
and 21 are managed by Econergy. These include a wind-powered 
electricity generation park and power projects based on sugar cane 
bagasse. 
 
------- 
General 
------- 
 
¶26. Chile Signs Bill To Establish Environmental Minister 
 
APR. 10, 2006 - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet officially 
proposed legislation that, if passed, will create a cabinet level 
position to oversee environmental issues. The position to be created 
is "president" of the National Environment Commission (Conama). 
Environmentalist lauded the announcement, while Bachelet explained 
that the creation of an environmental minister is part of "a 
commitment that my administration and I have made."  The object of 
this project is to create "environmental protection institutions 
that are better able to meet the challenges that we as a country are 
facing," she said.  "And the regions are going to have a fundamental 
role in the new environmental policies."  Although no names have 
been mentioned, at least two leading environmentalists have been 
mentioned: Sara Larrain, the head of Sustainable Chile; and Ximena 
Abogabir, who leads the House of Peace. The proposed new legislation 
will not change the current organizational structure of Conama. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000954  011 OF 013 
 
 
¶27. Chile-Argentina: Critics of Andean Mine Project File Complaints 
 
 
APR. 2006 - Chilean opponents of plans for a massive gold mine 
straddling the Chilean-Argentine border filed a raft of 
administrative complaints last month, hoping to reverse a regional 
environmental body's conditional approval of the project.  Residents 
of northern Chile's Huasco Valley joined the Santiago-based Latin 
American Observatory for Environmental Conflicts (Olca) and the 
international marine-protection group Oceana to file 70 complaints 
with the country's lead environmental agency, the National 
Environmental Commission (Conama).  The valley residents, most of 
them farmers, assert that the USD1.5 billion project by Barrick Gold 
of Canada will cause water shortages and toxic pollution in the 
fruit- and vegetable-producing Huasco region.   In a letter to new 
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who took office on March 11, 
Pascua Lama opponents urged rejection of the project on grounds that 
its environmental-impact statement was deficient. They also said 
Barrick failed to address fully the concerns that emerged during 
public consultations on the project. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶28. Protesters in Chile Fight Pulp Plant 
 
APR. 11, 2006 - Religious leaders, fishermen, environmentalists and 
surfers joined forces to protest against the construction of a paper 
plant in Ranquil, in southern Chile's Region VIII.  The USD1.4 
billion Nueva Aldea Forestry Complex and plant is opposed by local 
residents who fear it will contaminate their surrounding environment 
and strip them of their livelihoods.  Residents fear there will be a 
repeat of what happened in Valdivia, Region X, where Celulosa Arauco 
and Constitution (Celco) - Chile's largest forestry company and the 
third largest company of its kind in Latin America - built a similar 
paper plant.  A Nueva Aldea company spokesman assured protestors 
that the plant, which is due to start construction in June, abides 
by the highest environmental standards. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶29. Greenpeace go Home, Say Bumper Stickers in Brazilian City 
 
APR. 28, 2006 - Some 3,000 vehicles in Santarem, on the west of the 
Amazon state of Para, are carrying stickers reading "Greenpeace Go 
Home. The Amazon belongs to Brazilians".  The protest is being 
sponsored by local ranchers and timber harvesters who are unhappy 
about the GOB's creation of areas for conservation and sustainable 
use. 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia 
 
¶30. Brazilian Receives Environmental Prize in the U.S. 
 
APR. 25, 2006 - Brazilian environmental activist Tarciso Feitosa, 
from Altamira, Para, received on April 24th in the United States the 
 
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USD 125,000 Goldman Environmental Prize for his work to preserve 
forest reserves in areas of land conflict.  According to a Brazilian 
daily, the Goldman Award is considered to be "the Nobel Prize of the 
environmental sector." 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia 
 
¶31. Fossils of What May Be the Latest King of the Carnivores Are 
Found In Argentina 
 
APR. 18, 2006 - The fossilized remains of what may be the largest 
meat-eating dinosaur has been discovered in Argentina -- a bus-sized 
monster that attacked its prey in roving packs.  The remains of at 
least seven of the beasts, named Mapusaurus roseae, were found 
clustered in 100-million-year-old rocks south of the city of Plaza 
Huincul in western Patagonia.  Based on a shin bone that was about 3 
feet long, researchers estimate that the largest adult in the group 
stretched about 41 feet and weighed about 15,000 pounds. 
 
Source - Los Angeles Times (no link) 
 
------------------------- 
Update on Avian Influenza 
------------------------- 
 
¶32. PAHO Hosts Regional Conference on Avian Influenza in Bogota 
 
MAY 08, 2006 - This regional conference (April 19-21), attended by 
40 countries in the Western Hemisphere, focused on the provision of 
health care services in the event of an Avian Influenza outbreak. 
PAHO has hosted conferences on surveillance and other AI-related 
topics in past.  Conference attendees were people who actually 
provide health care services, not ministers or national planners. 
Consequently, the meeting was highly technical and focused on 
diagnosis, various forms of treatment, health care protocols, 
functioning of national health services, handling of cadavers, etc. 
A general read out of the technical aspects of the meeting (in 
Spanish) can be found on the Colombia PAHO office website. 
 
Source - US Embassy Bogota 
 
¶33. State Department Attends USAID Avian Influenza Preparedness 
Meeting in Lima 
 
May 11, 2006 - The Department of State was cordially invited by 
USAID/LAC to attend a regional meeting on preparedness and response 
to a possible avian influenza pandemic, May 02-05, in Lima, Peru. 
Attendees included USAID/Health representatives from several Latin 
American and Caribbean countries, including Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, 
Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru; representatives from several 
international organizations such as FAO, IICA, OIRSA, PAHO, and OIE; 
as well as USDA/APHIS, NMRCD, and State Department representatives. 
The event was an opportunity to share experiences and learn about 
financial and technical resources that currently exist in case of an 
AI pandemic.  Please contact Larissa Stoner for more information. 
 
 
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CHICOLA