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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 BRASILIA 001079 
 
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 75 
 
¶1.  The following is the seventy-fifth 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 
 
Health 
--(3)On Chile's Easter Island: Fungus Provides a Possible Cancer 
Drug 
 
Water Issues 
--(4)U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Changes Standards for Dam Licensing 
 
Forests 
--(5)Brazil: Eucalyptus Called into Question Yet Again 
 
Wildlife 
--(6)Argentina Against Bird Trafficking 
--(7)Colombia: 'Extinct' Frog Comes Back To Life 
--(8)Venezuela: Parakeets Endangered on Margarita Island 
--(9)100 Oil-Coated Penguins Dead In Argentina 
 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
--(10)Award for Peru's Wildlife Pioneer 
--(11)Peruvian Authorities Identify Illegal Fishing Activities 
 
Protected Areas 
--(12)Peru Earmarks Area for Conservation 
--(13)Galapagos Feeling Population, Tourism Pressures 
--(14)Chilean wilderness Area Attracts Upscale U.S. Investment 
 
Industrialization & Pollution 
--(15)Now the Spotlight Turns to Argentina's Pulp Mills 
--(16)Pulp Mill Debate: Populism or Genuine Concern? 
--(17)Clean Air Plan for Santiago Fails 
--(18)Brazil Demands for Better Control of Chemical Spills 
--(19)Ecuadorian State Oil Company Accused of Polluting 
 
Urban Waste Management 
--(20)Governor of Sao Paulo State Signs Solid-Waste Legislation 
--(21)Brazil: Environmentalists Challenge Garbage Burning 
--(22)Argentina: Transforming Garbage into Decent Jobs 
 
Energy 
--(23)Brazil Launches Facility for Uranium Enrichment 
 
General 
--(24)USAID Supports Project for Sustainable Development of the 
Paraguay Chaco 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  002 OF 013 
 
 
--(25)Amazon 'Stonehenge' found in Brazil 
--(26)Youths to Live an Amazon Adventure 
 
Avian Influenza Update 
--(27)U.S. to Finance Avian Flu Prevention in Brazil & Other 
Countries 
--(28)The FAO/OIE Avian Influenza Crisis Management Center 
 
(29) SPECIAL: (Q&A) Former IDB official critical of new highway's 
planning 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
¶3. On Chile's Easter Island: Fungus Provides a Possible Cancer Drug 
 
MAY 16, 2006 - A recent study by the Clinical Journal of the 
American Society of Nephrology revealed that the drug "rapamycin" - 
sourced from an Easter Island fungus - halves the risk of cancer in 
kidney transplant patients. The drug also proved successful in 
reducing cancerous tumors.  The drug was first discovered in 1975 as 
a product of the bacterium "Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a soil 
sample from Easter Island. The fungus was discovered to have 
antibiotic properties and was originally developed as an antifungal 
agent.  It was not until 1987, when the Canadian university Mc Gill 
found that the fungus had far greater medicinal potential, that 
researches discovered the drug's potent immunosuppressive and 
antiproliferative properties. In other words, it could fight organ 
rejection in transplant patients and cancer treatment. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
------------ 
Water Issues 
------------ 
 
¶4. U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Changes Standards for Dam Licensing 
 
MAY 15, 2006 -   In a victory for clean water and wildlife, the 
Supreme Court today affirmed that states may mandate dam licenses to 
ensure that dams do not pollute, impair fishing, swimming or 
drinking water.  "The Court's decision is a landmark decision 
interpreting the Clean Water Act, one which guarantees the authority 
of states to protect our rivers and streams from the damage caused 
by dams," says David Mears, a professor at the Environmental and 
Natural Resources Law Clinic at Vermont Law School.  The ruling, a 
9-0 opinion, found that operating a dam results in a "discharge into 
navigable waters."  The ruling affirmed that states have authority 
under the Clean Water Act to require federal dam relicensing comply 
with state standards that protect water quality.  The case involved 
a hydroelectric dam on the Presumpscot River in southern Maine.  In 
1999, S.D. Warren, which operates the dam, applied for relicensing 
of the dam with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  The state 
of Maine, pursuant to its water quality certification authority 
under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, required that the dam 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  003 OF 013 
 
 
maintain minimum stream flows to protect fish and eel populations. 
S.D. Warren appealed, claiming that merely running water through a 
dam did not result in a "discharge," which triggers a states ability 
to certify a dam for water quality compliance during FERC 
relicensing, because nothing was added to the water.  S.D. Warren 
lost in state court, and appealed the Supreme Court.  The Supreme 
Court explicitly ruled that for state water quality certification to 
be triggered, nothing needed to be added to the water.  The mere 
passing of water through the dam resulted in a discharge. 
 
For more information please visit the National Wildlife Federation 
website 
 
------- 
Forests 
-------- 
 
¶5. Brazil: Eucalyptus Called into Question Yet Again 
 
MAY 20, 2006 - Brazil's Ministry of Environment will promote 
planting of eucalyptus in order to contain deforestation in the 
eastern Amazon, where 14 steel mills process iron ore from the 
Sierra de Carajas using charcoal made from the native forests.  But 
the idea is running up against environmentalists and peasant 
farmers, who are launching an offensive against the "green deserts" 
of the pulp industry, which is based on the fast-growing eucalyptus 
trees.  The same argument of forest preservation was made for 
eucalyptus and the iron industry in the southern state of Minas 
Gerais, but deforestation continued anyway, Winfried Overbeek, with 
FASE, a non-governmental group associated with the Latin American 
Network Against Tree Monoculture, told Tierramerica.  The risk is 
that it will degenerate into forest monoculture, said Paulo 
Moutinho, of the Amazonian Institute of Environmental Research. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
-------- 
Wildlife 
-------- 
 
¶6. Argentina Against Bird Trafficking 
 
MAY 20, 2006 - The Argentine Wildlife Directorate stepped up 
operations against the illegal sales of wild bird species that are 
endangered or whose populations are much reduced.  Directorate chief 
Daniel Ramadori told Tierramerica that the birds being poached are 
traded on the side of a legal wild animal trade fair that takes 
place in the southern Buenos Aires district of Nueva Pompeya.  In 
the sting, officials recovered yellow cardinals (Gubernatrix 
cristata), black-backed grosbeaks (Pheucticus aureoventris) and 
chopi blackbirds (Gnorimopsar chopi), among other protected species. 
 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶7. Colombia: 'Extinct' Frog Comes Back To Life 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  004 OF 013 
 
 
 
MAY 19, 2006 - Scientists have sighted a spectacular South American 
frog which had been feared extinct for a decade.  The painted frog 
is found only in a small remote region of Colombia, and the last 
sighting dates back to 1995.  Conservationists believed it had gone 
extinct, principally due to a fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, 
which has caused enormous harm to many species. The team behind the 
rediscovery says it gives hope that other amphibians may be able to 
survive fungal attack.  Chytridiomycosis is the main reason behind 
the worldwide decline in amphibians, which sees about one third of 
all species threatened with extinction. The Andes provides a graphic 
illustration of how devastating it can be.  In this "hotspot" of 
amphibian diversity which includes parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru 
and Venezuela, 42 of the 113 species of Atelopus have experienced 
population declines of up to 50 percent. 
 
Source - BBC 
 
¶8. Venezuela: Parakeets Endangered on Margarita Island 
 
MAY 13, 2006 - Fewer than 20 blue-crowned parakeets (Aratinga 
acuticaudata neoxena) survive in the mangroves of La Restinga Park, 
on Venezuela's Margarita Island, in the Caribbean. The species is in 
grave danger of extinction, biologist Marialejandra Faria, of the 
environmental group Provita, told Tierramerica.  This is due to "the 
degradation of its habitat, the growth of neighboring populations, 
but also to poaching of the birds for pets," said Faria. "We could 
try a program to hatch eggs in captivity, but we don't have the 
resources," she said.  Provita has launched a program for young 
biologists involving 17 environmental organizations and 400 
schoolchildren on Margarita, seeking to raise awareness about 
preserving the habitat of the blue-crowned parakeet and the 
yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot, whose population has grown from 750 
to 1,900 in the past 17 years. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶9. 100 Oil-Coated Penguins Dead In Argentina 
 
MAY 11, 2006 - Authorities reported some 70 of the dead Magellanic 
penguins were found at the Cabo Virgenes nature reserve on the 
Straits in the remote province of Santa Cruz.  But environmentalists 
said they also found 31 of the wide-ranging migratory penguins dead 
off the Atlantic coast, some 375 miles southeast of Buenos Aires. 
The Argentine Coast Guard said it was sending flights in search of 
oil spills, but reported finding none that could have caused the 
birds coated in black crude to begin arriving on shores off the 
Straits of Magellan.  "This is very worrisome. We don't know the 
source," said Francisco Anglesio, environmental undersecretary for 
Santa Cruz province where the deaths occurred, speaking with 
reporters in southern Argentina. 
 
Source - article kindly shared by US Embassy Buenos Aires.  Original 
source Washington Post 
 
----------------------------- 
 
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Fishing & Marine Conservation 
----------------------------- 
 
¶10. Award for Peru's Wildlife Pioneer 
 
MAY 11, 2006 - A conservationist who has spent 25 years trying to 
protect Peru's marine wildlife has won a top UK environment prize, 
the Whitley Gold Award.  Patricia Majluf researched and then 
campaigned against the impact of anchovy fishing off the Peruvian 
coast.  High catches have affected dolphins, sea lions and birds 
such as pelicans.  "We hope the award will help [Dr Majluf] in her 
fight to bring an end to unsustainable fishing practices along this 
globally important coastline," said Edward Whitley, founder and 
chairman of the Whitley Fund for Nature. 
 
Source - BBC 
 
¶11. Peruvian Authorities Identify Illegal Fishing Activities 
 
MAY 19, 2006 - The Regional Production Directory of the Department 
of Pisco identified during a two-week raid that all thirteen fish 
meal factories in the ports of Pisco and Tambo de Mora extract and 
process juvenile fish that have not reached the acceptable age or 
size; all thirteen will be fined.  According to the press report, 
local artisanal fishermen supported the intervention.  The report 
points out that the factories are also exceeding fishing quotas. 
 
Source - El Comercio 
 
--------------- 
Protected Areas 
--------------- 
¶12. Peru Earmarks Area for Conservation 
 
MAY 2006 - More than 3.7 million acres (1.5 million hectares) of 
land in the Sierra del Divisor region along the Peruvian-Brazilian 
border has been designated a reserved zone, a conservation category 
intended to protect important ecosystems while studies are conducted 
to determine their ultimate status.  Peru's Agriculture Ministry set 
aside the land last month in the departments of Ucayali and Loreto. 
The area includes 681,183 acres (275,665 hectares) that already have 
been declared a territorial reserve for the Isconahua indigenous 
people, who have only sporadic contact with the outside world.  The 
new reserve abuts the 2.1-million-acre (850,000- hectare) Serra do 
Divisor National Park in Acre, Brazil, which was created in 1989. 
The region's name-Sierra del Divisor in Spanish and Serra do Divisor 
in Portuguese-reflects the mountainous area's role in separating the 
watersheds of Peru's middle Ucayali River basin and Brazil's upper 
Jurua River basin. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶13. Galapagos Feeling Population, Tourism Pressures 
 
MAY 2006 - Conservation worries about the Galapagos Islands have 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  006 OF 013 
 
 
heightened in the wake of a controversial cruise-ship visit and an 
international delegation's trip to the archipelago to assess the 
state of environmental protection efforts.  The delegation, 
comprising experts from Unesco and the World Conservation Union 
(IUCN), met in March with a variety of Galapagos stakeholders to 
gather information for a report for Unesco's World Heritage 
Committee.  The Unesco panel is expected to use the report to decide 
in July whether to list the Galapagos as a threatened heritage site, 
a move that could damage the islands' pristine image, potentially 
affecting tourism and international-cooperation programs.  A prime 
focus of tourism concerns are cruise ships, and fears that their 
high-volume visits will aggravate problems ranging from the 
trampling of island terrain to the introduction of exotic species. 
Debate about the issue intensified here when the MV Discovery, a 
cruise ship operated by U.S.-based Discovery World Cruises, visited 
the Galapagos from April 28 to May 2 with 324 passengers and 314 
crew. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶14. Chilean wilderness Area Attracts Upscale U.S. Investment 
 
MAY 24, 2006 - Foreign investors have triggered a real estate boom 
in the wilderness area around the Region X town of Chaiten, with 
land purchases in the fertile territory between Futaleufu and Palena 
Rivers reaching prices upwards of USD 20,000 per hectare (about USD 
10,000 per acre).  The ex-patriot community - composed mainly of 
real estate investors, rafting fanatics and environmental activists 
- hopes to initiate eco-tourism projects that will throttle plans to 
build a series of dams on both rivers.  The mostly North Americans 
and European ex-pats have purchased small properties ranging from 
one to 100 hectares, and shied away from investments in large 
properties. Most of the sales are close to the banks of the Palena 
and Futaleufu Rivers - both slated to be dammed by an international 
power consortium. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
----------------------------- 
Industrialization & Pollution 
----------------------------- 
 
¶15. Now the Spotlight Turns to Argentina's Pulp Mills 
 
MAY 20, 2006 - The environmental impacts of the approximately 30 
factories producing pulp and paper in Argentina are many, and a 
seemingly endless source of conflict. With challenges simmering 
against the construction of two large pulp mills in neighboring 
Uruguay, the Argentine companies are on the defensive.  The entire 
sector in Argentina produces some 900,000 tons of pulp annually, 
based on different technologies and raw materials. The largest and 
most questioned mills are located on the Parana River, in the 
northeast.  Since March, Paraguay has filed suit against Argentina 
for the alleged lack of wastewater treatment by the pulp mills Alto 
Parana, Celulosa Puerto Piray and Benfide, in the northeastern 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  007 OF 013 
 
 
province of Misiones, on their shared border.  Alfredo Molinas, 
environment minister of Paraguay, said on May 12 that his country 
will insist that the problem "be resolved through diplomacy, without 
the need to escalate to a dispute."  The environmental watchdog 
group Greenpeace will disseminate a report at the end of the month 
about the paper and pulp industry in Argentina, where, it says, no 
company in that sector sets a positive example, but rather all pose 
problems. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶16. Pulp Mill Debate: Populism or Genuine Concern? 
 
MAY 16, 2005 - The Argentine government has taken a stand against 
two wood pulp mills being constructed in Uruguay's Rio Negro 
department because it claims that the plants will pollute the 
Uruguay river, but there is feeling that the motives may not be 
quite as altruistic as they seem.   [...] deputies on the lower 
chamber's natural resources committee recently backed an 
environmental impact law that has been neglected for some seven 
years.  If passed, this bill would oblige all types of potentially 
polluting industries to carry out environmental impact studies 
before permission for construction would be granted. The law could 
be approved by the chamber of deputies within a month before heading 
to the senate for ratification.  Certainly, this would be an 
improvement to the current legislation, but might not be quite so 
much help where plants that pollute the environment have already 
been built and are in operation. 
 
Source - Business News Americas (please contact Larissa Stoner for 
complete article) 
 
¶17. Clean Air Plan for Santiago Fails 
 
MAY 20, 2006 - The failure of the plan proposed in 2000 to clean up 
the air in the Chilean capital, home to five million people, is one 
of the biggest challenges facing new President Michelle Bachelet, 
who took office in March.  So far in 2006, Santiago has seen one day 
of environmental "pre-emergency" and several days with alerts issued 
in response to increased air pollution, which result in restrictions 
on vehicle circulation and shut-downs of boilers and other sources 
of emissions, and even bans on outdoor sports activities at schools. 
 The critical conditions brought by the climate phenomenon known as 
La Nia, with scant rain and low temperatures, brought to the fore 
the environmental vulnerability of the capital, as warned by at 
least two reports from international auditors, which pointed to 
shortfalls in many of the measures of the Atmospheric 
Decontamination and Prevention Plan (PPDA) pledged in 2000. 
According to sources in the business sector, the pre-emergency 
declared on Friday, May 12, resulted in economic losses of 3.9 
million dollars, due to the shutdown of 596 factories and 320,000 
vehicles, including 120,000 cars with "green seals", which run on 
unleaded gasoline. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  008 OF 013 
 
 
¶18. Brazil Demands for Better Control of Chemical Spills 
 
MAY 13, 2006 - An inter-ministerial committee in Brazil has proposed 
a system that would obligate companies, ports and entities that 
handle chemical products to notify authorities about spills, given 
their serious threats to local populations.  The environmental 
legislation would require immediate notification, and would punish 
inaction, but in many cases the gasoline stations -- the main source 
of such accidents -- discover the spills when they are already 
serious and have contaminated underground water sources, for 
example, says geologist Katia Duarte, who investigated the issue in 
Brasilia while researching her doctoral thesis, completed in 2003. 
From 1978 to 2005, in Sao Paulo, the only Brazilian state to 
systematically monitor chemical spills, there were 6,303 such 
accidents recorded -- one-third involved liquid fuels.  An 
obligatory reporting system for spills is crucial for the 
effectiveness of the national plan adopted in 2004 to prevent 
environmental emergencies involving toxic chemicals. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶19. Ecuadorian State Oil Company Accused of Polluting 
 
MAY 2006 - The Ecuadorian Comptroller General has rekindled 
criticism of oil operations in Ecuador by accusing Petroproduccion, 
a subsidiary of the state oil company Petroecuador, and three 
contractors of pollution violations in the Amazon region.  The 
report, made public last month, draws on an environmental audit of 
oil operations in Orellana and Sucumbios provinces from June 1, 2000 
to Aug. 30, 2004.  The audit, by the comptroller's Directorate of 
Public Works Control, found Petroproduccion released 83 million 
gallons of production water in the two provinces, contaminating 
water resources.  Production water, which can include oil and heavy 
metals, comes to the surface with crude during oil operations.  The 
findings are under review, but Comptroller Genaro Pena says the 
report seems to justify prosecution of current and former employees 
of Petroproduccion and of its contractors.  Jorge Dutan, Amazon 
superintendent for Petroproduccion, says treating production water 
is unnecessary because the company injects the water back 
underground. He adds, however, that he only can speak for the period 
he has been in his post, which is less than a year. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
---------------------- 
Urban Waste Management 
---------------------- 
 
¶20. Governor of Sao Paulo State Signs Solid-Waste Legislation 
 
MAY 2006 - The governor of Brazil's heavily industrial state of Sao 
Paulo has signed the state's first law devoted exclusively to 
solid-waste management.  The law, signed March 16 by Gov. Geraldo 
Alckmin after clearing the state Assembly last December, marks a bid 
to improve trash handling and disposal by solid-waste generators 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  009 OF 013 
 
 
including municipalities, industrial plants and hospitals.  The 
legislation formally took effect with the governor's signature. 
However, the Sao Paulo state Environmental Secretariat still must 
draft rules governing the measure's implementation.  Sao Paulo's new 
law covers the handling and disposal of all types of solid waste, 
from organic and inorganic residential trash and hospital waste to 
recyclable products and hazardous industrial refuse.  The 
legislation was considered necessary because Brazil has no national 
solid-waste-management law-a situation that has prompted other 
states to pass their own measures, says Sao Paulo state Assemblyman 
Rodolfo Costa e Silva, who oversaw passage of the bill. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (for complete article please contact Larissa 
Stoner) 
 
¶21. Brazil: Environmentalists Challenge Garbage Burning 
 
MAY 13, 2006 - The "Usina Verde" project seeks to generate energy in 
Brazil while eliminating urban waste and helping to reduce global 
warming. But its good intentions have not won over environmental 
groups because the plan involves burning the garbage.  The pilot 
plant of the project, which involves capital from a private company 
of the same name, began operations in May 2005 in Rio de Janeiro and 
is already converting 30 tons of garbage a day into 2.6 megawatts of 
energy.  The sponsors of Usina Verde hope to sell facilities like 
the Rio de Janeiro plant to municipalities throughout the country. 
The project, one of 72 already approved by the Brazilian 
Inter-Ministerial Committee on Global Climate Change, now has to go 
through the United Nations before it can become part of the carbon 
market system. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶22. Argentina: Transforming Garbage into Decent Jobs 
 
MAY 16, 2006 - A new law on Integral Management of Solid Urban Waste 
went into effect in late 2005.  The law stipulates that the amount 
of garbage in landfills is to be reduced by 50 percent by 2012 and 
75 percent by 2017, from 2003 levels.  To reach that goal, the 
Buenos Aires city government has sponsored the organization of 
cooperatives of garbage scavengers and provided space for the first 
warehouse, located on the west side of the city and inaugurated on 
May 1, International Labor Day.  It has also launched a pilot 
garbage separation program in buildings more than 20 stories high, 
public offices, five-star hotels, and housing, businesses and 
offices in the exclusive Buenos Aires district of Puerto Madero, on 
the Rio de la Plata coast. 
 
Source - article kindly shared by US Embassy Buenos Aires.  Original 
source Inter Press Service. 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶23. Brazil Launches Facility for Uranium Enrichment 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  010 OF 013 
 
 
 
MAY 08, 2006 - With Western opposition to Iran's nuclear ambitions 
continuing to make the headlines, Brazil recently launched its first 
plant for 'enriching' uranium to use as fuel in nuclear power 
stations.  Science minister Sergio Rezende stressed that the move 
was only for peaceful purposes and was part of the government's 
plans to produce enough uranium for its nuclear power stations by 
¶2014.  Brazil has the world's sixth largest reserves of uranium, but 
until now has had to send uranium to be processed in Canada and 
Europe before being able to use it at its two nuclear power 
stations.  In recent years, Brazil has been pouring money into its 
nuclear program. Between 2003 and 2006 its budget increased from USD 
34.5 million to USD 113.2 million. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
------- 
General 
------- 
 
¶24. USAID Supports Project for Sustainable Development of the 
Paraguay Chaco 
 
MAY 22, 2006 - In cooperation with USAID and the European Union, the 
Fundacion para el Desarollo Sostenible del Chaco (DeSdel Chaco) was 
able to put together a series of map of the macrozones and soil 
quality of the departments (provinces) of Alto Paraguay and 
Boqueron.  These maps, presented during an event sponsored by 
Paraguay's environmental secretariat SEAM on May 5, will be an 
important tool to evaluate investment and production priorities for 
the Chaco region and guarantee the sustainable development of the 
departments. 
 
Source - kindly shared by US Embassy Asuncion 
 
¶25. Amazon 'Stonehenge' found in Brazil 
 
MAY 15, 2006 - Brazilian scientists have made a discovery, which may 
totally change the opinion that the Amazon area has never been 
populated by highly developed civilizations.  Amapa State 
archaeologists have found an assembly of stones, nicknamed the 
Amazon Stonehenge after the famed stone circle in Britain.  One 
hundred and twenty-seven granite blocks are arranged at an equal 
distance from one another on a flat surface 390 kilometers away from 
the administrative center of the Amapa state, Macapa. It is yet hard 
to say when and why the stones might have been arranged in the 
peculiar manner, but excavations may give an answer. So far, their 
age is estimated at 500 to 2,000 years. A local archaeologist said 
that it might have been an ancient astronomic observatory, as one of 
the stones marked the position of the Sun on the winter solstice 
day.  It is also possible that Brazilian natives might have used the 
stone calendar for economic purposes. It is known that many Indian 
tribes started sowing in strict compliance with the position of 
stars. The time of religious rites was also dependent on the skies. 
Researchers do not doubt that only a highly developed civilization 
could have arranged the stones. 
 
BRASILIA 00001079  011 OF 013 
 
 
 
¶26. Youths to Live an Amazon Adventure 
 
MAY 13, 2006 - Some 45 students from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, 
Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and French Guyana will 
retrace the same route followed by Spanish explorer Francisco de 
Orellana along the Amazon River in 1541 and 1542. The expedition, 
designed by the Organization of the Amazonian Cooperation Treaty 
(OTCA), will depart from Quito on June 24 and is scheduled to arrive 
in Brasilia on July 27.  "The main objective is to encourage the 
kids to love and protect the Amazon. The important thing is that 
they are from different countries and speak different languages, 
which ensure the project's multiplier effect," OTCA secretary 
general Rosalia Arteaga told Tierramerica.  The students will be 
accompanied by 27 teachers and professionals from various fields, 
and will take part in cultural and scientific activities. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
---------------------- 
Avian Influenza Update 
---------------------- 
 
¶27. U.S. to Finance Avian Flu Prevention in Brazil & Other Countries 
 
 
MAY 23, 2006 - A widely-circulated Brazilian daily reports that in a 
few days the USG will announce plans to invest in the production of 
avian flu vaccines, as well as training and development of 
monitoring mechanisms for that disease in Brazil, throughout Latin 
America and 17 other countries.  Resources include the development 
of a vaccine at Sao Paulo's Butanta Institute.  Story notes that 
investment in Latin America is part of the U.S. strategy to defend 
its mainland against the disease. "It's in the U.S. interest that 
countries in our neighborhood be prepared," said William Steiger, 
Special Assistant to the Secretary for International Affairs at the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia.  See also original 
article in Portuguese 
 
¶28. The FAO/OIE Avian Influenza Crisis Management Center 
 
MAY 17, 2006 - In a meeting on May 8 with selected donors, FAO and 
OIE presented a final proposal for the establishment of the FAO-OIE 
Avian Influenza Crisis Management Center (CMC).  The CMC is the 
fruit of months of close collaboration between the USG and FAO.  The 
U.S. pledges of financial support, USD 1.2 million from USDA and USD 
3.0 million from USAID, were the only pledges received during the 
meeting.  Nevertheless, FAO will move ahead with its ambitious 
schedule to have key elements of the CMC operational within the next 
few weeks.  The CMC will provide FAO with the means to fulfill its 
responsibility as the UN-designated global coordinator for the 
emergency response to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).  One 
of the key features of the CMC is the capacity to dispatch 
multi-disciplinary rapid response and assessment teams to avian 
 
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influenza-affected areas.  The establishment of the CMC should help 
to alleviate persistent problems with coordination among donors and 
international organizations of assessment and response missions. 
 
Source - UN ROME   00000030 
 
¶29. SPECIAL: (Q&A) Former IDB official critical of new highway's 
planning 
**Please contact Larissa Stoner for EcoAmericas article on the 
Interoceanic Highway** 
 
(Source - EcoAmericas) Peruvian agronomist and forestry expert Marc 
Dourojeanni is a former professor and head of the Forestry 
Department at the La Molina Agricultural University in Lima.  He 
also has worked in Peru's Ministry of Agriculture and, most 
recently, in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).  At the IDB, 
Dourojeanni headed the environment division from 1990 to 1995 and 
served as the principal environment advisor from 1995 until retiring 
in 2002.  Dourojeanni has argued for years that paving the Peruvian 
stretch of the Interoceanic Highway linking Brazil with the Pacific 
Coast would cause impacts similar to those experienced in the 
Brazilian Amazon, where wholesale deforestation followed highway 
construction.  Now a private consultant based in Braslia, Brazil, 
Dourojeanni is currently working on a case study of the highway for 
the Bank Information Center, a non-profit watchdog in Washington, 
D.C.  He spoke with EcoAmericas correspondent Barbara Fraser at a 
recent highway-project conference in Cusco, Peru. 
 
What is the focus of your study of the Interoceanic Highway for the 
Bank Information Center? 
It's a case study so that people can understand the enormous 
confusion that exists.  People outside [Peru] think the highway cuts 
through virgin forest.  They don't know that there has been [an 
unpaved] road there for 20 years.  People outside think everyone 
opposes it, when everyone is in favor. People outside don't know 
that Peru's legislation is terrible.  The idea is to produce a 
background document that can help [local community groups] back up 
their positions, criticisms, requests for financial support, etc. 
A major concern about the highway is the lack of funding for 
mitigation of environmental impacts. 
Peru is the only country in Latin America that has never [sought] an 
environmental loan from the World Bank, IDB or Andean Development 
Corporation.  Brazil has a portfolio of environmental loans.  All 
Peru has gotten is a USD  5 million loan imposed by the IDB [as a 
condition] for Camisea [a gas project in the southern Amazon] and 
this little USD 17 million project [financed by CAF, to mitigate the 
highway's environmental impact].  Those are the only environmental 
loans in Peru's history, while Bolivia has huge environmental loans 
and an environment ministry financed by the IDB.  Argentina has 
large environmental loans; Colombia has loans for mangrove swamps; 
Ecuador has loans for the Galapagos Islands and coastal management. 
 
Why hasn't Peru pursued assistance for environmental mitigation? 
Peru's government disparages environmental matters and sees them as 
"gringo issues" or something that should be financed by donations. 
It seems the Peruvian government thinks this area should be handled 
 
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by donations-it's somebody else's problem, not theirs. 
So the issue goes beyond the highway, to a need for the country to 
look at the environment differently? 
Everything that has happened with the Interoceanic Highway is linked 
to the poor quality of Peruvian legislation on environmental impact 
evaluation.  In Brazil, if you wanted to build an Interoceanic 
Highway, you'd have to do a feasibility study and an environmental 
impact assessment (EIA) in three licensing stages.  Neither the 
World Bank, the IDB nor the Brazilian government would authorize 
work to start until the EIAs are approved.  And they're approved by 
Ibama [the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable 
Natural Resources], which doesn't fall under the Agriculture 
Ministry [as its Peruvian counterpart, Inrena, does], but under the 
Environment Ministry.  The only [Peruvian] agency involved is the 
Transportation Ministry, and not a single EIA has been formally 
approved.  The winners of the bid have been ordered to do the EIA, 
but they've been allowed to do it in 100-kilometer stretches so they 
can start working.  In Brazil, when Ibama issues an environmental 
license, it issues a list of recommendations to be implemented by 
various ministries.  The underlying problem is Peru's legislation, 
which is a disaster. 
What can be done at this late stage, since construction on the 
project is already beginning? 
In terms of the highway itself, the only thing we can hope is that 
local organizational efforts are successful and lead to 
international support, even though it will be fragmented.  At least 
that would be a chance to avoid the worst. I'm not very optimistic, 
though.  I don't believe there's much that can be done. 
Should there be a moratorium on roads in the Amazon? 
No.  When a road is built in the middle of Yellowstone National Park 
[in the United States], the law says that the forest will be kept 
along the road, and the forest is kept.  In Malaysia, there are 
paved highways with forests that have been managed for 70 years or 
more on one side and small farms on the other.  No farmer would ever 
cross the road to cut down trees.  There's discipline.  The history 
of Latin America is a history of laws and more laws that no one 
enforces. 
The Interoceanic Highway is part of the Initiative for the 
Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA). 
What is your view of the larger project? 
IIRSA was launched by the 12 South American presidents [at a summit 
in Brasilia in 2000], but it actually has been shamelessly promoted 
by the IDB and CAF so they can lend money.  It's a way of investing. 
 All the ministries have dusted off their old projects and selected 
a huge portfolio.  Now the World Bank has gotten involved, too, 
which is good, because the World Bank will be more prudent.  It's 
just a package of public works involving roads, energy 
interconnection and telecommunications. 
What environmental impact do you foresee? 
It will be huge, because there's no strategic evaluation of IIRSA. 
They're starting to do studies in Brazil for the Madeira River 
hydroelectric project, which is part of IIRSA South, which also 
includes the Interoceanic Highway.  They've barely begun the 
studies, and there's already a lot of resistance in Brazil even to 
doing the studies.  But [the projects] are going to be done. 
CHICOLA