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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 15 BRASILIA 000510 
 
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: LIZ MAHEW 
INTERIOR FOR DIR INT AFFAIRS: K WASHBURN 
INTERIOR FOR FWS: TOM RILEY 
INTERIOR FOR NPS: JONATHAN PUTNAM 
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 91 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  001.2 OF 015 
 
 
¶1.  The following is the ninety-first 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 
--(3)Brazil Uses Agriculture to Fight Poverty in Africa 
--(4)Seminar on Responsible Soy Production in Berlin 
--(5)Colombia Approves GM Corn 
 
Health 
--(6)IDB Donates USD 900,000 to Combat Chagas Disease in Latin 
America 
 
Forests 
--(7)Paraguay Extends Forest Conversion Law 
--(8)Peru Lowers Mahogany Export Quota 
--(9)Brazil: Officials Arrested for Illegal Amazon Logging 
 
Wildlife 
--(10)Brazil to Introduce New Biopiracy Legislation 
--(11)Chile's Melting Ice Caps Draw New Species to Antarctic 
--(12)Frogs Fading into Silence 
 
Science & Technology 
--(13)Government of Colombia to Double S&T Investments 
--(14)Brazil to Enter Satellite Launching Market with Ukraine's 
Help 
 
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 
--(15)Venezuela: Biodegradable Plastic on Its Way 
--(16)Brazil: Banana's Useful Fibers 
 
Climate Change 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  002.2 OF 015 
 
 
--(17)Climate Change: Bolivia at Risk 
 
Energy 
--(18)Ethanol Is Not A Threat To The Amazon, says Brazilian 
President 
--(19)Mean, Green, Vegetable-Oil Machine Arrives In Santiago, Chile 
--(20)Venezuela, Cuba Ethanol Production Agreement 
--(21)Argentina Replacing Refrigerators for Energy Efficiency 
--(22)Chile Announces Plans to Research Nuclear Energy 
--(23)Chile Launches Energy Saving Initiative 
 
General 
--(24)Argentina: Small Towns on the 'Endangered' List 
--(25)Argentina, Venezuela Boost Energy/Farm Cooperation 
--(26)Environmental Health Conference Highlights Potential for 
Diplomatic Engagement 
--(27)First Amazon Basin Conservation Initiative Partners Meeting 
 
Update on Avian Influenza 
--(28)Brazil Produces Cheaper and More Potent Avian Flu Vaccine 
 
----------- 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶3. Brazil Uses Agriculture to Fight Poverty in Africa 
 
MAR. 05, 2007 - Representatives of Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de 
Pesquisa Agrcola - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) met 
on Friday, March 2, in Braslia, with diplomats of 18 African 
embassies to present the objectives of the organization's new office 
in Africa.  "We want to associate ourselves with the African 
countries. We want to make agreements for cooperation in the area of 
technology transfer for tropical agriculture," stated the acting 
head of the international area at Embrapa, Washington Silva.  The 
Embrapa Africa office is an initiative in the Brazilian policy to 
transfer agricultural technology to the African nations.  Since 
December last year, when the office was opened in the city of Acra, 
researchers of the International Cooperation Advisory at the Embrapa 
have been discussing ways to promote the use of Brazilian technology 
to generate growth, reduce social inequality, fight hunger and 
poverty and work with small farmers for a sustainable cycle. 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  003.2 OF 015 
 
 
 
Source - Brazzilmag 
 
¶4. Seminar on Responsible Soy Production in Berlin 
 
MAR. 15, 2007 - On 28 February, some 60 participants attended a 
seminar addressing responsible soy production.  The seminar was 
organized by WWF and GTZ (German agency for technical cooperation). 
The negative social and environmental impacts of increasing 
conventional soy production in Latin America are severe.  One way of 
addressing problems is through the RTRS (Roundtable on Responsible 
Soy), an international roundtable dialogue group with stakeholders 
throughout the supply chain committed to developing globally 
applicable criteria for more responsible soy production, 
procurement, and use. The development process is expected to begin 
soon and continue for about two years.  Some progressive companies 
such as Campina and Imcopa have also moved ahead with producing and 
sourcing soy according to the Basel Criteria, the pioneer standards 
first adopted by the Swiss retailer Coop in 2004. The first "Basel 
soy" arrived in Europe from Brazil in June 2006. The Berlin seminar 
looked at whether already existing production models address social 
and environmental concerns, and at experience already gained. 
 
Source - WWF News 
 
¶5. Colombia Approves GM Corn 
 
MAR. 7, 2007 - Colombia has allowed genetically modified (GM) corn 
to enter its borders for the first time, and will authorize 
plantations of other GM products later in the year.  The Colombian 
Institute of Agriculture (ICA) approved one hundred kilograms of GM 
corn for import last month, half of which is resistant to a 
herbicide and the other half to insects.  Andres F. Arias, from the 
Ministry of Agriculture, says growers from four regions of Colombia 
- Csrdoba, Huila, Sucre and Tolima - will be allowed to buy the 
seeds.  Ana Luisa Diaz, of ICA, told SciDev.Net that authorization 
has been given only to regions where the Institute has done 
controlled biosafety assessments.  The ICA will conduct follow-up 
biosafety studies of the seed from planting until harvest.  Colombia 
is one of the 22 countries to have planted GM seeds. Of its cotton 
plantations, 41 per cent (22.7 hectares) are the GM variety Bt. 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  004.2 OF 015 
 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
¶6. IDB Donates USD 900,000 to Combat Chagas Disease in Latin 
America 
 
FEB. 27, 2007 - The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) has donated 
USD 900,000 to combat Chagas disease in Latin American - one of the 
most prevalent diseases in the region.  The project, announced on 
February 16 will apply to Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El 
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Uruguay. 
The money will be invested in vector control and the elaboration and 
application of communication strategies to ensure the participation 
of local communities in preventing the disease.    Funds will also 
be used to treat children under the age of 15 who are infected since 
the disease can be reverted during this age period. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
------- 
Forests 
------- 
 
¶7. Paraguay Extends Forest Conversion Law 
 
MAR. 15, 2007 - The government of Paraguay has extended a law to 
curb deforestation rates in the Upper Paran Atlantic Forest.  The 
Zero Deforestation Law, which came into force in December 2004, and 
would have expired at the end of 2006, was extended in December by 
another two years.  To date, the law has helped cut the 
deforestation rate in Paraguay by more than 85 per cent.  The Upper 
Paran Atlantic Forest is one of the world's most ecologically 
important regions.  It is known for its rich biodiversity and high 
level of species endemism. But the forest is also one of the world's 
most endangered tropical forests.  In many areas over 95 per cent of 
the natural forest has been lost as a result of agricultural 
expansion, especially for soy production and cattle ranching.  A WWF 
report indicates that Paraguay does not need to cut down more forest 
to continue agricultural production, especially for soy and 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  005.2 OF 015 
 
 
livestock.  Data from Oil World indicates that the deforestation law 
has not affected soy production in Paraguay, the world's fourth 
largest soybean exporter.  Production has actually increased in 
spite of the law. 
 
Source - WWF News 
 
¶8. Peru Lowers Mahogany Export Quota 
 
MAR. 12, 2007 - The Government of Peru has lowered its mahogany 
export quota to 13,476 cubic meters.  While significantly lower than 
last year's quota of 23,000m3, NGOs and Peru's scientific authority 
for CITES believe that the quota is still too high.  The quota also 
does not permit (much less give a preference for) much of the 
certified mahogany that USAID and NGOs have been striving to 
establish as the alternative to unregulated mahogany exports.  The 
recent visit of Deputy Assistant USTR for Natural Resources gave US 
Embassy Lima an opportunity to press NGO and Government contacts to 
suggest reconsideration of the quota, as NGO's have threatened to 
push for a complete trade suspension at the next CITES meeting in 
July. 
 
Source - LIMA 707 
 
¶9. Brazil: Officials Arrested for Illegal Amazon Logging 
 
MAR. 2, 2007 - Brazilian police arrested 18 people accused of 
allowing illegal logging in the Amazon rain forest and were 
searching for 19 others, including environmental protection agents, 
the environment minister said.  Marina Silva told Agencia Brasil, 
the official government news agency, that Friday's operation by 
federal police and environmental officials was aimed at ending 
violations of government rules limiting deforestation of the vast 
rain forest in the eastern Amazon state of Para.  The suspects 
include loggers, members of the environmental protection agency, 
Ibama, and government workers of the Para state Finance Department 
and the Department of Science, Technology and the Environment, 
Agencia Brasil reported.  The accused will be charged with crimes 
including corruption, forging documents, money laundering and 
environmental destruction, Agencia Brasil said.  The amount of 
lumber illegally logged has not yet been calculated, said Antonio 
Carlos Hummel, Ibama's director of forests. The gang operated in the 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  006.2 OF 015 
 
 
state capital of Belem and six other cities, he said. 
 
Source - Washington Post 
 
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Wildlife 
-------- 
 
¶10. Brazil to Introduce New Biopiracy Legislation 
 
MAR. 07, 2007 - The Government of Brazil (GOB) is preparing new 
legislation to address biopiracy in Brazil, which the GOB believes 
fuels a USD 100 million a year market for chemical, pharmaceutical 
and cosmetics industries worldwide.  The new legislation will 
feature electronic registration for researchers seeking government 
authorization and may also require payment into a "conservation and 
development" fund, for use by the Ministry of the Environment.  If 
passed, the new law would seek to help combat biopiracy while at the 
same time improve bureaucratic efficiency for scientific research 
requests and encourage foreign investment in biotechnology. 
 
Source - BRASILIA 401.  See also 
 
 
¶11. Chile's Melting Ice Caps Draw New Species to Antarctic 
 
MAR. 7, 2007 - Scientists have discovered a multitude of new species 
inhabiting Antarctica's icy waters. The collapse of the Larsen 
icecaps - once in 1995 and then again in 2002 - allowed an 
international scientific team access to the previously ice-covered 
seabed 850 meters off the Antarctic Peninsula.  The team's star find 
was a 10- centimeter-long shrimp, but their search revealed worrying 
changes caused by global warming.  The new discoveries are the work 
of 52 scientists from 14 different countries who, during December 
2006 and January 2007, boarded the German research ship Polarstern 
to carry out the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) project. 
The collapse of the Larsen icecaps (Larsen A and Larsen B) was the 
largest ice shelf collapse ever observed by man. The size of Larsen 
B alone is the size of the state of Rhode Island.  The weakened ice 
split due to global warming, which is affecting parts of Antarctica 
more rapidly than anywhere else in the world.  According to marine 
ecologist Julian Gutt, the opening of the sea bed revealed area 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  007.2 OF 015 
 
 
sealed off for at least 5,000, maybe up to 12,000 years. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶12. Frogs Fading Into Silence 
 
MAR. 05, 2007 - Frogs and other amphibians are rapidly becoming 
extinct around the world and in Latin American countries in 
particular. In the Caribbean as many as 80 percent of these species 
are endangered, while in Colombia there are 209 and in Mexico 198 
amphibians may soon disappear.  Environmental degradation along with 
habitat loss, ultraviolet radiation, disease and climate change are 
all factors involved in these unprecedented losses. "Amphibians are 
telling us that there is something wrong with our ecosystems," says 
Robin Moore, amphibian conservation officer with Conservation 
International (CI), a U.S.-based international non-governmental 
organization. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
-------------------- 
 
¶13. Government of Colombia to Double S&T Investments 
 
MAR. 01, 2007 - The Government of Colombia has decided to double its 
science, technology, and innovation funds for next year.  In other 
words, the 2008 budget for the Colombian Institute for Science and 
Technology Development (Conciencias) will be 160 billion Colombian 
pesos (USD 72.2 million).  According to Monica Salazar, advisor for 
the directory of Conciencias, Colombia currently invests a total of 
0.37 percent of its GDP in S&T.  The current (reelected) 
government's Development Plan calls for reaching 0.77 percent of the 
country's GDP by attracting the private sector to invest in S&T 
innovation. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
¶14. Brazil to Enter Satellite Launching Market with Ukraine's Help 
 
FEB. 19, 2007 -The Brazilian government has informed that a joint 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  008.2 OF 015 
 
 
venture company for rockets and satellites, established by Brazil 
and Ukraine, should begin operating this year.  The information was 
disclosed by the Director for Space Policy and Strategic Investments 
at the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), Himilcon Carvalho, in an 
interview to the state-owned Radio Nacional radio station.  The 
partnership is aimed at launching rockets and satellites from the 
Alcantara Base, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao. The 
first launch should take place by 2009, according to the AEB, which 
completed 13 years of existence on February 10th, 2007.  Carvalho 
also said that another goal of AEB is to launch the third satellite, 
built in partnership with China, which will provide images of the 
national territory, such as deforested areas in the Amazon, for 
instance.  "We are currently preparing our third satellite, to be 
launched in 2007. The satellite is being finished after a test 
assembly phase in the city of Sao Jos dos Campos (southeastern 
Brazilian state of Sao Paulo), at the National Institute for Space 
Research (Inpe)," he claimed. 
 
Source - Brazzilmag 
 
---------------------- 
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 
---------------------- 
 
¶15. Venezuela: Biodegradable Plastic on Its Way 
 
MAR. 12, 2007 - A team led by physicist Alejandro Muller, of the 
polymer research department at Venezuela's Simon Bolvar University, 
is working on a new biodegradable plastic based on a mixture of 
polycaprolacton and manioc fiber (Manihot esculenta).  The two 
materials "are as different as oil and water, but by making them 
compatible with a simple mixture, without many additives, we can 
achieve a type of plastic that, although costly, is more 
environmentally friendly," Muller told Tierramerica.  The product 
"developed as a plastic packing material, can degrade once it is 
thrown out as organic garbage and become part of the biomass. The 
ideal is for everything to be biodegradable," he said. The new 
plastic can be used for manufacturing medical supplies to plates and 
utensils. "We are still in the laboratory phase, but industries are 
already showing interest," said the physicist. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  009.2 OF 015 
 
 
 
¶16. Brazil: Banana's Useful Fibers 
 
MAR. 5, 2007 - Students from the State University of Rio de Janeiro 
(UERJ) are taking advantage of the banana stalk to develop 
BananaPlac, a colorful laminate that can be used for furniture, 
walls, car panels, among other things, replacing traditional 
formica.  "It's an ecological product whose raw materials -- plant 
fibers and resins -- are biodegradable and are cold pressed, 
consuming little energy," says Bernardo Ferracioli, a partner at 
Fibra Sustainable Design, founded by the UERJ industrial design 
students who created BananaPlac. Production will be fomented among 
small cooperative factories, as a means to increase incomes in the 
communities that produce bananas, which tend to be poor. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
-------------- 
Climate Change 
-------------- 
 
¶17. Climate Change: Bolivia at Risk 
 
MAR. 09, 2007 - Flooding in the eastern Bolivian department of the 
Beni has prompted a media debate about the link between this latest 
catastrophe and climate change; it has also generated discussion of 
the long-term consequences of the latter.  While current water 
levels are only five centimeters higher than those of 1992, when 
Bolivia last faced massive floods, this year's disaster is arguably 
more serious than events of the past.  That said, much of the 
flooding may be more closely linked to population growth and related 
deforestation than to climate change. Also in the news, accelerating 
glacier melt provides abundant evidence of climate change, and 
studies suggest that a future of ever harsher and more frequent 
natural disasters is a distinct possibility, with severe droughts 
and floods increasingly common features of everyday life.  Even in 
relatively conservative scenarios, climate change poses a 
significant threat to Bolivia's long-term economic development; as 
such, it deserves the attention not only of the Bolivian government 
and population, but also of the international community. 
 
Source - LA PAZ 661 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  010.2 OF 015 
 
 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶18. Ethanol Is Not A Threat To The Amazon, says Brazilian President 
 
MAR. 13, 2007 - The President of Brazil, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva 
stated he will not encourage the production of biofuels in the 
Amazon or in the Pantanal region. In his weekly radio program, Lula 
said that his administration proposes the use of already cultivated 
agricultural areas to produce raw material for biofuel production 
 
Source - O Estado de Sao Paulo.  See also "U.S.-BRAZIL SIGN 
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON BIOFUELS", BRASILIA 433 
 
¶19. Mean, Green, Vegetable-Oil Machine Arrives In Santiago, Chile 
 
MAR. 6, 2007 - Alongside the new Transantiago buses, another 
spectacle could be seen trundling through the roads of Chile's 
capital city on March 5.  A converted fire truck, fueled by 
vegetable oil and biodiesel, made for an unusual sight as it joined 
the Las Condes traffic on its way to the local McDonald's.  When the 
truck's drivers, Seth Warren and Tyler Bradt, rolled into the 
fast-food restaurant to feed their truck, it wasn't a guilty 
hamburger they were looking for - it was food for their 
vegetable-oil-guzzling vehicle.  Waiting in the parking lot, along 
with U.S. Ambassador Craig Kelly, were 12 vats of used cooking oil 
which will help propel the young environmentalists towards their 
destination of Ushuia, Argentina.  Tyler and Seth, both professional 
kayakers from Montana, U.S., have been on the road since March 2006 
promoting alternative fuel and sustainable energy through The Oil 
and Water Project, which forms part of the Biofuels Education 
Coalition (BEC).  During the presentation, Ambassador Kelly praised 
the project and the incessant work of its protagonists.  "As 
ambassador, I want to stress that respect for the environment and 
the search for new sources of energy is not only an issue for 
government, but also for the private sector and for citizens," he 
said. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  011.2 OF 015 
 
 
¶20. Venezuela, Cuba Ethanol Production Agreement 
 
MAR. 07, 2007 - Cuba and Venezuela have signed an agreement to 
develop ethanol production from sugarcane, despite mixed signals 
from Cuban leader Fidel Castro.  The agreement, signed in Havana 
February 28, is part of a joint effort to preserve the environment, 
reduce fossil fuel consumption and stimulate the use of alternative 
sources of energy.   It follows a meeting in 2000 at which the two 
nations agreed to collaborate in the areas of health, education, 
agriculture, and information communication technology.  Eleven 
ethanol production plants will be established in Venezuela, 
according to the Granma newspaper.  The agreement states that the 
plants will provide a "starting point...to stimulate a high level 
collaboration [to] allow the development of new alternatives for 
energy sources in Cuba and Venezuela, contributing to the 
development of other nations". 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
¶21. Argentina Replacing Refrigerators for Energy Efficiency 
 
MAR. 5, 2007 - The Argentine government will grant credits and 
subsidies in 2007 to consumers to exchange -- over the next three 
years -- old refrigerators for new ones that are more energy 
efficient.   The initiative, coordinated amongst several government 
agencies, aims to cut overall household energy use.  Roberto Lenzi, 
president of the Argentine Chamber of Refrigeration and Air 
Conditioning Industries, told Tierramerica that the new units use 20 
to 30 percent less energy, and factories are investing to 
accommodate higher demand for efficient refrigerators.  The 
"exchange plan" includes a subsidy of 25 percent of the value of the 
new refrigerator, if the consumer turns in the old unit for 
recycling and destruction. Credits are being made available to cover 
the difference. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶22. Chile Announces Plans to Research Nuclear Energy 
 
FEB. 28, 2007 - Energy Minister Karen Poniachik announced that her 
ministry would begin technical studies into the potential use of 
nuclear energy in Chile.  Facing criticism from both the governing 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  012.2 OF 015 
 
 
Concertacion coalition and opposition Alliance for delays in the 
government-mandated studies, Poniachik said the ministry would 
present a plan to assess the implementation of nuclear energy in 
March.  Chile currently produces 7,500 megawatts of electricity a 
year, but studies show that the country's growing economy will need 
an additional 5,000 megawatts within ten years to cover the needs of 
both households and the nation's burgeoning mining sector.  Chile's 
interest in nuclear energy comes as Argentina admitted last year 
that its natural gas supplies to Chile might be permanently cut as 
early as 2007. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶23. Chile Launches Energy Saving Initiative 
 
MAR. 7, 2007 - Chile's government commemorated World Energy 
Efficiency Day on March 5 by launching a new energy plan aimed at 
saving USD 10,000 million in energy-related costs in the next 10 
years.  The Country's Energy Efficiency Program (PPEE) hopes to 
bring about a 1.5 percent reduction in annual energy consumption. 
Chile's increasing demand for energy currently grows by 6.8 percent 
every year.  Finance Minister Alejandro Ferreiro and Mining and 
Energy Minister Karen Poniachik introduced three key areas where 
they hoped the country could seriously tackle its energy 
consumption.  First, all new electronic domestic goods, such as 
fridges and microwaves, will be labeled to indicate their energy 
efficiency, as is currently practiced in Europe.  Second, companies 
will be routinely audited to assess their energy management. Third, 
social housing is to be redesigned to minimize energy use and gas 
emissions.  Without referring to recent discussion of nuclear 
energy, Poniachik stressed such energy savings would be the first 
step towards reducing energy demand and ensuring better energy 
security for the nation. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
------- 
General 
------- 
 
¶24. Argentina: Small Towns on the 'Endangered' List 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  013.2 OF 015 
 
 
MAR. 12, 2007 - Hundreds of small towns in Argentina's richest 
agricultural region are taking their last breaths as a result of the 
unregulated expansion of soybean fields, their growing isolation, 
and the government's indifference.  At risk of disappearing are 602 
towns of fewer than 2,000 residents, another 124 that haven't seen 
population growth in a decade, and 90 that no longer figure in 
official statistics, says the Responde Association, a group 
dedicated to the social recovery of endangered towns.  Although a 
total of about 270,000 people still live in those towns, there is a 
steady flow of migration to more urban areas, where they face 
marginalization and poverty. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶25. Argentina, Venezuela Boost Energy/Farm Cooperation 
 
MAR. 9, 2007 - President Nestor Kirchner and his Venezuelan 
counterpart Hugo Chavez signed accords on March 9 to boost energy 
and agriculture cooperation.  The highlight was a treaty to work 
toward the creation of a South American organization to coordinate 
exports of natural gas, signed in a ceremony at Argentina's suburban 
presidential residence.  Argentina and Venezuela also agreed to 
jointly cooperate on scientific and technological improvements to 
boost agricultural outputs in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar. And 
the countries signed a commercial agreement to expand four research 
centers on potato crops and agreed to work together on the 
construction of two animal reproductive biotech labs in Venezuela. 
 
Source - MercoPress 
 
¶26. Environmental Health Conference Highlights Potential for 
Diplomatic Engagement 
 
MAR. 08, 2007 - On February 1-2 experts working in the environmental 
protection and health fields convened in Washington, DC to discuss 
opportunities to improve global environmental public health.  The 
conference, entitled "Integrating Environment and Human Health", 
highlighted challenges to people's ability to secure safe drinking 
water, breathe clean air, and avoid contact with harmful toxins, 
while sounding an urgent call for better coordination and planning 
to overcome these challenges.  The conference also highlighted two 
issues that are attracting increasing attention by people working in 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  014.2 OF 015 
 
 
the area of global environmental health: urban planning and global 
climate change.  The international scope of topics discussed at the 
conference points to potential opportunities for diplomatic 
engagement on environmental health issues, including outreach to 
raise awareness of links between environment and health and 
promotion of cross-sectoral cooperation. 
 
Source - STATE   00029246 
 
¶27. First Amazon Basin Conservation Initiative Partners Meeting 
 
MAR. 07, 2007 - USAID held the first Amazon Basin Conservation 
Initiative (ABCI) partners meeting from February 5-8 to lay the 
foundation for developing detailed work plans to implement this 
regional, five-year, USD 65 million dollar program.  Over seventy 
participants from the six partner consortia, USAID, Department of 
State, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the 
Government of Peru discussed a wide range of conservation 
challenges, opportunities and program management issues. 
Participants agreed to carry out the following priority actions: 1) 
formalize ACTO/ABCI relationship; 2) define priority basin-wide 
policy issues; 3) produce ABCI briefing packages for Embassies; 4) 
present ABCI program to national governments (by March 30), with 
discretion given to any local sensitivities to the ABCI program; 5) 
identify areas to support NGO partners in training and capacity 
building, communication and knowledge management, and monitoring and 
evaluation; 6) finalize life-of-project and first 18 month work 
plans; and 7) launch ABCI program with public events in each 
country.  In addition to generating consensus on next steps, this 
event provided an invaluable opportunity for participants to 
identify synergies and outline priority actions.  The design of this 
landmark program aims at building the capacity of organizations and 
public commitment for the effective stewardship of the Basin's 
unique and globally important biological diversity. 
 
Source - LIMA 672 
 
------------------------- 
Update on Avian Influenza 
------------------------- 
 
¶28. Brazil Produces Cheaper and More Potent Avian Flu Vaccine 
 
BRASILIA 00000510  015.2 OF 015 
 
 
 
MAR. 06, 2007 - Butantan Institute, an organization connected to the 
Secretariat of Health of the State of Sco Paulo, in southeastern 
 
SIPDIS 
Brazil, is going to produce a vaccine against avian flu using 
Brazilian technology that grants greater efficiency, productive 
capacity and a cost reduction when compared to the technology used 
by other countries.  According to professor Isaias Raw, president of 
Butantan Foundation, the vaccine should be ready for large-scale 
application in humans in 180 days at the most.  What guarantees this 
differential to the Brazilian product is the use of an adjuvant, 
developed by the Butantan over three years of research, which 
increases the efficiency and reduces the volume necessary for safe 
immunization.  In this case, it is a component called Monophosphoryl 
Lipid A (MPLA), one of the products in the development of the 
whooping cough vaccine. Butantan is one of the five centers for 
vaccine production that the World Health Organization (WHO) has 
chosen for its task force to fight the disease all around the 
world. 
 
Source - Brazzil 
 
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