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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 15 BRASILIA 001463 
 
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 98 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  001.2 OF 015 
 
 
¶1.  The following is the ninety-eighth 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.  NOTE: THE NEWSLETTER IS NOW 
ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE BRASILIA INTRANET PAGE, BY CLICKING ON THE 
'HUB' LINK. 
 
¶2. Table of Contents 
 
Health 
--(3)Abbott Laboratories and Brazil Reach Agreement on Cost of AIDS 
Drug 
 
Forests 
--(4)Uruguay Attracts Expanding Chilean Forestry Companies 
--(5)Small Communities Key To Preserving World's Remaining Forests, 
Report Says 
--(6)Guyana Considering Modern Sawmill Proposal 
 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
--(7)Brazil Fishermen Caught Killing Dolphins 
 
Protected Areas 
--(8)Oil Plan Casts Shadow on Bolivia Park 
 
Science & Technology 
--(9)Colombia: New Center of Excellence in Genomics 
 
Pollution 
--(10)Mercury Threat from Mining Seen In Guyana 
--(11)Argentine Ombudsman Joins Oilfield Lawsuit 
 
Climate Change 
--(12)Guyana Gets Climate Change Grant 
--(13)Lake Disappearance in Chile Linked to Global Warming 
--(14)Guyana: Climate Change Affecting Sea Turtle Nesting Habits 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  002.2 OF 015 
 
 
 
Energy 
--(15)Chile: Matte Creates Fund for Renewable Energy 
--(16)Brazil to Revive Nuclear Project 
--(17)Chile Focuses on Long-Term Energy Strategy 
--(18)Colombia: President Inaugurates First Biodiesel Plant; Issues 
20 Percent Blending Mandate 
--(19)Brazil Gives Preliminary OK to Amazon Dams Criticized by 
Environmentalists 
--(20)Ecuador: Biofuel Efforts Attract Organized Opposition 
--(21)Brazil to Certify Sustainable Production of Ethanol 
--(22)Brazil To Ban Sugarcane Crops In The Amazon 
 
General 
--(23)Green Safeguards Bolstered in Three Trade Deals 
--(24)Nazca Lines Affected by 'Informal' Gold Mining 
--(25)Colombia, Ecuador launch Regional Fundacion Natura 
--(26)WTO Decision on Retreads Buoys Both Sides in Dispute 
 
Update on Avian Influenza 
--(27)SOUTHCOM Preparedness Workshop for Central and South America 
 
------ 
Health 
------ 
 
¶3. Abbott Laboratories and Brazil Reach Agreement on Cost of AIDS 
Drug 
 
JULY 4, 2007 - The Brazilian government and Abbott Laboratories have 
agreed to reduce the price of an anti-AIDS drug by nearly 30 percent 
this year, and even more next year, the Health Ministry and the 
company said.  The agreement with the U.S.-based company lowers the 
price of each Kaletra pill to US$0.73 from US$1.04 until the end of 
the year.  In 2008, each pill will cost US$0.68, or "US$1,000 per 
patient per year," the Health Ministry said. 
Kaletra, a protease inhibitor, is one of the most commonly used 
anti-AIDS drugs in Brazil, which provides free AIDS drugs to anyone 
who needs them.  Brazil manufactures generic versions of several 
drugs that were in production before the country enacted an 
intellectual property law in 1997 to join the World Trade 
Organization. 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  003.2 OF 015 
 
 
 
Source - International Herald Tribune 
 
------- 
Forests 
------- 
 
¶4. Uruguay Attracts Expanding Chilean Forestry Companies 
 
JULY 24, 2007 - Chile's relatively small concentration of fertile 
land has forced its forestry companies to look closely at other 
Latin American countries for expansion.  Forestry companies have 
started to set their sights on a host of other countries, including 
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela.  A recent report by 
PriceWaterHouse about the world forestry industry indicated that 
Brazil was the most attractive country to invest in during 2006. 
The report also identified Uruguay as having high potential for 
planting and installing processing plants.   As a result, Chilean 
companies are seriously considering Brazil and Uruguay. "The 
governments of those countries are giving important support for 
development of the forestry sector. Because of that Arauco and CMPC 
have begun investing in those countries, and there are also many 
others who are interesting in entering," according to Ricardo 
Arrani, a consultant at PriceWaterHouse. 
 
Source - MercoPress 
 
¶5. Small Communities Key To Preserving World's Remaining Forests, 
Report Says 
 
JULY 16, 2007 - Supporting communities who earn their livelihoods 
from forests, rather than creating national parks, may represent the 
best hope for preserving the world's remaining wilderness.  That's 
according to Andy White, a coordinator of the Washington D.C. -based 
Rights and Resources Initiative, who presented a review of 
forest-based businesses from around the world to a conference in the 
Amazon.  Some 110 million people around the world are involved in 
forest enterprises harvesting wood, bamboo, rattan, fibers, nuts, 
resins, medicinal herbs, honey and other natural products, White 
said, and granting land rights to these small communities working in 
sustainable forest industries is especially urgent now as a boom in 
biofuels drives land speculation.  "The evidence from around the 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  004.2 OF 015 
 
 
world, not only here in the Amazon, is that once their rights are 
recognized, forest communities are more effective at protecting 
forests than national parks," White said.  White spoke by telephone 
from Rio Branco, capital of the western Amazon state of Acre, which 
hosted a weeklong conference uniting 250 community forest 
entrepreneurs and policy makers from Africa, Asia, Central and South 
America. 
 
Source - International Herald Tribune 
 
NOTE FROM THE HUB: A member of the HUB staff was present at this 
event.  Please refer to BRASILIA 1425. 
 
¶6. Guyana Considering Modern Sawmill Proposal 
 
JULY 11, 2007 - A cabinet sub-committee is currently reviewing the 
proposal of a US company seeking approval to begin value adding in 
the wood sector and which says that there is too much wastage in the 
sawmilling process in Guyana.  Simon and Shock International Inc 
(SSI) is promising a modern sawmill operation unlike anything seen 
in any of the tropical forests in the world.  The company said that 
it would have a recovery rate of close to 70 per cent and over and 
the little waste it produces will be used to power its kiln-drying 
plant.  This means that logs will be 100 percent utilized.  The 
company plans to invest over US$26M in three years. 
 
Source - Stabroeknews 
 
----------------------------- 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7. Brazil Fishermen Caugt Killing Dolphins 
 
JULY 17, 2007 - A crew of Brzilian fishermen was captured on video 
killing 8 dolphins and joking about their illegal haul, accrding 
to Brazil's Ibama environmental protection agency. 
The video obtained by an Ibama researcherand broadcast by Globo TV 
showed the fishermen ntting the dolphins, which suffocated because 
the could not surface to breathe.  The dead dolphins ere then 
hauled from the sea and piled on the boat's deck. Fishermen on board 
are seen laughing after someone said, ''Everyone's going to jail 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  005.3 OF 015 
 
 
after this filming!'' International dolphin advocates who saw the 
video said they were appalled and Ibama announced it will try to 
impose fishing restrictions along parts of Brazil's coast where 
dolphins are common.  The researcher had been contracted by the 
agency to monitor catches of other fish in the area where the 
dolphin kill took place off the coast of Amapa state, near where the 
Amazon River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. No one has been charged 
or fined because authorities were still trying to identify the 
fishermen on video, Ibama said in a statement. 
 
Source - New York Times 
 
--------------- 
Protected Areas 
--------------- 
 
¶8. Oil Plan Casts Shadow on Bolivia Park 
 
JULY 11, 2007 - Despite being a symbol of biodiversity in Bolivia, 
some feel that protected areas like Madidi [National Park] could 
deliver more for the country's poor.  In May, 80 farmers armed 
themselves and seized a part of the national park.  They wanted land 
to cultivate crops, a road to run through Madidi and the immediate 
exploitation of its oil. The farmers have now drawn back and the 
government is promising a military post to defend Madidi and its 
resources.  But Evo Morales, the Bolivian president, recently 
visited Madidi to highlight the existence of natural resources in 
traditionally less productive regions.  The government agrees that 
ecotourism has potential; but it does not see it as a panacea.  "The 
protected areas belong to the people. There is no logic in having 
protected areas that marginalize the population," says Juan Pablo 
Ramos Morales, the vice-minister who has been leading discussions on 
Madidi.  "The protected areas should provide opportunities for local 
communities.  Conservation makes no sense if it does not generate 
benefits for society as a whole.  We need more analysis.  It may be 
that some areas allow for this kind of hydrocarbons activity and 
others do not." 
 
Source - BBC 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  006.2 OF 015 
 
 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. Colombia: New Center of Excellence in Genomics 
 
JULY 14, 2007 - Colombia has a new center for research on genomics 
and bioinformatics, launched on June 27.  The Colombian Center for 
Genomics and Bioinformatics in Extreme Environments (GeBiX) will 
receive funding from Colombian Institute for Science and Technology 
Development (Colciencias) and the National Learning Service (Sena), 
which will allocate USD1.5 million for research over the next two 
years.  GeBiX will work on the elaboration of a metagenomics and 
bioinformatics platform in order to identify and use genetic 
resources in extreme environments.  The Center will carry out 
bioprospection of microorganisms in the Nevados National Park, which 
has an area of 58,300 hectares, and altitudes ranging from 400 up to 
5,300 meters above sea level. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
--------- 
Pollution 
--------- 
 
¶10. Mercury Threat from Mining Seen In Guyana 
 
JULY 12, 2007 - There is a threat of mercury contamination from 
mining in three villages in the North West District, a study has 
found, and many persons in those communities are unaware of the 
risks.  According to results of the assessment, which was conducted 
in 2005, there were "significant levels of mercury contamination 
among the population examined in the three communities since many 
individuals had mercury levels within them that were above the 
guideline value for mercury levels in humans". The study utilized 
the guideline value set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 
humans stated as 10 parts per million (ppm).  The results were 
presented at an Institute of Applied Science and Technology 
(IAST)/World Wildlife Fund (WWF) workshop held at the Demerara 
Mutual Insurance Company boardroom on the Mercury Impact Assessment 
on Gold Mining Activities. The objectives of the study were to 
determine the level of mercury poisoning and contamination within 
the human population and the environment and also to improve 
educational awareness among the population as it regards mercury 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  007.2 OF 015 
 
 
pollution. It was conducted in three communities namely Arakaka, 
Port Kaituma and Matthew's Ridge in the North West District. 
 
Source - Stabroeknews 
 
¶11. Argentine Ombudsman Joins Oilfield Lawsuit 
 
JULY 2007 - Argentina's National Ombudsman has asked the country's 
Supreme Court to order Spain's Repsol YPF, Brazil's Petrobras and 15 
other companies to clean up the Neuqun oilfields, traditionally one 
of Argentina's most productive oil- and natural-gas-producing areas. 
 Filed in support of a landholders' suit against the oil companies, 
the petition resembles one that preceded a Supreme Court order last 
year that polluters plan a cleanup of the notoriously polluted 
Riachuelo River in Buenos Aires. But it could set the stage for the 
cleanup of areas beyond the Neuqun oil basin, which embraces 
two-thirds of the Patagonian province of Neuqun as well as portions 
of Mendoza, La Pampa and Ro Negro provinces.  That's because a 
ruling against the oil companies could serve as a precedent for 
similar legal action against oil companies tapping four other 
Argentine oil basins. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
-------------- 
Climate Change 
-------------- 
 
¶12. Guyana Gets Climate Change Grant 
 
 
JULY 11, 2007 - The Government of Guyana and the United Nations 
Development Program (UNDP) signed an agreement for a grant of 
US$455,000 to assist in Guyana meeting its obligations under the 
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).  This 
new three-year project between the UNDP and the Government will 
assist in the preparation of the Second National Communication to 
the Conference of the Parties.  Among the main components of the 
project are an inventory of greenhouse gases, programs containing 
measures to facilitate adequate adaptation and mitigation to climate 
change and collecting essential information related to the 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  008.2 OF 015 
 
 
implementation of the Convention, including technology needs 
assessment, public awareness and information related to integration 
of climate change into local and regional policies. The project will 
be implemented through the Climate Change Unit of the Ministry of 
Agriculture with the guidance of the National Climate Change 
Committee and the involvement of several sector agencies and line 
ministries. 
 
Source - Stabroeknews 
 
¶13. Lake Disappearance in Chile Linked to Global Warming 
 
JULY 4, 2007 - Experts from Chile's National Forestry Service 
(CONAF) and the Valdivia Center for Scientific Studies (Cecs) have 
linked the May disappearance of a glacial lake in far southern Chile 
to global warming. The team made these claims after a series of 
visits to the site of the lost lake, and noted there is a 
possibility that the lake could reform.  Residents of the extremely 
remote area blame the 6.2 magnitude earthquake which hit the 
neighboring Aysen region last April and caused over 50 landslides. 
They suggest that a rift opened up and drained the lake's water. 
But Chilean glaciologist Gino Casassa, one of the 63 experts who 
participated in the second UN report on global warming, told the La 
Tercera newspaper that he believes the lake disappeared due to a 
relatively common glacial phenomenon: a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood 
(GLOF).  A GLOF is a sudden increase in a lake's volume due to one 
of various possible causes, including a volcanic eruption, an 
earthquake, an avalanche, or a portion of a glacier falling into the 
lake.  Casassa speculated that the GLOF broke open a tunnel of ice 
below the lake, which drained the water to the ocean. "In this zone 
in particular... we have evidence that, in general, the lakes are 
filling up as the glaciers melt," said Casassa.  Global warming is 
most likely responsible for this process, as well as for the 
increase in GLOFs, he added. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶14. Guyana: Climate Change Affecting Sea Turtle Nesting Habits 
 
JUNE 25, 2007 - The changing nesting patterns of endangered sea 
turtles in Guyana, is alerting environmentalists to the impact of 
climate change on these marine animals. The shell beaches in Region 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  009.2 OF 015 
 
 
One have hosted thousands of nesting turtles over the years, and 
conservationists have been endeavoring to protect the turtles from 
heavy domestic use and from being traded.  Usually sea turtles nest 
in Guyana from March to August every year.  However, for the last 
three to four years, says Michelle Kalamandeen, Project Coordinator 
of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS), the 
nesting pattern has shifted from mid-January to mid-July.  This may 
have a significant impact on the hatchlings as food availability may 
be an issue for them. 
 
Source - Stabroek News 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶15. Chile: Matte Creates Fund for Renewable Energy 
 
JULY 25, 2007 - The Matte group has started to seek out 
non-conventional sources of renewable energy.  The business 
conglomerate joined with the Independence Investment Fund to create 
a fund that seeks to raise US$ 100 million which will be devoted to 
renewable energy projects.  The Independence Fund will administrate 
the finances of the new fund, which is expected to operate for 10 
years.  The Matte group will also invest US$120 million in new 
projects concerning renewable energy sources, which will bring over 
100 MW to the Interconnected Central System.  The system is expected 
to operate between 2008 and 2012. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
NOTE FROM THE HUB: Matte group is involved in the construction of 
the controversial Aysen Dam. 
 
¶16. Brazil to Revive Nuclear Project 
 
JULY 11, 2007 - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said hundreds of millions 
of extra dollars would be made available for the project over the 
next eight years.  Work on the third reactor for uranium enrichment 
stopped in the 1980s over security fears and lack of funds. 
Brazil's has two operating nuclear reactors - Angra 1 and Angra 2. 
Brazil's Angra 1 and Angra 2 - located in the same region - have an 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  010.2 OF 015 
 
 
installed capacity of about 2,000 megawatts, and Angra 3 would 
increase capacity to 3,000 megawatts.  Angra 3 would require an 
investment of about $3.7billion with construction due to be 
completed by 2013, according to Energy and Mines Minister Nelson 
Hubner.  Brazil, which is heavily dependent on hydro-electricity, 
could face energy shortages in a couple of years if generating 
capacity is not increased, analysts say.  A severe drought in 2001 
led the authorities to introduce energy rationing. 
 
Source - BBC 
 
¶17. Chile Focuses on Long-Term Energy Strategy 
 
JULY 23, 2007 - Chile's impending energy crisis, sharpened by 
diplomatic tensions with Argentina and one of the coldest winters on 
record, was the theme of a seminar held in Valparaiso's Congress 
building.  New Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman Ramos, Environment 
Minister Ana Lyn Uriarte and various members of Congress spoke at 
the event, which was titled "Energy Policy in Chile: A Challenge." 
In a country that currently imports 74 percent of its energy, the 
prospect that one of its principal suppliers - Argentina - may stop 
providing gas is a worrying one.  And, "we have to say it like it 
is. Argentine gas is going to stop coming some day. We have to 
forget about it," said Dep. Francisco Encina at the seminar's 
opening. 
Many of the speakers urged that to deal with this reality Chile must 
figure out a way to supply its own energy, though not at the cost of 
destroying its environment.  Minister Uriarte spoke of the 
importance of diversifying Chile's energy supply, and of making a 
gradual transition to "clean" and/or renewable energy sources such 
as wind, hydrothermal power and bio-gas. 
Speakers also examined the other side of the coin - reducing energy 
demand. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶18. Colombia: President Inaugurates First Biodiesel Plant; Issues 20 
Percent Blending Mandate 
 
JULY 11, 2007 - On July 8, President Uribe opened Colombia's first 
biodiesel plant. The facility, which is owned by former Agriculture 
Minister Carlos Murgas, is the first of at least five biodiesel 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  011.2 OF 015 
 
 
projects expected to come online by mid-2008.  The growth of the 
biodiesel industry follows the implementation of a series of 
government incentives since 2003 to promote biofuels development. 
The opening of Colombia's first biodiesel plant coincided with the 
July 7 announcement of a GOC decree to raise the biodiesel blending 
mandate from five percent to 20 percent by 2012. 
 
Source - BOGOTA   4956 
 
¶19. Brazil Gives Preliminary OK to Amazon Dams Criticized by 
Environmentalists 
 
JULY 9, 2007- The government has granted a preliminary green light 
to a massive Amazon dam project intended to prevent possible energy 
shortages, but also criticized as a potential environmental 
disaster.  The approval from Brazil's environmental protection 
agency, Ibama, opens the door to bidding on the construction of 
multiple dams that would generate electricity and permit barges to 
navigate 2,600 miles (4,200 kilometers) to upstream tributaries in 
Peru and Bolivia.  Other permits must still be obtained before the 
estimated US$10 billion-US$14.7 billion project gets under way, but 
the decision was a key step and is sure to prompt interest from big 
construction companies.  The government hopes to complete the Santo 
Antonio and Jirau dams on the Madeira River, a major Amazon 
tributary, by 2012.  They are expected to produce 6,450 megawatts, 
or 8 percent of current electricity demand in Latin America's 
largest nation and economy. 
 
Source - International Herald Tribune 
 
NOTE FROM THE HUB: The Government of Bolivia was apparently "caught 
by surprise" with the news and requested a high level emergency 
meeting with the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Brazilian 
Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim reportedly replied saying they 
were welcome to come to Brasilia anytime between July 23-27 for a 
technical - and not political - meeting 
 
¶20. Ecuador: Biofuel Efforts Attract Organized Opposition 
 
JULY 2007 - A gathering of non-governmental groups in Quito, 
Ecuador, in June underscored how biofuels production, the objective 
of some green advocates, has begun drawing organized environmental 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  012.2 OF 015 
 
 
scrutiny.  Some 250 attendees representing dozens of Latin American, 
Asian and African organizations drafted strategies aimed at 
pressuring international agencies and national governments currently 
promoting biofuels production as an environmentally sustainable 
alternative to fossil fuels.  The meeting highlighted questions 
about the justification and impacts of biofuels.  Participants 
agreed to take joint action to influence biofuels policies of the 
United Nations, World Bank, development agencies and governments. 
 
Source - EcoAmerica (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶21. Brazil to Certify Sustainable Production of Ethanol 
 
JULY 05, 2007 - Brazil will create its own biofuel certificate to 
show that Brazilian ethanol is produced in a sustainable way, 
protecting the environment.  The announcement was be made by 
President Lula during the first International Conference on Biofuels 
in Brussels.  According to one media article, the EU has been 
showing signs of imposing restrictions on Brazilian ethanol due to 
the need for a process of certification of the producing companies. 
One Brazilian daily published an op-ed by President Lula titled: 
"The alternative of biofuels" in which he states that the 
responsibility of developed countries in the control of greenhouse 
emissions should be maintained.  Brazil is the largest ethanol 
producer with a production of about 13 million tons in 2005, 
followed by the United States with a production of 11.8 million 
tons. 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia 
 
¶22. Brazil To Ban Sugarcane Crops In The Amazon 
 
JULY 18, 2007 - The Government of Brazil announced it will start 
controlling the expansion of sugar cane crops throughout the country 
to avoid accusations of environmental degradation and to reduce 
pressure on areas dedicated to food crops. "A map of restrictions 
will forbid sugar cane planting in the Amazon, Pantanal and other 
areas that we are still studying, but that we won't announce at the 
moment," said Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes. Ministry 
officials say that there are currently 10 million hectares of 
degraded cattle raising grounds in Mato Grosso do Sul that could 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  013.2 OF 015 
 
 
receive government incentives to be converted to sugar cane 
production to reduce the pressure on valuable ecosystems. 
 
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia 
 
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General 
------- 
 
¶23. Green Safeguards Bolstered in Three Trade Deals 
 
JULY 2007 - The Bush administration has signed three revised free 
trade agreements with Peru, Panama and Colombia that include 
significantly stronger labor and environmental protections.  The 
agreements, signed June 25 with Peru and June 28 with Panama and 
Colombia, incorporate not only new guarantees of labor rights, but 
mandatory compliance with several environmental treaties and tough 
new measures on illegal logging as demanded by the Democratic 
majority in May.  Analysts say that as a result, the U.S. Congress 
is likely to approve the pacts with Panama and Peru this fall, 
knocking down tariffs on about 90% of trade between the United 
States and the two countries.  Last year the United States carried 
out US$9 billion in trade with Peru and $3 billion with Panama. 
Approval of a similar agreement with Colombia is considered unlikely 
this year because of violence against trade unionists and 
revelations that Colombian government allies have been collaborating 
with death squads.  Although U.S. and Andean green groups have their 
criticisms towards the agreements, they say the accords do give 
green considerations greater weight in dispute settlement and 
require signatories to comply with several environmental treaties 
already signed by the United States and Colombia, Panama and Peru. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶24. Nazca Lines Affected by 'Informal' Gold Mining 
 
JULY 22, 2007 - Three "informal" gold mining plants, two of which do 
not have a license to operate, have been installed in the region of 
Nazca and Palpa and are affecting the region known for its 
historical and cultural importance.  In one of the plants, the Nazca 
lines are being used as improvised roads for the transportation of 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  014.2 OF 015 
 
 
material.  The media report goes on to point that many of these 
trucks leave debris along the "roads." 
 
Source - El Comercio 
 
¶25. Colombia, Ecuador launch Regional Fundacion Natura 
 
JULY 12, 2007 - July 12 marked the launching of "Fundacion Natura 
Regional", a joint effort of the two Fundacion Natura organizations 
in Colombia and Ecuador.  They decided to work jointly on the 
protection of bilateral watersheds and the creation of a carbon bank 
to fund GHG reduction projects.  The efforts are just starting, but 
the eventual goal is to expand the work of the organization to the 
Andean and South American level. 
 
Source - US Embassy Bogota 
 
¶26. WTO Decision on Retreads Buoys Both Sides in Dispute 
 
JULY 2007 - After a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled June 
12 on the dispute between the European Union and Brazil over 
Brazil's import ban on retreaded tires, both sides declared victory. 
 Though the WTO panel supported the EU's view that the ban violated 
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), it recognized the 
measure's health and environmental rationale.  The EU set the WTO 
battle in motion two years ago, when it filed a complaint portraying 
Brazil's 2000 ban on retread imports as an unfair restraint on 
trade. Though the import ban also covered used-tire imports, the EU 
focused its case on retread imports.  Brazil argued that since 
retreads have a shorter lifespan than new tires, widespread use of 
them boosts the number of discarded tires clogging landfills and 
littering the countryside.  That, the government contended, poses a 
public health threat by creating more habitat for malaria and 
dengue-fever-carrying mosquitoes.  It was the first time a 
developing country had used such health and environment arguments to 
defend itself in a WTO dispute, a foreign ministry official says. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
------------------------- 
Update on Avian Influenza 
 
BRASILIA 00001463  015.2 OF 015 
 
 
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¶27. SOUTHCOM Preparedness Wrkshop for Central and South America 
 
JULY 24, 207 - SOUTHCOM and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation or 
Military Medicine sponsored a workshop on pandemic influenza July 
10-12 in Panama that brought together military, police, health, and 
agriculture officials from  Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, 
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and 
Uruguay.  The first two days featured presentations and discussions 
by representatives of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), 
Gorgas Institute,  SOUTHCOM, Naval Medical Research Center 
Detachment-PERU (NMRDC-Peru), Bureau of Medicine (BUMED), Navy 
Environmental Preventive Medicine (NEPMU-2), U.S. Army Medical 
Institute for Infectious Diseases, DoD Global Emerging Infections 
Surveillance and Response System (GEIS), Center for Disaster and 
Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM), G/AIAG, USAID, and 
Martin-Blanck and Associates. The third day was devoted to a desktop 
exercise on a pandemic outbreak.  Participants shared information on 
preparations to date and explored what a pandemic influenza could 
mean for their countries and the region.  Several of them said that 
their national medical facilities were already stretched to the 
limit and that it was clear they would look for external assistance 
during a pandemic and in the recovery phrase.  A similar meeting for 
the Caribbean countries is planned for September 11-13. 
 
Source - AIAG daily bulletin 
 
SOBEL