VZCZCXRO0475
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #0331 0701413
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101413Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1199
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7799
INFO RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 5909
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 1741

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000331 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLS PASS TO NSF/OISE FOR SBURCH 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC 
STATE FOR OES/STC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KSCA TPHY NSF US BR
SUBJECT: NO ADVERSE FOREIGN POLICY IMPLICATIONS REGARDING NSF 
RESEARCH GRANT NO.OISE-07455732 FOR IAI 
 
REF: STATE 17269 
 
¶1.  Reftel requested the Embassy to review a grant proposal for four 
training institutes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) 
titled "IAI Training Institute to Develop Capacity Building in 
Interdisciplinary Global Environmental Change Sciences," number 
OISE-07455732.  The proposal would be under the direction of Dr. 
Marcella Ohira, from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change 
Research (IAI), Sao Jose dos Campos (Sao Paulo), Brazil. 
 
¶2.  The Embassy sees no negative foreign policy implications in 
awarding the referred grant to three of training institutes:  the 
training institute on information management; the training institute 
on risk; and the training institute on cities' responses to climate 
change. 
 
¶3.  The proposed grant to the remaining training institute on 
managing semi-arid river basins raises foreign policy concerns 
because it touches on the sensitive matter of the use of water 
resources of the San Francisco River Basin and it involves the 
participation of an NGO, Canoa de Tolda.  The Embassy is looking 
into the matter more closely, but for now it is expressing 
reservations about this part of the grant proposal.  Hopefully, upon 
a closer examination of the matter, these reservations can be 
adequately addressed. 
 
¶4.  Since reftel paragraph 9 informs that human subject are 
involved, we emphasize the importance of complying with Brazilian 
laws on the export of data and biological material. 
 
CHICOLA