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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 20 BRASILIA 000618 
 
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 109 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  001.2 OF 020 
 
 
¶1.  The following is the 109th 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 
 
Agriculture 
--(3)Brazil: Clean Gasoline Fuels Soybean Production 
--(4)Environmentalists Praise Results of Moratorium on Growing Soy 
in Brazil Amazon 
 
Health 
--(5)U.S. Donates 50,000 Dollars Relief Funds to Victims of 
Northeast Flooding 
--(6)Colombian Scientists Synthesize Potential Malaria Vaccine 
 
Water Issues 
--(7)Chile: Aguas Andinas to Study Glaciers 
--(8)Chile's Drinking Water Supply Guaranteed for Only 25 Years 
 
Forests 
--(9)Brazil to Rein in Foreign Groups in Amazon 
--(10)Google Earth to Carry Satellite Images of Amazon 
Deforestation 
 
Wildlife 
--(11)Chile Park Officials to Monitor Mountain Lion Population 
 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
--(12)Trawl Fishing Banned in Venezuela 
--(14)Catch Limit Tightened on Fishing of Argentine Hake 
--(15)Argentina: Environmental Atlas of the Sea 
--(16)Turbulent Times for Chilean Salmon Farms 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  002.2 OF 020 
 
 
Science & Technology 
--(17)US and Uruguay Sign Technology Cooperation Accord 
 
Infrastructure Development 
--(18)Brazil: Amazon Ghost Highway to Be Brought Back to Life 
--(19)Chile: Environmentalists Defend Patagonian Wilderness from 
Dams 
 
Pollution 
--(20)Ecuador: Damage Estimate Filed in Amazon Oil-Pollution Trial 
--(21)Two Ecuadorians Fighting against Chevron are Among 2008 
Goldman Prize Winners 
--(22)Peru: In Search of Less Toxic Mining 
 
Climate Change 
--(23)Marriott in Carbon Offset Deal with Brazilian State 
--(24)'Green' Trash Dump in Brazil on A Road to Revenue 
--(25)Brazil to Pay Amazon Residents for 'Eco-Services' 
--(26)Carbon Credits Could Help Save Amazon 
--(27)Carbon-Offset Business Takes Root in Brazil 
 
Energy 
--(28)Bolivia's Morales Says Biofuels Serious Problem to Poor 
--(29)Argentina, Brazil Revive Binational Dam Project 
--(30)Chile Mandates Renewable-Energy Targets 
 
General 
--(31)Chile Unveils New Indigenous Policy 
--(32)Environment Prominent in Bolivia's Draft Constitution 
--(33)Peru: Critics Say New Environment Ministry Will Lack 
Decision-Making Powers in Key Areas 
--(34)Amazon Environmentalist Gunned Down in Peru 
 
----------- 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶3. Brazil: Clean Gasoline Fuels Soybean Production 
 
Apr. 03, 2008 - The Brazilian government has decided to move up the 
deadlines for obligatory addition of biofuels to gasoline and diesel 
fuel, a measure that will boost the production of soybeans, the 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  003.2 OF 020 
 
 
oilseed crop with the lowest yield and that causes the most 
environmental damage.  In January it was determined that two percent 
of biodiesel should be added to fuels derived from crude oil, a 
proportion that is to rise to three percent as of Jul. 1.  Although 
the National Program for Biodiesel Production and Use planned for a 
five percent mixture to be introduced in 2013, Mines and Energy 
Minister Edison Lobao said the target date would be brought forward 
to 2010.  Soybean production will benefit for many years into the 
future, because it is the only crop "available in sufficient volume, 
and for which the industrial structure and logistics are adequate to 
provide a reliable supply to meet the demand," according to Sergio 
Beltrao, the head of the Brazilian Biodiesel Union (Ubrabio), an 
association of producers and researchers of biofuels.  Beltrao 
admitted that "a wider variety of raw materials would be desirable, 
but the biofuel program cannot wait." Therefore, soybeans will be 
the predominant source of biodiesel for many years, although it is 
"unanimously" recognized that it is neither the most productive nor 
the most energy-efficient, he said. 
 
Source - IPS News 
 
¶4. Environmentalists Praise Results of Moratorium on Growing Soy in 
Brazil Amazon 
 
MAR. 31, 2008 - A moratorium on the purchase of soybeans from newly 
deforested areas of the Amazon appears to be preventing grain fields 
from contributing to rain forest destruction, according to 
environmentalists and an industry group.  No new soybean plantations 
were detected in any of the 193 areas that registered deforestation 
of 100 hectares (250 acres) or more between August 2006 and August 
2007, according to Greenpeace and the Brazilian Vegetable Oils 
Industry Association.  U.S. commodities giants Cargill, Archer 
Daniels Midland Co. and Bunge Ltd., as well as France's Dreyfus and 
Brazilian-owned Amaggi, are participating.  The ban came in response 
to protests against expanding soy plantations, which had become a 
major source of rain forest destruction. There is no word on whether 
the moratorium will be renewed. 
 
Source - The Associated Press 
 
------ 
Health 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  004.2 OF 020 
 
 
------ 
 
¶5. U.S. Donates 50,000 Dollars Relief Funds to Victims of Northeast 
Flooding 
 
MAY 02, 2008 - The U.S. Ambassador in Brazil Clifford Sobel 
authorized granting $50,000 of discretionary relief funds to victims 
of flooding in Northeast Brazil.  These funds will provide basic 
emergency help in the form of locally purchased, locally prioritized 
basic health and hygiene items to a total of 1400 vulnerable 
flood-affected families in the following very hard-hit 
municipalities: 500 families in Crateus (Ceara state), 500 families 
in Esperantina (Piau state) and 400 families in Aparecida/Souza 
(Paraiba state).  On April 24, relief funds were presented by USAID 
Mission Director Jennifer Adams and U.S. Consul in Recife Diana Page 
to Wellington Dias, Governor of Piaui, and to the Catholic Relief 
Service, in Teresina, capital of Piaui. Heavy rains since late March 
2008 have resulted in severe flooding in the interior of Northeast 
Brazil4s Semi-Arid Region.  Damage has been most severe in 250 
municipalities of six states: Ceara (26 municipalities), Maranhao 
(29), Paraiba (88), Pernambuco (37), Piaui (35) and Rio Grande do 
Norte (35), as well as in the states of Para and Alagoas. 
 
Source - USAID Brazil 
 
¶6. Colombian Scientists Synthesize Potential Malaria Vaccine 
 
APR. 07, 2008 - A Colombian research group has chemically 
synthesized an early-stage malaria vaccine candidate in the 
laboratory.  Manuel E. Patarroyo and Manuel A. Patarroyo, director 
and researcher of the Colombian Institute of Immunology Foundation 
respectively, chemically synthesized protein fragments of the 
malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum involved in red blood cell 
invasion.  They adapted their structures and tested them in Aotus 
monkeys until an immune response was initiated.  Patarroyo's 
research group has been working on the technique to chemically 
synthesize vaccines for over 30 years.  He says that the vaccines 
will be effective against multiple microorganisms and at different 
stages of the infection process. Plans indicate that batches of 
vaccine produced will always be exactly the same, and will not 
induce side effects.  The findings are published in Accounts of 
Chemical Research. 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  005.2 OF 020 
 
 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
------------ 
Water Issues 
------------ 
 
¶7. Chile: Aguas Andinas to Study Glaciers 
 
April 30, 2008 - Spanish-owned water purification company Aguas 
Andinas announced this week it will study the impact climate change 
has on the polar ice caps of Antarctica and the glaciers of Chile, 
and how global warming affects the future of Chile's fresh water 
reserves.  The project involves testing the level of carbon monoxide 
in ice samples from the glaciers and comparing these levels to the 
rate of climate change. Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of the 
green house affect that is behind the global warming phenomena. 
Aguas Andinas is one of Chile's most important water supply and 
waste water treatment companies, and is a subsidy of Spain's Aguas 
Barcelona.  The Aguas Andinas project will begin in 2009 and will 
cost an estimated 1.5 and 2 million euros (between US$2.3 million 
and US$3.1 million). The company is hoping to partner with a 
national university. 
 
Source - Santiago Times 
 
¶8. Chile's Drinking Water Supply Guaranteed for Only 25 Years 
 
APR. 01, 2008 - A Public Works Ministry (MOP) study released March 
30 revealed that Chile has enough fresh drinking water to last until 
¶2033. The MOP study also confirmed that the lion share of the 
country's fresh water is consumed by industry, provoking a barrage 
of criticism from leading environmentalists.  The MOP said that, 
taking into account all sectors of Chilean society, 677,000 liters 
of drinking water are consumed nationwide every second. Of that 
total, roughly 78 percent is used by Chile's forestry and 
agricultural industries, followed by the 12 percent consumed by the 
country's manufacturing sector, and the 4 percent consumed by mining 
operations. Still, MOP officials were quick to point out that in 
some areas, such as northern Chile's Region II, mines consume more 
than half of the local fresh water sources.  The MOP has put 
together a series of proposals aimed at conserving Chile's fresh 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  006.2 OF 020 
 
 
water, including:  use of desalinated ocean water-instead of fresh 
water-in northern Chile; increased monitoring and protection of 
Chile's glaciers; the construction of more reservoirs; stricter 
punishments for citizens or companies that extract fresh water 
illegally; and artificial replenishment of Chile's underground 
aquifers. 
 
Source - Santiago Times 
 
------- 
Forests 
------- 
 
¶9. Brazil to Rein in Foreign Groups in Amazon 
 
APR. 24, 2008 - Brazil's military will regulate environmental, 
religious and other foreign groups working in the Amazon region 
under a law being drafted to assert sovereignty over the often 
lawless rainforest, the defense minister said on Thursday.  "There 
is this concept that the Amazon is some free place for anyone, but 
the Amazon is sovereign Brazilian territory," Defense Minister 
Nelson Jobim said at a media briefing.  Justice Minister Tarso Genro 
said that many NGOs were involved in bio-piracy and were trying to 
influence Indian culture to expropriate land.  The justice and 
defense ministries plan to send a new Foreigners Bill to Congress in 
June to curb NGOs from serving as fronts for illegal activities in 
the Amazon.  It would require foreign individuals and groups to get 
permission from the Justice Ministry and register with the regional 
military command.  If the foreigners were working without approval 
or in an illegal way, the Justice Ministry could revoke visas, 
deport and fine individuals and groups between 5,000 and 100,000 
reais (US$3,000 and US$60,000). 
 
Source- Reuters 
 
¶10. Google Earth to Carry Satellite Images of Amazon Deforestation 
 
APR. 11, 2008 - Google is about to post on its Google Earth internet 
service detailed images of Amazon jungle deforestation, according to 
report.  Story notes that Brazil's National Space Research Institute 
(INPE) already makes available on the internet its own satellite 
images of Amazon deforestation, but that they don't have sufficient 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  007.2 OF 020 
 
 
resolution to be easily visualized by non-experts. Google Earth 
director of programs Rebecca Moore said that image processing should 
be completed and put on the internet this year to pressure regional 
governments to take action, but did not explain what satellite 
services are being used.  Reportedly Google already highlights the 
efforts of an indigenous leader from Cacoal, Rondonia, to protect 
his tribe's lands from deforestation, noting that 11 tribal leaders 
have been killed in the last five years. 
 
Source - O Estado de Sao Paulo 
 
-------- 
Wildlife 
-------- 
 
¶11. Chile Park Officials to Monitor Mountain Lion Population 
 
April 30, 2008 - The southern, Chile-based Conservacion Patagonica 
conservation group will begin to electronically monitor part of 
Region XI's mountain lion population.  Officials say that the 
information gathered will be used both to observe the felines' 
habits and to protect local livestock from the prowling cats.  The 
mountain lion population is protected under Chilean law, which 
classifies the species as "vulnerable."  The monitoring project, the 
first of its kind in Chile, will take place within the grounds of 
Region XI's Estancia Chacabuco, a 76,000 square hectare stretch of 
pristine steppe land owned by U.S. philanthropist Douglas Tompkins 
and administered by Conservacion Patagonica.  Still, Tompkins has 
publicly disclosed his intentions to transfer ownership of the 
territory to the Chilean government. 
 
Source - Santiago Times 
 
----------------------------- 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
----------------------------- 
 
¶12. Trawl Fishing Banned in Venezuela 
 
APR. 08, 2008 - Trawl-fishing is on its way out in Venezuela, amid 
positive demonstrations by artisanal fisherfolk who support the new 
law as amended by President Hugo Chvez.  Groups of fisherfolk have 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  008.2 OF 020 
 
 
been organizing marches in the capital, some of them driving trucks 
carrying their boats, to show their support for the Law on Fisheries 
and Aquaculture, amended by Chvez in March by a decree-law banning 
trawl-fishing.  Before the amendment, the previous law promulgated 
by Chvez in 2001 only prohibited trawling less than six miles (10 
kilometers) from the mainland or less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) 
from island shores.  But the amended law bans trawl-fishing in all 
Venezuelan waters, where Gonzalez said "Italian and Spanish ships 
used to trawl, not only Venezuelan fishing vessels."  The new law 
provides for a one-year transition period, until March 2009, for the 
trawling companies and their ships to change over to other 
activities. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶13. COMMENT FROM EMBASSY CARACAS - Venezuelan daily El Universal 
reported that the fish supply dropped by 90% in some markets 
immediately following the ban as fishing companies were confused 
about the conditions of the ban and ceased all operations.  Supply 
appears to be recovering as more boats are returning to the water 
after the government clarified the details of the one year 
transition agreement. 
 
¶14. Catch Limit Tightened on Fishing of Argentine Hake 
 
APR. 2008 - Argentina has reduced by 20% the catch limit for 
Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi), the principal target of the 
country's commercial fishing industry.  Moving to protect a species 
that has yet to recover from years of overfishing, the Argentine 
Secretariat of Agriculture, Ranching, Fishing and Food now requires 
that the catch of hake, known locally as merluza, be limited to 
270,000 metric tons annually for the next five years.  Experts are 
concerned not only about the deliberate targeting of hake, but also 
about the incidental bycatch of the fish by fishing crews looking to 
land other species.  For instance, shrimpers operating off Chubut 
and Santa Cruz provinces in Argentina's Gulf of San Jorge 
accidentally net hake. Though the fish are thrown back to leave 
cargo room for the far-higher-priced shrimp, the accidentally caught 
hake often die in the process. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  009.2 OF 020 
 
 
¶15. Argentina: Environmental Atlas of the Sea 
 
APR. 07, 2008 - Some 50 experts from a variety of institutions and 
disciplines put together an Atlas of Environmental Sensitivity of 
the Argentine Coast and Sea, with data on fauna and flora, water 
salinity, fishing resources, contamination, and other aspects.  "The 
aim was to identify sensitive areas that require attention because 
of activities like fishing, shipping or exploitation of 
hydrocarbons," Florencia Lemoine, of the Fundacion Vida Silvestre, a 
group participating in the project, told Tierramerica.  "It is a 
database with reliable scientific basis, with a multidisciplinary 
focus and which will serve as a tool for easy consultation and 
simple language for decision makers and for society," she said.  The 
atlas covers 5,000 kilometers of coastline from north of Buenos 
Aires to the southern extreme of Beagle Canal, and will be available 
on the Internet in May. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶16. Turbulent Times for Chilean Salmon Farms 
 
APR. 2008 - Criticism of the environmental practices of Chilean 
salmon farms has spiked once again as the industry struggles to cope 
with a severe slowdown related to the outbreak last year of a 
water-borne virus called infectious salmon anemia, or ISA.  Since it 
was detected here last July, the virus, which poses no risk to 
humans, has spread rapidly among Chilean salmon farms and is causing 
salmon deaths on a worrisome scale.  One million infected fish were 
killed as a precautionary measure after ISA was first found last 
year on four salmon farms, but the virus continued making inroads. 
Sernapesca, Chile's fishing agency, says that as of April 8, the 
virus had affected 21 salmon farms, including three far south in 
Patagonia's Aysen region.  In addition, Sernapesca suspects 17 more 
salmon farms have the virus; meanwhile, 39 of the farms are under 
strict quarantine pending verification that the virus is no longer 
present.  The Pure Salmon Campaign and numerous Chilean 
environmental groups charge that sea lice and ISA are consequences 
of poor environmental management at salmon farms. Specifically, they 
point to the continuing overproduction of salmon, lax governmental 
regulation and the tendency of both government and industry to place 
economic interests above environmental and social concerns.  Experts 
say the best long-term way to minimize environmental impacts and 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  010.2 OF 020 
 
 
disease would be to operate salmon farms as closed-containment 
systems on land. This strategy would eliminate such problems as 
salmon escapes and water pollution, and would greatly reduce the 
need for chemicals.  Thus far, however, consensus has not developed 
in the industry to embrace such a strategy across the board, with 
many executives complaining that the cost of land-based, 
closed-containment operations would be prohibitive. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
-------------------- 
 
¶17. US and Uruguay Sign Technology Cooperation Accord 
 
APR. 30, 2008 - United States and Uruguay signed on April 29 a 
bilateral agreement to promote and increase cooperation in Science 
and Technology. The agreement was signed by Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice and Uruguay's Foreign Affairs minister Gonzalo 
Fernandez during a ceremony at the State Department.  The new 
agreement provides a mechanism through which the United States and 
Uruguay can broaden cooperation in all scientific and technology 
fields, and move forward in areas of collaboration such as energy, 
health issues, science and technology education, engineering, 
sustainable development, agriculture, and natural resources. It will 
support government-to-government exchanges and scientific 
partnerships between private, academic, and non-governmental 
entities. The agreement prioritizes the study of biodiversity 
through the collection, conservation, and exchange of biological and 
genetic resources in cooperative projects, which are often the key 
to advancing agricultural science and medicine, and understanding 
the impact of climate change on the environment. 
 
Source - MercoPress 
 
-------------------------- 
Infrastructure Development 
-------------------------- 
 
¶18. Brazil: Amazon Ghost Highway to Be Brought Back to Life 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  011.2 OF 020 
 
 
 
APR. 04, 2008 - BR-319, a road blazed 35 years ago through the heart 
of the Amazon jungle and now impassable due to neglect, has sparked 
a new battle between environmentalists and the Brazilian 
authorities, who have decided to rebuild it.  The officials defend 
the economic integration of the central Amazon and south-central 
Brazil, saying it will bring benefits for the local population.  But 
environmentalists say reparations of the road will lead to further 
deforestation and new waves of migration towards the northern city 
of Manaus, which is already plagued by serious urban problems and 
increasing conflicts over the surrounding land. The controversy has 
been fuelled by a proposal to replace the highway with a railroad, 
for which an economic viability study has already been conducted, 
and which would mean much less deforestation, according to Virgilio 
Viana, who set forth the alternative as secretary of the environment 
and sustainable development in the northwestern state of Amazonas, a 
post he left Mar. 3 to head the Sustainable Amazon Foundation.  The 
885-km road links Porto Velho, capital of Rondonia state on the 
border with Bolivia, with Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, the 
Brazilian state with the most extensive stretches of intact jungle. 
The rebuilding and paving of the road should be complete by 2011, 
says the Ministry of Transport, whose chief, Alfredo Nascimento, was 
mayor of Manaus from 1997 to 2004. The estimated cost is 700 million 
reals (about 400 million dollars). 
 
Source - IPS 
 
¶19. Chile: Environmentalists Defend Patagonian Wilderness from Dams 
 
APR. 01, 2008 - Robert Kennedy, senior attorney for the U.S.-based 
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), was in Chile to support 
opponents of a plan for building five dams in the southern region of 
Patagonia.  In his half-hour meeting with President Michelle 
Bachelet on March 31st, the environmentalist and son of assassinated 
U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) offered the president the 
NRDC's technical assistance in developing non-conventional renewable 
sources of energy like wind, solar, mini-hydraulic, geothermal and 
tidal energy, as well as contacts with foreign investors.   If 
Patagonia were in the United States, or in any other country in the 
world, it would be a nature reserve protected by the state, he said, 
expressing the hope that a policy decision will be taken to prevent 
the building of the HidroAysn project. Environmentalists are 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  012.2 OF 020 
 
 
awaiting the results of a study on the country's energy industry 
being prepared by experts from government institutions, like the 
Chilean Energy Ministry and the National Program for Energy 
Efficiency (PPEE), and academics from the University of Chile and 
the Federico Santa Mara Technical University.  But in the meantime, 
they are studying all the legal options to block the dams. 
 
Source - IPS 
 
 
--------- 
Pollution 
--------- 
 
¶20. Ecuador: Damage Estimate Filed in Amazon Oil-Pollution Trial 
 
APR. 2008 - The trial to assess Chevron's alleged responsibility for 
oilfield pollution in the Ecuadorian Amazon reached a key juncture 
in April when a court-appointed investigator estimated the 
contamination's health and environmental impacts at US$8.02 billion. 
 A ruling isn't expected before next year, but analysts believe that 
when one comes, it could set a precedent for oilfield pollution 
litigation throughout Latin America.  Plaintiffs assert reinjection 
should have been used to minimize damage in the rainforest, but 
Chevron has argued that at the time the technique was new and 
untested in Ecuador.  Participants in the case who have read the 
impacts report say the $8.02 billion cost estimate attempts to take 
into account environmental remediation; compensation for 
pollution-related health problems; and steps needed to prevent 
further contamination.  The report also alleges Texpet had "unfair 
earnings" of US$8.31 billion when it failed to use appropriate 
technology to prevent the pollution, sources say.  Ricardo Reis 
Veiga, Chevron's vice president for Latin America, warns that 
Chevron is willing to seek arbitration in international courts, 
where he says it would invoke a bilateral U.S.-Ecuadorian 
investment-protection treaty. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (pleas contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶21. Two Ecuadorians Fighting against Chevron are Among 2008 Goldman 
Prize Winners 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  013.2 OF 020 
 
 
 
APR. 2008 - This year's edition of the prestigious Goldman 
Environmental Prize was won by four activists from Latin America and 
one each from Belgium, Mozambique and Russia for their work in 
fighting corporate polluters, conserving land and advancing 
sustainable development.  Sometimes referred to as the 
"environmental Nobel Prize," the US$150,000 award brings 
international attention and clout to worthy causes, 
environmentalists say.  Ecuadorians Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and Luis 
Yanza were awarded the prize for leading a 15-year battle to force 
Texaco and its parent company Chevron to clean up millions of 
gallons of crude and drilling wastewater dumped into the soils and 
waterways of the Ecuadorian Amazon during 1972-92.  Their efforts to 
organize some 30,000 inhabitants of the Ecuadorian Amazon, including 
people suffering cancers and miscarriages allegedly caused by the 
oilfield pollution, prompted a landmark case now being litigated in 
Ecuador.  Environmentalists say the prestige of the Goldman Prize 
often adds momentum to their causes. But it also can draw criticism, 
as it has this year.  Chevron, the defendant in the Amazon 
contamination case, released a statement attacking the Ecuadorian 
recipients.  "Chevron regrets that the organizers of the Goldman 
Environmental Prize were skillfully misled into naming Mr. Fajardo 
and Mr. Yanza as prize winners," the company said.  Chevron accused 
Fajardo and Yanza of helping to deflect oil-pollution responsibility 
from Petroecuador, the state-owned oil company, and for blocking 
clean-up efforts and pursuing the case for financial gain. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas 
 
¶22. Peru: In Search of Less Toxic Mining 
 
APR. 05, 2008 - The Peruvian government is seeking to reduce the 
maximum allowable emissions of pollutants by the mining industry, 
but the proposed limits are still a long way from meeting 
international standards. The initiative, submitted for consultation 
in December and January by the National Environment Council (CONAM), 
has come under fire as insufficient for protecting the health of 
residents who are exposed to poisonous gases and metals from mining 
operations and foundries  , including arsenic, zinc, sulfur and 
cadmium. The proposed decree would approve the new "maximum 
permissible limits" (MPLs) for liquid effluents and atmospheric 
emissions, set in 1996 for the mining-metallurgy sector, as well as 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  014.2 OF 020 
 
 
regulations for compliance. According to the proposal, the liquid 
waste that is dumping arsenic into lakes and rivers must not have a 
concentration higher than 0.5 micrograms per liter (mcg/l).  That 
cuts in half the current national limit of one mcg/l, but is five 
times higher than what is allowed under the limits established by 
the World Bank in 2007, of 0.1 mcg/l, according to Environmental Law 
Alliance Worldwide (ELAW).   ELAW experts believe the project should 
meet global standards in order to require compliance by Doe Run. 
They also recommend participation by local communities in monitoring 
the measures, and want the Health Ministry to step up its 
involvement in the matter. 
 
Source - IPS News 
 
-------------- 
Climate Change 
-------------- 
 
¶23. Marriott in Carbon Offset Deal with Brazilian State 
 
APR. 07, 2008 - Marriott International has signed a landmark deal 
with the Brazilian state of Amazonas that will see the hotel group 
launch a carbon offset program for its guests and invest in a fund 
aimed at securing 1.4 million acres of rainforest.  The company has 
invested US$2 million in the fund, which aims to prevent the 
deforestation of the threatened Brazilian rainforest.  Marriott 
guests will be invited to invest in the fund, which the company said 
would offset the carbon emissions associated with their stays.  The 
company estimates it generates 2.9m metric tons of carbon dioxide 
emissions per year.  Arne Sorenson, Marriott's chief financial 
officer, said the group decided to launch the scheme because its 
guests and corporate customers had expressed interest in "greening" 
their stays.  Eduardo Braga, the governor of Amazonas, said the 
Marriott agreement was "the first project on reducing emissions from 
deforestation in Brazil and one of the first in the world". He added 
that the deal would "make history because it demonstrates how 
rainforest preservation can be used as a climate strategy". 
 
Source - Financial Times 
 
¶24. 'Green' Trash Dump in Brazil on A Road to Revenue 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  015.2 OF 020 
 
 
APR. 06, 2008 - The methane pipelines are already in place at the 
Novagerar trash dump on the outskirts of this impoverished suburb of 
Rio de Janeiro.  So are the legions of dump trucks that haul 2,800 
tons of city trash here every day and the dozens of workers who 
cover the trash with soil at day's end to prevent greenhouse gases 
from escaping.  This 300-acre ''green'' dump is ready to tap into a 
potential carbon-credit market explosion that many developing 
countries hope will pour millions of dollars into poor communities 
like this one.  So far, the dump, which is owned by the Brazilian 
construction company Paulista, generates only 4 percent of its 
revenue -- or $900,000 a year -- from selling carbon credits.  That 
is bound to change, said facility director Adriana Felipetto, who 
predicted that annual carbon-credit sales would hit $3 million in 
two years and make up a quarter of the facility's total revenue 
stream. 
 
Source - Miami Herald 
 
¶25. Brazil to Pay Amazon Residents for 'Eco-Services' 
 
APR. 06, 2008 - Brazil's government is planning to pay residents of 
the Amazon money and credits for their "eco-services" in helping to 
preserve the vast forested area sometimes called the "lungs of the 
Earth", referring to its role in converting carbon dioxide to 
oxygen.  Environment Minister Marina Silva has presented the measure 
as a priority and said "keeping the forest going is an important 
environmental service" for the entire planet. Under the scheme, 
farmers, ranchers and woodsman who use small-scale traditional 
techniques in the Amazon will be rewarded with public funds, special 
credits and a market that will pay more for environmentally 
sustainable products.  The initiative's goal is to reinforce methods 
seen as doing less damage than the large-scale mechanical and 
chemical methods of big commercial businesses, according to Paulo 
Guilherme Cabral the director for Brazil's Agency for Sustainable 
Rural Development.  The Brazilian state of Amazonas recently created 
a "forest fund" and Brazil is studying other countries' models, 
including in Costa Rica where taxes on water and fuel are paid to 
forest landowners. 
 
Source - Yahoo News 
 
¶26. Carbon Credits Could Help Save Amazon 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  016.2 OF 020 
 
 
 
APR. 06, 2008 - Global carbon markets could generate billions of 
dollars each year for developing countries that tackle tropical 
deforestation, a major source of global warming, according to a new 
study.  Reducing the rate at which Amazonian rain forests are 
disappearing by only 10 percent, for example, would yield 1.5 to 9.1 
billion euros (2.2 to 13.5 billion dollars), depending on world 
carbon emission prices, researchers calculated.  That money could 
then be plowed into national conservation efforts that would further 
mitigate climate change, creating a virtuous circle.  Slowing down 
deforestation by another 20 percent, could result in an additional 
45 billion dollars for the region if carbon prices reached 30 euros 
per ton, said the study, one of two dozen scientific papers on the 
future of the Amazon released by The Royal Society in Britain. 
 
Source - Agence France Presse 
 
¶27. Carbon-Offset Business Takes Root in Brazil 
 
APR. 2008 - Three Sco Paulo consulting firms are working to meet 
expanding demand for offsets from Brazilian companies interested in 
reducing their carbon footprint.  The firms- the nonprofit 
Iniciativa Verde,  and MaxAmbiental and Key Associados, both 
for-profit-measure companies' carbon emissions and help generate 
offsets through such means as planting trees.  All three firms 
report fast-growing business-and a mixture of motives on the part of 
their clients ranging from altruism to an entrepreneurial interest 
in affixing "carbon neutral" seals to their products or services. 
"Brazilian companies neutralize their emissions because they want to 
be more environmentally responsible, because they want to use 
'carbon free' seals to boost sales, or because clients pressure them 
to do so," says Francisco Maciel, the co-director of Iniciativa 
Verde. "It is hard to know where their eco-responsible side ends and 
where their marketing side begins." 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  017.2 OF 020 
 
 
¶28. Bolivia's Morales Says Biofuels Serious Problem to Poor 
 
Apr. 22, 2008 - Bolivian President Evo Morales criticized "some 
South American presidents" for supporting the use of biofuels, which 
he said are responsible for high food prices and global hunger. 
Visiting the United Nations while fighting autonomy referendums 
called by the opposition at home, the Bolivian president said the 
increased use of farmland for fuel crops was causing a "tremendous 
increase" in the price of food -- especially of wheat, which has 
made bread more expensive.  In his U.N. speech earlier, Morales 
called on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to 
develop policies to curb the use of biofuels "in order to avoid 
hunger and misery among our people". 
 
Source - ENN 
 
¶29. Argentina, Brazil Revive Binational Dam Project 
 
APR. 2008 - Looking for ways to meet growing energy demand, 
Argentina and Brazil have agreed to revive plans for a binational 
hydroelectric station on the Uruguay River.  The environmentally 
controversial project, called Garabi, has languished in an on-again, 
off-again planning limbo since the original agreement authorizing it 
was signed in 1972.  But new Argentine President Cristina Kirchner 
and her Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, recently 
gave the initiative a strong push.  On Feb. 22, the pair signed an 
agreement announcing their "decision" to build the facility and 
authorizing two state-owned companies-Brazil's Eletrobras and 
Argentina's Ebisa-to conduct technical and environmental studies. 
The signing took place at an energy summit in Buenos Aires in which 
Kirchner and Lula were pressing Bolivian President Evo Morales for 
assurances that Bolivia would sell their countries sufficient 
quantities of natural gas.  The hydro station would be built on a 
stretch of the Uruguay River that runs along the international 
border between northern Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil and the 
northern and southern portions, respectively, of Argentina's 
Corrientes and Misiones provinces. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶30. Chile Mandates Renewable-Energy Targets 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  018.2 OF 020 
 
 
 
APR. 2008 - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has signed into law 
a renewable-energy bill aimed at diversifying power generation in 
this energy-strapped country.  The congressionally approved measure, 
signed by Bachelet on March 20, establishes gradual increases in the 
percentage of Chile's electricity produced from renewable sources. 
Although the Bachelet administration hails the new law as a 
milestone, many environmentalists and legislators say it falls short 
of harnessing Chile's alternative-energy capabilities.  The measure 
requires that by 2010, Chilean electricity producers whose annual 
output is 200 megawatts or more must generate at least 5% of their 
output through solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, small-scale 
hydroelectric, wave or other alternative energy technologies. It 
mandates an annual 0.5% increase in that quota beginning in 2015 so 
that by 2024, 10% of Chile's power comes from renewables.  The 
measure also establishes fines for companies that do not comply with 
the new regulations.  Fines will be calculated according to how much 
alternative-power generation the violator must add in order to meet 
the law's threshold.  For repeat offenders, meanwhile, fines will be 
stiffer. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
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General 
------- 
 
¶31. Chile Unveils New Indigenous Policy 
 
APR. 02, 2008 - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced a 
new policy for indigenous people, which includes novel approaches to 
political participation and the protection of natural resources in 
the hands of the country's native groups.  "Some say the problem 
facing indigenous people is just poverty, and that good targeting of 
subsidies would be the most appropriate policy. But we, on the other 
hand, maintain that it is a matter of rights, of a collective 
identity seeking expression in a multicultural society," said 
Bachelet at a ceremony in the palace of La Moneda, the seat of 
government.   A 2006 census known by the acronym CASEN found that 
1,060,786 people identified themselves as belonging to native 
groups, equivalent to 6.6 percent of the Chilean population.  The 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  019.2 OF 020 
 
 
largest indigenous community is the Mapuche, who make up 87.2 
percent of the country's indigenous people.   The new "Social Pact 
for Multiculturalism" addresses three main areas: political systems, 
rights and institutions; integrated development of indigenous 
communities; and multiculturalism and diversity. 
 
Source - IPS News 
 
¶32. Environment Prominent in Bolivia's Draft Constitution 
 
APR. 2008 - Environmental advocates in Bolivia are praising the 
proposed Bolivian constitution, which on May 4 will be put to a 
public referendum.  While Bolivia's current constitution does not 
include the word "environment," the new version, drafted in a 
constitutional assembly that met from August 2006 to December 2007, 
contains numerous environmental-protection provisions.  "This 
constitution exceeded our expectations by far," says Adam Zemans, 
executive director of the Cochabamba, Bolivia-based Environment Las 
Americas, a nonprofit that houses an environmental law clinic and an 
environmental education initiative. "The question is whether any of 
this will now transfer from paper to practice."  Zemans, who has an 
environmental law degree from Georgetown University, says perhaps 
the most important achievement is the enforcement procedures 
outlined in the new constitution.  In particular, the constitution 
includes a section called Popular Action, contained in articles 136 
and 137. The section allows organizations and individuals to 
initiate lawsuits.  The section moreover declares that cases do not 
require exhaustion of other legal avenues before they are considered 
at the highest level of the Bolivian justice system-that of the 
Constitutional Court.  Meanwhile, the new constitution also creates 
a powerful Agro-Environmental Tribunal with jurisdiction over all 
environmental and agriculture cases. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶33. Peru: Critics Say New Environment Ministry Will Lack 
Decision-Making Powers in Key Areas 
 
APR. 02, 2008 - According to critics, the Peruvian government 
announced that it will create an Environment Ministry by decree, 
without going through the process of a debate in civil society, 
 
BRASILIA 00000618  020.2 OF 020 
 
 
Congress and regional governments.  Trade and Tourism Minister 
Mercedes Araoz revealed that the new ministry will not be 
responsible for inspecting mining industry activity, in spite of the 
fact that 40 percent of social conflicts related to the environment 
arise in the mining sector.  The ministry will not have authority 
over water management, either, although water shortages are already 
becoming a problem due to climate change and water pollution is one 
of the main causes of environmental conflict.  The government wants 
the Agriculture Ministry to be in charge of water, through the 
recently created National Water Authority.  Forestry and logging 
will also come under the purview of the Agriculture Ministry.  The 
National Service for Protected Areas may also be excluded from the 
remit of the new ministry.  Critics of the government initiative 
point out that the team of experts is proposing that the Environment 
Ministry should only handle evaluations of environmental impact 
studies for large mining and energy projects, without even defining 
what qualifies as a "large" project. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶34. Amazon Environmentalist Gunned Down in Peru 
 
MAR.14, 2008 - After reporting a truck loaded with mahogany 
illegally logged from the Amazon rainforest, Julio Gualberto Garca 
Agapito, a Peruvian authority who worked to protect forests, was 
gunned down by Amancion Jacinto Maque, an illegal timber operator, 
on February 26, 2008.  As Lieutenant Governor of the town Alerta in 
the Tahuamanu Province of Madre de Dios in Peru, Don Julio dedicated 
his life to conservation and building sustainable livelihoods for 
the people of southwestern Peru.  Development pressures are mounting 
in the region due to the improvement of the Transoceanic Highway, 
which links the heart of the Amazon to the Pacific. The highway will 
soon serve as an artery for transporting soy and other agricultural 
products to Pacific ports - the gateway to China. 
 
Source - Mongabay 
 
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