VZCZCXRO9334
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM
DE RUEHBR #1377/01 2940937
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200937Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2694
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 2941
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6769
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 8603
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0046
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 001377 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES/PCI - L.SPERLING 
DEPT FOR OES/ENCR - S.CASWELL AND C.KARR-COLQUE 
DEPT FOR OES/EGC - D.NELSON AND T.TALLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAID KGHG EFIN NO BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL-DEFORESTATION: GREAT CONCERN BUT LITTLE ASSISTANCE, 
WITH FEW NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS 
 
REF:  BRASILIA 1159 
 
BRASILIA 00001377  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR 
INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY. At a September 8 meeting, representatives of key 
European and Asia-Pacific countries outlined their current and 
planned financial and technical assistance to Brazil to help combat 
deforestation.  All of the participants expressed concern over 
climate change, which in the case of Brazil means deforestation. 
Most of the participants said their countries viewed Brazil as a 
middle-income country that does not require much, if any, financial 
assistance for dealing with deforestation.  Norway stood apart; it 
has announced plans to provide up to USD 1 billion to help Brazil 
reduce deforestation through 2015.  On a much smaller scale, 
Germany, the European Commission, France, Japan and the United 
Kingdom have modest assistance programs or activities concerning 
deforestation.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At a luncheon meeting hosted by Post's Deputy Chief of 
Mission on September 8, representatives of Australia, Canada, 
Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the 
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and 
the United Kingdom met to exchange information on their respective 
efforts to assist Brazil in combating deforestation.  All of the 
representatives were keenly interested in the topic of climate 
change.  In the case of Brazil, the vast majority of greenhouse gas 
emissions are due to deforestation.  There was significant interest 
in the recently established Amazon Fund (REFTEL), which the 
Government of Brazil (GOB) intends to use to support efforts to 
reduce deforestation.  Highlights of the meeting include the 
following: 
 
NORWAY 
------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Norway, at the time, was likely to make significant 
donations to the Amazon Fund as long as they learned more about how 
it would operate and how the avoided amount of emissions and 
deforestation reduction would be calculated and verified.  (NOTE: 
During Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Brazil, 
a week later, on September 16, he announced that Norway had made the 
first donations to the Amazon Fund.  An initial USD 20 million 
deposit plus another USD 120 million within the next 12 months was 
promised, with additional sums possible as long as Brazil keeps 
reducing its deforestation rate.  Norway also offered to donate a 
total of up to USD 1 billion by 2015.  Brazilian Minister of 
Environment Carlos Minc announced that disbursals from the Amazon 
Fund will be tied to the amount of deforestation that is avoided. 
Thus, a decline in the deforestation rate would permit more money to 
be disbursed, but an increase would reduce the amount available for 
disbursal.  END NOTE) 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) 
------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is in effect between 
GOB and the EC and climate change is one of the areas of cooperation 
included in the MOU.  Currently, there are five ongoing projects in 
the Amazon region involving total grants of around 30 million Euros. 
These projects are implemented through non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs).  Moreover, the EC has funding available 
(approximately 18.3 Euros) for new projects in the areas of 
protected areas, monitoring of forests, and climate change.  (NOTE: 
Six million Euros will be used for a project to protect the area 
alongside north-south highway BR-163 which runs through the Amazon 
Forest.  END NOTE.) 
 
UNITED KINGDOM 
-------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The United Kingdom has a variety of projects with funding 
of an estimated 1 million pounds, which are implemented through 
NGOs.  These projects focus on forest fire, law enforcement, and 
compliance with the law requiring landowners in the Amazon to 
preserve 80 percent of their land as forests.  Also, the United 
Kingdom is preparing a report called the "Economics of Climate 
Change in Brazil," which are projections of the impact of climate 
change over for the next 40 years.  A first draft should be 
available in June of 2009.  Further, the United Kingdom is working 
 
BRASILIA 00001377  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
with the Brazilian Space Research Institute (INPE) on a satellite to 
be launched in 2010 with a high definition camera developed by the 
UK for better monitoring deforestation. 
 
GERMANY 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Germany through its assistance agency, KFW, has 
contributed 360 million Euros on sustainable forestry activities, 
protection of indigenous reservations, and land use planning and 
regulation.  Germany is active with projects in the Amazon and also 
in the Atlantic Forest regions of Brazil.  Germany sees the new 
Amazon Fund as an interesting mechanism, but wants to learn more 
about it before deciding to make a contribution.  Germany is about 
to launch a research initiative in the Amazon, including 
construction of very tall towers to monitor release and absorption 
of gases in the rainforest. 
 
FRANCE 
------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) France said it contributed to environmental matters in 
Brazil through the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), and its 
development agency had provided modest assistance.  It has a small 
grant of about 1.5 million Euros, which it is implementing through 
NGOs, for projects near the Brazilian-French Guiana border.  Also, 
France provides Brazil with access to information from the SPOT 
satellite. 
 
JAPAN 
----- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Japan has various small environmental projects in various 
states within Brazil that range from environmental educational 
programs to technical cooperation on Amazon Forest monitoring using 
images captured by Japanese satellites systems.  Brazil has 24 Clean 
Development Mechanism (CDM) projects approved by the Japanese 
Government and seven projects totaling USD 2.37 million that provide 
financial assistance through the International Tropical Timber 
Organization (ITTO).  The Japanese representative emphasized that 
the three main fields of cooperation are:  Amazon Forest 
conservation; preservation of other ecosystems besides the Amazon; 
and environment improvement in urban cities.  They are also 
interested in learning more about the Amazon Fund mechanism. 
 
CANADA 
------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Canada and Brazil have signed an agreement on sustainable 
forest management.  Canada will provide some modest funding to 
implement the agreement. 
 
ITALY 
----- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Italy has an ongoing cooperation with the Brazilian 
environmental agency of combating forest fire in the Amazon region. 
It also plans to provide collaboration on the environment pursuant 
to a new science and research agreement.  The Italian have a program 
of collaboration with Brazil on fire prevention and combat at State 
and Federal levels that is comprehensive and well-regarded. 
 
OTHER COUNTRIES 
------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) With Brazil's improving economic situation it is 
generally viewed as becoming a middle-income country.  Thus, Sweden, 
Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain have terminated or are ending 
their financial assistance to Brazil and shifting their financial 
assistance to poorer, needier countries.  Nonetheless, Sweden and 
Denmark are studying the Amazon Fund with a view of possibly making 
contributions in the future.  Australia and New Zealand have been 
more focused on the Pacific and have not had any significant 
programs concerning deforestation in Brazil. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) The intense interest in climate change and deforestation 
has not translated into large assistance programs for Brazil.  The 
 
BRASILIA 00001377  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
one notable exception is Norway with its decision to finance the 
Amazon Fund to the tune of about USD one billion over the next seven 
years.  The developed countries do have a number of small or modest 
programs.  Interestingly, these programs are almost universally 
implemented through NGOs.  Further, many developed countries have 
already "graduated" Brazil from their assistance programs and 
shifted their focus to poorer countries.  Given Brazil's opposition 
to including forests in carbon credit programs, it appears that 
Brazil will need to look primarily to its own resources - rather 
than international funds - to finance its efforts to control 
deforestation. 
 
SOBEL