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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 BRASILIA 001465 
 
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 114 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  001.2 OF 012 
 
 
¶1.  The following is part of 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.  NOTE: THE NEWSLETTER 
IS NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE BRASILIA INTRANET PAGE, BY CLICKING ON 
THE 'HUB' LINK. 
 
¶2. Table of Contents 
 
Agriculture 
--(3)Colombian Palm Sector en route to Certification 
--(4)Round Table on Responsible Soy Works on Global Outreach 
Program; U.S. a Target 
--(5)Aquaculture, Agro-Energy in Guyana, Brazil Talks 
--(6)Uruguay Moving Forward With GMOs 
 
Forests 
--(7)Wal-Mart Mulling Contribution to Brazil's Amazon Rainforest 
Fund 
--(8)U.S. Cuts Peru's Debt Payments by US$25 Million In Exchange For 
Protecting Tropical Forest 
--(9)Global Financial Crisis may help Amazon, says Brazilian 
Minister Minc 
--(10)Brazil: EU donates US$8mn for Amazon Sustainable Development 
Program 
--(11)Forest Conservation Looms Large In Climate Debate, Bolivia 
Experience an Example 
 
Wildlife 
--(12)New Conservation Opportunities for Threatened Bolivian Birds 
--(13)Brazil Leads Efforts to Halt Species Extinctions 
 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
--(14)Chile Enacts Law to Ban Cetacean Hunting In Chilean Coastal 
Waters 
 
Protected Areas 
--(15)Chile Inaugurates New Siete Tazas National Park 
--(16)Chile's Protected Sites Fail to Protect 73 Percent of 
Vertebrate Species 
 
Pollution 
--(17)Pollution Kills More than AIDS and Traffic Accidents Combined 
in Sao Paulo 
 
Climate Change 
--(18)Brazil Tests Carbon Reduction in Amazon Forest 
--(19)Southern Chile Glacial Lake Disappears, Again 
--(20)Peru Studies Climate Riddle as the World Heats Up 
 
Energy 
--(21)Plan for Dams in Puyehue National Park outrages 
Environmentalists 
--(22)Giving priority to Thermo Plants "Myopic", says Brazil Energy 
Expert 
--(23)Wind Farms Could Completely Power Chile's Chiloe 
--(24)Brazil to Unveil Auto Fuel-Efficiency Stickers 
 
Extractive Industries 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  002.2 OF 012 
 
 
--(25)Report Says Los Pelambres Mine Threatens Chile's Glaciers 
--(26)Chile Forestry Officials Halt Mining to Protect Flamingos 
--(27)Argentina: La Rioja Does U-Turn on Open-Pit Mine Ban 
 
Infrastructure Development 
--(28)Environmental Impact Statement Filed For Five-Dam Hydro 
Project in Chile 
--(29)Finance Institutions, Corporations, and Conservationists 
Debate IIRSA 
 
----------- 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶3. Colombian Palm Sector en route to Certification 
 
OCT. 21, 2008 - On July 7, The National Federation of Palm Oil 
Growers (Fedepalma) launched a program to develop the National 
Interpretation of the Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable for 
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Colombia. The process involves 
adapting the generic RSPO principles and criteria to the Colombia 
national context. These indicators will serve as a basis for the 
certification of sustainable palm oil in Colombia by the RSPO.  The 
process will be led by Fedepalma and has the backing of the 
Ministries of the Environment, Housing, and Territorial Development 
and of Agriculture and Rural Development.  Cenipalma (the Center for 
Research on Palm Oil), the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for 
Research on Biological Resources (IavH) and WWF Colombia will 
provide technical support to the process.  The first results of this 
process were presented at the first Latin American meeting of the 
RSPO, which took place in Cartagena on October 16-17. 
 
Source - WWF Forest Conversion News 
 
¶4. Round Table on Responsible Soy Works on Global Outreach Program; 
US a Target 
 
OCT. 2008 - In August, the third meeting of the Round Table on 
Responsible Soy (RTRS) Development Group (DG) took place in Puerto 
Iguazu, Argentina.  Hundreds of stakeholder comments about the 
content of the principles and the ways of verifying them were 
discussed.  Important steps were taken in further developing the 
concept of responsible soy.  It is now highly probable that the DG 
will be able to deliver the final version of the Principles and 
Criteria for responsible soy production (P&C) in May 2009 when it 
will be presented for approval at the RTRS General Assembly.  A 
follow-up to the August meeting took place in Sco Paulo from October 
10-13. Now, the document will be sent out for the second formal 
round of public consultation, which will last until the beginning of 
2009 when the DG will meet again to prepare the final version.  The 
RTRS is launching its Global Outreach Program, which aims to 
encourage soy producers, traders and processors to actively 
contribute to the development and adoption of the P&C. This program 
will play a crucial role in addressing the challenge of involving 
additional target groups and countries - mainly China, the USA and 
India - thereby creating a true global engagement. 
 
NOTE: Member countries of the RTRS include Brazil, Paraguay, and 
Argentina. 
 
Source - WWF Forest Conversion News 
 
¶5. Aquaculture, Agro-Energy in Guyana, Brazil Talks 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  003.2 OF 012 
 
 
 
SEPT. 24, 2008 - A high-level team of Brazilian technical officials 
met with senior representatives of Guyana's agricultural sector 
including Minister Robert Persaud to discuss areas of cooperation 
between the two states for greater agricultural development.  Guyana 
has expressed interest in areas of forestry, fisheries, agro-energy 
and other non- traditional sectors.  Minister Persaud noted Guyana's 
vast potential for agro-energy, adding that several proposals for 
investment in this area have been received from the Brazilian 
private sector.  He however, cautioned the biofuel will be derived 
from sugar cane, and not corn, and that no land will be deforested 
to make way for the new plantations. Additionally, initial 
discussions were held to provide support in the management of 
Guyana's forestry resources via satellite technology.  Guyana also 
requested greater bilateral cooperation and investment to further 
develop its aquaculture industry. 
 
Source - Stabroek News 
 
¶6. Uruguay Moving Forward With GMOs 
 
SEPT. 17, 2008 - During a July press conference, Uruguay's Minister 
of Agriculture Ernesto Agazzi announced that the Government was 
repealing a moratorium that had been imposed on the approval of new 
GM varieties in January 2007.  He said that Uruguay would instead 
adopt a policy of regulated coexistence of traditional, organic, and 
GM crops.  The GOU also decided that the labeling of GM products 
would not be mandatory, given the high complexity and cost involved 
in the process.  Uruguay has nearly 550,000 hectares planted with 
GMOs, and the GOU moratorium was enacted to enable the government to 
assess their impact. 
 
Source - MONTEVIDEO   00000528 
 
------- 
Forests 
------- 
 
¶7. Wal-Mart Mulling Contribution to Brazil's Amazon Rainforest Fund 
 
OCT. 26, 2008 - Wal-Mart may contribute to Brazil's national fund 
for conserving the Amazon rainforest, said Brazilian Environment 
Minister Carlos Minc.  Speaking to the press following the first 
meeting of the Amazon Fund's Guiding Committee, Minc said that 
Wal-Mart, Petrobras, and the American energy company AES have 
expressed interest in contributing to Brazil's newly established 
national fund for promoting conservation and sustainable development 
of the Amazon rainforest. The fund seeks to raise up to US$21 
billion to protect and sustainably use the Amazon for perpetuity. 
Norway earlier pledged up US$ 1 billion through 2021 to the fund. 
Some have complained that the Brazilian government has yet to detail 
either its plans to reduce deforestation or its plan on how much of 
the Amazon it seeks to protect. 
 
Source - Mongabay 
 
¶8. U.S. Cuts Peru's Debt Payments by US$25 Million In Exchange For 
Protecting Tropical Forest 
 
OCT. 21, 2008 - United States and Peru agreed to reduce Peru's 
debt payments in exchange for protecting the country's tropical 
forest.  Under the agreement more than 25 million dollars will be 
put towards conserving rain forest, announced Tuesday the US 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  004.2 OF 012 
 
 
Department of State.  This act complements an existing Tropical 
Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) debt-for-nature program signed with 
Peru in 2002, a 1997 debt swap under the Enterprise for the Americas 
Initiative and the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement 
(TPA) signed last year which includes a number of forest protection 
provisions.  With this agreement, the U.S. Department of State 
reports that Peru will be the largest beneficiary under the U.S. 
Tropical Forest Conservation Act, with more than 35 million dollars 
generated for conservation. 
 
Source - Andina 
 
NOTE from Embassy Lima - Embassy ESTH Office organized a successful 
announcement ceremony with Ambassador and Foreign, Environment & 
Economy/Finance Ministers. 
 
 
 
¶9. Global financial crisis may help Amazon, says Brazilian Minister 
Minc 
 
OCT. 07, 2008 - A global economic slowdown could help reduce 
destruction of the Amazon rain forest due to lower world commodity 
prices, opined Brazil's environment minister Carlos Minc.  Moreover, 
Minc is quoted as saying that Brazil should set targets to limit 
deforestation.  Speaking at the Reuters Global Environment Summit in 
Brasilia, Minc suggested that suspicions about foreign 
nongovernmental groups, or NGOs, operating in the Amazon were 
exaggerated.  Some nationalists in Congress, the military, and 
government say that the growing presence of foreigners in the Amazon 
is undermining Brazil's sovereignty and fueling deforestation.  "I 
think these accusations are being exaggerated.  There are a few 
companies and NGOs linked to biopiracy.  But they are the 
overwhelming minority," Minc said, referring to groups who allegedly 
smuggle plants to pharmaceutical laboratories abroad for commercial 
development. "Today the Amazon unfortunately is destroyed mostly by 
Brazilians," said Minc.  Since taking office as minister in May, the 
founder of the Green Party in Brazil cracked down on illegal cattle 
ranchers and soy farmers, and is promoting forestry management to 
help conserve the world's largest rain forest.  The fall in 
commodity prices resulting from a global economic slowdown will 
likely reinforce the government's own efforts in curbing 
deforestation, said Minc. 
 
Source - Reuters News 
 
¶10. Brazil: EU donates US$8mn for an Amazon Sustainable Development 
Program 
 
OCT. 02, 2008 - Brazil's environment minister Carlos Minc signed a 
technical cooperation agreement with the EU and the UN Food and 
Agriculture Organization to support a sustainable development 
program in the Amazon, government news agency Radiobras reported. 
The EU will provide 5.8 million Euros (US$8mn) in financing for the 
project.  The program aims to promote productive alternatives to 
help stop deforestation around the BR-163, a 1,000km stretch that 
connects the cities of Cuiaba, in Mato Grosso state, and Santarem, 
in Para. "This is a way to guarantee the survival of the population. 
We have 24mn people living in the Amazon and they should live with 
dignity. With technical and financial support, we can find a way for 
them to live with dignity," Minc was quoted as saying.  The BR-163 
is currently being paved and is one of the government's projects to 
promote sustainable development in the area. 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  005.2 OF 012 
 
 
 
Source - Business News Americas 
 
¶11. Forest Conservation Looms Large In Climate Debate, Bolivia 
Experience an Example 
 
SEPT. 2008 -   In 1997, two environmental groups and three energy 
companies teamed up to save parkland forests in Bolivia as a way to 
capture carbon and contribute to the fight against global warming. 
The deal, conceived by the Bolivian government, the U.S.-based 
Nature Conservancy and Bolivia's Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN), 
doubled the size of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park to 3.7 million 
acres (1.5 million ha) and involved investment of US$10.5 million. 
Some of the funds were used to pay timber companies to stop logging 
in the area, which cut carbon emissions.  And some became seed money 
for ecotourism and agroforestry projects aimed at curbing forest 
clearing.  Today, the highly prized park sustains some of the 
richest ecosystems in the world and serves, many experts say, as a 
prime example of how to harness the power of carbon trading for the 
benefit of forests and forest communities.  Debate about such 
efforts has moved to front and center as countries work on a 
so-called "road map" for a new climate-change agreement to supersede 
the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in 2013. Among the questions at issue is 
whether the new agreement should include a policy mechanism for 
combating climate change, known as Reducing Emissions from 
Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).  The work at Noel 
Kempff offers a useful guide. "Noel Kempff is the only REDD project 
I know of that has been implemented and independently verified using 
the same standards as those developed under the Clean Development 
Mechanism," says Zok Kant, carbon finance manager for The Nature 
Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia. "That makes it unique, and it's 
taught us many lessons relevant to REDD discussions today." 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
-------- 
Wildlife 
-------- 
 
¶12. New Conservation Opportunities for Threatened Bolivian Birds 
 
OCT. 10, 2008 - A team of biologists has made important new 
discoveries of populations of two bird species in the cordillera of 
Apolobamba in Bolivia. The critically endangered Royal Cinclodes 
bird was previously known primarily from highly fragmented Polylepis 
forests in the Andes of southeastern Peru, with an estimated 
remaining global population of just 50-250 individuals. The first 
sighting dates back to 1876, with more than a century passing before 
the second record in 1997. A few additional records came in 2002, at 
Cotapata National Park. The endangered Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant, 
meanwhile, was virtually unknown in Bolivia, with only three 
previous records from the Cordillera de La Paz.  With support of the 
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the American Bird Conservancy was 
able to fund a new study of the Polylepis forests in the northern 
Titicaca Lake basin, and the Cordilleras of La Paz and Apolobamba. 
Their research uncovered a total of 33 forest patches (an increase 
of 29), eight of which have since been identified as supporting 
Royal Cinclodes populations (compared to only one previously known). 
The team has also verified the presence of Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrants 
at 28 sites in 15 forests, containing up to 300 individuals or 
nearly one-third of the global population.  New funding from the 
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation aimed at sustaining biodiversity 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  006.2 OF 012 
 
 
in key protected areas of the Andes-Amazon region will help begin 
implementation of conservation measures in the region. 
 
Source - American Bird Conservancy 
 
¶13. Brazil Leads Efforts to Halt Species Extinctions 
 
OCT. 08, 2008 - The Brazilian Environment Ministry has launched a 
program aimed at identifying and protecting Alliance for Zero 
Extinction (AZE) sites within its national borders.  The program 
will be conducted in partnership with the Brazilian conservation 
organization Fundacao Biodiversitas, also an American Bird 
Conservancy partner.  Projects in Brazil already underway include 
the conservation of the Lear's Macaw and Stresemann's Bristlefront, 
as well as habitat protection for the Crowned Eagle, Brown-backed 
Parrotlet, and many other vulnerable species endemic to Brazil. 
 
Source - American Bird Conservancy 
 
----------------------------- 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
----------------------------- 
 
¶14. Chile Enacts Law to Ban Cetacean Hunting In Chilean Coastal 
Waters 
 
OCT. 15, 2008 - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a law 
which prohibits the hunting of cetaceans (whales) within its 
jurisdictional waters.  The new law calls the cetacean hunting a 
crime and the public are prohibited from killing, capturing, 
transporting, trading, storing or processing cetaceans, alive or 
dead.  The law protects the key living spaces for these mammals and 
promotes the creation of the protected coast marine areas, parks or 
reserved areas.  It also regulates actions in protection, rescue, 
rehabilitation, observation and monitoring of mammals, reptiles and 
hydrobiology birds.  This law, which benefits 43 cetacean species in 
the Chilean waters, is an acquired compromise of Bachelet. 
Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama also have banned 
cetacean hunting. 
 
Source - Xinhua News Agency 
 
--------------- 
Protected Areas 
--------------- 
 
¶15. Chile Inaugurates New Siete Tazas National Park 
 
OCT. 16, 2008 - Chile's President Michelle Bachelet inaugurated the 
new Siete Tazas National Park, the first park of its kind in south 
central Chile's Maule Region.  Bachelet used the occasion to 
announce the creation of six additional protected areas that will 
take effect next year. These projects include national parks Salar 
de Huasco (Region I), Morro Moreno (Region II) and Alerce Costero 
(Region XIV), natural reserves Altos del Loa (Region II) and Laguna 
Cahuill (Region VI), and natural monument Quebrada Cardones (Region 
XV). Agricultural Minister Marigen Hornkohl emphasized that the 
inauguration of Siete Tazas National Park was the cumulative 
expression of efforts made by Chile's democratic government since 
1990 to preserve and develop natural areas. The aim is to boost 
Chile's agricultural, forest and tourism activities. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  007.2 OF 012 
 
 
 
¶16. Chile's Protected Sites Fail to Protect 73 Percent of Vertebrate 
Species 
 
SEPT. 23, 2008 - A recent study by the Universidad Catolica's Center 
of Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity (CASEB) revealed 
that Chile's protected nature areas are failing to fully protect 73 
percent of Chile's 653 vertebrate species. Further, at least 13 
percent of Chile's vertebrate species are not covered by any 
protected territory.  Out of Chile's 46 threatened and endemic 
vertebrates - which include the Darwin frog, the Matuasto lizard and 
the long-tail snake from the north - only nine are fully protected, 
whereas four have no protection and 33 only have partial protection. 
 Researchers who compiled the study hope it will help redefine the 
protection zones, and they insist that the participation of private 
property owners is key to species conservation.   Now, the 
investigators are focused on analyzing how the system should develop 
over the next 100 years in the face of climate change, thereby 
enabling them to design a system that not only protects all the 
species, but also resists the disturbances that are to come. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
--------- 
Pollution 
--------- 
 
¶17. Pollution Kills More than AIDS and Traffic Accidents Combined in 
Sao Paulo 
 
OCT. 14, 2008 - According to Paulo Saldiva, from the University of 
Sao Paulo's Atmospheric Pollution Lab, 150 deaths can be avoided per 
year by simply reducing the amount of sulfur in the diesel used by 
vehicles.  Studies carried out by the lab point out that diseases 
caused by pollution such as respiratory problems and heart-attacks, 
cause nine deaths per day in the city.  This represents nearly 3,500 
deaths per year.  Deaths caused by AIDS and traffic accidents 
combined totaled 1,624 last year.  According to the lab, the 
metropolitan area of Sao Paulo spends nearly US$1.5 billion per year 
to treat diseases caused by air pollution. 
 
Source - Folha de Sao Paulo 
 
-------------- 
Climate Change 
 
-------------- 
 
¶18. Brazil Tests Carbon Reduction in Amazon Forest 
 
OCT. 17, 2008 - In the Juma forest reserve deep in Brazil's Amazon, 
conservationists will receive money from a Brazilian bank and a 
global hotel chain to protect trees and combat global warming.  The 
project is seen as a test case watched by other potential donors, 
mostly in rich countries, who want to help preserve tropical forests 
as a way to reduce their carbon footprints but have doubts about 
accountability and measuring success.  The Washington, D.C., 
area-based Marriott hotel chain agreed to donate $2 million over 
four years to the State of Amazonas' Foundation for a Sustainable 
Amazon, which runs the project. The money is donated to compensate 
for the carbon emissions of its guests worldwide and will help the 
foundation protect 34 forest reserves in the Amazon totaling 41 
million acres (16.4 million hectares), which it already manages. 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  008.2 OF 012 
 
 
Hotel guests will also be asked to donate $1 to the project, the 
foundation said.  Brazil's Bradesco bank and the Amazonas state 
government each donated 20 million Reais ($9.4 million) to the 
foundation, which was created in December. 
 
Source - Alertnet.org 
 
¶19. Southern Chile Glacial Lake Disappears, Again 
 
OCT.12, 2008 - The Cachet 2 glacial lake, located in the southern 
Chilean region of Aysn (Region XI), disappeared last week for the 
second time in six months. The lake spilled into the nearby Baker 
River, possibly due to a phenomenon some say is related to global 
warming.   Chile's General Water Office (DGA) measured a 4.7-meter 
rise in the water level of the Baker River. The change, which 
occurred over the course of 20 hours, indicated that the volume of 
the river's flow had risen from its normal 573 cubic meters of water 
per second to 3007 cubic meters per second.  The emptying of the 
lake caused flooding along a nearby road, prompting officials to 
dispatch a boat to rescue people and animals where necessary.  This 
is the second time that Cachet 2 has drained this year. In April, 
the lake completely vanished in a matter of 12 hours, causing 
flooding in nearby towns and farming communities. Experts attributed 
the April event to Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), a phenomenon 
caused by a sudden increase in a lake's volume. The volume increase 
can be due to one of a number of causes, including a volcanic 
eruption or part of a glacier falling into the lake.  Although 
experts say GLOF can be a naturally occurring phenomenon, some point 
to global warming as a factor which is increasing the rate of 
glacial melt and break-up. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
¶20. Peru Studies Climate Riddle as the World Heats Up 
 
OCT. 06, 2008 - Scientists are using everything from a yellow 
submarine to weather balloons and special airplanes to solve a 
climate conundrum: why is the ocean off the coast of Peru getting 
colder while the rest of the world heats up?  Researchers from 
Europe, the United States and South America started collecting reams 
of data this week from clouds, the shoreline and deep underwater to 
try to figure out the dynamics of the southeastern Pacific Ocean. 
The area, home to a fifth of the world's fish stocks, plays a 
crucial part in global weather patterns and scientists want to 
discover why temperatures have dropped in the Peruvian oceans along 
the desert coast. "Peru has a very important role in global 
climate," said Alexis Chaigneau, a French scientist leading 
experiments in Peru. "Over the past 50 years, the ocean off of the 
Peruvian coast has gotten colder, mainly because of stronger winds 
that have pulled up the deep cold waters of the ocean current." For 
the next three months, everything from a small satellite-controlled 
submarine to cloud-hugging airplanes will feed computers with 
information on oxygen levels in the water, temperature, salinity, 
wind speeds and current. 
 
Source - Reuters 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶21. Plan for Dams in Puyehue National Park outrages 
Environmentalists 
 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  009.2 OF 012 
 
 
OCT. 06, 2008 - Chile's leading environmental groups are up in arms 
over Hidroaustral's (energy company) plans to build run-of-the-river 
hydroelectric dams in Region X's Puyehue National Park.  National 
parks, under Chilean law, are normally protected from development of 
this kind.  Region X court is currently reviewing the legality of 
the Hidroaustral's controversial "Palmar-Correntoso" hydroelectric 
project, which was approved earlier this year for construction by 
regional environmental authorities. Region X COREMA's decision to 
approve the US$20 million Palmar-Correntoso dams outraged 
environmentalists and some members of Congress. The problem isn't so 
much the project itself, which is by all accounts "environmentally 
friendly," but rather its location - smack dab inside Chile's most 
visited national park. Under both national and international law, 
critics point out, national parks are supposed to be off limits to 
such commercial activity. In 1967, for example, Chile ratified the 
Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the 
Western Hemisphere. Originally drafted in 1940 in Washington D.C., 
the convention prohibits all types of commercial exploitation of 
resources located within protected areas. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶22. Giving priority to Thermo Plants "Myopic", says Brazil Energy 
Expert 
 
OCT. 02, 2008 - Brazil's power regulator Aneel has criticized the 
increased participation of fuel oil-fired thermo plants in recent 
energy auctions and defended hydroelectric plants as a cleaner 
energy source.  In a September 30 power auction for delivery in 
2013, a total of 23 thermo plants sold energy and only one hydro 
project took part due to a number of environmental restrictions. 
"Developed countries have already explored around 70% of their hydro 
potential, while Brazil has explored less than 30% and is creating 
barriers," Aneel general director Jerson Kelman said on the 
sidelines of an energy conference in Rio de Janeiro.  "Brazil has 
once again chosen to produce energy by burning oil instead of using 
water, a renewable fuel. If a Martian came to Brazil, he would have 
a hard time understanding this option," Kelman joked.  "To give 
priority to thermo plants is myopic because these plants result in 
neither financial nor environmental gain."  Wind power is still very 
expensive and not competitive enough for it to have a significant 
share in the energy matrix, he argued.  "Those who talk about wind 
or solar power don't take into account the price impact of these 
sources on the consumer," Kelman added. "From a technological point 
of view, it's possible, but economically it would be like doubling 
energy prices," he said. "I'm in favor of wind power for the future, 
maybe in 10 years." 
 
Source - Business News Americas 
 
¶23. Wind Farms Could Completely Power Chile's Chiloe 
 
OCT. 01, 2008 - An ambitious windfarm project set for the southern 
island of Chilo could - by as early as 2010 - make the island the 
first place in Chile fully powered by renewable energy.  And, if 
things go according to plan, Chiloe might even be able to export 
electricity to the mainland.  The project is slated for Mar Brava 
and Guapilacuy, rural areas located northwest of Ancud, Chiloe's 
capital city. The wind farms would occupy some 1,400 hectares and 
together boast an installed generating capacity of roughly 140 
megawatts (MW) - enough energy to power approximately 700,000 homes. 
 Chiloe's total current energy needs are estimated at 90 MW.  Chiloe 
is attached to Chile's central energy grid, known as the SIC, via 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  010.2 OF 012 
 
 
power lines that run over the Chacao Channel.  Right now, much of 
its electricity is derived from fossil fuel burning plants located 
mostly on the mainland. The companies behind the project - Ecopower, 
a Chilean firm, and Spanish-owned Enhol-Chile - expect to spend 
approximately US$300 million. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶24. Brazil to Unveil Auto Fuel-Efficiency Stickers 
 
SEPT. 2008 - Brazil's state-run standardization institute is 
preparing to present a fuel-efficiency sticker for the nation's 17 
car makers and 10 car importers to post voluntarily on new vehicles, 
starting with 2009 models.  The sticker, a prototype of which was 
displayed at Brazil's national auto show in Sao Paulo from Oct. 30 
to Nov. 9, is the work of the National Institute of Metrology, 
Standardization and Industrial Quality.  The institute, called 
Inmetro, provides measurement standards and energy ratings for 
manufactured products.  Inmetro spent the last two years working 
with Brazilian car makers and importers to devise the sticker, which 
is to be placed on the driver's side window.  The institute 
traditionally has not required the posting of energy ratings for 
manufactured products, and it is not doing so in the case of the 
automobile initiative. That's because mandatory ratings would 
require a longer bureaucratic process, says Alexandre Novgorodcev, 
director of Inmetro's fuel-efficiency-rating program.  A voluntary 
program, he says, is quicker to start and will likely find broad 
acceptance among car sellers in any event. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
--------------------- 
Extractive Industries 
--------------------- 
 
¶25. Report Says Los Pelambres Mine Threatens Chile's Glaciers 
 
OCT. 17, 2008 - A recent academic study accused Los Pelambres mine 
(MLP) of concealing important information about its knowledge of 
rocky glaciers near the mine and the damage the mining development 
has caused to the glaciers. MLP is located near Coquimbo in northern 
Chile and is owned by Chile's powerful Luksic family.  The 
University of Waterloo study reported that MLP development between 
2000 and 2006 severely impacted 2.84 million square meters of 
permanent reservoirs of water. The mine's intervention in the 
underground water supplies was "not announced in any of the 
environmental studies presented to authorities between 1998 and 
2004," said the report. Canadian geographer Alexander Brenning and 
Chilean Guillermo Azocar headed the study and both highlighted that 
a mine's "intervention in a high solar radiation zone with scarce 
rain makes no sense because water is so much more valuable in these 
areas." 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶26. Chile Forestry Officials Halt Mining to Protect Flamingos 
 
OCT. 15, 2008 - Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) asked 
a court to halt mining company Quiborax's operations in northern 
Chile's Sarire salt flat, a protected area considered a natural 
monument.  CONAF - the government agency that administers the 
country's national parks - claims the company is breaking the law by 
 
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working too close to the nesting sites of the flamingos that inhabit 
the area.  CONAF also requested that the court require the National 
Environmental Commission (CONAMA) to weigh in and demand an 
environmental impact study from the company.  Quiborax mines 
ulexite, a mineral which is converted into boric acid and 
agrochemical products. A 1978 presidential decree granted the 
company permission to work in the protected salt flat. While the 
decree requires the company to take measures to protect local flora 
and fauna, it does not establish specific guidelines. A 1989 decree, 
however, is more precise, prohibiting mining activities within 3,000 
meters of nesting sites. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶27. Argentina: La Rioja Does U-Turn on Open-Pit Mine Ban 
 
SEPT. 2008 - Little more than a year after passing a prohibition on 
open-pit mining involving such toxic substances as cyanide or 
mercury, the legislature of Argentina's La Rioja province has 
reversed course and repealed the measure.  The original ban was 
championed by the province's then vice-governor, Luis Beder Herrera, 
and it played a role in the impeachment and removal from office of 
the governor at the time, Angel Maza.  Maza was criticized for 
allowing Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold to gain exploration 
rights to a gold mine abandoned in the 1920s on Famatina Mountain. 
"The real treasure of Famatina Mountain is the water," Beder Herrera 
declared in August of last year. "We are against them polluting our 
land and water."  After passage of the open-pit mining ban, Beder 
Herrera became governor-first on a provisional basis, then in an 
Aug. 2007 election.  And last month he presided over a 180-degree 
turn, executed by governing-party lawmakers in the provincial 
legislature.  "The government is interested in promoting mining 
because it understands that if there is no mining investment in the 
province, we're going to postpone development of this province for 
generations," Mario Guzman Soria, the governing bloc's president, 
told lawmakers before the Aug. 7 repeal. He also remarked it isn't 
true that "all mining signifies death and pollution."  Several days 
later, green groups in Famatina and Chilecito accused the governing 
party of "treason," declared Beder Herrera persona non grata and 
vowed to continue their fight. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas 
 
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Infrastructure Development 
-------------------------- 
 
¶28. Environmental Impact Statement Filed For Five-Dam Hydro Project 
in Chile 
 
SEPT. 2008 - Green groups are stepping up protests in Chile now that 
proponents of five hydroelectric dams in the Patagonian region of 
Aysen have filed a long-awaited environmental-impact statement for 
the project.  The 10,500-page impact study says the dams will 
require a total investment of US$3.2 billion and possess a combined 
installed capacity of 2,750 megawatts.  If the project wins 
approval, the sponsors, Italian- and Spanish-owned Endesa and 
Chile's Colbun, plan to begin construction next year. The first dam 
would come on line on the Baker River in 2014 and the last one would 
start up on the Pascua River in 2021.  Construction is contingent 
not only on the impact-statement's approval, but also on 
authorization of a US$2 billion, 1,500-mile transmission line to 
deliver the energy to Santiago and other cities in central Chile. 
 
BRASILIA 00001465  012.2 OF 012 
 
 
The dams would alter two prized Patagonian rivers, and the power 
line would require a 120-meter right-of-way to be cut through 
protected areas. But support for the projects is strong in business 
and government circles on account of Chile's strained power 
supplies. 
 
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete 
article) 
 
¶29. Finance Institutions, Corporations, and Conservationists Debate 
IIRSA 
 
On Sept. 4, the Technical Coordinating Committee of IIRSA (CCT) 
hosted a small day-long meeting to discuss infrastructure and the 
Amazon. The meeting was motivated by a growing perception that IIRSA 
and related investment trends in the Amazon region are inducing 
perverse and unsustainable effects that are undermining the 
legitimacy of the infrastructure integration initiative. Under 
discussion for months, the meeting was perhaps a first, modest 
attempt to bring International Financial Institutions (IFIs), 
corporations, and conservationists together to debate the 
compatibility of large, high risk infrastructure projects in the 
Amazon with sustainable, equitable development outcomes.  As a 
cooperative framework for coordination and planning, IIRSA remains 
fragile and largely ineffective in its ability to address some of 
the most urgent challenges.  The lack of any legal or juridical 
framework to institutionalize integration principles remains a major 
obstacle (UNASUR is not viewed as a viable solution in the short 
term).  The meeting emphasized the social, environmental and 
economic risks of IIRSA projects advancing much faster than 
integration planning, and with virtually no planning for social and 
environmental sustainability.  The discussion sidestepped real 
discussion of the Rio Madeira project, the Peru Southern 
Interoceanic Highway, and other emblematic high risk projects that 
undermine meaningful consideration of sustainability. 
 
Source - BICECA 
 
SOBEL