U.S. Gives $30 Million for Brazilian Rainforest
10/28/97
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Headline: U.S. Gives $30 Million for Brazilian Rainforest
Source: The Environment News Service
Date: 10/28/97
Copyright 1997 ENS, Inc.
MANAUS, Brazil, October 28, 1997 (ENS) - As part of the Clinton
Administration's overall effort to reduce the threats of global climate
change, the U.S. has announced a new $30 million dollar grant to fund
preservation of the Brazilian rainforest.
The grant was announced by Mark Schneider, U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Latin America
and the Caribbean. He is leading the U.S. delegation to Manaus, for the
Annual Participants' Meeting to the G-7 Pilot Program to Conserve the
Brazilian Rain Forest (PPG-7) which opened here Monday.
In addition to donors, the Secretaries of the Environment of the nine
Amazonian State Governments and of the State of Sao Paulo, representing the
Atlantic Forest region, Brazilian and International non-governmental
organizations involved in the program, other multi-lateral organizations,
and members of the private sector are also attending the meeting.
The PPG-7 was launched at the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It is
funded by the Group of Seven industrialized countries, and is coordinated
by the government of Brazil and the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD).
U.S. government support to the PPG-7 and its objectives will total at least
$30 million.
A USAID financial contribution of $10 million over five years to the core
PPG-7 program will support directed research and the development of sound
Amazonian research institutions. While in Brazil earlier this month,
President Clinton announced this financial contribution. USAID contributed
the first $2 million installment of this grant this year.
The continuation of USAID's Amazon and Atlantic Coastal Rain Forest
conservation program will receive at least $20 million over five years.
This program, implemented by USAID in partnership primarily with U.S. and
local conservation non-governmental organizations, will count as Associated
Bilateral Activities of the PPG-7.
In addition, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
(NASA) possible participation in the Brazilian-led Large-Scale
Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) would involve a potential
commitment of an additional $25 million over five years. NASA has also
offered to loan a C-130B aircraft to the Brazilian Space Agency for civil
environmental management, training of personnel, and support for LBA
research activities.
USAID's additional $10 million contribution to the core PPG-7 will provide
competitive grants to qualified Brazilian scientists based at Amazonian
research centers, universities, and NGOs. Two broad areas of research will
be supported. First, scientists will focus on understanding Amazonian
ecosystems and the impact of human actions. They will then develop
practices that provide competitive economic returns to local inhabitants
while maintaining the quality and quantity of the natural resource base for
future generations.
In addition, up to $1 million of the funds may be used to further
strengthen USAID programs aimed at two Brazilian Amazon research
institutions, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (MPEG) and Instituto Nacional de
Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA), to insure the integrity of irreplaceable
reference collections, to increase access to international scientific
literature, and to enhance inter-institutional scientific collaboration.
Currently, a number of PPG-7 projects are underway:
1. Science Centers of Excellence supports the Amazon Research Institute
(INPA) in Manaus and the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (MPEG) in Belem,
employing more than 300 scientists, many of them Americans.
2. The Directed Research Project manages competitive research grants on
Amazon ecosystems, sustainable resource use, and the socio-economics
of Amazon development.
3. The Extractive Reserves Project manages the protection of traditional
forest use for enterprises such as rubber tapping and Brazil nut
collection.
4. The Demonstration Project the efforts of non-governmental
organizations to conserve forests through local initiatives for
sustainable development.
5. The Natural Resources Policy Project supports state-level
environmental enforcement and environmental impact assessment and
helps in the demarcation of indigenous reserves.
Additional PPG-7 projects are now being prepared, including timber resource
management planning, developing management plans for conservation units,
wetlands and fisheries resource planning, support for environmental
awareness campaigns, rehabilitation of degraded lands, and the monitoring
and analysis of the overall Pilot Program.
USAID assistance to Brazil totals approximately $12 million per year and is
targeted in areas of critical need. The USAID program focuses on: Amazon
forest and biodiversity conservation, renewable energy, energy efficiency,
women's reproductive health, AIDS prevention, and at-risk youth.