Brazil's Arid Northeast to Host Desertification
10/29/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: ENVIRONMENT: Brazil's Arid Northeast to Host Desertification
Source: InterPress Service
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 29, 1999
Byline: Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 29 (IPS) - Brazil's impoverished, arid
northeastern region will host a Nov 15-26 international conference
on the fight against desertification, a problem threatening nearly
one million square kilometres in that area - or close to one-
eighth of the national territory.
Representatives of 159 countries will fly to Recife, the
capital of the state of Pernambuco, to participate in the third
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Combatting
Desertification, which will focus on the situation in Africa, the
continent hit hardest by the phenomenon.
But the touchiest part of the discussions will be the question
of financing programmes aimed at curbing the growth of deserts in
poor developing countries, said Brazilian Vice-President Marco
Maciel, who as political leader from Pernambuco has a particular
interest in the problem.
Around 20 to 30 billion dollars are needed to fight the
phenomenon worldwide, and the scarcity of funds is especially
acute in the developing South, he pointed out.
Desertification is a threat in 110 countries representating all
of the continents, and in 70 percent of arid land used for
agriculture, according to the secretariat of the UN convention.
More than 2,500 participants are expected at the conference in
Recife, between representatives of governments, international and
inter-governmental bodies, and non-governmental organisations, as
well as journalists.
Around 60 parliamentarians from a number of countries will meet
parallel to the conference, on Nov 22-23, to discuss legislative
actions to ensure effective compliance with the convention.
In Brazil, the greatest risk of degradation of land subjected
to frequent, lengthy droughts is concentrated in the northeast,
where 980,711 square kms are threatened by the phenomenon of
desertification, according to Brazil's Environment Ministry.
That area, known as the ''Drought Polygon'', accounts for
nearly one-eighth of national territory, covers parts of nine of
Brazil's 27 states, and is home to 17.8 million of the country's
inhabitants, or 11 percent of the total population.
The phenomenon of desertification in northeastern Brazil, like
in Africa, is closely linked to poverty, which acts as both cause
and effect of the growing aridity of land. The periodic droughts
plaguing the northeast are the main factor underlying the exodus
of Brazilians to the large cities in central and southern Brazil.
Agriculture that pays no attention to the environment and moves
around in search of less eroded or degraded land, as well as
mining, are the main causes of desertification in the northeast,
according to the coordinator of the National Plan for Combatting
Desertification, Heitor Matallo Junior.
The intense scarcity of rain in the region since last year has
aggravated already pressing problems like hunger, infant
mortality, unemployment and the rural exodus. An emergency
programme providing food and temporary jobs has been launched by
the government to ease the situation.
The National Institute of Meteorology forecasts continued
drought at least until next May - which would mean two years of
practically zero rainfall in extensive areas.
But the drought could last five more years, which would be
catastrophic for local residents, according to a study by U.S.
researcher Christian Keppenne, sent to Brazilian authorities and
covered by the 'O Estado de Sao Paulo' newspaper last week.
Basing his forecasts on the regular recurrence of the El Ni o
weather phenomenon, the heating of the waters of the Pacific
ocean, Keppenne predicts rainfall for northeastern Brazil from
next January to July, followed by five dry years.
The government, meanwhile, has been pushing to implement a long-
standing idea to change the course of one of the country's biggest
rivers, the Sao Francisco, which runs across the southeast part of
the arid northeast.
The aim of the project would be to increase the water flow of
several smaller rivers farther north, which dry up completely when
rainfall is scarce.
But the initiative has run into political resistance from the
state of Bah-a, which fears losing water needed for irrigation,
while it has also faced problems in drumming up the necessary
funds.
Desertification is also a threat in small areas at the extreme
southern tip of Brazil. (END/IPS/tra-so/mo/mj/sw/99)
Origin: Montevideo/ENVIRONMENT/
----