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    Brazil’s Light for All Program Promotes Renewable Energy

    Friday, February 27th, 2009

    A six-year old program to bring electricity to all Brazil’s citizens has concluded that solar, wind or mini-hydro power, or in some cases power generated by natural gas, may be the most practical solution to bring power  to remote places in the Amazon or the Pantanal. To encourage the use of alternative forms of energy, […]

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    Economic Growth Model is Rapidly Transforming/Degrading the Amazon

    Thursday, February 19th, 2009

    From the UN Environment Programme (UNEP): A Strong Impact is Made on the Amazonia by its Economic Growth Model However, responses by the governments of Amazonian countries indicate that efforts are under way on concrete action to deal with their environmental challenges. The population is increasing, reaching a level of 33.5 million inhabitants in 2007. […]

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    Peru Opens Public Consultations on Draft National Environment Policy / Peru pone en consulta pública borrador de política nacional del ambiente

    Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

    Peru’s Environment Ministry (Minam) is circulating for public comment its proposal for a National Environment Policy. Interested parties can submit comments and suggestions through a web-based form. Minam will also be holding consultative workshops on the draft Policy in Lima and four regions. The draft Policy is clear and concise, with a set of overarching […]

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    Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon Drops

    Friday, January 23rd, 2009

    Brazil’s Environment Minister, Carlos Minc, just announced at a press conference that the pace of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell 82% in the last five months of 2008 compared to a similar period in 2007. Minc attributes the drop to two factors: policies put into place by the federal government and regional authorities, and […]

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    Using Community Mapping to Combat Deforestation / Utilizando mapeamento participativo para combatir o desmatamento

    Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

    Temas Observation: I have long stressed the importance of good data-gathering and diagnosis as the basis for sound action, and advocated getting individuals, civic groups and communities involved in such work.  Hence I applaud this effort led by Greenpeace.  As their press releases point out, combating deforestation in the Amazon is difficult in part because […]

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    Caixa Will Only Loan to Construction Using Certified Legal Wood / Caixa só financiará empreendimentos usuários de madeira legal

    Monday, January 5th, 2009

    The Brazilians have decided that if they are to ever reach their goal of wiping out illegal logging in the Amazon, they need to do more than more than just step up police raids, support sustainable wood use projects, create new parks, digitize monitoring, monitor biomass in realtime by satellite, and target key states. The […]

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    A Unique GEO for MEROSUR

    Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

    Last month a GEO for the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR or MERCOSUL) was finally unveiled with much fanfare by representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the meeting of MERCOSUR Environment Ministers. What’s a GEO? It’s probably the best known type of comprehensive environmental diagnosis available. “GEO” was the acronym for “Global […]

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    Building on the Legacy of Chico Mendes in the Brazilian Amazon / Ampliar o Legado de Chico Mendes na Amazônia

    Saturday, December 20th, 2008

    From the World Bank: Loan to Help Build on the Legacy of Chico Mendes in the Brazilian Amazon Project to be signed today with President Lula will help the State of Acre carry on ground-breaking work in inclusive and sustainable development Approval coincides with the twenty-year memorial of Mendes’ assassination The World Bank Board’s Executive […]

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    Targeting Key States in Brazil’s Battle vs. Amazon Deforestation

    Monday, November 24th, 2008

    The Norwegian government is funding, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is administering, a US$4.3 million pilot project by Brazil’s Environment Ministry (MMA) and the governments of three states — Acre (AC), Mato Grosso (MT) and Pará (PA) — to combat deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.  As I’ve noted here in the past, MT and […]

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    Brazil Will Monitor All Its Biomass by Satellite

    Thursday, November 20th, 2008

    Synopsis in English: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is financing a project by the Brazilian Environment Ministry (MMA) and environment agency (IBAMA) that will expand satellite monitoring to detect deforestation from just the Amazon region (which has been underway since 1988) to all its biomass.  Thus monitoring will be added for the Cerrado, Caatinga, […]

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