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### Viewing cable 08BRASILIA278, SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 107

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08BRASILIA278 | 2008-02-29 19:28 | 2011-07-11 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Brasilia

`

    VZCZCXRO1773
    RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
    DE RUEHBR #0278/01 0601928
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 291928Z FEB 08
    FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1088
    INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
    RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0224
    RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0227
    RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0390
    RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 0217
    RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0252
    RUEHOR/AMEMBASSY GABORONE 0220
    RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0224
    RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 0227
    RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0745
    RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0206
    RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0432
    RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 5320
    RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0163
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 5978
    RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 3700
    RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 2397
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 4458
    RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6604
    RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 1416
    RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7234
    RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO 1455
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3976
    RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7731
    RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 1655
    RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 5831
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
    RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC
    RUEHC/DOI WASHDC
    RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
    RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
    RUEANAT/NASA HQ WASHDC
    RUCPDC/NOAA WASHDC
    RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
    RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC
    RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 16 BRASILIA 000278

    SIPDIS

    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 107

    BRASILIA 00000278  001.2 OF 016

    ¶1.  The following is the one-hundred-seventh in 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.  The e-mail version also contains a calendar of
    upcoming ESTH events in the region.  NOTE: THE NEWSLETTER IS NOW
    ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE BRASILIA INTRANET PAGE, BY CLICKING ON THE
    'HUB' LINK.

    ¶2. Table of Contents

    South America Environment, Science &Technology, and Health
    Newsletter

    Agriculture
    --(3)Argentina: Danger in the Fields
    --(4)Brazil Authorizes Genetically Modified Crops

    Health
    --(5)Paraguay: Yellow Fever Update

    Industrial Wastewater Pollution
    --(6)Argentine Potassium Plan Stirs Water Worry
    --(7)Venezuela: Photocatalysis Fights Water Contamination
    --(8)Argentina's New President Pushing Sugar-Mill Cleanup

    Forests
    --(9)Latin America: Deforestation Still Winning
    --(10)Brazil: Pantanal Indians Threatened by Deforestation
    --(11)Peru: "For Sale" Signs in Amazon Jungle
    --(12)Colombian Court Throws Out Disputed Forestry Law
    --(13)Peru: Logging Firm Accused of Using Workers' Identities for
    Tax Fraud

    Wildlife
    --(14)Brazil Launches Extinction Initiative

    Ecology

    BRASILIA 00000278  002.2 OF 016

    --(15)Overfishing May Hurt Brazilian Pantanal Trees

    Antarctic Research
    --(16)Venezuela Helped by Uruguay Plans Antarctic Base
    --(17)Brazilian President Commits Support for Antarctic Research

    Mercury
    --(18)Peru: Scramble for Gold Scars Madre de Dios Region

    Energy
    --(19)Brazil, Argentina Launch Energy Cooperation, but Natural Gas
    Negotiation Fails
    --(20)Peru Plans Renewable Energy Investment
    --(21)Brazil, French Guiana Cooperation includes Tackling Illegal
    Mining, Biofuels
    --(22)Colombia Ignores Pledge to Indians, Plans New Sin Dam

    Special Report: Increase in Deforestation Rate in Brazilian Amazon
    Sparks Government Action
    --(24)Brazil to Boost Penalties to Pare Amazon Devastation
    --(25)Brazil Mob Attacks Anti-Logging Agents in Amazon Region
    --(26)Brazil Plans Fund to Help Finance Amazon Conservation
    --(27)Brazil Police Resume Crackdown on Amazon Logging

    -----------
    Agriculture
    -----------

    ¶3. Argentina: Danger in the Fields

    FEB. 18, 2008 - The agriculture industry in Argentina is enjoying
    the boom in demand for soybeans and other commodities and the
    subsequent high prices, which are also fattening the state coffers.
    But the question of the unsafe handling of pesticides, herbicides
    and fertilizers has basically been ignored amidst the collective
    euphoria.  According to the Secretariat of Agriculture, the latest
    harvest set a new record of nearly 95 million tons of grains, half
    of which were soybeans. Private consultants estimate that 3.6 tons
    of fertilizers were used in 2007, 20 percent more than in 2006. And
    the growing demand has drawn major investments in fertilizer
    production plants run by local and international companies, which
    indicates that output will continue to rise.  A similar boom is seen

    BRASILIA 00000278  003.2 OF 016

    in herbicide use, with glyphosate as the leading product, used to
    control weeds in the country's vast soybean fields. Experts
    recommend campaigns to inform people about the correct handling of
    such products and the risks they pose, as well as training, both for
    farmers and workers who use them and health professionals who must
    properly diagnose the symptoms of exposure to toxic agrochemicals.

    Source - IPS News

    ¶4. Brazil Authorizes Genetically Modified Crops

    FEB. 12, 2008 - Brazil's National Biosecurity Council has authorized
    the planting and sale of two types of genetically modified corn,
    angering some rural groups which consider these varieties
    environmentally risky.  Science and Technology Minister Sergio
    Rezende said the decision by the 11 cabinet ministers making up the
    council "is the first approval for genetically modified corn in
    Brazil," according to the state news agency Agencia Brasil.  One of
    the varieties authorized was a pest-resistant crop called MON 810 by
    its maker, the US biotech company Monsanto, and marketed under the
    names Guardian and YieldGard.  Brazil has previously approved the
    use of two other genetically modified crops engineered by Monsanto.
    In 2005, an insect-resistant cotton called Bollgard Evento 531 was
    authorized, along with a herbicide-tolerant soybean known as RR.

    Source - Yahoo

    ------
    Health
    ------

    ¶5. Paraguay: Yellow Fever Update

    FEB. 15, 2008 - As of February 15, there are 46 presumed cases of
    yellow fever in Paraguay.  Twenty-six are live cases; only five
    cases have been confirmed to date.  The first case of yellow fever
    surfaced January 15 in San Estanislao, San Pedro Department. A team
    of experts dispatched to the region found five more cases between
    January 17 and 30.  A second team of experts from the Central
    Laboratory was dispatched to the region January 23 and found five
    more suspected cases.  While the investigation is ongoing,
    preliminary indications are that the disease was spread by monkeys

    BRASILIA 00000278  004.2 OF 016

    from Brazil into Paraguay.  Health authorities confirmed five cases
    of yellow fever February 4.  Since then, the virus spread to the
    suburbs of Asuncion and the number of suspected cases has doubled.
    The first urban case was reported in San Lorenzo, a suburb of
    Asuncion. Public fears of an epidemic are surging.  Health Minister
    Oscar Martinez declared a national epidemiological alert February 8.
    Two days later, the Health Ministry announced that it had run out of
    vaccines.  The shortage has created chaos in some communities and
    complicated the GOP's ability to manage the outbreak.  On February
    5, the day after the Health Ministry confirmed the presence of
    yellow fever, thousands of Paraguayans flooded health centers across
    the country for vaccines.  Following 13,000 vaccinations, the Health
    Minister announced February 6 that its supply was almost depleted
    and that the remaining vaccines would be used in San Pedro.
    According to February 13 press reports, thousands of people residing
    in areas with confirmed cases of yellow fever were turned away from
    clinics when supplies were exhausted.  Approximately 4,000 residents
    of San Lorenzo protested the lack of vaccines by blocking a major
    highway February 13.

    Source - US Embassy Asuncion, ASUNCION   00000103;

    -------------------------------
    Industrial Wastewater Pollution
    -------------------------------

    ¶6. Argentine Potassium Mining Plan Stirs Water Worry

    FEB. 2008 - Scientists and some government officials are questioning
    plans for a massive potassium-chloride mine in Argentina's Mendoza
    province, arguing salt waste from the operation would harm water
    resources.  The US$900 million mine planned by the Anglo-Australian
    company Rio Tinto would be developed in the south of Mendoza near
    the Colorado River, which flows 600 miles (1,000 kms) through five
    provinces from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. Rio Tinto says it
    will extract potassium chloride, which is used mainly for
    fertilizer, by means of a chemical-free method called solution
    extraction. A prime question about the potassium plan has to do with
    waste.  The company says that for every ton of potassium extracted,
    1.21 tons of salt will be produced.  The salt will not be sold on
    account of its scant economic value; instead, it will be deposited
    in piles three miles (5 kms) from the Colorado River.  Experts worry

    BRASILIA 00000278  005.2 OF 016

    that over time, the salt piles could represent a significant threat
    to downstream drinking water supplies.

    Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete
    article)

    ¶7. Venezuela: Photocatalysis Fights Water Contamination

    FEB. 18, 2007 - Venezuela hopes to have ready this year the
    prototype of a lake decontamination system that uses solar rays to
    destroy the toxic substances in the water -- heterogeneous
    photocatalysis.  "Water contaminants degrade with the increase in
    the speed of the chemical reaction between the compounds involved.
    The toxic organic molecules oxidize and generate ultra-pure water,"
    Juan Matos, a chemist with the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific
    Research and leader of the project that also involves Cuba, told
    Tierramrica.  While the Venezuelan experts will focus on the toxic
    chemicals, the Cubans will take on the microbiological angle --
    bacteria and viruses.  Small reactors would operate on energy from
    solar collectors, a technology that Matos hopes to apply in
    Maracaibo Lake (polluted by industrial development).

    Source - Tierramerica

    ¶8. Argentina's New President Pushing Sugar-Mill Cleanup

    FEB. 2008 - After a post-inaugural summer vacation, Argentine
    President Cristina Kirchner used her first official appearance of
    2008 to propose a cleanup of the Sal-Dulce basin, one of
    Argentina's most important watersheds. Kirchner announced the
    initiative last month with the governors of the five provinces that
    share the 22,000-square-mile (57,000-sq-km) watershed-Catamarca,
    Csrdoba, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumn.  The objective is
    to reduce pollution from Tucumn sugar mills and other plants blamed
    for harming water quality in Santiago del Estero's Ro Hondo
    reservoir.  It calls for a watershed commission and incentives to
    induce plants to install pollution-control equipment.

    Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete
    article)

    BRASILIA 00000278  006.2 OF 016

    -------
    Forests
    -------

    ¶9. Latin America: Deforestation Still Winning

    FEB. 16, 2007 - Never before have Latin America and the Caribbean
    fought so hard against deforestation, say experts and government
    officials, but logging in the region has increased to the point that
    it has the highest rate in the world.  Of every 100 hectares of
    forest lost worldwide between the years 2000 and 2005, nearly 65
    were in Latin America and the Caribbean.  In that period, the
    average annual rate was 4.7 million hectares lost -- 249,000
    hectares more than the entire decade of the 1990s.  Deforestation
    remains difficult to deal with because there are many economic
    interests in play, according to Ricardo Snchez, director for Latin
    America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Environment Program
    (UNEP).  The "Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for
    Sustainable Development - 5 Years After Its Adoption" (ILAC) Report,
    prepared by UNEP, indicates that although forestry activity has
    maintained a positive performance in terms of improving productivity
    and advances in sustainable management and other practices, such as
    certification of sustainably harvested lumber, it has not prevented
    the loss of forests.  According to the study, in some countries the
    shrinking of forested areas continues to be associated with an
    increase in livestock-raising and the classic model of expanding
    pasture area by cutting down forests.

    Source - IPS News

    ¶10. Brazil: Pantanal Indians Threatened by Deforestation

    FEB. 09, 2008 - The indigenous peoples of the central-western
    Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul must deal with a lack of land
    to grow crops and the destruction of the environment.  The few
    communities lucky enough to have remaining forest land, face the
    threat of losing it.  That is the case of those who live in the Mato
    Grosso Pantanal, a vast wetland ecosystem whose preservation is
    among Brazil's foremost environmental concerns.  Forests in the
    settlement area of the Kadiweu are logged to feed the growing demand
    of the steel mill in Corumb, in the heart of the Pantanal, said

    BRASILIA 00000278  007.2 OF 016

    Alessandro Menezes, head of Ecology and Action, a local
    non-governmental organization, in an interview with Tierramrica.
    The MMX Company, which since 2007 has been producing steel and pig
    iron in Corumb, has already faced threat of a forced closure  for
    its use of illegal plant-based charcoal, but it continues to operate
    under a temporary judicial order.  The needs of the Corumb iron and
    steel complex, made up of four large Brazilian or multi-national
    companies, far outstrip the available plant-based charcoal that can
    be produced by nearby plantation forestry initiatives, says Sonia
    Hess, professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul.  As
    a result, nearly 3,500 tons of native trees are turned into charcoal
    each day.   Let's discuss this one

    Source - IPS News

    ¶11. Peru: "For Sale" Signs in Amazon Jungle

    FEB. 5, 2008 - The Peruvian Congress is debating a draft law pushed
    by the government that would authorize the sale of vast tracts of
    deforested, uncultivated land in the Amazon jungle to private
    companies that invest in "reforestation" efforts.  But critics say
    there is no land registry showing which natural areas could be sold
    off without hurting the region's rich biodiversity or affecting
    local residents who do not hold formal title to their land.  Under
    the current law, areas authorized for reforestation are granted in
    concession.  But President Alan Garca argues that if the land were
    sold to them instead, companies would enjoy greater security and
    more jobs would be created. The government's interest in selling off
    land in the Amazon jungle had already been announced by Garca in an
    op-ed piece in the local daily El Comercio.  Experts argue that the
    president is focusing on profit and investment without taking into
    account the Amazon's great natural wealth or the local inhabitants
    of these areas, many of whom are indigenous people.  Currently,
    oversight of reforestation initiatives and plantation forestry is
    carried out by the government agency Proinversisn, as if it were
    just another economic activity, instead of by a specialized body
    that could study the environmental, social and cultural aspects that
    should be taken into account when selling land in an area like the
    Amazon jungle. "The problem is that the draft law that the
    government has introduced does not clearly define what kind of land
    we are really talking about, because there is no land registry,"

    BRASILIA 00000278  008.2 OF 016

    Luis Capella, the head of the non-governmental Peruvian Society on
    Environmental Law's forestry programme.

    Source - IPS News

    ¶12. Colombian Court Throws Out Disputed Forestry Law

    FEB. 2008 - Ruling in one of its most important environmental cases
    in years, Colombia's highest court has overturned a forestry law
    that critics said would open vast tracts of primary forests to
    commercial logging.  The Jan. 23 decision by Colombia's
    Constitutional Court to throw out the 2006 General Law of Forestry
    marked a huge victory for a national coalition of Indian,
    Afro-Colombian and environmental organizations. The coalition had
    challenged the law, arguing it would endanger the country's 158
    million acres (64 million has) of primary forest-nearly half of
    which belongs to Afro-Colombian and Indian groups.   Ruling on
    largely procedural grounds, the court found that the government had
    violated Colombia's constitution by failing to consult with the
    affected communities about the forestry legislation. Green
    organizations, as well as Indian and Afro-Colombian advocacy groups,
    hailed the decision.

    Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete
    article)

    ¶13. Peru: Logging Firm Accused of Using Workers' Identities for Tax
    Fraud

    JAN. 30, 2008 - Impoverished local residents of the Amazon jungle
    town of Orellana in Peru have filed a complaint against a logging
    company for using their identity documents to commit tax fraud in
    illegal timber sales worth more than 200,000 dollars.  The affected
    workers say they took no part in the swindle and never saw any of
    the money, and accuse the Consorcio Maderero Company of hatching the
    entire scheme. The company holds one of the 240 logging concessions
    granted by the National Institute of National Resources' office on
    forestry and wildlife (Intendencia Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre) in
    a region which concentrates nearly half of all of the concessions
    awarded in the country.  The Pacaya Samiria Nature Reserve, the most
    extensive area of flooded forest in Peru and one of the country's
    richest areas in flora and fauna, makes up six percent of the region

    BRASILIA 00000278  009.2 OF 016

    of Loreto and 1.5 percent of the national territory. The chief
    economic activity in the region is logging, both legal and illegal.

    Source - Tierramerica

    --------
    Wildlife
    --------

    ¶14. Brazil Launches Extinction Initiative

    FEB. 20, 2008 - In a pioneering effort to halt species extinction in
    the Brazilian Amazon, the state of Para is launching the Zero
    Extinction Program, the first of its kind in Brazil. The program,
    part of a decree signed February 20 in Belem by Para Governor Ana
    Julia Carepa identifies threatened species, key sites where they
    live and measures to protect and conserve these threatened habitats
    and species.  A key element of the Par Zero Extinction Program is
    the compilation of a "red list" or list of threatened species, which
    includes 91 vertebrates, 37 invertebrates and 53 plant species. The
    initiative also calls for the creation of a formal structure for
    coordinating the Zero Extinction Program, composed of a management
    committee, a technical committee, the state's red list, and recovery
    plans for endangered species. It also recognizes Key Biodiversity
    Areas where listed species are found as priority regions for
    conservation and recovery efforts.  "These innovative measures rank
    Para's legislation on endangered species as one of the most
    progressive and complete in the world," said Adrian Antonio Garda,
    director of the Amazon Program at Conservation International, one of
    the partners who created the Zero Extinction Program.

    Source - OneWorld

    -------
    Ecology
    -------

    ¶15. Overfishing May Hurt Brazilian Pantanal Trees

    FEB. 5, 2008 - Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed
    dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The

    BRASILIA 00000278  010.2 OF 016

    research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health.
    In the Pantanal many fish species feed on fallen fruit during the
    flood season. As waters recede and fish return to their low water
    habitats, seeds are dispersed over a large area.   While scientists
    have long known that fish disperse seeds in the Amazon, the new
    research examined the importance of seed dispersal by pacu
    (Piaractus mesopotamicus), a common freshwater fish, for the tucum
    palm. The study, led by Mauro Galetti of Sao Paulo State University
    in Brazil, found that the tucum palm relies almost entirely on pacu
    services for seed dispersal. The findings hold ecological
    significance because populations of large paca are declining in the
    Pantanal due to a fisheries policy that protects pacu under 40
    centimeters, but allows fishing of larger individuals.

    Source - Mongabay

    ------------------
    Antarctic Research
    ------------------

    ¶16. Venezuela Helped by Uruguay Plans Antarctic Base

    FEB. 17, 2008 - Venezuelan scientists and military officers set out
    February 15 on their country's first expedition to Antarctica,
    leaving from Uruguay's capital Montevideo aboard the Uruguayan naval
    research ship "Oyarbide".  The 45-day expedition, funded by
    Venezuela, became a controversial issue in Uruguay because the main
    opposition party claimed it was a step towards a military alliance
    with the government of President Hugo Chavez. Members of the
    opposition also objected to the presence of Venezuelan naval
    officers in a Uruguayan navy vessel and the alleged flying of the
    Venezuelan flag in Uruguay's Antarctic base once the mission
    arrives.  However, Uruguay's congress, dominated by the ruling
    coalition, approved the mission and Uruguayan president Tabare
    Vazquez aides described the trip as a gesture of friendship.
    Venezuelan scientists will join their Uruguayan counterparts to
    study a range of subjects including sea bed topography, marine
    species and the effects of climate change in Antarctica.  Uruguay,
    is a member of the Antarctic Treaty since 1980.  Venezuela aspires
    to become a consultative member and hopes to establish a research
    station on the continent.

    BRASILIA 00000278  011.2 OF 016

    HUB NOTE: Please refer to MONTEVIDEO 82 for a detailed report on
    this topic.

    Source - MercoPress

    ¶17. Brazilian President Commits Support for Antarctic Research

    FEB. 18, 2008 - Brazilian president Lula da Silva, overcome by
    emotion during his brief visit to the country's base in Antarctica,
    promised more resources for scientific research, according to the
    Brazilian press.  According to the Brazilian news agency Globo Lula
    da Silva said it was "most important that more resources should be
    made available so as to have more possibilities of advancing
    research" such as those currently undertaken by Brazilian scientific
    and military staff.  "We definitively need a larger lab than what we
    have now so our scientists can work more and in better conditions".
    The Brazilian government "has the resources, the money and the
    political will to do so", he emphasized to the Brazilian media.

    Source - MercoPress

    -------
    Mercury
    -------

    ¶18. Peru: Scramble for Gold Scars Madre de Dios Region

    FEB. 2008 - As prices of traded metals rise, small-scale "artisanal"
    mining, much of it unregulated, has grown in Peru.  In 2006,
    according to official figures, artisanal miners produced 24 metric
    tons of gold worth US$390 million.  About 15 tons came from the
    Madre de Dios region, where some 35,000 people mine and only 2,000
    possess formal title to claims.  The rest of the miners are
    "informal," meaning they pay no taxes, have no set wages, receive no
    benefits and are not subject to oversight.  Miners use mercury to
    process the gold, one-fourth of which is shared by the laborers and
    the rest of which goes to the claim holder.  Based on the official
    annual gold production figure for the region-15 metric tons-and the
    3-to-1 ratio of mercury to gold in the amalgamation process, miners
    use at least 45 tons of mercury annually in Madre de Dios.  Carlos
    Villachica, director of Consulcont, an environmental and
    metallurgical consulting firm in Lima, calculates 30% of the mercury

    BRASILIA 00000278  012.2 OF 016

    is lost by dumping in streams or on the ground during the first
    stage of the amalgamation.  Miners recover some mercury, but unless
    the amalgam is heated in a retort, the rest-some 30%-enters the
    atmosphere, where miners breathe it or where it precipitates out
    onto trees, soil and crops.  Heating the gold in retorts could
    recover most mercury, but many miners shun retorts, saying they
    discolor the gold.  Villachica says this could be solved by using
    stainless steel retorts, but even if every miner used a retort that
    collected 80% of the mercury, three tons of the metal would still be
    vaporized every year.  Villachica, once an artisanal miner, is
    developing a low-cost system that uses magnets to recover the gold
    and could allow the gold to be certified mercury-free.

    Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete
    article)

    ------
    Energy
    ------

    ¶19. Brazil, Argentina Launch Energy Cooperation, but Natural Gas
    Negotiation Fails

    FEB. 25, 2008 - President's Lula and Cristina Kirchner signed
    important agreements in the energy sector, including the
    construction of a binational hydroelectric power plant on the
    Uruguay River, the expansion of the electric transmission grid
    between the two countries, and the development of joint uranium
    enrichment and nuclear power generation technologies, reports
    correspondent Janes Rocha from Buenos Aires. Story also notes that a
    short-term problem overshadowed the important long term agreements:
    Argentina's need for more natural gas for next year's winter
    season.

    Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia, original source Valor
    Economico

    ¶20. Peru Plans Renewable Energy Investment

    FEB. 20, 2008 - The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced February
    7 that it will present a portfolio of 35 projects in March during
    the meeting of the Energy Work Group of the Asia Pacific Economic

    BRASILIA 00000278  013.2 OF 016

    Cooperation Forum (APEC), in Iquitos. The projects would require the
    investment US$35 billion over 15 years.  Most are still in the
    planning stage, to be developed in partnership with governments and
    private enterprises. Deputy Minister of Energy, Pedro Gamio, stated
    that the goal is to reduce the commercial use of petroleum in Peru
    to 25 per cent of 2004 levels by 2011.  Thus far the country has
    decreased petroleum use from 70 to 55 per cent of 2004 levels,
    mainly by increasing the use of gas.  Fifteen of the projects are
    for hydropower.  One, located in the Amazon, could generate as much
    as 7,550 megawatts, says Gamio, even though Peru requires just 350
    megawatts a year.  Other projects include wind, geothermic, solar
    and tidal power, as well as the development of a national solar map.
     A law on renewable energy - aiming to provide funding for research
    and encourage public and private companies to invest in development
    - was proposed to congress on 1 February and Gamio hopes it will be
    passed before the end of the month.

    Source - SciDev

    ¶21. Brazil, French Guiana Cooperation includes Tackling Illegal
    Mining, Biofuels

    FEB. 12, 2008 - Forging a military alliance between France and
    Brazil and curbing illegal activity over the Brazil-French Guiana
    border was the focus of talks between their two leaders.  Presidents
    Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Nicolas Sarkozy of France
    also inaugurated the construction of a bridge linking Brazil with
    French Guiana -- a key project in developing the wild jungle area.
    The bridge between Brazil's Oiapoque town and Saint-Georges will be
    the first land border crossing for French Guiana and should be ready
    by 2010.  The two leaders also discussed how to combat illegal gold
    mining and trafficking in the border region.  Brazilian wild cat
    miners, often heavily armed, smuggle gold back over the border to
    Brazil and their mining operations inflict environmental damage in
    French Guiana.  Biofuels, civilian nuclear cooperation as well as
    global trade talks were also on the agenda.

    Source: Reuters

    ¶22. Colombia Ignores Pledge to Indians, Plans New Sin Dam

    FEB. 2008 - For years, the Ember-Kato Indians fought plans by the

    BRASILIA 00000278  014.2 OF 016

    Colombian government to build a 350-megawatt hydroelectric dam along
    the Sin River that would supply much-needed energy to the national
    grid, prevent winter flooding of the Sin Valley-and permanently
    inundate large expanses of farm and pastureland.  When the
    2,500-member tribe lost its battle in 1999 and the government built
    the US$750 million Urr dam on the Sin, displacing hundreds of
    Ember and killing off 80% of their fishing resources, the Ember
    tried to find comfort in a promise: The government pledged in
    writing not to build a larger dam being planned, the 860-megawatt
    Urr II.  Now the government seemingly has gone back on its word. It
    says it wants to proceed with Urr II, arguing dams not only will
    supply energy needed for the national grid, but also control winter
    rises of more than 24 feet in the Sin and flooding in the northern
    department of Csrdoba.

    Source - EcoAmericas (for complete article please contact Larissa
    Stoner)

    --------------------------------------------- ----
    Special Report: Increase in Deforestation Rate in Brazilian Amazon
    Sparks Government Action:
    --------------------------------------------- ----

    ¶23. A report released January 23rd by the Brazilian Environmental
    Ministry pointed to an increase in Amazon deforestation during the
    last five months of 2007, following a declining trend observed over
    the past four years.  Preliminary figures showed that destruction
    between August and December may have reached as many as 7,000 square
    kilometers, or the equivalent of 60 percent of the deforestation in
    the 12 months through July 2007.  The following articles report on
    this disquieting news:

    ¶24. Brazil to Boost Penalties to Pare Amazon Devastation

    FEB. 11, 2008 - Brazil's government plans to curb financing for
    illegal loggers and farmers and boost penalties to curtail
    deforestation of the Amazon, Environment Minister Marina Silva told
    reporters in Brasilia.  Devastation in the Brazilian portion of the
    Amazon basin accelerated in the last five months of 2007, the

    BRASILIA 00000278  015.2 OF 016

    ministry said last month.  "There's no intention, at this point, to
    either give amnesty to deforestation offenders or to make the
    reserve limits more flexible,'' Silva said at the ministry's
    headquarters in Brasilia. "What is needed is better enforcement, not
    an easing in the current policies to protect the Amazon."

    Source - Bloomberg

    ¶25. Brazil Mob Attacks Anti-Logging Agents in Amazon Region

    FEB. 21, 2008 - A mob of 2,000 people burned tires, blocked roads
    and attacked federal agents who sought to crack down on illegal
    Amazon logging, but officials vowed Wednesday that riots would not
    halt law enforcement.  Brazil's Environmental Protection Agency
    abandoned efforts to audit logging companies and sawmills suspected
    of illegal logging after mobs surrounded its workers and tried to
    invade a sawmill in a "public revolt" in the Amazonian town of
    Tailandia, the agency said on its Web site.  The crackdown began
    February 14, when 130 environmental workers (from the Brazilian
    Federal Police and Brazil's environmental protection agency) began
    inspecting Tailandia's estimated 140 sawmills. Of 10 mills audited,
    five were fined for stocking lumber of unknown origin and for
    selling lumber without authorization, the environmental agency said.
     The agency seized 13,000 cubic meters (17,003 cubic yards) of
    illegal lumber, including top Brazilian hardwoods, enough to fill
    640 trucks.

    Source - IHT

    ¶26. Brazil Plans Fund to Help Finance Amazon Conservation

    FEB 22, 2008 - Brazil's government plans to set up a donation-based
    fund to help finance conservation of the Amazon after illegal
    logging increased last year.  The government is seeking to raise
    $200 million from Norway* and corporate sources in the first year,
    said Tasso Azevedo, director of the country's forestry services. The
    fund, to be established in May, will seek to raise as much as $1
    billion annually to help slow deforestation of the Amazon.
    "Everybody says they want to help maintain the Amazon, but nobody
    has reached into their pockets until now,'' Azevedo told reporters
    in Brasilia. The fund creates an opportunity to help preserve an
    area that represents about half the world's remaining rainforest.

    BRASILIA 00000278  016.2 OF 016

    *HUB Note:  In a special address in the COP High-Level Meeting in
    Bali (December 2007), Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg
    announced more than US$500 million annually to support efforts to
    reduce deforestation in developing countries.

    Source - Bloomberg

    ¶27. Brazil Police Resume Crackdown on Amazon Logging

    FEB. 24, 2008 - Heavily armed federal police swarmed the Amazonian
    town of Tailandia on Saturday February 23, seizing more than 500
    truckloads of illegally cut hardwood that were previously
    confiscated but abandoned when rioting residents and loggers drove
    out environmental authorities.  About 450 officers retook the town
    of Tailandia, patrolling on horseback and in pickup trucks and
    standing guard outside sawmills. (Refer to previous article "Mob
    Attacks Anti-Logging Agents").

    Source - IHT

    SOBEL

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