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### Viewing cable 06BRASILIA639, SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 72

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06BRASILIA639 | 2006-03-31 19:26 | 2011-07-11 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Brasilia

`

    VZCZCXRO9187
    RR RUEHRG
    DE RUEHBR #0639/01 0901926
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 311926Z MAR 06
    FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4976
    INFO RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3905
    RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 5411
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 4464
    RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 2910
    RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1766
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3661
    RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 5324
    RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 1031
    RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 6150
    RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO 1059
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3174
    RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4542
    RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 6660
    RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 1797
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
    RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC
    RUEHC/DOI WASHDC
    RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
    RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
    RUEANAT/NASA WASHDC
    RUCPDC/NOAA WASHDC
    RUMIAAA/USCINCSO MIAMI FL
    RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC
    RUCPDO/USDOC WASHDC

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 BRASILIA 000639

    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: MZWEEDE
    INTERIOR FOR DIR INT AFFAIRS: K WASHBURN
    INTERIOR FOR FWS: TOM RILEY
    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 72

    ¶1.  The following is the seventy-second 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.

    ¶2. Table of Contents

    Agriculture
    --(3)Venezuela Produces Ecological Cocoa
    --(4)Uruguay Subsidizes Sustainable Agriculture Projects
    --(5)Argentina: Biotechnology Law Approved by Senate
    --(6)Brazilian Soybean Production to Drop by 1.9 Million Tons in
    2006

    Health
    --(7)Brazil, USAID Disagree on AIDS Prevention
    --(8)GM Mosquitoes Stop Dengue Virus Replicating
    --(9)Argentine Researchers Identify Night Blindness as Symptom of
    Chagas

    Water Issues
    --(10)Chile: Opposition to Four Mega-Dams
    --(11)Green Issues Delay Brazilian Dam Projects

    Forests
    --(12)Greenpeace Denounces Deforestation in Brazil
    --(13)Brazil Clears Law on Amazon Wood Logging
    --(14)Preserving Chile's Southern Forests
    --(15)Chile: Forest Fire Prevention Effort Pays Off

    Wildlife
    --(16)New Private Bird Watching Park Launched In Chile
    --(17)Invasion of Scorpions in Argentina

    Protected Areas
    --(18)Paraguay is Able to Extend Area of Nature Reserve

    Science & Technology
    --(19)Peru: University Invites Presidential Candidates to Discuss
    S&T
    --(20)A Perspective on S&T in Colombia
    --(21)Argentina to Subsidize 28 S&T Institutions

    Industrialization
    --(22)Brazil Calls for Uruguayan-Argentine Dialogue over Pulp Plants
    Dispute

    Pollution
    --(23)Cutting Methane Emissions 'Will Save 370,000 Lives'

    BRASILIA 00000639  002 OF 012

    Energy
    --(24)Brazil Proposes Regional Energy Market
    --(25)Peru: Camisea Chaos
    --(26)Argentina: Hydrogen Pilot Reactor
    --(27)Venezuela's Pipeline Strikes Out

    General
    --(28)Cartagena Protocol Meeting Decides To Label GMO Exports
    --(29)Chile: Caving Expedition Makes Historic Discovery in
    Patagonia
    --(30)Venezuela: Mining Activities Halted in River Basin
    --(31)Chevening Scholarships in Biodiversity

    Update on Avian Influenza
    --(32)Renowned Bird Flu Expert Warns: Be Prepared
    --(33)Flamingo Deaths Spark Bird Flu Probe in Bahamas

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

    ¶3. Venezuela Produces Ecological Cocoa

    MAR. 04, 2006 - Twenty farmers from Ocumare de la Costa, 120 km
    northwest of Caracas, produced 5,000 kilograms of cocoa without
    using agro-chemicals in their cultivation, qualifying it as an
    "organic product" for the certifying entity Biolatina, based in
    Peru. The project was a joint effort, over nearly three years, of
    the association of farmers, government agencies and non-governmental
    Tierra Viva Foundation. The project aims to "reach all farmers near
    the Henri Pittier National Park," an unusual mountain rainforest
    along Venezuela's central Caribbean coast, where Chuao cocoa is
    produced, one of the most aromatic in the world.

    Source - Tierramerica

    ¶4. Uruguay Subsidizes Sustainable Agriculture Projects

    FEB. 28, 2006 - The GOU announced it will provide US$40 million in
    financial support for rural producers working to improve the
    management of natural resources and biodiversity.  This subsidy is
    part of a larger governmental program for "Responsible Production,"
    which will extend until 2011.  The program hopes to improve soil,
    water, and biodiversity management and contribute to agricultural
    development in Uruguay.  World Bank, UNEP, and FAO are the
    organizations that provided the money.

    Source - SciDev

    ¶5. Argentina: Biotechnology Law Approved by Senate

    FEB. 23, 2006 - The Argentine Senate has approved a biotechnology
    law, which will stimulate the development of both research and
    production in modern biotechnology.  The law will provide discounts
    and bonuses for biotech research projects over the next fifteen
    years.  Argentina has over 80 biotech companies, most of which work

    BRASILIA 00000639  003 OF 012

    with genetically modified seeds for agricultural use.

    Source - SciDev

    ¶6. Brazilian Soybean Production to Drop by 1.9 Million Tons in 2006

    FEB. 21, 2006 - As a result of drought and a lack of investment in
    technology, the Brazilian soybean crop this year is expected to drop
    to 56.26 million tons, which represents about 1.9 million tons less
    than the 58 million tons originally forecast.

    Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia. Original source: Folha
    de Sco Paulo

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

    ¶7. Brazil, USAID Disagree on AIDS Prevention

    MAR. 14, 2006 - Weekend Brazilian newspapers picked up on the public
    exchange between the director of Brazil's National AIDS Program,
    Pedro Chequer, and the USAID in Brazil. According to the reports,
    Chequer accused the USAID of planning to implement programs to
    foster abstinence as a means of preventing AIDS contamination among
    young Brazilian populations without first getting authorization from
    Brazilian health officials. The stories note that USAID responded
    that this issue had been discussed with the Brazilian officials, and
    that there had been an agreement for addressing abstinence as one of
    the possible means of prevention.

    Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia

    ¶8. GM Mosquitoes Stop Dengue Virus Replicating

    MAR. 14, 2006 - Mosquitoes can be genetically modified to resist
    being infected by the virus that causes dengue fever, say
    researchers.  It is the first time that scientists have bred
    mosquitoes that not only resist 'type 2' dengue virus - the most
    prevalent strain - but also pass this resistance on to their
    offspring.  Dengue fever is spread through the bite of the Aedes
    aegypti mosquito. Each year, the virus kills about 20,000 of the 50
    million people it infects across the developing world.  The
    researchers say that releasing the genetically modified (GM)
    mosquitoes could help prevent people from catching the disease as
    the mosquitoes would no longer be able to transmit the virus.  They
    add, though, that much more research is needed before this can
    happen.  The team, led by Ken Olson of Colorado State University in
    the United States, published their findings 13 March in Proceedings
    of the National Academy of Sciences.

    Source - SciDev

    ¶9. Argentine Researchers Identify Night Blindness as Symptom of
    Chagas

    BRASILIA 00000639  004 OF 012

    MAR. 05, 2006 - Researchers from the Instituto de Investigaciones en
    Genetica y Biologia Molecular in Argentina concluded that the
    antibodies produced during an attack by the parasite Tripanosoma
    cruzi affect the cells of the retina, leading to night blindness.
    The findings, which were published in the FASEB Journal, may help
    determine (in the future) which specific antibodies cause heart and
    retina damage in order to perform better diagnosis.

    Source - SciDev

    ------------
    Water Issues
    -------------

    ¶10. Chile: Opposition to Four Mega-Dams

    MAR. 04, 2006 - An international offensive led by the U.S.-based
    International Rivers Network seeks to prevent financial agencies
    from funding the Spanish transnational Endesa for building four huge
    hydroelectric dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers, 1,800 km south of
    the Chilean capital. According to Endesa, the project will be ready
    in 2008 and activated between 2012 and 2018. It will generate 2,430
    megawatts, require the construction of 2,000 km of transmission
    lines and flood of some 9,000 hectares.

    Source - Tierramerica

    ¶11. Green Issues Delay Brazilian Dam Projects

    FEB. 2006 - Brazil, undeterred by the December sale of just seven of
    17 dam concessions slated for auction, plans a new round of bidding
    in May to meet energy demand expected over the next two to three
    years.  In another move to boost the power supply, the government
    has announced plans to issue preliminary environmental licenses this
    year for two large dams on the Amazon region's Madeira River.
    Concessions for the dams, whose collective generating capacity would
    total 6,450 megawatts (MW), could be auctioned off as soon as the
    second half of the year.  Critics of the government's hydropower
    policy dismiss the Amazon dam-licensing news as an election-year
    gambit by the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to
    shift attention from its weak December auction.  The government
    originally had planned to sell concessions for 17 small and
    medium-sized dams. But state and federal environmental agencies only
    granted preliminary environmental licenses for 11 of the projects.
    Of those projects, two were sidelined by court injunctions and two
    others by an administrative glitch.

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

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

    ¶12. Greenpeace Denounces Deforestation in Brazil

    BRASILIA 00000639  005 OF 012

    MAR. 08, 2006 - While Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
    defended, in an article published by the UK newspaper The Guardian,
    his government's progress in the environmental preservation, NGO
    Greenpeace published a one-page announcement in the newspaper The
    Independent, in which it criticizes the destruction of the Amazon
    Forest.  "Since president Lula came to the power, an area of the
    Amazon Forest larger than the half of the size of England was
    destroyed illegally by lumbermen, soy production and cattle
    ranching", Greenpeace says.  This occurred while President Lula was
    on official visit to England.

    Source - Planet Save

    ¶13. Brazil Clears Law on Amazon Wood Logging

    MAR. 06, 2006 - Brazil has approved a law granting licenses for
    logging in publicly owned sections of the Amazon rainforest, a move
    aimed at halting its destruction.  Under the new law - signed by
    President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - timber companies will be given
    up to 40-year licenses under the condition that all logging be
    sustainable.  Independent inspections of licensed sites are to be
    carried out every five years. Critics of the law have argued this is
    not enough.  But environmental groups and experts have hailed the
    new law as a milestone in the fight to preserve the Amazon, about 17
    percent of which has been destroyed to date, studies say.  About 75
    percent of the rain forest is publicly owned, and the government
    plans to offer commercial access to three percent of this rainforest
    over the next 10 years.

    Source - MercoPress

    ¶14. Preserving Chile's Southern Forests

    MAR 9, 2006 - The recently created Karukinka nature reserve in the
    Chilean part of the Tierra del Fuego reserve traces its history back
    to the 1990s, when Trillium, an American firm, attempted to log the
    island's forests of lenga, a type of beech found only in southern
    Chile and Argentina. The project, however, ran into opposition from
    local environmental groups and failed.  In 2002 Goldman Sachs
    acquired the loans that had backed the project--and with them the
    2,750 square kilometer property--as part of a package of distressed
    debt. Two years later the firm donated the land to the Wildlife
    Conservation Society (WCS) of New York and the reserve was born.
    Initially, the project will focus on restoring the ecosystem to its
    original condition--in particular by "containing" beavers introduced
    from Canada in the 1950s for fur farming. In the absence of
    predators, these rodents have run amok, damming every river in sight
    and causing extensive damage to the trees. Moreover, the reserve
    aims to serve as a model for the conservation of southern Patagonia,
    in which Tierra del Fuego is located. But, although the area is the
    largest in Chile under the management of an overseas conservation
    organization and, possibly, the best funded, it is not Chile's first
    private reserve.

    Source - The Economist (no link), article kindly shared by US
    Embassy Santiago.

    BRASILIA 00000639  006 OF 012

    ¶15. Chile: Forest Fire Prevention Effort Pays Off

    MAR. 06, 2006 - Fewer forest fires occurred in 2005/2006 than in any
    of the previous five years, reported CONAF, the state forestry
    agency. CONAF reported that only 3,530 fires occurred this year, a
    32% drop compared to the 5,205 fires that have occurred on average
    in the past five years. Forest losses fell 70 percent this year
    compared to last season.  Fire prevention has been emphasized by
    CONAF in communities where fires are most apt to occur, especially
    Regions V and VIII.  Getting special attention, too, was the Torres
    del Paine National Park, which lost more than 15,000 hectares of
    forest due to a negligent camper using a cook stove in an area where
    it was not allowed.

    Source - Santiago Times (no link)

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

    ¶16. New Private Bird Watching Park Launched In Chile

    MAR. 17, 2006 - Sixty two hectares of property owned by the Modinger
    Brothers Meat Packing Company near the town of Llanquihue have been
    converted into one of the few thematic parks to exist in southern
    Chile.  The newly created Maullin River Ornithological Park provides
    a home to over 100 different species of birds native to the local
    forests including the Chucao, the Hued Hued, the Black Woodpecker,
    the Choroy Parrot, and the Black-Necked Swan. The endangered river
    nutria will also be featured in this park.  The park opens
    officially on April 1 and is located six kilometers from Llanquihue
    in Region X, about 30 minutes north of Puerto Montt.

    Source - Santiago Times (no link)

    ¶17. Invasion of Scorpions in Argentina

    FEB. 28, 2006 - The recent invasion of scorpions has resulted in
    three deaths with a rise in the number of attacks within the last
    year. In La Rioja, a socio-economically deprived area, a six-year
    old girl was the third death in the last month. A seven year old boy
    was also attacked in La Rioja in December 2005.  The other death of
    a four year old boy occurred in Poma, northeast of Aimogasta, a few
    days earlier. The three deaths and increasing number of cases
    support the theory that there is an invasion of scorpions in La
    Rioja and Catamarca.  Nito Brizuela, an environmentalist, reported
    scorpions in fifty-four neighborhoods of San Fernando del Valle de
    Catamarca, the provincial capital. The most poisonous specie, Titius
    trivitatus, was found in nine of the neighborhoods. In 2003, this
    species had only been detected in one neighborhood.

    Source - Clarin.  Kindly shared by US Embassy Buenos Aires.

    ---------------
    Protected Areas

    BRASILIA 00000639  007 OF 012

    ---------------

    ¶18. Paraguay is Able to Extend Area of Nature Reserve

    FEB. 23, 2006 - With the help of international NGOs WWF, TNC, and
    World Parks, Guyra Paraguay (a local NGO) was able to add another
    2,100 hectares to the San Rafael Reserve, in the Upper Parana region
    of the country.  According to the press report, fifty percent of the
    land was obtained through a Debt for Nature swap agreement between
    the United States and Paraguay through WWF.  More financing is
    needed to maintain the area, which now encompasses 5,800 hectares
    (note: the area of the San Rafael region extends 78,000 hectares,
    but only 5,800 are guaranteed as a reserve).  On another note, the
    government of Taiwan has agreed to cooperate with Paraguay in
    joining two parks, Taro and Avyrareta, within the San Rafael area.
    An exchange in biodiversity research is also part of the agreement,
    which was discussed in 2004 and will (tentatively) be signed during
    the next visit of the Taiwan delegation.

    Source - IUCN

    --------------------
    Science & Technology
    --------------------

    ¶19. Peru: University Invites Presidential Candidates to Discuss S&T

    MAR. 14, 2006 - Only three of the twenty-five presidential
    candidates for the upcoming election in Peru agreed to present their
    science and technology program to a specialized audience on March 09
    at the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos, in Lima; neither of which
    were ranked amongst the top electoral preferences.  One of the main
    concerns of those present at the event is to guarantee that the
    country's current S&T plan, valid until 2012, will be carried out
    regardless of the political party governing the country.

    Source - SciDev

    ¶20. A Perspective on S&T in Colombia

    MAR. 14, 2006 - According to the new director of Colciencias
    (Colombia Institute for Scientific Development), Felipe Garcia,
    Colombia needs an advanced level in science and technology in order
    to advance as a country.  Garcia hopes to create a strong link
    between researchers and the productive sector.  Juan Alfredo Pinto,
    president of the Colombian Association of Small and Medium
    Industries pointed the need for a Ministry of S&T to stimulate
    competitiveness.  Eduardo Posada, president of the Colombian
    Association for the Advance of Science believes an entity similar to
    the U.S. National Science Foundation would be appropriate.

    Source - SciDev

    ¶21. Argentina to Subsidize Twenty-eight S&T Institutions

    MAR. 10, 2006 - The minister of Education, Science, and Technology,

    BRASILIA 00000639  008 OF 012

    Daniel Filmus, announced recently that the GOA will provide
    subsidies totalling US$1.5 million uo to 2008 to twenty-eight
    scientific institutions in the country.  Filmus highlighted the
    importance of sponsoring scientific projects and announced that the
    National Agency for Science Promotion will be launching a graduate
    course for capacity-building of human resources - investing a total
    of US$40 million.

    Source - SciDev

    -----------------
    Industrialization
    -----------------

    ¶22. Brazil Calls for Uruguayan-Argentine Dialogue over Pulp Plants
    Dispute

    MAR. 16, 2006 - Brazil called for frank dialogue between Uruguay and
    Argentina in an attempt to bring about a settlement in their dispute
    over the installation of two pulp plants on Uruguayan territory.
    "Differences between countries in our region can be resolved by a
    frank dialogue and by understanding between leaders," Lula told the
    press, after meeting with Uruguay's president Tabare Vazquez at the
    Planalto Palace in Brasilia.  The Uruguayan president started his
    five-nation tour discussing the conflict between Uruguay and
    Argentina over the construction of two pulp factories.  Argentina is
    opposed to the project, saying the paper factories will contaminate
    the waters of River Uruguay, a river shared by the two countries.

    Source - Xinhuanet.com

    ---------
    Pollution
    ---------

    ¶23. Cutting Methane Emissions 'Will Save 370,000 Lives'

    MAR. 07, 2006 - Reducing methane emissions by 20 per cent could
    prevent 370,000 deaths worldwide between 2010 and 2030, say
    researchers in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The
    researchers add that the money saved by preventing these deaths
    would exceed the cost of cutting emissions.  Jason West, of
    Princeton University, and colleagues note that a lack of data from
    developing countries makes it difficult to predict just how health
    benefits would manifest there.  The main human activities that
    contribute to methane emissions are cattle and rice farming. Other
    sources include coal mining, landfill sites, and the burning of
    biomass.

    Source - SciDev

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

    ¶24. Brazil Proposes Regional Energy Market

    BRASILIA 00000639  009 OF 012

    MAR. 04, 2006 - Latin America should form a regional market for
    cheap energy that will boost development across the continent, a top
    energy official said March 3rd.  The Latin American market would
    include oil, gas and electricity and could be modeled after the
    European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of the European
    Union, said Norberto de Franco Medeiros, head of the Brazilian
    Committee of the World Energy Council.  Medeiros said the Council
    had proposed a two-year study of possible energy links in Latin
    America.  The centerpieces of the continental link would be a
    5,000-mile (8,000 km) pipeline from Venezuela to Argentina, cutting
    through Brazil's Amazon rain forest and branching off to Bolivia,
    Paraguay and Uruguay.  Medeiros also cited the proposed construction
    of two hydroelectric dams on the Amazon and the Madeira River that
    could provide "cheap and competitive energy" for Brazil and
    neighboring Bolivia. The projects are pending approval by Brazil's
    Environment Ministry.

    Source - MercoPress

    ¶25. Peru: Camisea Chaos

    MAR. 04, 2006 - The March 4 rupture of the Camisea pipeline, which
    affected nearly 150,000 square meters of farmland and destroyed
    several homes, has the Gas Transport Consortium (TGP) and the
    Peruvian Government scrambling for answers.  Energy and Mines
    Minister Glodomiro Sanchez, back from the Prospectors and Developers
    Conference in Toronto, visited the impacted zone, in Cusco's jungle
    region, as did a host of other government authorities. Locals made a
    number of demands, and the Government agreed that an integral audit
    of the pipeline was needed, given that the March 4 rupture was the
    fifth serious incident in fifteen months. The Inter-American
    Development Bank (IDB), which loaned $130 million to the Camisea
    consortium for the pipeline, released a communiqu stating that it
    "is deeply concerned about the five spills that have occurred on the
    Camisea natural gas liquids pipeline since 2004." The Bank stated
    that its engineers would perform an expanded review and analysis of
    the project design.

    Source - ConsultAndes

    ¶26. Argentina: Hydrogen Pilot Reactor

    MAR. 03, 2006 - A group of investigators in Argentina are studying
    how to utilize hydrogen obtained through renewable and
    non-contaminated bio-energy resources such as sugar cane, corn,
    sorghum and beet plantations. The project consists of a pilot
    reactor producing synthesized gas and hydrogen, through a renewable
    resource, as a product of bio-ethanol.  This technological advance
    will help reduce the current climatic effects contributing to global
    warming. The final objective of the plan is to utilize the pure
    hydrogen as a combustible for electric vehicles. It is important to
    be able to use hydrogen in the same place it is produced. Currently,
    vehicles that directly utilize hydrogen have problems with the
    storage of hydrogen because it requires very low temperatures and
    high pressures resulting in high costs and safety risks.

    BRASILIA 00000639  010 OF 012

    Source - Pagina 12 (no link).  Kindly shared by US Embassy Buenos
    Aires

    ¶27. Venezuela's Pipeline Strikes Out

    MAR. 02, 2006 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's proposal to build
    a natural gas pipeline is probably not possible. Ninety percent of
    Venezuelan natural gas reserves are associated with oil and cannot
    be produced at will without ruining the oil reservoirs; 40 percent
    of the gas currently produced has to be put back into the reservoirs
    to preserve them. The official projections of Venezuelan gas
    production for the next decade indicate that the country will have
    barely enough natural gas to satisfy its domestic needs.  The
    pipeline probably would not be economic, either. Building costs
    would be $25 billion to $30 billion, which would require the gas to
    be sold in Argentina at the equivalent of $110 for a barrel of oil.
    Finally, the pipeline would be undesirable for the environment. The
    Amazon already is in a grave stage of degradation, and a pipeline
    would constitute a further threat.

    Source - Washington Post

    -------
    General
    -------

    ¶28. Cartagena Protocol Meeting Decides To Label GMO Exports

    MAR. 18, 2006 -  The Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol
    (MOP 3) decided to implement the labeling of food product exports
    containing genetically modified organisms, but only in six years,
    with interim rules for gradual implementation that benefit
    non-signatory countries. Brazilian business daily Valor Economico
    reports that the Conference of the Parties (COP 8) begins to discuss
    in Curitiba the issue of "bio-prospecting," or the capture of
    genetic materials for use in the development of new products.
    According to the daily, Brazil, India and African countries defend
    the creation of specific international legislation regulating this
    process to prevent biopiracy, something that countries such as
    Australia and some European and Asian countries oppose because of
    the costs it could create for research.

    Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia

    ¶29. Chile: Caving Expedition Makes Historic Discovery in Patagonia

    MAR. 8, 2006 - A team of French and Chilean cave explorers
    discovered cave paintings and indigenous tombs on a remote
    Patagonian island that had been considered uninhabitable.  The
    surprised investigators were the members of "Ultimate Patagonia
    2006," a two-month long caving expedition organized by the French
    Speleology Federation in collaboration with the University of Chile
    and Catholic University in Santiago. The destination of the thirty
    speleologists, biologists and geologists was Madre de Dios Island, a
    rocky outpost of porous lime toward the tip of Patagonia, where

    BRASILIA 00000639  011 OF 012

    Chile crumbles into the South Pacific. Twenty-four hours by boat
    from Puerto Natales, the island is hardly an alluring homeland.
    Until now there has been no evidence of a human presence there.
    Nelson Aguilera, of the National Corporation of Indigenous
    Development, called the discoveries "historic:" "One thing that is
    certain is that the Canoeros of the region at some point reached the
    Pacific coast, an archeological certainty that didn't exist before
    this expedition."  A complete report on the expedition's findings
    will be published in six months.

    Source - Santiago Times (no link)

    ¶30. Venezuela: Mining Activities Halted in River Basin

    FEB. 22, 2006 - In order to protect the Caroni River Basin, in the
    state of Bolivar (border with Brazil), the GOV has imposed a halt on
    all mining activities in Icabaru, Cuyuni, and La Paragua.  According
    to the press report, the permit for mining in the region expired
    December 31, 2005.  Mining activities performed in the water have
    been forbidden as of March 10; and those mining activities on land
    have a period of six months as of February 18 to terminate.
    Although the military has been called upon to ensure the mining is
    ended in the region, Lieutenant Colonel Jesus Vitelmo Willhem
    Becerra points out that this is part of a program developed together
    with all [Venezuelan] Ministries and entities concerned about the
    environment and protecting the Caroni Rover basin.

    Source - Diario El Progresso

    ¶31. Chevening Scholarships in Biodiversity

    Chevening Scholarships bring students from all regions of the world,
    including South America, to work for one year at the Center in
    Cambridge, UK. Scholars are expected to work with the Center's staff
    on programs ranging from managing data about ecosystems and
    biodiversity, to interpreting and analyzing that data to provide
    assessment and policy analysis. The work will contribute to and help
    to shape national and international decision-making processes and
    help to place authoritative biodiversity knowledge at the center of
    decision-making.  Candidates must be between 25 and 35 years of age
    and be fluent in English. They must hold an undergraduate degree,
    and preferably also a postgraduate degree, in a biological or
    environmental science or one related to economics, GIS and the
    environment. Candidates should apply on the Chevening Scholarships
    form attaching a resume, publications list and cover letter
    explaining why they wish to spend a year at the Center. Application
    forms are available from, and should be submitted through any UK
    Embassy, High Commission or British Council office, or to:

    Chevening Administrator
    UNEP-WCMC
    219 Huntingdon Road
    Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK.

    Source - UNEP

    BRASILIA 00000639  012 OF 012

    -------------------------
    Update on Avian Influenza
    ---------------------------

    ¶32. Renowned Bird Flu Expert Warns: Be Prepared

    MAR. 14, 2006 - Robert G. Webster is one of the few bird flu experts
    confident enough to answer the key question: Will the avian flu
    switch from posing a terrible hazard to birds to becoming a real
    threat to humans?  There are "about even odds at this time for the
    virus to learn how to transmit human to human," he told ABC's "World
    News Tonight." Webster, the Rosemary Thomas Chair at St. Jude
    Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, is credited as
    the first scientist to find the link between human flu and bird flu.
     Webster and his team of scientists are working to find a way to
    beat the virus if it morphs. He has even been dubbed the Flu Hunter.
     Right now, H5N1, a type of avian influenza virus, has confined
    itself to birds. It can be transmitted from bird to human but only
    by direct contact with the droppings and excretions of infected
    birds.

    Source - ABC News

    ¶33. Flamingo Deaths Spark Bird Flu Probe in Bahamas

    FEB. 28, 2006 - Health experts were dispatched on February 28 to the
    southern Bahamas island of Inagua to find out if an unexplained
    spate of bird deaths was linked to a deadly bird flu virus that is
    spreading around the globe.  Over the past two days, 15 of the
    island's famed flamingos, five roseate spoonbills and one cormorant
    have been found dead with no external injuries on the island just
    north of Haiti, officials said.  Scientists from the Bahamas
    Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Environmental Health
    will gather samples from the birds and then submit them for
    laboratory analysis.

    NOTE:  A few weeks later, the possibility of Avian Influenza in the
    region was discarded

    Source - Alertnet
    LINEHAN

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