10/03/2010
- At the opening of the third meeting of
the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries,
which began yesterday (March 9) and runs
until Friday (12) in Brasília, the
minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc,
called for the implementation of the ABS
(Access and Benefit Sharing related to genetic
resources) during the COP-10, which will
be held this year in Nagoya (Japan).
"We have to influence
other governments to have a significant
victory at COP-10", said the minister.
He argued that the megadiverse countries
need to ensure effective legal and financial
commitments. "One of our tasks is to
show the world that without the responsible
and sustainable use of biodiversity it's
impossible to protect and ensure the natural
heritage", he said.
The event was attended
by negotiators and ministers from 11 megadiverse
countries (the name given to the 17 world's
richest nations in biodiversity), and was
promoted in order to consolidate the positions
of the group on the elements of the International
Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing derived
from the genetic heritage that were negotiated
in previous meetings.
The director of the
Department of Environment of the Brazilian
Ministry of External Relations, ambassador
Luís Alberto Figueiredo Machado,
explained that the meeting is part of a
preparatory process for the COP-10, and
that there are still legal issues to be
negotiated, including the proposal of benefit
sharing, providing the coherent and cohesive
performance of all countries signatories
of the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD). "This is the fundamental pillar
of the Biodiversity Convention, because
it deals with ways and means of conservation
of different forms of life in the planet",
said Machado.
Carlos Minc said the
amounts and sources of funds have not been
defined yet. According to him, in this moment,
it is first necessary to defend the principle
of benefit sharing. "It's not just
a monetary issue. The requested resources
will be invested in training and protection
of traditional communities, in the monitoring
of areas and in the inventory of the species
used."
The minister claims
that bio-piracy can be fought by an ABS
system. "It is unacceptable that foreign
laboratories synthesize the active substances
extracted from typical species of a megadiverse
country and, then, make the sale of drugs
without paying what they owe to that country",
he added.
Besides Brazil, the
following countries belong to the Group
of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries: South
Africa, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Congo,
Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Madagascar,
Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Kenya and Venezuela.
Since taking the presidency
of the group in 2008, Brazil has already
promoted two meetings. The goal is to reach
a consensus to be presented at COP-10 in
Japan.
CBD - In 2010, the International
Year of Biodiversity, one of the most important
discussions for the CBD at COP-10 will be
the distribution of benefits from the use
of biodiversity. The members of the Group
of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries want
to create an International Regime on Access
and Benefit Sharing to establish compliance
with the agreements made between all nations.
+ More
Minister Carlos Minc
speaks to the press at the Paris Forests
Meeting
09/03/2010 - What: Minister
Carlos Minc speaks to the press at the Paris
Forests Meeting
Where: Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of France - Ministerial Conference
Center - Rue de la Convention, 27, Paris,
France
When: Thursday, March
11, at 5 p.m. (local time)
On Thursday, March 11,
the Brazilian minister Carlos Minc participates
in a joint press conference organized by
the French minister of the Environment,
Jean-Louis Borloo, at the end of the Paris
Forests Meeting, promoted by the president
Nicolas Sarkozy.
The interview is scheduled
to happen at 5 p.m., at the Ministerial
Conference Center, the same place where
the meeting occurs. After the press conference,
Minc will speak individually to journalists
interested in deepening themes related to
the event.
From March 10 to 12,
the Brazilian minister of the Environment
will be in Paris to take part in the meeting
promoted by the president Sarkozy. The event
will resume discussions on Forests and Climate,
which began in Copenhagen (Denmark) during
the United Nations Conference on Climate
Change (COP-15).
At the meeting, ministers
from different countries and international
negotiators intend to give political impulse
to facilitate the implementation of commitments
taken in Copenhagen, especially those related
to combating deforestation as a way to curb
emissions of greenhouse gases.
The Paris meeting's
short term objective is to organize the
implementation of actions and early funds
for forestry and climate. The event will
also serve to deepen the dialogue on the
mechanism of REDD+ and to resume discussions
on the format of the global climate governance
- considering the existing international
efforts to curb deforestation and ensuring
convergence of the participating ministers'
views.
The expected outcomes
of the Paris Forests Meeting are: supplementary
funding announcements; the definition of
guidelines to advance in the implementation
and coordination of fast start funding;
a set of guiding principles for the future
REDD+ mechanism. The meeting will also serve
as preparation for the meetings in Oslo
(Norway), on forest partnership, and Bonn
(Germany) and Cancun (Mexico), on climate.
The Brazilian delegation
also includes the Secretary of Climate Change
and Environmental Quality, Suzana Kahn,
the special adviser to the MMA, Tasso Azevedo,
and the director of the National Forest
Service, Thais Linhares Juvenal.
Agenda
On the morning of Thursday,
March 11, at the Paris Forests Meeting,
Carlos Minc will chair a discussion session
with the theme "Renewal / expansion
of announcements for action and support".
And on Friday, March 12, at 10 a.m., the
minister participates in a meeting of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD). He will make a presentation
on the Brazilian environmental policy and
its priorities. The event will be held at
OECD, room CC18, Rue André Pascal.
Wednesday - March 10
- Official dinner for
ministers invited to the Paris Forests Meeting
Thursday - March 11
- Opening of the Paris
Forests Meeting by the French president
Nicolas Sarkozy
- Discussions sessions
Session 1: Renewal /
expansion of announcements for action and
support
Session 2: Coordination
of fast start
Session 3: The REDD
mechanism +
- 5 p.m., press conference
organized by the French minister of the
Environment, Jean-Louis Borloo, with participation
of minister Carlos Minc
Friday - March 12
- 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.:
Meeting of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), with
presentation on the Brazilian environmental
policy. The event takes place at OECD, in
the Rue André Pascal
+ More
Paris Forests Meeting
gathers representatives from over 60 countries
11/03/2010 - Ministers
and negotiators from more than 60 countries
met today (Thursday, March 11), in Paris,
to discuss strategies to combat deforestation
as a way to curb emissions of greenhouse
gases. The Paris Forests Meeting happens
three months after the UN Conference on
Climate Change (COP-15), held in Copenhagen,
and aims to give new impetus to the discussions
initiated in Denmark.
In Paris, the participants
discussed the implementation of mechanisms
to reduce CO2 emissions from deforestation.
According to Minc, the idea is that REDD
(name given to initiatives to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases from deforestation and
degradation) may be applied even without
an international climate agreement. REDD
is one of the most advanced items in international
negotiations on climate.
According to the secretary
of Climate Change of the Brazilian Ministry
of the Environment, Suzana Kahn, who also
attended the meeting, the participating
countries decided to create an information
forum, so that the REDD projects in progress
around the world can be more easily monitored.
The Brazilian minister
Carlos Minc participated in a joint press
conference organized by the French minister
Jean-Louis Borloo, at the end of the Paris
Forests Meeting, this afternoon. To Borloo,
although deforestation is an issue that
is not on the international agenda, it is
absolutely vital. The French minister asked
for concrete results and said he expects
"operational decisions" from the
meeting held today.
Besides minister Carlos
Minc and secretary Suzana Kahn, the Brazilian
delegation in Paris includes the MMA's special
adviser, Tasso Azevedo, and the director
of the Brazilian Forest Service, Thais Linhares
Juvenal.
On Friday, March 12,
at 10 a.m., Minc participates in a meeting
of the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD). He will make a presentation
on the Brazilian environmental policy and
its priorities. The event will be held at
OECD, room CC18, Rue André Pascal.
+ More
Brazilian environmental
policy is presented in Paris
12/03/2010 - The minister
of the Environment, Carlos Minc, presented
today (March 12), in Paris, the guidelines
of the Brazilian environmental policy. In
a session of the Informal Reflection Group
on Brazil, of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), held
this morning, Minc and the secretary of
Climate Change of the Ministry, Suzana Kahn,
specified the focus and priorities of the
initiatives taken by the Brazilian government
regarding the environment.
"It was a very
good opportunity, and it will have some
implications", said the minister. He
said the audience - composed mostly of leaders
of the OECD - has raised questions regarding
the ethanol, the Amazon Fund, the national
climate policy and the Brazilian participation
in the BASIC group, formed by South Africa,
India and China, besides Brazil.
According to Minc, the
OECD must prepare "a thorough study"
on environmental technologies and state
structures for the Brazilian Ministry of
the Environment (MMA). "The meeting
paved the way for this study that the Organization
might do, and that will help us greatly
in improving our policies", said the
minister.
