23/03/2010 - During
the ten years that the United Nations Development
Program adopted the eight Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), also called "eight ways
to change the world", Brazil has achieved
significant results that put the country
in a position to reach the targets expected
by 2015. The conclusion is in the 4th Millennium
Development Goals Report, which will be
released on Wednesday (March 24) in a ceremony
at the Ulysses Guimarães Convention
Center, in Brasília.
The evaluation made
by the Brazilian government for the United
Nations found encouraging results in public
policies and actions of the private sector
and civil society aimed at reaching the
goals proposed by the UN. Work, health,
education and environment are areas in which
the Brazilian government has been improving
in recent years.
A step by step review
examined the effectiveness of measures taken
in the country to end poverty and hunger,
provide primary education to all, reduce
child mortality, improve the population's
health, fighting AIDS and other diseases,
and improve the quality of life and the
respect for the environment. In most of
the eight goals of the millennium, Brazil
has reached good results.
The seventh goal, related
to environment and quality of life, is identified
as one that showed most significant advances.
According to the report, the drastic reduction
in the rates of deforestation in the Amazon
(which dropped to one third of the average
area deforested in the last ten years),
combined with policies to reduce CO2 emissions,
ozone and greenhouse gases, has demonstrated
the commitment of the environmental authorities
in the quest for sustainable development
solutions.
The event is promoted
by the General Secretariat of the Presidency,
UNDP and the National Movement for Citizenship
and Solidarity and coincides with the delivery
of the Millennium Development Goals Award
- Brazil, which is in its third edition.
The NGO MDGs Brazil rewards, every three
years, the best initiatives of civil society
in solving social and environmental problems
in the country.
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Latin American countries
discuss quality of the sanitation services
16/03/2010 - The Secretary
of Water Resources and Urban Environment
of the MMA, Silvano Silvério, said
at the opening of the 2nd Latin American
Conference on Sanitation (LatinoSan), in
Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná), that
just providing the access to sanitation
services is no longer enough. According
to him, it is fundamental to ensure quality
of service. For the secretary, the meeting,
which began on Sunday (March 14), facilitates
the sharing of information and experiences
between countries. Seventeen Latin American
countries take part in the event.
Silvano noted that Brazil
already has valuable legal tools for better
performance in the sanitation sector, such
as the Sanitation Law (11.445/07). The country
also has the National Sanitation Plan, scheduled
to be completed in 2010; the Nation Plan
on Climate Change; and the Commitment for
the Environment, Health and Basic Sanitation,
launched by the MMA in December 2009. Another
instrument is the National Policy on Solid
Waste, recently approved by the House of
Representatives.
The 2nd LatinoSan resumes
the discussion initiated in the meeting
held in 2007 in Cali, Colombia. At that
time, 17 countries signed the "Cali
Ministerial Statement", which sets
the goals of prioritizing sanitation in
national development policies, supporting
the achievement of the Millennium Goals
and ensuring the intergovernmental cooperation
in Latin America.
The conference continues
until next Thursday (March 18) with discussions
regarding the quest to improve the well
being of the population, with emphasis on
poverty alleviation, sanitation provision
and natural resources management. The contents
of the panels have been presented in plenary
sessions, seminars and round tables and
rely on the presence of national and international
experts.
For further information, visit:
http://latinosan2010.org.br/
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Minister announces actions
of the Plan to Combat Deforestation in the
Cerrado
17/03/2010 - With about
49% of its original vegetation destroyed,
the Cerrado will be the next biome to receive
a plan of public policies to curb deforestation.
At a news conference held yesterday (March
16), in Brasília, the minister of
the Environment, Carlos Minc, announced
the main points suggested by the MMA for
the implementation of the Action Plan for
Prevention and Control of Fires and Deforestation
in the Cerrado (PPCerrado).
By the end of the week,
a rough draft of the decree establishing
the PPCerrado will be sent to the Civil
House and, then, to President Lula. The
idea is transform the fight against deforestation
in the biome into a government's commitment,
and not just of its environmental area.
Between 2002 and 2008,
about 85 thousand km² of vegetation
was removed. The main reasons for degradation
in the Cerrado are livestock, agriculture
and production of charcoal from native forests
and for the steel industry.
"We intend to implement
a monitoring system similar to what already
happens in the Amazon, as well as the control,
supervision, combat of environmental crimes,
incentives for sustainable activities and
creation of protected areas in the region",
said minister Minc.
He highlighted the fact
that the Brazilian government presented
in Copenhagen the commitment to reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases from deforestation in
the Cerrado by 40% by 2020. "With the
actions proposed by the PPCerrado, our intention
is to achieve this goal already in 2012,
because the rates of deforestation are alarming",
he said.
The draft decree suggested
by the MMA also proposes the release of
a list of municipalities that deforest more,
as was done in the Amazon. These municipalities
will be the focus of policies of monitoring,
controlling and promoting sustainable productive
activities.
Responsible for 5% of
the entire planet's biodiversity, the biome
is one of the richest Savannas in the world
and occupies 24% of the country's territory.
The percentage of protected areas in the
region is only 8.2% and 4.4% are on indigenous
lands.
The actions proposed
by the PPCerrado were discussed between
10 ministries, state agencies of the environment,
NGOs, civil society and universities. The
project was available for public consultation
for 40 days on the Internet.
The plan follows the
guidelines of the Sustainable Cerrado Program
(Programa Cerrado Sustentável), and
is based on national policies for Biodiversity,
Water Resources and on the National Plan
on Climate Change, besides other environmental
policies.
