06/10/2009 - According
to the study The Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity (TEEB), conducted by the
European Commission and by Germany, the
cost of deforestation worldwide has been
estimated at US$ 2 trillion and US$ 5 trillion
per year. On the
other hand, the amount invested in biodiversity
protection in the same period reaches US$
10 billion. The amount necessary for proper
conservation of natural resources around
the globe is fourfold.
Launched in response
to a proposal made by the ministers of the
G8 +5 group (South Africa, Brazil, China,
India and Mexico), TEEB is an international
initiative formulated to develop a comprehensive
study on the economics of the biodiversity
loss. Its objectives are to promote the
advancement of practical actions, to highlight
the cost of degradation of ecosystems and
biodiversity benefits, to disseminate information
and to draw the attention of various countries
on the issue.
Led by the Deutsche
Bank economist Pavan Sukhdev, the study
has the participation of an advisory committee
composed of experts from the fields of science,
politics and economics. In a recent visit
to Brazil, Sukhdev said that TEEB is already
in its second phase and is being promoted
by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
with support from the European Commission
and the Ministries of Environment of Germany
and of the United Kingdom.
The economist suggested
the possibility of Brazil preparing a study
on the characteristics and conditions of
the country, by taking account of the value
of biodiversity in Brazil, following the
same methodology of the worldwide evaluation.
The secretary of Biodiversity
and Forests of the Brazilian Ministry of
Environment (MMA), Maria Cecilia Wey de
Brito, said that the Federal Government
aims to make a version of the study, focusing
specifically in Brazil, which would be developed
by the MMA in partnership with the Institute
of Applied Economic Research (Ipea). "The
initiative is important because we are an
extremely diverse country, and we have not
given due respect to this natural heritage.
The maintenance of biodiversity, rather
than a cost, is a benefit", says Cecilia.
She explains that, in large part, the economic
activities that are promoting the growth
of Brazil are based on the attributes of
biodiversity.
The first TEEB report
was launched in May 2008 and provided evidence
of significant local and global economic
losses, as well as the evidence of the impacts
on human well-being that can be attributed
to the progressive loss of biodiversity
and degradation of ecosystems. The report,
largely, focused on forests. The second
phase of the study seeks to expand the work
begun in the first one, and it will be completed
in 2010 to be presented in Nagoya (Japan)
during the 10th Conference of Parties to
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD
COP-10).
+ More
"Green Rooms"
will be installed in Portuguese-speaking
countries
05/10/2009 - The Brazilian
Ministry of Environment (MMA) will expand
the "Green Rooms" project beyond
the Brazilian borders by taking these centers
for all Portuguese-speaking countries. The
MMA's Department of Environmental Education
conducts this month a series of workshops
in Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe,
with the participation of local society
and government.
This Monday, October
5, the project manager Renata Maranhão
and the consultant Cláudia Martins
arrive in Guinea Bissau to present the project
Environmental Education in the Community
of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP)
in the context of the United Nations Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development,
which aims to highlight the exchange of
experiences in environmental work between
the countries.
During the workshop
in Guinea Bissau, which will be held until
the 8th of October, the representatives
of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment
will help representatives of local government,
NGOs and civil society, specially young
people, in preparing the Pedagogical Political
Project (PPP) for the creation of the "Green
Room".
For the creation of
the PPP, working groups will be formed,
each one with a subject area to create actions
that can be carried out in the "Green
Room". The goal is to show that the
space can be used not only for research
of environmental information, but also as
a place where they can meet to discuss actions
toward a more sustainable lifestyle.
According to Cláudia
Martins, the project will also provide technical
cooperation, allowing the country to identify
environmental problems and potential solutions.
The launch of the first
"Green Room" of the Community
of Portuguese Language Countries is scheduled
for October 16. Sao Tome and Principe will
be the first country in the community to
join the initiative of the MMA. The space
will function within the National Library
and it already has 200 environmental publications.
The cooperation among
Portuguese-speaking countries to strengthen
environmental education was signed in May
2006 by the Environment ministers of the
eight member countries. The objective of
the project is to create two "Green
Rooms" in each country, as well as
to establish the Environmental Education
Program in the CPLP.
The idea is that each
country should donate 25 publications for
each of the 16 spaces that will be created
and that all the "Green Rooms"
should be connected in a network, which
will permit the exchange of information.
