| Brazil is a country of continental dimension
and great biological diversity. It is one of the
ten largest economies in the world, a major
agricultural power, and one of the world’s foremost
producers of manufactured products, ranging from
textiles to automobiles. It is also home to some
of the planets most extensive inland waterways
and more than a third of the world’s tropical forest
– the Amazon rain forest. Brazil has over 55,000
plant species, accounting for approximately 22
percent of the world’s total, and over one million
unique species of animals. Not surprisingly,
conservation of the Amazon is one of the most
signifi cant issues in Brazilian society today, and
under the administration of President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva, Brazil has increased its efforts to
protect the environment and its natural resources.Our minister for the environment, |
Marina Silva,
has been an environmental activist throughout
her career, and she is taking a leading
role in raising awareness about
environmental issues.
Under the leadership of
President Lula and Minister Marina
Silva, Brazil has achieved a level
of diplomatic leadership in the
fi eld of environmental protection
not seen since 1992, when we
hosted the fi rst United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development in Rio de Janeiro.
The Rio
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Conference was a major milestone in
the history of global environmental cooperation,
and key documents were adopted as a result of the summit, including the Convention
on Biological Diversity and the Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
Revolutionary at the time, these
agreements serve as blueprints
for many of today’s multi-lateral
environmental commitments.
Part of the reason that Brazil
plays such an active role in these
conventions is that we are one
of a number of countries that
stand to be most affected by
global warming, which could
have a devastating impact on the
Amazon forest by converting large portions of
it into savanna. At the United Nations Climate
Change Conference held recently in Bali, we
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DIPLOMATIC DANCE
