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reduce emissions in a way that is measurable,
verifi able, and open to universal periodic review.
The Bali Action Plan established an Ad Hoc
Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative
Action, whose chairman, Minister Luiz Alberto
Figueiredo Machado, a Brazilian diplomat, will
preside over the negotiations for the fi rst year.
During the past decade, Brazil has been party
to the vast majority of the main treaties aimed at
protecting the environment, including the Vienna
Convention, Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol,
and the Stockholm Convention. Each of these
agreements, in addition to the many others not
named here, represents Brazil’s deep commitment
to assuming a leading role in protecting national
forests, the ozone layer, and bio-diversity. A prime
example of this leadership is the development and
adoption of the Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM), one of the three trade-off mechanisms
for reducing greenhouse gas emissions introduced
under the Kyoto Protocol.
On the domestic front, the Brazilian
government’s priority is to implement a new
development model in the Amazon region,
one that is based on social inclusion, respect
for cultural diversity, and the sustainable use
of natural resources. To realize this goal, we
will need to reverse historical patterns of
unsustainable development and exploitation of
natural resources. The objective is to signifi cantly
reduce the deforestation rate in the Brazilian
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Amazon through a set of integrated actions; chief
among them: proper zoning, law enforcement,
and incentives for sustainable production.
Recent federal government initiatives havesought to preserve and promote sustainable
forest production, while simultaneously
curbing illegal deforestation. Noteworthy
accomplishments to date include the setting
aside of 20 million hectares of rain forest
(9.98 percent of the overall Amazon region)
for conservation, the demarcation of 93,000
square kilometers of indigenous lands, and the
conservation of 194,000 square kilometers
of forest in areas of confl ict and expanding
agricultural frontiers.
Endowed with a vast network of waterways,
more than 75 percent of Brazil’s electrical power
is currently being generated by hydroelectric
plants and over 45 percent of our energy mix
is supplied by renewable sources. Agribusiness
is one of the greatest strengths of the Brazilian
economy, particularly the production of ethanol
and other biofuels. In March 2007, President Lula
and President Bush launched a bilateral ethanol
partnership, which constituted an important step
toward promoting biofuels worldwide. Brazil’s
experience has demonstrated that biofuels can
provide myriad benefi ts: to the environment,
through reduced greenhouse gas emissions; to the
economy, by reducing expenditures on imported
oil; and to society, through the creation of new
and better-paying jobs in rural areas.
But in the battle to protect our forests, it is not
enough
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merely to set aside land for conservation
and provide alternative sources of income, so enforcement plays a signifi cant role in Brazil’s
long-term plan to reduce illegal deforestation.
Eighty-three percent of the Amazonian forest’s
original vegetation is still intact, and in order to
monitor and control these vast areas, we employ
an ambitious space program that encompasses a
launching station, a data collecting platform, and
earth observation satellites.
These monitoring systems have made it
possible for Brazil not only to estimate the gross
annual deforestation rate in the Amazon, but
to operate a deforestation warning system that
notifi es law enforcement offi cials immediately
upon registering illegal deforestation. As a
result, there has been a marked decline in the
practice, and with it, in CO2 emissions, which
have dropped by over 400 million metric tons
over the last few years. When compared with
the 2004 peak, the reduction in emissions is
more than one billion metric tons.
These efforts, in addition to many others,
reflect the Brazilian government’s deep
commitment to recognizing the economic
and social value of the Amazon forest,
and to protecting this fragile eco-system
through a framework of government policies,
international agreements, and law enforcement
efforts. With continued energy and success,
we look forward to ensuring that the rates
of deforestation continue to decline, and the
future of the forest is assured.
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