Great piece from the WRI outlining where deforestation and land reform negotiations are up to in Brazil. The article explains Provisory Measure 458 passed earlier this year and links to useful conent around the thorny elements of the bill that were vetoed- much to the consternation of now Presidential candidate Marina Silva. With COP-15 round the corner, economic recovery tentatively  on track and an election not too far away, expect a lot more around this issue to surface. This piece is a welcome contribution.

Professor Virgilio Viana, former Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development, Amazonas and  currently the Director General of the Amazon Sustainability Foundation, talks about the role for the Amazon in combating climate change.

Professor Viana  stresses the need for benefit sharing strategies to be allied with research and cross sector collaboration to protect the value of the forest  as it stands.

An additional  key point he makes relates to global tropical forests role as biotic pumps, recycling water around the planet.

Professor Viana will be speaking at Chatham house on Tuesday 24th March:

Forests and Climate Change: an Amazonian Perspective for Copenhagen

Short commentary on the SustainAbility report The Road to Credibility.

Download PDF Brazil emerges or click through to read online

Brazil’s emerging reporting scene
The SustainAbility, UNEP survey of Brazilian CR Reporting, The Road to Credibility, highlighted the increasing importance of sustainability to companies in this late industrializing country.
Operating in this nascent democracy of 188 million people, with an economic landscape primarily dominated by former State-owned enterprises and commodity exporters, the leading reporters have tried to articulate their own distinctive approach to sustainability aligned to the country’s specific characteristics. The rapid growth of CR reporting in Brazil and the importance of establishing a national context within which to frame key themes can be attributed to three main factors.
Firstly, Brazil’s deep and diverse social sector supported by government policy, through internationally acclaimed welfare programmes such as the Bolsa Familia, has created a platform that is steadily improving historically entrenched inequality and providing civil society with the frameworks through which it can engage with the corporate sector.
Second, the country’s role as a global provider of ecosystem services, notably through its role of stewardship of Amazonia, has provided an international focus to policy and corporate commitments to the environment.
Thirdly, lessons learnt from the economic volatility of the past have delivered a robust, stable economy, characterised by well-capitalized banks and globally competitive companies, providing a secure landscape for Brazil’s corporate sector to thrive and for millions of its citizens to begin to earn decent wages.
Whilst CR reporting may still be in an embryonic phase, companies – responding to a mix of decisive national policy signals and international demands for clear evidence of strong environmental, social and governance impact management, are recognising the importance to their corporate goals of being able to demonstrate how they do business, and they are doing it in a Brazilian way.
Report link: http://www.unep.fr/scp/gri/publications/Brazil%20Global%20Reporters%2008.pdf

By Jimmy Greer
www.greenbrazil.wordpress.com

” Rather than suggesting our Bric dream may be derailed by the global recession, the notion that the Brics can become collectively bigger than the G7 by 2035 is becoming more plausible.”  Jim O’Neil – ‘Bric’ term coiner. Full article here

A report released by SustainAbility and the FBDS explores sustainability reporting in Brazil.Key findings of the report include:

Evidence of strong  demand for sustainability reporting with close to 100 companies disclosing information and approx 20 using GRI guidelines ( higher than in China and India).

Natura, Suzano Petroquimica, Ampla and Coelce lead the field…

Weaknesses include lack of balance in issues reported (selective use of information)

Update: Click here for short commentary

World Bank Report, written by Augusto de la Torre, Pablo Fajnzylber and John Nash, looking ahead to Copenhagen, examining how Latin America is in a position to lead middle income countries in reducing emissions from deforestation, breaking the impasse on hydropower development, improving energy efficiency, and transforming urban transport.

Video interviews with John Nash about the Report

Globo  publishes a  number of deforestation pictures as seen from google maps. The images collected in 2000 -2001 highlight the many different ways in which the forest is being degraded.

Banks are calling in their cash lent to farmers in the good years when high prices paved the way for agricultural expansion. As the good times get leaner and advantages are eroded loan capital has disappeared and the state has no concrete plans in place.

from FT.com

Guardian audio, slideshow and article exploring how NGO-supported sustainable, small scale farming knowledge is breaking the cycle of migration from the arid North East to urban or to industrial agriculture centres.

2 part interview with Manageira Unger(part 1, part 2), Harvard law professor and now minister for stategic affairs heading up the Institutue for Applied Research (IPEA), talking about the Sustainable Amazon Programme (PAS).

The programme is designed to make the Amazon a viable commerical space for the whole of Brazil whilst attempting to stem deforestation and foster a type of sustainable development for the region.

He calls for a clear distinction between the Amazon and the Cerrado, remarking that logging is the main activity of the Amazon and  needs to be moved into scientific realm of intellectual property and biodiversity. The Cerrado, meanwhile, presents an opportunity to recoup unused pasture for high value agricultural use, intensive cattle farming and biofuel cultivation. Brazil could double its land use, triple its production without touching a single tree(!).

its 7 main tenets:

• Land reform
• Policy aimed at halting deforestation
• Help for small scale producers
• Reorganization of agriculture and animal farming
• Boosting  industrial capacity
• Building transport infrastructure
• Science, capacity and education