Cablegate: Brazil Clarifies Collaboration On Sustainable Forest

VZCZCXRO6501
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1753 2331735
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211735Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6432
INFO RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 2723
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 7825
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 5327

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001753

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO STATE FOR SCASWELL OES/ETC, LSPERLING OES/PCI;
USFS FOR EMAYHEW AND MZWEEDE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO KSCA BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL CLARIFIES COLLABORATION ON SUSTAINABLE FOREST
MANAGEMENT

REF: A) BRASILIA 492

B) BRASILIA 1292

1. Scioff met with Tasso Azevedo, head of the recently established
Brazilian Forest Service and architect of Brazil's Forest
Concessions Law(ref A), on August 18. A follow-on to earlier
conversations with the Ministry of Environment (MMA), this meeting
clarified where the MMA would like to cooperate in the realm of
sustainable forest management, rounding out a five-part
collaborative agenda. (ref B)

2. Tasso highlighted three areas of import. In the first, the GoB
would like to work with the USG to develop its register of public
lands. Tasso noted that the GoB would benefit from understanding
how the USG set up its register, how it collected the data and how
it organized the information it obtained. Additionally, Tasso
highlighted the work of inventorying Brazilian forests and also
commented that he would like to see the expansion of the LABEX
program which is an exchange between the USDA and Embrapa (Brazilian
Agricultural Research Service).

3. Most importantly, Tasso underscored Brazil's reliance on
satellite imagery to map, monitor and enforce its forest regime.
With Landsat faltering, access to reliable and affordable data is
difficult. He noted that Brazil is still able to utilize the SPOT,
Quickbird and IKONOS satellites to obtain imagery, but commented
that the images cost a fortune and exceed Brazil's operating budget.
Tasso stated implicitly that of all the assistance the USG could
povide, the most beneficial will be access to satelite images.

SOBEL

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