Forest Plan in Brazil Bears the Traces of an Activist’s Vision

Twenty years ago, a Brazilian environmental activist and rubber tapper was shot to death at his home in Acre State by ranchers opposed to his efforts to save the Amazon rain forest.

After his death at age 44, Francisco Alves Mendes, better known as Chico, became a martyr for a concept that is only now gaining mainstream support here: that the value of a standing forest could be more than the value of a forest burned and logged in the name of development.

This month, Brazil took what environmentalists hope will be a big step forward in realizing Mr. Mendes’s vision. The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva introduced ambitious targets for reducing deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions in a nation that is one of the world’s top emitters of this heat-trapping gas.

The plan promises to make Brazil a more influential player in global climate-change discussions, helping to push the United States and the European Union to agree to emissions cuts and head off the adverse effects of climate change. It could also encourage more pledges from wealthy countries seeking to essentially pay Brazil to preserve the forest for the good of all humanity.

But some environmentalists question whether the new targets, which would reduce Brazilian deforestation by 72 percent by 2017, are achievable in a country that has shown few signs of adjusting its development model as a major food provider to the world, especially in the midst of a global economic crisis.

To achieve the first phase of planned cuts, Brazil would have to reduce deforestation next year by 20 percent, to less than 4,000 square miles. That would be the lowest amount per year ever recorded in Brazil, said Paulo Adario, the Amazon campaign director for Greenpeace in Brazil.

Brazil’s economy is centered on the export of agricultural products, like soybeans and beef, and commodities like iron ore.

“The Brazilian model is to be the food supplier to the world and a big supplier of ethanol,” Mr. Adario said. “The economy will continue to move in the same basic direction. There is no magic in Brazil.”

Up until now, Brazil’s economic choices have driven much of the deforestation in the Amazon, he said. In the late 1960s and the 1970s, the military government encouraged landless families to settle in the region. Road-building, land speculators and ranchers followed, and the forests fell at a quickening pace.

The burning and decomposition of trees produce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Forest Plan in Brazil Bears the Traces of an Activist’s Vision

Mr. Mendes organized tappers to confront crews and flew abroad to confront lenders paying for roads. His efforts to stop logging in an area planned for a forest reserve led to his death. Since his killing, on Dec. 22, 1988, more than 20 reserves have been created, protecting more than eight million acres.

Mr. Mendes was an early advocate of the idea that people who live in the forest could create livelihoods from sustainable forest resources, rather than the one-time economic benefit of cutting down trees. Carbon financing, the compensation of forest dwellers for pursuing sustainable industries, would provide an added incentive, which is vital given the uncertain markets for natural rubber and other non-timber forest products.

“The notion that we in the north will help pay for that climate service is an important development and represents the mainstreaming of the concept that Chico Mendes and those like him were pioneers in creating,” said Richard H. Moss, the head of climate change programs at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington.

The killings of Mr. Mendes and of Sister Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old Catholic nun who was gunned down in 2005 for speaking out against logging in the Amazon, ratcheted up international pressure on Brazil to find ways to limit forest clearing without sacrificing development.

“Brazil was always on the defensive when it came to the question of climate change,” said Carlos Minc, Brazil’s environment minister. “And now it has completely changed, passing a bolder plan than India and China.”

Mr. Minc said the plan would help meet a demand of some of the more developed countries, including the United States, which has said it would not agree to firm emissions targets until less-developed countries that produce significant amounts of greenhouse gases do the same.

Deforestation produces more than a fifth of human-generated carbon dioxide by some estimates. Some 75 percent of Brazil’s carbon dioxide emissions come from deforestation, Mr. Minc said.

Brazil’s plan would sharply slice those emissions, reducing them by some 4.8 billion tons by 2018. Some environmentalists contend that deals involving compensation for forest protection could weaken climate agreements in many ways. They also say the plan leaves the most difficult targets to the government that will follow Mr. da Silva’s. His term ends in 2010.

Still, it is viewed by some scientists and climate experts as major step forward. “For the first time we have out in the open very clear goals for reduction in deforestation,” said Walter Vergara, the lead climatologist for Latin America at the World Bank.

The global recession could end up being a godsend by lowering demand for agricultural goods.

But it could also slow the flow of technology needed to make industries more efficient and limit pledges from foreign governments like Norway, Sweden and Germany, whose payments would help preserve the forest. So far, those countries have not suggested that they would reduce their contributions, Mr. Minc said.

“The global recession and the climate crisis don’t necessarily have to be adversaries, with one competing for the resources of the other,” Mr. Minc said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/world/americas/22brazil.html

As Amazon Rainforest Destruction Continues, Brazil Pledges Drastic Action

Amazon deforestationIn the wake of a distressing report about accelerating deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian government has vowed to reduce the rate of land-clearing by 70 percent over the next decade. The government was called upon to take drastic steps after a report declared that deforestation increased this year for the first time since 2004 as surging prices for cattle and soybeans led ranchers to seek farm land in the forest. The world’s largest rainforest lost 11,968 square kilometers (4,600 square miles), an area about 10 times as large as New York City, in the 12 months through July 2008 [Bloomberg].

Tasso Azevedo, head of the Brazilian government’s forestry service said: “We can now adopt targets because we now have the instruments to implement them.” He was referring to a new Amazon fund, where foreign nations are being encouraged by Brazil to contribute financially to the conservation of the vast Amazon region [BBC News]. Norway has already agreed to contribute $1 billion to the fund over the next seven years on the condition that deforestation rates continue to drop during that time; however, Norway’s pledge is hoped to be just the beginning. The Brazilian government wants to raise $21 billion in donations to finance conservation and sustainable development projects, arguing that since the whole world receives climate benefits from an intact Amazon rainforest, the whole world should subsidize it.

The Brazilian government maintains that the figures for 2008 would have been still worse without its new crackdown on illegal logging and land clearing, and points to its policy of confiscating soy and beef products from rogue ranchers as proof that the government takes the issue quite seriously. But critics say the environmental protection agency, IBAMA, is understaffed and underfunded to face thousands of often heavily armed loggers and ranchers…. Last week a crowd in Paragominas, a town that depends heavily on logging, ransacked IBAMA offices, torched its garage and used a tractor to break down the entrance of the hotel where its agents stayed. Twelve trucks loaded with confiscated wood were stolen [New Scientist].

Brazil’s announcement of the new conservation targets coincides with the opening of a United Nations conference on global warming. Amazon destruction makes Brazil one of the top emitters of greenhouse gases because trees release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when they’re cut down or burned [Reuters]. If the rainforest remains intact, however, the ecosystem can serve as a valuable “carbon sink” that can take up and sequester carbon dioxide emissions from the rest of the world.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/12/02/as-amazon-rainforest-destruction-continues-brazil-pledges-drastic-action/

Hackers Responsible for Rainforest Destruction

By illegally securing transport permits for logging companies

Greenpeace announced that over 200 people and 100 logging and charcoal companies faced prosecution in Brazil for their involvement in a large-scale fraud case. The companies allegedly contracted hacking groups that broke into the government's network and altered the records in order to allow for excessive deforestation.

In their attempt to regulate deforestation, authorities from the Brazilian state of Pará introduced an online timber transport tracking system a few years ago. The idea behind the project is to control the amount of timber that can be legally transported out of the state by each company. If a company reaches its maximum allowed quota, the state stops issuing transport permits for it.

When this system was first introduced, a lot of experts and environmental groups warned that it was exposed to possible fraud in multiple ways and unfortunately their fears came true when, in April 2007, the local police started investigating hacking activity that targeted the online system. Their efforts concluded that hackers had penetrated the network and altered records in order to authorize multiple companies to secure more transport permits than allowed. The fraud was estimated at over $830 million.

The investigators initially arrested 30 individuals suspected of orchestrating the scam, but the current list of involved parties amounts to 202 people and 107 companies. "Almost half of the companies involved in this scam have other law suits pending for environmental crimes or the use of slave labour, amongst other things,” pointed out Federal Prosecutor Daniel Avelino.

"By hacking into the permit system, these companies have made their timber shipments appear legal and compliant with the forest management plans,” Greenpeace campaigner André Muggiati, explained how the scheme worked. “And this is only the tip of the iceberg, because the same computer system is also used in two other Brazilian states," he added.

Greenpeace warns that the Brazilian government is not only having problems regulating the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, but it actually plans to increase it by allowing every land owner to cut down trees from as much as 50 percent of their property. This means more than double of what the current law allows.

Much like Russia, China and Ukraine, Brazil is also the home of a large number of organized cyber-criminal groups that operate at global level, and which the country's government generally fails to dismantle and prosecute.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hackers-Responsible-for-Rainforest-Destruction-99999.shtml

Acai berry - a tonic for energy

Acai - lots of energy

The acai berry is turning heads in the health industry. It provides nutrients that are improving energy and performance in all aspects of life.

These nutrients support the metabolism of our bodies. If you have been deficient in them you know one of the reasons for depression, lack of concentration and generally low levels of energy.

One of the most important ingredients in the acai berry are the omega 3 fatty acids. They are crucial for proper mental function and alertness.

The rich variety of antioxidants protect the cells from free radical damage and allow proper cellular metabolism and energy production.

We encourage you to learn more about the secrets contained in the acai berry. It is not new, it is just new to the Western world. Indigenous people in the Amazon have used it as a staple food down through the ages. When other foods were scarce they could survive on it for long periods of time without any sign of malnutrition.

http://www.fundednfree.com/acaiberry.html

Brazil's Decision on Deforestation Draws Praise

Brazil's decision to set a target for reducing deforestation by 70 percent over the next decade to combat climate change was hailed by environmentalists Friday as a significant goal for a major polluting country.

"This is an enormously important step," Stephan Schwartzman, an Amazon expert with the Environmental Defense Fund, said by telephone from a climate change conference in Poland. "This is the first time that a major developing country, whose greenhouse gas emissions are a substantial part of the problem, has stepped up and made a commitment to bring down its total emissions. Brazil has set the standard. Now we want to see the U.S. and President Obama come up to it."

The clear-cutting and burning of the Amazon rain forest for cattle and soybean ranches, roads and settlements makes up one of the world's largest sources of the types of gases that contribute to global warming. Since reaching a recent peak of 10,588 square miles of forest destroyed in the Amazon in 2004, deforestation dropped for the next three years, before rising slightly this year to 4,621 square miles, according to data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, which monitors deforestation.


Brazil is one of the world's top four emitters of greenhouse gases, with China, the United States and Indonesia. The destruction of the world's rain forest accounts for about 20 percent of annual greenhouse gas pollution, of which Brazil makes up 40 percent, Schwartzman said.


Brazil's plan, announced this week and detailed Friday by Environment Minister Carlos Minc, calls for reducing the annual rate of deforestation to 1,900 square miles by 2017, down from 7,300 square miles, which has been the average rate of deforestation over a recent 10-year period. Minc said reaching this target would prevent 4.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere, more than the combined commitment of industrialized countries under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

"Climate change is one of the issues that most worries our civilization these days," Minc said. "Many people used to say it was just the delirium of environmentalists, but after they started to see ice melting on their TVs, they changed their minds."

Under Minc's predecessor, Marina Silva, Brazil set aside millions of acres of forest as protected areas. But in practice, it has been difficult to protect the vast, sparsely populated areas because of pressure from farmers and ranchers, corruption, illegal clearing and a lack of economic incentives.

Ana Cristina Barros, the Brazilian representative for the Nature Conservancy, called the new deforestation target a "time for celebration."

"It is possible for the government to control the Amazon frontier," she said. "It doesn't mean we have to prevent agriculture; we just need to control it."

Minc said he would create an environmental police force of 3,000 people to protect national parks and target illegal loggers. But he said deforestation cannot be solved by police action alone and requires economic incentives for farmers and other residents of the Amazon.

Farmers were encouraged that the government's plan included a program to pay those who preserve forest on their property, said Marcelo Duarte Monteiro, executive director of an association of soybean farmers in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. There are 62 million acres of cattle farms in the state, he said, and some of this land can be converted for soybean and other agricultural products.

"From our perspective, we are going to be looking at conversion, from pasture into cropland. That, in our opinion, is the way we should be going," he said. "On the other hand, we think it's fair to think of economic incentives for farmers who have forest and are delivering these environmental services, of carbon, of biodiversity, for free. And then everybody's going to be happy."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/05/AR2008120503325.html

Sambazon Announces Private Equity Funding from Verlinvest

New Investment Will Support Future Growth as Sambazon Expands Distribution Across the U.S.A

Sambazon ( www.sambazon.com), the pioneer and global market leader in acai food and beverages, announced today the initial closing of its largest round of funding to date from lead investor, Verlinvest.

Verlinvest, a Belgian based private equity group, pledges to support the Company's exponential growth within the organic food and beverage categories. Sambazon will use the investment to expand distribution and marketing efforts for its premium acai product lines.

"We are very excited about this new partnership. Verlinvest's knowledge and relationships in the beverage industry are unparalleled and will add tremendous value to growing our distribution," said Ryan Black, CEO, Sambazon. "Verlinvest's international experience in building iconic brands also makes them the ideal strategic partner as we execute our growth plan."

Since its founding in 2000, Sambazon has continued to raise the industry standard with quality organic acai products. They created the first vertically integrated supply chain for the acai berry and are internationally recognized as a "green" business leader. Guided by the Triple Bottom Line principles, which incorporate environmental, social and economic success, Sambazon pioneered a sustainable business model in the Amazon Rainforest and created worldwide awareness of acai. Today, Sambazon products are found in over ten thousand supermarkets, health food stores and juice bars.

"Sambazon is the hottest up and coming brand in the beverage space, with dynamic products and a supply chain to reach significant scale," says Frederic de Mevius, Verlinvest's Managing Director. "They have outperformed competitors in the beverage, frozen and supplement categories and as consumers continue to look for organic, functional and nutrition rich food and beverages, Sambazon's future is prospected to be very bright."

Partnership Capital Growth, a San Francisco based investment bank, is advising the transaction exclusively. Verlinvest is the lead investor with participation by Bradmer

Foods and RSF Social Finance.

About Sambazon

Sambazon is the global leader in acai - a deliciously nutritious purple berry from the Amazon Rainforest. Sambazon's product portfolio of Organic acai beverages, frozen products and supplements are available at thousands of retailers including Whole Foods Market, Jamba Juice, Kroger and Publix. In 2006, Condoleezza Rice named Sambazon winner of the "ACE Award for Corporate Excellence" for helping to create worldwide awareness and demand for the acai fruit while supporting local indigenous communities in Brazil through a unique market driven conservation business model. www.sambazon.com

About Verlinvest S.A.

Verlinvest is a Belgian private equity firm specializing in diversifying family holdings through equity and debt instruments. The firm typically invests in entrepreneurs, family businesses, multinationals in the branded consumer goods and services industry with a focus on alcoholic (spirits), healthy non-alcoholic beverages, fashion, cosmetics and well being services. www.verlinvest.be

About Partnership Capital Growth Advisors

PCGA is a FINRA/SIPC-licensed broker dealer providing full-service financing and capital structure advisory services to middle market companies, focusing exclusively on consumer products and services for healthy, active and sustainable living. www.pcg-advisors.com

SOURCE Sambazon

http://www.sambazon.com

One River

The prodigious biological and cultural riches of the vast Amazon rain forest are being lost at a horrendous rate, according to the author, often without yielding their secrets to the Western world.

During his years in the South American jungle, ethnobotanist Davis (The Serpent and the Rainbow) has done much to preserve some of these treasures. He tells two entwined tales here - his own explorations in the '70s and those of his mentor, the great Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, beginning in the '30s.

Both men have been particularly interested in the psychoactive and medicinal properties of the plants of the Amazon basin and approach their subject with a reverence for the cultural context in which the plants are used.

The contrasting experiences of two explorers, a mere generation apart, starkly demonstrates how much has already been destroyed in the rain forest. Although Schultes probably knew more about Amazonian plants than any Western scientist, he was constantly learning of new ones and new uses for them from native experts.

Davis graphically describes the brutal clash of cultures from Columbian times to the present, often so devastating for indigenous peoples, that has defined this region.

At times humorous, at times depressing, this is a consistently enlightening and thought-provoking study.

http://www.excitingbrazil.com/theamazonriver.html

Out of Amazonia

Manaus forms an exotic backdrop to a bitter tale. By Maya Jaggi

Milton Hatoum's early novels drew on his upbringing in the Brazilian melting-pot of Manaus, the rainforest river port legendary for its floating markets and extravagant opera house. Tale of a Certain Orient and The Brothers, explored the past of a city at the confluence of rivers and cultures that had lured workers and traders since the rubber boom of the 1880s - including Hatoum's Lebanese Arab forebears, who exchanged the Mediterranean for the Amazon. The Brothers, translated from the Portuguese in 2002, confirmed Hatoum as one of South America's leading contemporary novelists.

The entwined families of Ashes of the Amazon have no ties to the Levant, though their conflicts recall the archetypal rivalries of the earlier books. This novel alludes more directly to Hatoum's childhood years in its main setting of Manaus during Brazil's military dictatorship of 1964-85. Through a tale of two schoolfriends caught between vying adult mentors and tormentors, it evokes a bitterly fraught era of creativity and collusion, of rebellion, exile and defeat.

The main narrator is the orphan Lavo, brought up by his aunt Ramira, with desultory interventions from her brother Ranulfo, a one-time radio presenter sacked by the church-run station for obscenity, now dedicated to lying in a hammock. Lavo's friend Mundo is an aspiring artist whose tycoon father Jano inherited a steamship fortune from his Portuguese immigrant father. Mundo's beautiful mother Alícia, the daughter of an Amazonian Indian mother, is a compulsive drinker, gambler and shopper.

More convoluted bonds between the friends' families emerge, as Lavo learns that Ranulfo and Alícia were lovers, though Alícia chose to marry wealth, and Ranulfo to console himself by wedding Alícia's sister Algisa. This intricate web of jealousy and sibling rivalry is compounded by Jano's preference for sensible Lavo over his rebellious son Mundo, and Ranulfo's fondness for Alícia's child Mundo - who, it is hinted, may be Ranulfo's son.

The two boys meet in 1964, as school resumes after the military coup, in an atmosphere of brutality and bullying that echoes the rise of the army rulers. These include Colonel Zanda, busily deforming the landscape with a "crazed mania for modernisation" that delivers an urban slum named the New Eldorado. As Lavo opts to study law, Ranulfo objects: "All this law for nothing. The military have chucked all these laws in the bin."

Mundo's art, like Ranulfo's indolence, is a form of revolt, as his father sends him to military school to break him - and ensure that he is not "queer". Mundo finds inspiration in Amerindian art, and also - in an allusion to the Tropicalia movement, named after Hélio Oiticica's tropical-shack installation - in a Rio gallery with a "strange work of art: people went into a tent, put on a plastic cape full of folds and began gyrating and shouting, trying to free themselves of a lot of things".

Central to the novel is an invigoratingly astringent satire of the artist as fraud and sell-out. The studio of Alduíno Arana, a would-be mentor to Mundo, becomes the factory of a "vulgar salesman". From collages of beheaded fish smeared with red paint, he depicts macaws and sunsets. As Ranulfo scoffs: "He must have been overwhelmed by the grandeur of our natural surroundings." Whereas Mundo sketches faces in a Rio favela, Arana mimics Amerindians' art or incorporates their very bones in his installations, claiming they have washed up from collapsed tombs. Others suspect him of exhuming corpses. His "grotesque, hallucinatory vision" of the forest adorns the high-rise offices of construction companies, a cynicism prefigured by his taste for deflowering young girls, "fresh from upriver". Later exiled in Berlin and Brixton - at whose mini-markets he delights in mementos of Africa and the Amazon in okra and watermelons - Mundo realises that Arana had sought to inject him with the poisonous idea of "an 'authentic, pure Amazonian art', but . . . nothing is pure, authentic or original."

Both rebels are beaten. Ranulfo is scarred by "thugs or police", while Mundo's defiant installation - a row of burnt crosses at the ugly new town - is razed, and his father takes revenge. "It seemed as if a whole epoch had lain down and died." Yet as conflicts over the boys' future mirror contests for the soul of the country, for Mundo "there is always the revenge of the imagination, the revenge of the artist". When the military regime eventually falters, his paintings of decomposition and despair will outlive him.

Though extending into exile, the novel remains rooted in a tropical Manaus of floating bars, neoclassical mansions and shanties built out over the water. It is partly a sense of waste and destruction that gives this novel its bitterness. Yet the defeat of a generation, and its ultimate moral transcendence, also lends it an epic breadth.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/15/ashes-of-the-amazon-milton-hatoum

Brazil announces plan to slash rainforest destruction

The Brazilian government yesterday announced a 10-year plan to slash rainforest destruction by 70% days after new figures showed Amazon deforestation was again on the rise.

Officials said the targets, which are part of Brazil's Climate Change Plan, were the first time the Brazilian government had set specific goals for deforestation reduction.

The plan outlines a 40% reduction of deforestation until 2009, a 30% reduction between 2010 and 2013 and a further 30% cut between 2014 and 2017.

"The target is that in 2017 deforestation will be [reduced to] 5,000 sq km," environment minister Carlos Minc told reporters in Brazil's capital, Brasilia.

He said the slowdown in deforestation would mean a 72% reduction in climate changing carbon emissions. That, he added, "is an even more daring target than in England which aims for an 80% reduction but [not] until 2050."

The blueprint for deforestation reduction makes it clear that hitting the targets depends on Brazil's ability to raise funds for its fight against the loggers.

In August 2008 Brazil's government created the Amazon Fund, a mechanism for foreign governments to help pay for the protection of the world's largest tropical rainforest and combat global warming. In September Norway's government became the first to contribute to the fund, pledging $1bn (£668m).

Mr Minc said he hoped for donations of $1bn a year, in order to bankroll Brazil's campaign against deforestation.

The plans follow the release of government figures on Friday showing that deforestation rose 3.8% in the year leading up to July 2008 – the first annual increase in three years.

Satellite images captured by Brazil's Space Research Institute, Inpe, showed that 11,968 sq km of forest were cleared until July this year, up from 11,532 sq km the previous year.

Mr Minc said the rise would have been even greater had it not been for an anti-deforestation drive launched at the start of 2008. Deforestation levels had fallen in the 36 regions that suffered most deforestation in 2007 as a result of the crackdown, he said.

Known as the Arc of Fire, the crackdown has triggered violent uprisings in several Amazon towns where the economies, dependent on logging, have been badly hit.

Speaking to the Guardian earlier this year Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Brazil's minister for strategic affairs and the coordinator of its Amazon development plan, said his country needed to embark on a "revolutionary" project for the Amazon.

"We cannot preserve the Amazon without a project of development otherwise we are just playing with words," he said.

Without offering economic alternatives to logging it would be impossible to effectively combat illegal logging, he said.

"I have heard from a few foreigners the idea that the Brazilian state should actually transport the 27 million Brazilians out of the Amazon but our country is not governed by Stalin and we will not do that," he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/02/forests-brazil

Antioxidants of the Acai Berry

Of all the benefits of the Acai berry, the antioxidant properties are given the most attention. Perhaps that's because most of the health benefits offered by the Acai berry are related to its antioxidant properties. Being antioxidant means that the berry is capable of getting rid of harmful toxins in the body.

Toxins may cause injuries or diseases in the human body. They may come from our daily diet, or from the environment. Everyday, we are exposed to harmful toxins in the environment. Such toxins come from pesticides, mold, heavy metals, chloroform (found in washing agents) and other substances.

In addition, some of the food that we consume may contain their own toxins. For instance, we may be unaware of pesticide on vegetables, or harmful toxins from certain type of fish. Sometimes, symptoms such as dizziness and headaches result from consuming such harmful toxins.

Of course, if the condition is severe, always seek professional medical help immediately. However, sometimes toxins may just be building up in the body, with no visible symptoms showing. This may lead to lethargy and listlessness. The affected individual may also feel sleepy. This is because blood circulation is impeded by the harmful toxins. And when blood circulation slows down, the brain receives less oxygen. Hence, this leads to drowsiness and a persistent lack of energy.

For sure, this is harmful to the individual because without energy, all aspects of the individual's life is affected. For example, the individual may find it hard to complete his work, which in turn affects his professional life. Or he may find himself unwilling to go out to socialize, which in turn affects his social life.

Fortunately, by eating the right food, such problems can be totally avoided. Acai berries antioxidant capabilities have been widely promoted by the media. Many health experts have used the fruit to help improve the general health of those they are trying to help. Some even consumer Acai berries on a regular basis to help them lose weight.

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight know that they must exercise regularly to improve their metabolism rate. A higher metabolism rate means that the body is able to burn off excess fats automatically, which leads to loss of weight. Therefore, exercise is a must for any sustainable weight loss program. However, if an individual has a lot of harmful toxins in the body, which leads to energy loss, he may find himself unwilling to stick to a strict exercise program.

Even when taken without exercise, the Acai berry has the natural ability to help regulate cholesterol levels in the body. This helps with weight control.

When consumed regularly, the Acai berry helps to slow down the aging process, and may even help prevent cancer. No wonder thousands of health experts are heavily endorsing the Acai berry!

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/82764

Christmas Tree of Bradesco Seguros e Previdencia

The Biggest Floating Christmas Tree in the World,
is Inaugurated in Rio De Janeiro

Event brought together thousands of people at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov 29, 2008 The inaugural event of the 13th consecutive edition of the Christmas Tree of Bradesco Seguros e Previdencia, the biggest floating Christmas tree in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, brought together thousands of people this Saturday (November 29, 2008). Considered the third greatest event in the city of Rio de Janeiro, after Carnaval and New Year's Eve, the Tree brings something new for 2008 in the form of "A melody of peace for the Brazilian family." The spectacle of lights and colors has taken on a musical touch. An electronic carillon, imported from Italy and similar to the one used in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, has been installed within its structure to reproduce Christmas carols with bells played manually by professional bell-ringers. There are also fireworks scheduled for every Saturday.

The programming of the inaugural event, with a live television broadcast in real time by the Tree's hot site included a concert given by popular Brazilian artists such as singers Elba Ramalho, Joao Bosco, Roberta Sa and guitarist Turibio Santos, as well as the Choir of the Bradesco Foundation, made up of 112 young students. The American soprano Carol McDavit, who has been settled in Brazil for the past 20 years, also made an appearance.

The project has become the largest event sponsored by a single private company in Brazil. This is the 13th edition of the Christmas Tree of Bradesco Seguros e Previdencia, which for the first time will have thirteen flashing sequences of different images to dazzle the public. At the top of the 85- meter Tree, the star is now accompanied by two angels representing peace. The 52 kilometers of lighted strands are to evoke the Christmas theme, and 1,600 flashing lights are to evoke twinkling stars.

Certification in the Guinness Book

The second certification in the Guinness Book of Records, as the "largest floating Christmas tree in the world," was obtained because of the height of 85 meters in 2007 and recorded in the recently published 2009 edition. With its launching in 1996, the Tree was 48 meters high and up until the 2006 edition, 82 meters. The first certification in the Guinness book was awarded in 1999, when this symbol of Christmas measured 76 meters.

Technology and the Environment

For the past three years, the Christmas Tree of Bradesco Seguros e Previdencia has had generators fueled by biodiesel to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. For the third year, to ensure rationality in the consumption of fuel, the generators will be controlled by a computerized system.

Neutralization of Carbon

Emissions of carbon gas into the atmosphere produced by the assembly, display and dismantling of the Tree will be neutralized by the planting of trees in regions of the Mata Atlantica rainforest.

WWW.ARVORENATALBRADESCOSEGUROS.COM.BR/FOTOS

Amazon deforestation rises slightly to 4,600 square miles in 2008

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased slightly for the August 2007-July 2008 period, reports the country's National Institute of Space Research (INPE). The rise is the first since 2004 when 27,379 square kilometers were destroyed, but is lower than forecast. The 2008 figure is the second-lowest annual loss since 1991.

INPE estimates that 11,968 square kilometers (4,600 square miles) of rainforest were cleared during the recent period, a 3.8 percent increase from the 11,532 sq km lost during the prior year. The figures are lower than forecasts put forth earlier this year, possibly due to the recent collapse in commodity prices. Clearing in the Amazon is increasingly linked to beef and grain markets — as prices rise, farmers and ranchers convert more rainforest land.

The Brazilian government has also stepped up efforts to rein in illegal forest-clearing, including enacting new environmental laws, establishing protected areas, and launching a series of highly-publicized raids on illicit logging and farming operations. In August President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva unveiled a $21 billion donation-based fund to finance conservation and sustainable development projects in the region. Norway has already committed a billion dollars to the initiative.

While low commodity prices and increased government action may temper forest clearing in the Brazilian Amazon, Earth's largest rainforest is far from safe. Regional climate trends indicate that large swathes of the Amazon are increasingly susceptible to drought and fire. Coupled with continued deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation, some researchers say the Amazon is approaching a critical tipping point which could see more than half of the forest damaged or destroyed within a generation.

The Brazilian Amazon accounts for roughly sixty percent of the Amazon rainforest. The bulk of Amazon deforestation occurs in Brazil, although clearing is increasing in Peru due to infrastructure expansion and logging.

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1128-amazon.html

New Brazil plan to save Amazon tribes

Radar to be used to locate groups of isolated Indians

Rio de Janeiro: The Brazilian government has said it would employ heat-seeking radar in a last-ditch attempt to save the country’s remaining groups of isolated Indians. The body-heat sensors will be mounted on a Brazilian air force jet normally used to monitor rainforest destruction and will be used to locate an estimated 39 groups of isolated indigenous people, hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest.

The authorities hope the system will help to protect them from loggers, goldminers and ranchers.

Antenor Vaz, the coordinator for isolated tribes at Brazil’s National Indian Foundation, said the system would allow authorities to locate tribes without disturbing their way of life.

“We have been using planes more and more, not just to monitor [isolated tribes] but also to find new references,” he said. But even the use of small planes brought disruption to the tribes because they flew at low altitude, he said.

Brazil’s isolated Indians hit the headlines in May when aerial photographs of a remote tribe near the border with Peru were released. Several tribesmen could be seen firing arrows at the plane.

Mr. Vaz said the sensors mounted on planes flying at high altitude meant the tribes would not even know they were being monitored.

By locating Brazil’s last isolated tribes, campaigners hope the process of land demarcation can be speeded up, helping to guarantee the protection of their ancestral lands.

Campaigners say the Amazon may be home to the largest number of uncontacted tribes in the world. The authorities have long grappled with the dilemma of how best to treat indigenous groups who have had little or no contact with outsiders.

For hundreds of years colonisers and explorers have trekked through the jungle, coming into contact with these tribes, often with catastrophic results. There are thought to have been around six million indigenous people when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500. Today there are fewer than 3,00,000. Violence and western diseases such as flu have devastated many indigenous communities.

In the 1980s thousands of gold prospectors poured into areas inhabited by Yanomami Indians, in northern Brazil, triggering genocide, human rights groups claimed. Some sources say up to 20% of the Yanomami people died in seven years. Since the late 1980s government policy towards uncontacted tribes has shifted to a “stay away” approach. A handful of sertanistas, or explorers, work in the rainforest trying to locate tribes without coming into direct contact with them.

No life in danger


Fiona Watson, Brazil campaigner for Survival International, an indigenous rights group, said there could be as many as 20 uncontacted tribes living in the Amazon rainforest. “The idea of the remote sensors means you are not going to put any lives in danger [by making contact],” she said.

She said contact between isolated tribes and government employees had proved disastrous in the past, with 50% of some tribes being wiped out by disease in the first year after contact.

Mr. Vaz said the radar’s first mission would be to confirm the existence of isolated tribes in the Amazon state of Mato Grosso, a region that loggers, ranchers and soy farmers have turned into ground zero for rainforest destruction.

“The priority will be Mato Grosso where the process of devastation is happening the quickest,” he said.

He said members of the military and representatives of the National Indian Foundation would meet soon to plan “when and where” the flyovers would take place.

‘Emergency’

In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, the president of Brazil’s National Indian Foundation, Marcio Meira, admitted that time was running out for isolated Indians in the region. According to newspaper reports there were only two male members left of one of the region’s tribes, the Piripkura.

“The situation there is an emergency,” Mr. Meira said.

Ms. Watson said several of the region’s tribes were “facing genocide unless the Brazilian authorities take immediate action to demarcate and protect their land”.

www.thehindu.com/2008/11/24/stories/2008112455482000.htm

Tribe and Tribulation

DANIEL Everett looks and talks much like the middle-aged American academic he is — until he drops a strange word into the conversation. An exceptionally melodic noise tumbles from his mouth. It doesn't sound like speaking at all.

Apart from his ex-wife and two ageing missionaries, Everett is the only person in the world beyond the sweeping banks of the Maici River in the Amazon basin who can speak Piraha.

Just 350 Piraha (pronounced Pee-da-HAN) hunt and gather from their simple homes in the Brazilian rainforest. Linguists believe their language is unrelated to any other. This obscure Amazonian people speak using only three vowels and eight consonants (including the glottal stop) but their language is far from simple.

Like Chinese, for example, Piraha is tonal, and speaking in a different pitch transforms the meaning of a word. Unlike other tonal languages, Piraha can also be hummed and sung. The Piraha have no socially lubricating "hello" and "thank you" and "sorry". They have no words for colours or numbers and no way of expressing any history beyond that experienced in their lifetimes.

In the late 1970s, Everett was dispatched to the Amazon to learn their language, translate the Bible and convert them to Christianity. The idea that we can be enlightened or destroyed by living with exotic people has transfixed Western societies since before Joseph Conrad's rogue trader Kurtz was corrupted in the Congo. Yet Everett's life could be a more dramatic example of enlightenment and destruction than any fictional encounter with a drastically different culture.

Thirty years of living with the Piraha destroyed his evangelical faith in God, wrecked his marriage and estranged him from two of his three children. It also dismantled his intellectual framework and set him on a collision course with one of the most influential intellectuals in the world.

Today, he is continuing his fight with Noam Chomsky in a debate that could transform our understanding of human language.

Everett is taking a working break from his professorial duties at Illinois State University. He grew up in a "redneck" home on the Mexican border. His father was a cowboy but Everett developed an interest in language after mixing with Spanish speakers at school. He was "pretty heavily into drugs" in '60s California, he says, until he met Keren Graham at high school. She had spent her childhood with her missionary parents in the Amazon; Everett was converted. "I credit religion with getting me out of drug culture," he says.

He and Graham were married at 18 and had three children. After joining a missionary organisation and studying linguistics, Everett and his young family were dispatched to the Piraha, where two other missionaries had spent two decades struggling to pick up the language and failing to convert any Piraha. Everett's first visit ended when his wife and daughter nearly died from malaria. He persevered, spending all of 1980 with the Piraha and returning to live with them for four months or so every year for the next two decades.

Despite close encounters with snakes and Brazilian traders who incited the Piraha to kill Everett, the missionary/linguist befriended the Piraha and painstakingly picked up their extraordinary language.

Everett's discovery of the elegant linguistic theories of Chomsky was his second conversion experience. At the time, Chomsky was not merely known for his trenchant, left-leaning political activism but was revered as the father of modern linguistics for his theory of "universal grammar".

Following Chomsky's idea that humans are innately programmed to produce language according to a fixed and finite set of rules, Everett studied for a doctorate in the '80s and took advice from Chomsky. Gradually, however, as he spent more time with the Piraha, he came to doubt Chomsky's claims of universality.

These doubts exploded three years ago like "a bomb thrown into the party", in the words of psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker, who initially welcomed Everett's findings against Chomsky before becoming more critical. In 2005, Everett published a paper about the Piraha that rocked the foundations of universal grammar.

Chomsky had recently refined his theory to argue that recursion — the linguistic practice of inserting phrases inside others — was the cornerstone of all languages. (An example of recursion is extending the sentence "Daniel Everett talked about the story of his life" to read "Daniel Everett flew to London and talked about the story of his life".) Everett argued that he could find no evidence of recursion in Piraha.

This was deeply troubling for Chomsky's theory. If the Piraha don't use recursion, then how could it be a fundamental part of a universal grammar embedded in our genes? If the Piraha don't use recursion, then is their language — and, by implication, other languages — determined not by biology but by culture?

Thirty years of living with the Piraha has taught Everett that they exist almost completely in the present. Absorbed by the daily struggle to survive, they do not plan ahead, store food, build houses or canoes to last, maintain tools or talk of things beyond those that they, or people they know, have experienced. They are the

"ultimate empiricists", he argues, and this culture of living in the present has shaped their language.

Everett's claims created a furore. Chomskyites rushed to defend universal grammar and academics cast doubt on Everett's view of the Piraha. Nineteenth-century anthropologists had judged exotic peoples similarly, saying they had no creation myths and apparently crude languages that could not count or convey abstract thought, before it was proved it was our erroneous understanding of these "primitive" societies that was primitive.

"By framing his observations as an anti-Chomsky discovery rather than as un-PC Eurocentric condescension, Everett was able to get away with claims that would have aroused the fury of anthropologists in any other context," wrote the increasingly sceptical Pinker, who argued that even if there was "a grain of truth" in the Piraha's preoccupation with the here and now, it was by no means unique to their society. In other words, Everett was an almost racist throwback to the days of, well, missionaries.

Yet Everett's life with the Piraha didn't just cause a gradual disenchantment with the Chomskyan intellectual framework he had once cherished: it also triggered another, even more dramatic, de-conversion.

Soon after he first arrived in the Amazon, Everett was nearly killed when the Piraha discovered he was ordering passing river traders not to give them whisky. The Piraha were rarely violent, but intensely rejected any kind of coercion.

Crucially, Everett came to see his religion as fundamentally coercive. His academic studies were ultimately designed to help him translate the Bible into Piraha. When they heard the word of God, his evangelic mission believed, they would be converted. Everett translated the Book of Luke, read it to the Piraha and they were utterly unmoved. By 1985, he had privately lost his faith.

"It's wrong to try and convert tribal societies," he says. "What should the empirical evidence for religion be? It should produce peaceful, strong, secure people who are right with God and right with the world. I don't see that evidence very often.

"So then I find myself with the Piraha. They have all these qualities that I am trying to tell them they could have. They are the ones who are living life the way I'm saying it ought to be lived, they just don't fear heaven and hell."

His wife, Keren, and three children were all committed Christians. Extraordinarily, Everett couldn't tell them of his loss of faith until the late '90s. "I kept hoping that I might get my faith back," he says.

He likens telling his wife to coming out as gay. "I said, 'I just can't do this any more, I can't pretend, I don't believe this stuff.' So she immediately called the kids to tell them. It was just such utter shock and revulsion."

Did they feel betrayed? "Yes, they felt betrayed. My youngest daughter said, 'Were you a hypocrite the whole time you were raising us? Did you teach us to believe one way, which you never believed?' I did believe. I had a genuine, sincere conversion experience. I was quite a successful evangelist. I've had people write to me and say, 'Gee, I'm a Christian because of you and I hear you're not a Christian, that's shocking to me.' I don't take these things lightly but that's who I am. I can't change it."

Murder is rare among the Piraha. The only punishment they regularly practise is ostracising members of their society. It seems a bitter irony that Everett's loss of faith caused his ostracism not from the Piraha, but from his own family. His marriage broke up. "After a couple of months I tried to get us back together and she said, 'Only when you come back to religion will I even consider it,' and I said, 'Well, then it's over.' "

Two of his grown-up children, Shannon, a missionary like her mother, and Caleb, an anthropologist like his father, cut off all contact. Three weeks ago, after the death of a close friend, they got back in touch for the first time in years. "Now they are coming around." An almost imperceptible tremor registers in Everett's voice. "Maybe I'm coming around. We're approaching one another and realising the most important thing is love."

Everett, who has remarried, has not visited the Piraha since January 2007. It has been his longest period apart from them. Occasionally, his ex-wife, who is still pursuing her missionary work on the banks of the Maici, will put them on the satellite phone.

"I know they are not understanding why I haven't been there," he says. But it is difficult to return with his ex-wife there. "There will always be tension," he says. "She believes that if the Pirahas reject the gospel, it's because it hasn't been communicated clearly. I believe it has been communicated clearly and they reject it because it's utterly irrelevant."

It's almost tragic: Keren's beliefs impugn Everett's competence; Everett's findings attack her entire belief system.

For academics rushing to the defence of the Chomskyan model there is another problem: Everett is the only linguist in the world who is fluent in Piraha and virtually the only academic to have gathered data on the language. It must be hard not to feel possessive of the Piraha, but Everett claims he wants academics to go there and test his theories. He just doesn't want to be dragged along to translate for them.

Despite challenging the linguistic theories he once followed, Everett insists he still has tremendous respect for Chomsky. "I'm not denigrating his intelligence or his honesty but I do think he is wrong about this and he is unprepared to accept that he is wrong."

Everett hopes his story of his life with the Piraha will demolish charges that his account of their society is crude and politically incorrect. "If you can find evidence that I am making 19th-century claims, I will be shocked and disappointed in myself," he says. "If anything, they are superior in many ways to us. Thinking too much about the future or worrying too much about the past is really unhealthy. The Piraha taught me that very lesson.

"Living in the moment is a sophisticated way to live. I don't see depression. I don't see some of the things that afflict our society — and that's not because they don't face pressures. People who claim that I'm Eurocentric and putting these people down need to read the book and decide for themselves."

THE Piraha population has climbed back to 350 after a measles epidemic is believed to have reduced it to about 100 in the 1950s. They have had contact with traders and missionaries for 200 years and have proved remarkably resistant to change. They live on a 300,000-hectare reservation, which is reasonably secure, says Everett. So far, at least, no precious minerals have been found in the area as has happened elsewhere in the Amazon, bringing miners, deforestation, pollution and disease.

Everett, however, is pessimistic about their future. Missionaries and government officials see Piraha society as poor and seek to help by giving them money and modern technology.

"The Piraha aren't poor. They don't see themselves as poor," he says. He believes capitalism and religion are manufacturing desires. "One of the saddest things I've seen in Amazonian cultures is people who were self-sufficient and happy that now think of themselves as poor and become dissatisfied with their lives. What worries me is outsiders trying to impose their values and materialism on the Piraha."

I wonder whether Everett feels grateful for his life with the Piraha or scarred by it.

"It has been a traumatic experience," he says. "There is a lot of good and there has been a lot of pain. There are times when I think of the Piraha with great nostalgia and want to be with them, and there are other times I think I am really tired."

He hopes to return next winter to help a BBC/HBO documentary and continue his research, but only on the condition that the visitors do not disrupt the Piraha.

What does he miss the most? "I miss the evenings. After I've gone down to the river to have a bath, I would make coffee for everyone in the village. We'd sit around on logs out in the open and wait until the night fell, and talk. They are just an incredibly peaceful, sweet people to be with. The time spent talking to them, these will always be the best memories I have."

http://www.theage.com.au/world/tribe-and-tribulations-20081121-6e47.html?page=-1

Brazil's endangered species list triples in size

Deforestation and illegal animal trade have done enormous damage to the species of Brazil over the last 20 years. The country's list of endangered animals now stands at 627 species -- 288% higher than the 218 species that were on the same list in 1989.

It's not clear if this is the first major revision to Brazil's endangered list since '89, but it's a significant update: 489 species were added to the list, while 79 were considered recovered enough to be dropped from the list.

Environment Minister Carlos Minc said "Industry is expanding, agriculture is expanding, people are occupying protected areas and our conservation units do not have the protection needed," but "We'll fight to remove the largest number of species possible from that list."

Minc reported that 90% of Brazil's Atlantic rainforest, where most of these newly endangered species reside, has been chopped down. More than 232,000 square miles of Brazilian forest have been destroyed since 1970.

Minc took over as Environment Minister earlier this year, after his predecessor, Marina Silva, resigned, citing government "stagnation" in the fight against deforestation.

http://www.plentymag.com/

A new global order: Bretton Woods II

Dangerous climate change could trigger tipping-points in the Earth system. The Amazon rainforest could fall victim to desiccation. The monsoon systems in Asia could collapse. Forty percent of the world's species could vanish. In a report published in 2008, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) pointed out that climate change constitutes an international security-risk; entire regions could be destabilised by water scarcities, collapsing agricultural systems and food crisis.

Global leaders are preparing to meet in Washington on 15 November 2008 for a summit of the G20 group of states and representatives of leading international financial institutions. The gathering is being ambitiously named "Bretton Woods II" - echoing the conference on 1-22 July 1944 which established the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). With George W Bush presiding, and Barack Obama waiting in the wings, the delegates' task will be to fix a global financial system which has failed with spectacular and highly damaging results. They need to succeed. However, they also need to realize that financial failure is symptomatic of more fundamental failures and fissures in the global order. Fixing the plumbing will be of little help if the house is falling down.

This, by the way, was also true in 1944. The Bretton Woods conference was officially the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. Elsewhere - at Dumbarton Oaks on 21 August-7 October 1944, and in San Francisco on 25 April-26 June 1945 - the political framework for the United Nations was being established and the charter written. These grew out of the vision of Franklin D Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, first expressed in the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. A financial initiative set in the context of a vision of global peace and progress: Is that not the kind of platform needed today?

Certainly, the challenges are of a scale to match those of the 1940s.

A world of insecurity

The present financial debacle marks the end of the "Milton Friedman model" of globalization, based on the notion that self-interest and the market are sufficient to organize national economies and the world economy. The economist Jagdish N Bhagwati has pointed out that the collapse of self-regulation has unleashed a huge potential for "destructive creation" - a reversal of the idea developed by Joseph Schumpeter that technological innovation leads to a process of "creative destruction" (see "We need to guard against destructive creation", Financial Times, 16 October 2008). The "Milton Friedman model" is closely linked with the concept - propagated since the Ronald Reagan-Margaret Thatcher era - of TINA: "There is no alternative" to the unrestrained market economy. All of a sudden, TINA has given way to a supple AUN: "Alternatives urgently needed"!

But alternatives cannot be designed by western powers alone. China is already what the United States has always claimed to be, an indispensable actor of world politics and the world economy. China, the world's second-largest economy in purchasing-power parity terms, now holds the world biggest currency reserves, amounting to US$1.8 trillion. If India continues on the path of economic success it embarked on in 1991, the two Asian giants will in the coming two decades profoundly alter the structures of the global economy. In addition, countries like Brazil, South Africa and some Arab Gulf states are on the rise.

The emerging prospect is that the G8-driven global order is coming to an end. Whether the power-transition is managed with trust and sensibility will determine whether we move to a new and uncomfortable hegemony, power politics and bitter rivalry between "old" and "new" powers, or a more inclusive and cooperation based multipolar world order (John J Mearsheimer, the US political scientist, is not alone in arguing that "the rise of China will not be peaceful"). It will be more than interesting to observe what new ideas China, India, South Africa and Brazil bring to the debate on our collective future.

Poverty-reduction will surely feature prominently in their vision - their version of the Atlantic Charter for the 21st century. It is apparent that the recession just beginning will do more damage to the world than financial contagion through the banking system. Even before the crisis hit, World Bank estimated that more than 2 billion people were living below US$2 per day; and the food-price increases of 2007-08 meant that an extra 100 million people had been dragged back below the miserable poverty-line of US$1 per day.

The impact of the recession on poor countries can be gauged by the 1970s precedent (see Paul Rogers, "The world's food insecurity", 24 April 2008). The combination of the oil-price shock of the late 1970s and successive debt crises pushed many developing countries (especially in Africa) into balance-of-payments and fiscal problems which left them running for help to the IMF and the World Bank. The long period of so-called "structural adjustment" followed. Slowly, and often controversially, macro-economic balances were re-established. But in the meantime, growth was often negative, investment collapsed, poverty rocketed and malnutrition spread. The 1980s became known as the "lost decade" of African and Latin American development. By its close, Africa had fallen even further behind the rest of the world.

What can developing countries expect in coming months? Their exports will fall, in both price and volume - affecting also service exports like tourism. Remittances will shrink. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is likely to fall. Aid is very unlikely to rise as promised. Another lost decade is on the cards (see "Development in a downturn", 4 July 2008). But we should understand: a densely interconnected world with 2 billion marginalized people will never be either secure or stable.

The global order and Europe

As solutions are sought to these problems, an overriding issue is climate change - in essence an energy, food and security crisis that will pose far greater challenges for industrial growth than the ongoing collapse of the financial system. Dangerous climate change could trigger tipping-points in the Earth system. The Amazon rainforest could fall victim to desiccation. The monsoon systems in Asia could collapse. Forty percent of the world's species could vanish. In a report published in 2008, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) pointed out that climate change constitutes an international security-risk; entire regions could be destabilised by water scarcities, collapsing agricultural systems and food crisis.

The OECD countries must by 2050 reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by 80 percent. In the wake of 200 years of natural-resource-driven growth, there will need to be a transition from a fossil to a non-fossil world economy - a truly millennial task. This "third industrial revolution" (of which John Schellnhuber of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has been speaking for years) is unlikely to come about on the basis of corporate pledges and self-regulation of the market - not even an Alan Greenspan would today make such a claim.

Five steps mark the path to a reshaping of the global order. We see a special role for Europe in this - for the European Union is the largest trading partner of the developing countries, the largest provider of development aid, the key protagonist on climate change, and a region with dense cultural and political networks across all developing regions. As the global development agenda moves rapidly from a national preoccupation to one which requires cross-country collaboration, Europe is well-placed to bring together its economic, political and also military assets.

The paths to progress

The five steps are as follows.

First, successful management of crisis requires a clear-sighted focus on the welfare of the poorest. In the 1980s, UNICEF in particular pioneered the idea of "adjustment with a human face." Thirty years later, we need to focus on the safety nets, welfare programs, long-term investment in health and education, and employment prospects of the poorest. Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown has recognized this in the United Kingdom context. The European Union should now play a far more visible role in the multilateral development agencies, and it should take the lead by presenting, without delay, a development-policy action-plan designed to respond to the impacts of the financial crisis in the developing world. Globally, we need to "manage recession with a human face."

In practice this means a double guarantee: to individuals that their welfare will be protected by means of social-security programs; and to countries, that help will be provided with the costs of social protection, so that budget deficits and inflation do not spiral out of control. The world showed that it could mobilize on these fronts to tackle 2008's crisis of rising food prices. It must do so again to tackle 2009's crisis of failing livelihoods.

Second, the search for a new globalization must not become the march to anti-globalization. Markets have stumbled, not failed. They need to be managed not mauled. For a generation, trade has grown at twice the rate of economies overall, and this has contributed to poverty reduction on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution.

Income inequality has risen too fast and has sometimes reduced the size of benefits to the poor, so better and more progressive tax regimes are needed around the world. Investment in better regulation and better public goods are also needed to reverse recession, and create the possibility of further, shared growth.

Trade liberalization would be of value, but we are realistic about the scope for a successful Doha development deal, at least in 2009. As others have observed, however, there may be other routes to trade facilitation, not least investment in infrastructure in the poorest countries, to reduce costs. In Uganda, for example, the Commission for Africa led by Tony Blair estimated that poor roads are equivalent to an 80 percent tariff on textile exports.

Third, the climate summit set for Copenhagen on 30 November-11 December 2009 must not end in failure. The looming recession has led some in the business community and some governments to question the EU's climate targets. Instead, Europe must retain its pioneering role in climate policy, with concrete proposals for what the New Economics Foundation and Achim Steiner at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have called a "green new deal." The forces in support of the status quo are considerable. But long-term, strategic thinking and decision making are required, with significant low-carbon investments.

A key priority is the creation of an international carbon market: carbon taxes, a cap-and-trade system, a renewable-energy mandate - or some combination of all of these. Unambiguous commitments, like those proposed in Britain's climate-change bill, would create the incentives for transformative behavior by businesses and for "green innovators" across the globe.

Large-scale public and private investments in renewable energy are part of this new deal. The German Advisory Council on Global Change has proposed setting up an internationally visible "European-Chinese-Indian Research Institute for Efficient Energy Systems" dedicated to jointly training the engineers needed to get on with the task of building a non-fossil global energy system. A climate-and-energy flagship project of this kind with the two central new powers of the 21st century would serve to underline that the next wave of innovation in the world economy must be based on low-carbon technologies.

It is possible that the incoming Barack Obama administration would be interested to join such a transformative initiative. At the same time, and mindful of the need for a global balance of interests, rich countries should launch an initiative designed to provide significant contributions to reducing the energy-poverty presently affecting 2.3 billion people throughout the world.

The EU should also launch a significant program designed to develop climate-compatible cities. Over 50 percent of mankind lives in cities, and the figure is rising. Cities are responsible for 75 percent of global energy consumption and 80 percent of energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions. By 2020 it will be important for 200 European cities to be able to demonstrate how greenhouse-gases can be effectively reduced by 80 percent by the year 2050. An initiative of this kind would be a major generator of jobs an innovation. There are already some models. In the south of Shanghai, an ecocity called Dongtan is being built for a population of 80,000; in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) a sustainable city is planned.

It is important to think positively and strategically. The next few years might see an interesting domino-effect: imagine the EU moving in a low-carbon direction, improving its future-oriented competitive advantages, and imagine the new United States president translating into political and economic practice what his climate-policy advisors have been repeatedly saying during the election campaign - that fighting climate change via innovation is like investing in the next green Silicon Valley.

If this dynamic was created, then accelerated, there would be a rethinking of economic strategies in Beijing too. This scenario is about leadership, vision, and realism - one based on accepting the limits of the Earth system, and adapting to them creatively in the interests of all.

Fourth, it follows that aid flows must be not just sustained but increased. Rich countries made ambitious promises at the Gleneagles, Scotland summit of the G8 in 2005, and have repeated them many times since, most recently at the EU council in June 2008 and the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, in July 2008. But actual delivery is currently 30 percent below the target for 2010.

Meanwhile, the talk is of cutting aid, not increasing it. Italy, for example, has proposed cuts of up to 56 percent in its latest budget. Britain so far is holding firm, and Germany is working hard towards its target. Quite right: it would be a bad start for the project of building "a social-market economy on a global scale" of which Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken if the bailout of the global banking system were to entail budget cuts affecting the poorest 30 pecent of mankind. Those intent on preventing the emergence of further anti-western resentments should have no trouble understanding rthe logic of aid.

On 29 November-2 December 2008 in Doha, governments will meet to review progress since the Monterrey conference of 2002 on financing for development. The Doha declaration should be generous and unequivocal - and rich countries should be held clearly to account. That includes all the members of the G8, but also others. Is it not time that rich oil-exporters in the middle east signed up to 0.7 percent of GNP in aid, as many developed countries have done?

Fifth, the need for collective action is an inescapable conclusion of recent events. Coordinated action has been essential to prevent financial contagion. Even the outgoing George W Bush has recognized that new initiatives will be needed to buttress the security of financial markets, with new regulatory regimes.

It is important to make sure that developing countries are fully engaged in these discussions. Resentment is already evident about who is or who is not on the invitation list for Washington. It cannot be right for all except the richest members of the world community to be presented with a "done deal" imposed without consent.

Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, has observed that there is no time to argue the fine points of who might or might not have a United Nations Security Council seat or membership of the G20. A flexible, network solution is needed, open and participatory, but focused on decision-making. A middle way is needed between the closed-shop of the UN Security Council and what has come to look like the talking-shop of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is important to make sure that developing countries are fully engaged in these discussions.

The EU may have models to offer for more inclusive global governance. The model of qualified majority voting reflects many painful compromises in EU councils, but does offer a way of taking different interests into account. Could this be applied in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc), or even in the UN general assembly? Alternatively, is it time to revisit the idea of an Economic Security Council, taking into account the enormous challenges that global poverty, resource-scarcity and climate change imply?

2009 is an important year for the EU, with elections to the European parliament in June and a new commission taking office in November. The survival or otherwise of the Lisbon Treaty will also be decided. European partnership is difficult, even stressful. But this is Europe's time. Not alone. Acting with others. Delivering Bretton Woods II - and also San Francisco II.

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=93723

World Heritage Site: Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves

Peaks of the Southern Atlantic submarine ridge form the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Rocas Atoll off the coast of Brazil.

They represent a large proportion of the island surface of the South Atlantic and their rich waters are extremely important for the breeding and feeding of tuna, shark, turtle and marine mammals.

The islands are home to the largest concentration of tropical seabirds in the Western Atlantic. Baia de Golfinhos has an exceptional population of resident dolphin and at low tide the Rocas Atoll provides a spectacular seascape of lagoons and tidal pools teeming with fish.

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (ix): FNNMP/AdRBR represents over half the insular coastal waters of the Southern Atlantic Ocean. These highly productive waters provide feeding ground for species such as tuna, billfish, cetaceans, sharks, and marine turtles as they migrate to the Eastern Atlantic coast of Africa. An oasis of marine life in relatively barren, open ocean, the islands play a key role in the process of reproduction, dispersal and colonisation by marine organisms in the entire Tropical South Atlantic.

Criterion (vii): Baía dos Golfinhos is the only know place in the world with such a high population of resident dolphins and Atoll das Rocas demonstrates a spectacular seascape at low tide when the exposed reef surrounding shallow lagoons and tidal pools forms a natural aquarium. Both sites have also exceptional submarine landscapes that have been recognised worldwide by a number of specialised diving literatures.

Criterion (x): FNNMP/AdRBR is a key site for the protection of biodiversity and endangered species in the Southern Atlantic. Providing a large proportion of the insular habitat of the South Atlantic, the site is a repository for the maintenance of marine biodiversity at the ocean basin level. It is important for the conservation of endangered and threatened species of marine turtles, particularly the hawksbill turtle. The site accommodates the largest concentration of tropical seabirds to be found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, and is a Global Centre of Bird Endemism. The site also contains the only remaining sample of the Insular Atlantic Forest and the only oceanic mangrove in the South Atlantic region.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1000

Forest peoples' rights key to reducing emissions from deforestation

New research shows rights-based approaches necessary and cost-effective; call for independent advisory and auditing to support UN action on climate change

Unless based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and forest communities, efforts by rich countries to combat climate change by funding reductions in deforestation in developing countries will fail, and could even unleash a devastating wave of forest loss, cultural destruction and civil conflict, warned a leading group of forestry and development experts meeting in Oslo this week.

The experts are gathering in Oslo with policymakers and community leaders for a conference on rights, forests and climate change. The conference was organized by two non-profits, Rainforest Foundation Norway and the US-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI).

Speaking at the meeting, Norway's Minister of Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, says efforts towards reduced emissions from deforestation in developing countries should be based on the rights of indigenous peoples to the forests they depend on for their livelihoods, and provide tangible benefits consistent with their essential role in sustainable forest management.

"In addition to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, early action, pilot projects and demonstrations should safeguard biodiversity, contribute to poverty reduction and secure the rights of forest dependent communities in order to achieve any degree of permanence, legitimacy and effectiveness," said Solheim.

Deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing it is seen as one of the quickest and cheapest ways of cutting emissions.

"Moves to finance reductions in tropical deforestation and forest degradation are necessary and welcome," said Andy White, Coordinator of RRI. "But on their own they won't solve the problem. Poorly devised, they could even make it worse. If such initiatives are well designed they can not only secure carbon but present a global opportunity to address the underlying causes of poverty and conflict in many developing countries."

Globally, climate change negotiators are considering the introduction of a new financial mechanism, known as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), that could generate billions of dollars for reducing forest loss in the tropics. Meanwhile, the Government of Norway has already pledged up to 3 billion Norwegian kroner annually (US$ 500 million) to cut emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries.

"To achieve long-term reductions in deforestation and forest degradation, it is absolutely necessary to respect and strengthen the rights of indigenous and other forest dependent communities," says Lars Løvold, director of Rainforest Foundation Norway. "Many of these schemes are still being developed, and major decisions on how to spend the money will be made in the next few years. For us, the question is whether this money will result in a great deal of good or a great deal of harm to the environment and forest communities."

Previous attempts to reduce deforestation and forest degradation have largely failed, often due to a lack of attention to human rights, property rights and transparency.

"There are growing conflicts between indigenous peoples and both forestry companies and conservation organizations. Imposed forest management initiatives are only viable if they respect the customary rights of forest peoples and ensure they have control about what happens on their lands. Indigenous peoples must be accepted as full and fair participants in all climate negotiations," said Joji Carino, Director of TEBTEBBA, the Indigenous Peoples' International Center for Policy Research and Education.

Conference organizers worry that REDD could fuel corruption and provoke tensions and land grab situations unless good governance, policies and the rule of law are first put in place.

"Indigenous peoples are rightly concerned about how these new investments could affect their access to the forests that they depend on for their livelihoods," Solheim noted. "This is precisely why we are fully supportive of a role for indigenous peoples and other forest dependent communities in the development and monitoring of climate plans and investments at the national and global level. These rights need to be respected, not just for moral reasons, although that is vital. It is also a matter of pragmatism and effectiveness."

Experience from Brazil, the country in the world with the most advanced monitoring of its forests, gives valuable insight to the discussion on how forests can be protected. According to research from the Brazilian NGO Instituto Socioambiental, 19 percent of unprotected forest areas in Brazil have been deforested, while deforestation inside federal national parks is 2 percent. In indigenous territories, however, only 1.1 percent have been deforested.

The Oslo conference will discuss the Four Foundations for Effective Investments in Climate Change:

1. Recognize rights - establish an equitable legal and regulatory framework for land and resources.
2. Prioritize payment to communities – ensure that benefits and payments prioritize indigenous and local communities, according to their potential role as forest stewards.
3. Establish independent advisory and auditing processes to guide, monitor and audit investments and actions at national and global levels.
4. Monitor more than carbon to keep track of the status of forests, forest carbon, biodiversity and impacts on rights and livelihoods. Secure a role for indigenous peoples in monitoring of emissions, making full use of their knowledge of the state of forest ecosystems, something which could be particularly relevant to keep track of forest degradation.

New research to be presented at the conference demonstrates that the costs of recognizing local rights and tenure systems are low relative to the projected costs of REDD, and that indigenous and other forest communities own or manage a major portion of the global forest carbon stock. The research also shows that communities have proven to be good stewards of the forest.

A new study by RRI and Intercooperation, a Swiss development organization, finds that the average direct cost to legally recognize traditional community tenure rights is around $3 per hectare – an insignificant investment to make when the minimum estimates needed to pay for elements of a global REDD scheme are somewhere between $800 and $3500 per hectare each year for the next 22 years.

Another study that will be released at the conference, by Professor Arun Agrawal of the University of Michigan, uses data from 325 sites in 12 countries to show that community ownership of forests provides the best possibility for increasing carbon stocks and improving livelihood outcomes. This is the most robust research to date at a global scale on the relationship between forest tenure and carbon sequestration, livelihood benefits and biodiversity.

Agrawal's study also finds that the larger the property owned by communities, the better the chances for maintaining and sequestering carbon. This research shows the tremendous scope for cost-effective investments that strengthen local land rights, reduce poverty and conflict, and protect remaining natural forest areas.

To help ensure effective investments to combat in climate change, Rainforest Foundation Norway and RRI have called for the formation of independent bodies to advise and monitor the UN Convention on Climate Change.

"We believe that such advisory functions should be given serious consideration," said Solheim. The conference will take up this recommendation and consider how to best move forward in its deliberations.

Major decisions on REDD, as well as other measures to combat climate change, are likely to be made at the 15th Conference of the UN Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009.

"In the next fifteen months, the world will have to make a choice," said Løvold. "We can continue to ignore the legitimate rights of forest dwellers, which will exacerbate conflict in forests and make REDD ineffective. Or we can learn from the lessons of the past, recognize the property and human rights of forest dwellers, and almost immediately start reaping the benefits."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/bc-fpr101508.php

In the steps of the slave traders

A wooden sailing ship is taking adventurers along the Brazilian coast, writes Mike Heard.

Intrepid travellers get the opportunity next year to explore the coast of Brazil in a wooden sailing ship.

A 40-metre vessel, built in the Amazon jungle, sails between Rio de Janeiro and the Unesco World Heritage town of Paraty, about 200 kilometres to the south.

En route, passengers can go ashore to swim and snorkel, explore villages and towns and hike through rainforests filled with monkeys and armadillos.

Paraty is noted for its well-preserved 17th-century colonial homes.

A former port for the shipment of gold and diamonds to Europe, it was also the centre of an area producing sugar-cane liquor and at one time had 250 distilleries for a population of only 16,000. The end of the slave trade in 1888 saw the population drop to about 600.

Tourism revived Paraty's fortunes in the mid-1970s when a highway linking it with Rio de Janeiro was completed.

The two-masted sailing ship, Tocorime Pamatojari (Adventurous Spirit), sleeps up to 16 passengers and has five crew.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/activities--interests/cruising/in-the-steps-of-the-slave-traders/2008/10/15/1223750091984.html

After Acai, What Is Amazon's Next "Cinderella Fruit"?

Once obscure Amazon fruits like açaí are riding health claims to supermarket success. Could a scaly palm fruit with three times the vitamin A of carrots be the rainforest's next popular export?

In the rainforests of Peru's remote Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, mothers don't make kids eat their carrots. Instead, kids munch on aguaje, a crisp, neon yellow palm fruit covered in maroon scales. It tastes a bit like a carrot, but packs three times the vitamin A punch.

Aguaje is just one of more than a hundred wild and domesticated fruits available to people each year in this 8,000-square-mile chunk of protected Amazon wetland at the confluence of two rivers in northeastern Peru.

And with so much variety and abundance, it's not surprising that these fruits form the centerpiece of the local diet. The reserve's 100,000 residents depend on them for many nutrients—like vitamins, protein, and oils—that the rest of us normally get from a variety of other foods, including vegetables and nuts.

Money Trees?

Fruits also serve as an important source of income for the residents—especially aguaje. It generates $4.6 million every year in the markets of Iquitos, the nearest city—more than any other indigenous fruit from the Peruvian Amazon.

While U.S. farmers markets might sell a dozen or two different kinds of fruit in any given week, the Iquitos market boasts nearly 200, with varied tastes, colors, shapes, and textures: spiky yellow rinds, crunchy seeds, and orange pulp.

But outside the Amazon region, their popularity is limited. Although the Amazon has occasionally yielded commercially valuable fruits, such as the antioxidant-rich açaí added to gourmet juices and the caffeine-charged guarana used in energy drinks, international markets have yet to plumb most of the bounty of indigenous fruits growing in lush forests along rivers.

Beyond Peru and parts of Brazil, the aguaje's supercarrot possibilities remain largely unknown.

Could that change? One expert thinks it's possible. Outside the Amazon, few know more about this region's wild and cultivated fruits than Nigel Smith. The Venezuelan-born geographer, a professor at the University of Florida, has devoted much of his four-decade career to the Amazon region.

In recent years he's examined just about every aspect of the obscure fruits that blanket Peru's rich floodplain forests: how, where, and why they're grown; who consumes them; their nutritional and cultural value; and, of course, how they taste. (The sweet, "sublime" pulp of wild macambillo, a dull orange fruit, is his favorite.)

Whether it's the aguaje or a tangy-sweet relative of the cacao called the cupuaçu or macambo seeds, a crunchy new alternative to peanuts, Smith has studied them all with an eye toward promoting conservation, boosting sustainable farming in a threatened region, and supporting local residents' livelihoods.

The Land Squeeze

The past three decades have seen unprecedented human migration into the Pacaya- Samiria reserve, part of an area Smith calls the "epicenter of wild-fruit consumption in the Amazon."

Other pressures, like hunting, logging, and unsustainable fishing, are on the rise as well. As these pressures grow, Smith believes small farmers hold a key to managing and protecting the region.

With support from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, the MacArthur Foundation and the Moore Foundation, he and his team, including Peruvian botanist Rodolfo Vazquez, spent six months in Pacaya-Samiria over several years documenting 148 different fruit species. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)

They studied how small landowners in a dozen communities use and depend on these fruits, many of which large-scale farmers ignore.

"I'm interested in landscapes where individual landowners are in control," Smith says. "I think that's the great frontier for Amazon conservation."

Over the years, he notes, small-scale farmers have helped shape the forests where they pick and cultivate fruits by "rearranging the biological furniture" in ways that encourage biodiversity.

These farmers "have retained a biologically diverse landscape that benefits not only wildlife but also their own livelihoods," Smith adds.

Crop Insurance

One way Pacaya-Samiria residents have accomplished that is by domesticating potentially valuable wild fruit species, including macambo seeds and vitamin A-rich sapote.

They often plant and grow several at once in diverse forested plots, a strategy known as agroforestry. The combination of crops, both annual and perennial, helps the farmers avert risk.

Should one crop succumb to inclement weather, disease, or a pest outbreak, the other crops would likely survive, ensuring that the farmers have both food and income.

But Amazon experts agree that more needs to be done.

So far the Peruvian Amazon has been spared much of the deforestation caused by the timber trade and cattle ranching in Brazil, yet Smith warns that the "floodplains are going to come under increasing development pressure in the next few decades."

Overharvesting of fruits would threaten trees. And logging is of enormous concern throughout the entire Amazon region, says Douglas C. Daly, an expert on Amazonian botany at the New York Botanical Garden.

That's one reason Smith's work is important. "If we can educate people about the wealth of diversity, as opposed to just the wealth of timber, we can change things," Daly says.

Finding the Next "Cinderella Fruit"

This is where native fruits may come in. Some of the Amazon's little-known produce has the flavor, the nutrition, or the novelty to tempt commercial producers abroad, and Smith hopes that growing international awareness of the dietary importance of fruit could help create a new hit.

His knowledge is helping at least one entrepreneur take steps to market bottled water flavored with Amazon fruits. Jeff Moats, CEO of the Equa Water Corporation in Naples, Florida, plans to begin building a factory next year in Brazil's Amazon region to process fruits local residents can grow sustainably within forests.

But competition from carbonated soft drinks, a $40-billion industry in the U.S. alone, presents a formidable obstacle to anyone wanting to sell Amazon fruit juices. Entrepreneurs "cannot match the marketing muscle and advertising dollars of the major soda producers," Smith says.

Beyond this, fruit supplies can be erratic, and the Amazon region is still struggling with the basic issues of hygiene, infrastructure, and quality control.

So what are the chances you'll someday see vitamin-rich aguaje in your supermarket's produce section alongside carrots, tomatoes, and apples?

It's hard to predict, but Smith is encouraged by the example of the once obscure açaí, which was enjoyed in Brazil long before becoming a hit in eco- and nutrition-savvy foreign markets.

He also notes the success in Japan of the camu camu, a sour maroon berry with 30 times the vitamin C of oranges. The aguaje might become what he calls a "Cinderella fruit" since it fits some of the criteria that have made these other two fruits successful: It's already popular and abundant locally, easily incorporated into products like juice, and relatively simple to transport.

"The production of fruit is vital to the life of an Amazonian person and is of enormous nutritional importance," emphasizes Walter Wust, a Peruvian forester and environmental journalist who helped Smith document the Pacaya-Samiria fruits.

If Smith has his way, more of that bounty will someday nourish the rest of the world as well.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/92827098.html