rainforestpower

Amazon: a tale of two economies

2011-06-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

Supporting communities who live in the Amazon rainforest to use the forest sustainably will help to protect it for future generations

The river runs thick and wide, lined on both sides by deep green rainforests. In the distance, vast, grey graceful curtains of rain float over the horizon. Rain fills the river with freshwater, carried over vast distances. At places it is eight kilometres wide, a veritable sea of fresh water. When clouds stop pouring, the sun soaks up the monsoon bounty – from the river and from the rainforests – and sends more rain. The circle of life plays over and over again. This is the mighty Amazon – the greatest of all river systems on Earth, and by far the most majestic.

This single system empties one-fifth of all the freshwater that flows into the world's oceans. If the Earth had lungs, they would be the Amazon rainforest. And if it had pulmonary arteries, they would be the Amazon and its many tributaries and branches.

Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in Brazil, is located at the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon. It is 1,450km up the Amazon from the Atlantic Ocean.

From Manaus, it takes six hours by boat to Tumbira, a small village with a school, a church, and a football field (the three institutions of rural Brazil). Tumbira is also home to the field centre of the Amazon Sustainability Foundation (FAS).

The Amazon is over 1km wide here, but above and beyond the visible river system is another, gigantic, invisible, "river" system. An estimated 20bn tonnes of water vapour is released every day by the Amazon rainforests. Animated satellite pictures show a constant global flow of airborne water vapour from the Amazon along the tropics, which scientists say is a source of rainfall not just for South America, but the world.

Both these river systems are at risk. A parliamentary amendment to the forest code is thought to have led to a rise in deforestation, and a spate of recent murders of environmental activists and small farmers has shocked the world.

Deforestation is often blamed on three vital groups of stakeholders: big local business, local people and consumers. These are the people who benefit from the fields and farms the Amazon rivers irrigate. Big local business can look after its own interests. Global governments representing foreign consumers of the Amazon's services are beginning to put money on the table – Norway has set an example by committing a $1bn to Brazil for REDD+. That leaves the weakest stakeholders – local people – who clearly do need support, and this is beginning to be organised.

A sustainable future for the Amazonas state and conservation of its remarkable rainforest river systems is no small challenge. It needs multiple efforts on multiple fronts.

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Rich Man Brazil

2011-03-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

Richest Men of the World

Eike Batista (No. 8)

Source: Mining, oil
Citizenship: Brazil

Brazil's richest man is gearing up to take over the world. Making a play for foreign investors, Batista announced this year the opening of an office in New York and his intention to list some of his companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Through his holding company, EBX, Batista controls businesses spanning mining, shipbuilding, energy, logistics, tourism and entertainment. After months of discussions, he was triumphant in February in taking control of Canadian gold outfit Ventana. Two-thirds of his fortune comes from OGX, the oil and gas exploration company he founded in 2007 and took public a year later. He says the company will start producing oil this year. In rare recent setback, his planned IPO for his shipbuilding business (OSX), meant to be the world's largest IPO in 2010, was a disappointment and has had a lukewarm reception in the Brazilian market.

The son of Brazil's revered former mining minister, who presided over mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, got his start in gold trading and mining. Onetime champion offshore powerboat racer; formerly married to Playboy cover girl. In media interviews he's been warning Carlos Slim Helú that he'll soon take his spot as the world's richest man, but he still has a ways to go.

Richest Man Brazil

Anti aging rainforest fruits

2011-02-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

You may think that the wondrous plants of the Amazon rainforest remain hidden from modern science, but their medicinal and energizing properties have not gone completely unnoticed.

The rainforest’s original inhabitants, the indigenous Indians, have been using the raw ingredients found in nature to heal, energize and improve their health and well-being. It may even have prolonged life.

The Western world is largely unaware of these rainforest treasures and their scientific benefits. But you are on the threshold of finding out what such discoveries can mean to you.

It will give you an advantage over others that are eating high-fat, high-carb diets that lead to obesity and a shortened lifespan. The life-giving juices and teas of the Amazon rainforest will make clear what the indigenous people of the Amazon have always known.

Anti aging rainforest fruits - Scientific background

The common factor in all the fruits, juices and teas of the Amazon is their content of antioxidants. Antioxidants are nature’s way of defending against chemicals and pollutants that threaten healthy cells every minute of the day. It is true of all living things, plants, animals and human beings.

Your body produces some antioxidants/enzymes quite naturally, but some can only be obtained from healthy foods.

Anti aging rainforest fruits - Antioxidant Enzymes

Naturally occurring enzymes perform billions of cell-saving operations in your body without exhausting themselves. Although your body will produce incredible amounts of antioxidant enzymes over your lifetime, it can be very slow to create new ones if your body is under siege. If your body is exposed to more pollutants than your antioxidant enzymes can destroy, your cells may be in trouble.

Certain fruits and plant-based foods contain antioxidants that your body can use over and above the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. For that reason it makes sense to consume a variety of the antioxidant rich botanicals every day. It is your body’s best defense against premature aging.

In addition to the antioxidant plants that you already know, grapes, blueberries, and green tea, here you will learn about some amazing rainforest plants poised to take the antioxidant world by storm.

There are fruits and teas that will give you energy and longer life - the ones from the rainforest. It is strange that they are not already well known in the Western world - why isn’t this already common knowledge? People in South America have used these plants for centuries, but the knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation orally - rather than in writing. This is particularly true among the people of the Amazon basin. Westerners simply have not had the opportunity to hear the stories.

Anti aging rainforest botanicals

2011-01-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

You may think that the wondrous plants of the Amazon rainforest remain hidden from modern science, but their medicinal and energizing properties have not gone completely unnoticed.

The rainforest’s original inhabitants, the indigenous Indians, have been using the raw ingredients found in nature to heal, energize and improve their health and well-being. It may even have prolonged life.

The Western world is largely unaware of these rainforest treasures and their scientific benefits. But you are on the threshold of finding out what such discoveries can mean to you.

It will give you an advantage over others that are eating high-fat, high-carb diets that lead to obesity and a shortened lifespan. The life-giving juices and teas of the Amazon rainforest will make clear what the indigenous people of the Amazon have always known.

Scientific background

The common factor in all the fruits, juices and teas of the Amazon is their content of antioxidant's. Antioxidants are nature’s way of defending against chemicals and pollutants that threaten healthy cells every minute of the day. It is true of all living things, plants, animals and human beings.

Your body produces some antioxidants/enzymes quite naturally, but some can only be obtained from healthy foods.

Enzymes

Naturally occurring enzymes perform billions of cell-saving operations in your body without exhausting themselves. Although your body will produce incredible amounts of antioxidant enzymes over your lifetime, it can be very slow to create new ones if your body is under siege. If your body is exposed to more pollutants than your antioxidant enzymes can destroy, your cells may be in trouble.

Certain fruits and plant-based foods contain antioxidants that your body can use over and above the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. For that reason it makes sense to consume a variety of the antioxidant rich botanicals every day. It is your body’s best defense against premature aging.

In addition to the antioxidant plants that you already know, grapes, blueberries, and green tea, here you will learn about some amazing rainforest plants poised to take the antioxidant world by storm.

There are fruits and teas that will give you energy and longer life - the ones from the rainforest. It is strange that they are not already well known in the Western world - why isn’t this already common knowledge? People in South America have used these plants for centuries, but the knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation orally - rather than in writing. This is particularly true among the people of the Amazon basin. Westerners simply have not had the opportunity to hear the stories.

Researchers who have made it a point to learn about and listen to the traditional healers have had their research priorities laid out for them.

As more and more about the wondrous fruits and plants have become known, they have set about the task of analyzing their active components and examining them in ways that is credible to modern science.

In case after case it has been established that the oral stories of indigenous Indians are correct and that the fruits and teas indeed have properties that energize and help them lead a longer and healthier life.

Let’s focus on three: açai, cupuaçu, and yearba mate. They are not yet household names in the West, the Indians of South America have been using them for centuries. Once you learn about their real qualities you’ll want a chance to take advantage of their amazing properties too.

Acai, the Amazon Super Fruit

2010-12-30T07:25:00.000-08:00

The first time I ever tried acai (pronounced: ah-sah-yee) in 1997, the fruit was served to me as a thick drink by an Ipixuna Indian woman, when I was living on the Amazon River for a month.

Acai, Euterpe oleracea, was as deep purple as any food I had ever seen. In fact, a spill stained a favorite t-shirt of mine, forever. I loved the rich flavor of acai, and the energy it imparted, and consumed as much as I could during the course of my time on the river.

When I left Brazil that time, I lamented that I’d probably never be able to obtain acai back home.

Times have changed, and this delicious fruit is now widely available, from Whole Foods to up-market grocery stores.

A so-called “super-berry” that grows on palms trees in the Amazon, acai is a staple food throughout Amazonia, and that status owes directly to its marvelous flavor.

Acai explodes with flavor, and gets better with every mouthful. Rich in the potent purple pigments called anthocyanins, acai has a higher antioxidant activity rating than bilberries or blueberries, and is rich in beneficial dietary fibers.

A glass of blended acai fruit, with just a slight touch of energizing guarana and certified organic sugar, imparts so much energy, you’ll want to dance and yodel while climbing a mountain at the same time.

No wonder endurance cyclists and ball players have taken to this fruit. Surfers, skateboarders, X-gamers and outdoor enthusiasts speak of acai with reverence.

The berry craze is on full throttle now, and purveyors of each berry – from blueberries to blackberries, black currants and elderberries – have positioned their berry as the ultimate. All of these berries are rich in the purple antioxidant pigments called anthocyanins, and all impart both antioxidant protection to cells, and anti-inflammatory activity as well. As far as I am concerned, they are all extraordinary foods, and are valuable in any person’s diet. I just happen to favor acai most of all, because I love the flavor and the fact that the acai trade is helping to reduce deforestation in some parts of the Amazon.

Forest Preservation - Fast-forward years later, once more in the Brazilian rainforest, this time in the company of Ryan Black, founder of Sambazon Acai. We are watching several hard-working Brazilians climb tall acai palms rapidly, cut branches laden with ripe purple acai berries, and strip the berries into baskets, readying them for processing.

“Our wildharvesting system was developed in conjunction with the Forest Sustainability Council,” Ryan explains. “We’ve taught people how to wildharvest acai, and protect the forest at the same time.” Through ecologically sound agro-forestry management practices, Sambazon has established a top-notch conservation program that protects the Amazon rainforest and minimizes habitat loss. On top of that, they’ve implemented a fair wage system that provides higher than average wages to over 10,000 families in Brazil’s Amapa state. Sambazon has won praise and support from World Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy and Greenpeace. As far as Ryan Black is concerned, it’s all just a reasonable and fair way to operate a business. “Might as well do it right if you’re going to do it,” he says.

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Highlights of Rivers in Amazon Rainforest

2010-12-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

Rivers flowing through Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest appear tan from sediments and silvery from sun glint, giving them the appearance of lightning bolts slicing across the green landscape.

The Amazon rainforest is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America. This basin encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), of which five and a half million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres) are covered by the rainforest.

See original complete with maps here

Rainforest Sustainability is embedded in Sambazon

2010-12-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

From acai berries to the Sustainable Amazon Partnership (SAP)

When brothers Jeremy and Ryan Black created the company Sambazon in 2000 they hit the proverbial mother lode. Sambazon makes juices, sorbet and smoothie packs from acai, berries that grow in Brazil's Amazon forests.

Although the company does not disclose sales, in 2008 they were estimated at $25 million. Sambazon's products are "sold in virtually every health food store, juice bar and convention grocery store in the U.S.," according to its website. Its products are sold at Whole Foods and supermarket chains such as Safeway and Giant.

Sambazon says its company was founded on sustainability, a claim it can back up. It was the first company to sponsor U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic certification for acai, and its supply chain is certified as Fair Trade. It works with Wild Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Brazil and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure acai is harvested sustainably. Sambazon also built a factory in Amapa, Brazil that buys acai berries from over 10,000 independent family growers, and employs about 150 people, half in Brazil.

Sambazon was named a winner of the "Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence" (A.C.E. Award) for a small-medium business in 2006. It was nominated by the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil. Then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Sambazon "is an outstanding example of the positive impact that a small company can make to the economy, the environment and the society of its host country."

Rice added, "Sambazon was selected for efforts to promote sustainable development in the Brasilian Rainforest, while improving the conditions of indigenous people through creative marketing of the açaí fruit."

Sambazon launched the Sustainable Amazon Partnership (SAP) as a "public and private collaboration to promote lasting sustainable management of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest." Since launched, SAP has:

* Provided an alternative sustainable income source to logging, cattle and monoculture plantations
* Promoted sustainable development through environmental stewardship on over 1.9 million acres
* Supported women in local cooperative who make acai seed jewellery
* Established and monitored biosocial indicators to determine the impact of the acai trade
* Developed and implemented sustainability programs with local family farmers

Over one million acai seeds a day come out of processed fruit during harvest season. Sambazon uses the seeds as fuel for its Amapa factory and donates seeds to a nearby brick factory. Before Sambazon donated the seeds, the factory "would use virgin wood from the surrounding area to burn as fuel for the kilns," said factory owner Wagner Alonso Rodrigues.

Since using the donated seeds, the amount of rainforest wood burned by the factory has been reduced by almost 90 percent. "We have reduced our wood purchasing so drastically that now we save $US 250 a day burning seed instead of wood," said Rodrigues.

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The New Wellness Revolution

Ancient Acai – The Brazilian Amazon’s Super-Berry

2010-11-11T06:05:00.000-08:00

Brazil Plans a Price on Oil to Accelerate Climate Efforts

2010-10-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Brazil expects to see its lowest rates of illegal deforestation since 1988 by the end of this year.

Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira said the government will reduce the annual chopping and burning of the Amazon rainforest to between 4,000 and 5,000 square kilometers. The figures will be announced in the run-up to this year's U.N. climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, this December.

The Amazon clearing is a far cry from the 24,000 square kilometers the so-called "lungs of the Earth" lost in the beginning of this decade. But, Teixeira said, it's also not enough.

"OK, you did this, yes, we are so great," the minister said in a self-mocking flourish at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Brazil Institute. But, she added with seriousness, "this challenge is not the only one."

Last year, at climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, Brazil promised to reduce its carbon dioxide output 36 percent over the coming decade. Meeting that goal would bring Brazil -- now the world's seventh-largest emitter -- back to its 1994 levels. This week, Teixeira said, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will sign Brazil's sectoral strategy and investment plan to show how the country will meet that target. Also this week, Brazil will launch a long-planned climate change fund, bankrolled by a levy on oil production and exploration.

Together, these moves and others are part of a larger Brazilian strategy of assuming a new role in the U.N. climate talks: that of an emerging economic superpower intent on protecting smaller, developing countries while also proving to the United States and others that it will do its part to fight rising global emissions.

But what impact that will have at the 16th U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP16, talks, where nearly all attention will be focused on getting the United States and China to come to terms over mitigating emissions, is unclear.

An emerging player throws chips on the table

In an interview with ClimateWire after speaking to the Brazil Institute about the current Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Nagoya, Japan, Teixeira was at once dismissive and upbeat about the Cancun meeting.

"COP 16? Forget it," said Teixeira when told the interview topic. Then she recovered. Cancun, she said, is key to bringing leaders together. "It's important that you have a pragmatic approach, and that you can show the global society that we are doing something. It's important to show the world that we can establish a pragmatic basis for actions."

Teixeira maintained the need for an international treaty -- though she didn't specify when that might become a reality -- and stressed the importance of developed countries like the United States making good on commitments to give poor countries $30 billion by 2020 to cope with climate change consequences.

"Let's be current with our declaration," she said. "If we're not able to do this, why are we able to spend lots of money with wars?"

The gregarious minister, who in the course of her public talk teased a questioner about her marital status ("I hope that you can have a lot of marriages. High biodiversity.") and handed her personal e-mail to a graduate student who had written recently on Brazil, offered few other specifics on COP16. Instead, she peppered much of her talk with platitudes.

On whether the Cancun meeting is a referendum on the troubled U.N. climate process: "It's important to understand that climate change is an issue with high complexity."

On whether countries, including Brazil, trust the United States when it says it will keep its Copenhagen promise to cut carbon about 17 percent below 2005 levels, despite the absence of legislation: "It's very important that you have political leadership from President Obama."

As to whether Lula will attend COP16, the minister said she wasn't sure. But, she added, "to have political leadership, you don't necessarily need to go to the COP."

Brazil's plan to grow jobs in a 'low-carbon economy'

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Spectacular species found in Amazon Rainforest

2010-10-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Spectacular species previously unknown to the outside world are being discovered in the Amazon rainforest at a rate of one every three days, environment group WWF said in a report published on Tuesday.

An anaconda as long as a limousine, a giant catfish that eats monkeys, a blue fanged spider and poisoned dart frogs are among the 1,220 animals and plants to have been newly found from 1999 to 2009, according to the report.

The report was released on the sidelines of a United Nations summit in Japan that is being held to try to save the world's fast diminishing biodiversity, and the WWF said it highlighted why protecting the Amazon was so vital.
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"This report clearly shows the incredible, amazing diversity of life in the Amazon," Francisco Ruiz, head of WWF's Living Amazon Initiative, told reporters at the launch.

"(But) this incredible region is under pressure because of the human presence. The landscape is being very quickly transformed."

Logging and clearing for agriculture such as cattle farming and palm oil plantations have led to 17 per cent of the Amazon -- an area twice the size of Spain -- being destroyed over the past 50 years, according to the WWF.

The WWF compiled the findings reported by scientists over the 10-year period to highlight how much valuable biodiversity humans may be losing without even knowing as the Amazon is being cleared.

"It serves as a reminder of how much we still have to learn about this unique region, and what we could lose if we don't change the way we think about development," Ruiz said.

One of the most amazing discoveries was a four-metre anaconda in the flood plains of Bolivia's Pando province in 2002.

It was the first new anaconda species identified since 1936, and becomes only the fourth known type of that reptile, according to the WWF.

There were a total of 55 reptile species discovered, with others including two members of Elapidae -- the most venomous snake family in the world that includes cobras and taipans.

A kaleidoscope of different coloured frogs were also found, including 24 of the famed poison dart variety and one that was translucent.

Among the 257 types of fish discovered in the rivers and lakes of the Amazon over was a "goliath" catfish.

One of them found in Venezuela measured nearly 1.5 metres long and weighed 32kg.

At least 500 spiders were also discovered, including one that was completely brown except for a pair of almost fluorescent blue fangs.

Thirty-nine new mammals were also found, including a pink river dolphin, seven types of monkeys and two porcupines.

Among the 637 new plant species discovered were sunflowers, ivy, lilies, a variety of pineapple and a custard apple.

The Amazon is home to at least 40,000 plant species, and the WWF described the scale of diversity in some areas as "mind boggling".

It said 1,000 plant species were documented in one hectare of lowland rainforest in Ecuador, while 3,000 were found in a 24-hectare region of the Colombian section of the Amazon.

Orignal here:

Acai benefits

2010-08-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

The global superfruit is dinner in the Amazon.

Clustered high up in the slender, tilting palms of the eastern Amazon, the little purple orbs known as acai look mighty, like blueberries that took a very wrong turn out of Maine.

These are no mere muffin makers, though.

Acai benefits

Virtually unknown outside the Amazon two decades ago, and until 2000 not exported from Brazil, its major producer, acai (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) is now an international celebrity, riding the wave of the antioxidant craze and rainforest chic.

Acai benefits

On the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, surfers seeking an energy boost spoon acai smoothies from bowls. In the United States, companies touting its antioxidant powers blend the fruit into Snapple red tea; Red Brick Pizza’s frantically trendy multigrain, whole-wheat artisan crust; and acai benefits into everything from dietary supplements to beauty products.

But for families who live here along the winding, interlaced rivers at the hub of acai production, the fruit has long been a vital part of their diet, a cheap way to fill up and a taste of home. And now, for some, acai benefits are also a source of newfound prosperity.

In places like Cameta, a town of about 117,000, and Belem, the capital of Para State, a bowl of acai pulp is a filling side dish especially valued by poorer families.

Unlike the pulp used in Rio’s smoothies, the kind here is not pre-sweetened or frozen, but fresh from cylindrical machines known as batedores de acai, "acai beaters," that remove the thin layer of fruit from the pit.

Most every neighborhood has stands or small stores where customers get a daily or weekly supply.

Acai’s international reputation as an energy booster and diet aid tickles those who grew up with it as a caloric side dish.

"I find it funny," said LetÝcia Galvao, a psychologist who was having a lunch of seafood and acai with her husband and 1-year-old daughter at a restaurant called Point do Acai. "Generally, when you have acai here, you take a nap. There, it’s an energy drink."

Galvao said that her brother, a doctor living in the southern state of Parana, wasn’t a big acai fan growing up. But these days he asks anyone visiting him from Belem for a liter of the fresh stuff.

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Acai: Interview with Ryan & Jeremy Black

2010-06-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

How two brothers brought a purple berry to the world and made a difference in the process.

Acai ... sure, we all know that it's a purple berry loaded with antioxidants, it tastes good and it's good for ya. But I bet you didn't even know how to pronounce the word (ah-sigh-ee) 10 years ago, let alone know that it was even good for you. Well, meet the men that introduced you and the world to this lovely little fruit with a vitamin-packed punch.

Brothers Jeremy and Ryan Black were introduced to the acai berry after Ryan and friend Ed Nichols' millennium surf trip to Brazil. They were so impressed with the powers of the fruit that they decided to form Sambazon (along Nichols) that would bring the fruit's benefits global. The Black brothers have business degrees and share a love for sports — founding a business together seemed only natural.

Ryan acts as the CEO and is passionate about creating positive social and environmental change. He is responsible for partnerships with various NGOs (World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy) that have led to the first of its kind Fair Trade, sustainable and certified organic supply chain of açaí.

Jeremy is the VP of Marketing and branding power behind Sambazon. The health benefits of the purple berry are a perfect marketing fit in the sports and active world that both brothers are at home in. Jeremy is an avid surfer, skateboarder and snowboarder, and often mixes work with pleasure forging new alliances while on a surfing vacation in Indonesia or catching some early morning waves before a trade show.

Both men feel strongly that the multi-million dollar success of their company lies in their triple bottom line approach to the business from the beginning. Jeremy and Ryan take a break from surfing great waves and getting juiced to answer a few questions:

1. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

JB: A professional skateboarder.

RB: A pro football player and the president of the United States.

2. How are you improving your triple bottom line in CSR? Economic performance, environmental responsibility and positive social impact.

JB: We are working on reducing our carbon footprint in all areas of our business, from the packaging to transportation and energy use. In Brazil we are working with local NGOs to monitor the impact of our business (social and environmental) and looking for ways to improve the positives and reduce negatives.

RB: Sustainability is a continuous goal. We still face challenges in our business where we want to reduce our footprint (packaging, energy and fuel use in logistics and manufacturing, etc). We also want a healthier employee and stakeholder base, which means a healthy work environment, family and benefit support, day care, training and technical assistance, health care, diets, exercise and carpools. In other words, we want efficiencies and healthy living for the Sambazon community. We are committed to achieving more and frequent milestones in this area.

3. How do you stay constantly ready for change?

JB: Staying current, being open and knowing God's plan is better than mine. If I do the best I can and fight for what I believe in, I can feel good about the way things are going.

RB: I would say it's all about attitude and mental preparedness. When you know you have done the work, refined your model (business, human, etc.,), you are ready for whatever new challenge or change is in front of you. The way you respond to adversity is the key difference between good and great. Anyone can be positive when things are going well, but performing when things are tough is the real challenge, and you need your mind, body and soul to be ready for it.

4. What's the best advice you ever got?

JB: Vote with your dollars; find out what's behind the goods and services you support with your purchases.

RB: 1) The best way to predict the future is to create it. 2) Do one thing and do it well. Becoming an expert is a requirement for success and focus is key to developing your expertise. 3) The human will is a lot more powerful than we realize.

5. What or who is your inspiration?

JB: Positive Change Makers all over the world, people who, no matter how big or little their role or impact, are doing what they can to make this world a better place.

RB: I get inspired from characters in history who have stood up for social justice, love and tolerance, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi are just a handful of the role models who are dear to me.

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Yerba Mate Tea

2010-05-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Rainforest plants include some remarkably beneficial ones. Take the tea of the gauchos of Brazil and Argentina...Yerba Maté.

Unlike acai and cupuacu, which are fruits, this plant is in the evergreen family. The leaves and stems are used to produce tea. It is called by some the "green tea of South America". There is good reason for this, it is the national drink of Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

In the Amazon basin the indigenous Indians have been consuming it for centuries. Spanish explorers who came to South America in the 16th century described drinking a tea made by the natives that produced exhilaration and relief from fatigue.

Millions of South Americans drink the tea as a matter of fact, and mate bars have sprung up all over the continent just as coffee bars are popular in North America and Europe.

Benefits of drinking yerba mate tea include more energy and vitality, increased fat burning and weight loss, increased mental awareness and elevated mood, less undesirable cravings, increased vigor of the immune system.

There are always disputes among herbalists and nutrition scientists about what the exact energizing component of mate may be. Some say it is because the tea contains mateine, a chemical cousin of caffeine that has slightly different properties.

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The Acai Berry - Rainforest Mystique

2010-05-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

The nutritional breakdown of açaí is prodigious. It has high levels of iron, calcium, carbohydrates, fibre and antioxidants.

And energy.

A small 100g cup has almost 300 calories. Combined with the mystique of its Amazonian origins, açaí's contents have made it the beverage of choice for Rio's sporty elite.

The way it looks is integral to its appeal. It is made from dark violet berries about the size of a raspberry; a deep, dense colour that seems weighted down by its nutritional secrets. It reflects no light and has the texture of mud. It is fruity with a chocolatey kick.

Açaí is indigenous to the flood plains of the Amazon River estuary. The açaí palm regenerates with ease. In areas where human development has destroyed natural vegetation the first tree that grows in its place is açaí. (Açaí palms cover an area equivalent to half the size of Switzerland.)

In this region, its abundance and role as primary nutritional resource cannot be over-estimated: it is literally the fruit that has saved many poor families from starvation.

Açaí is the main food staple of river communities in the Amazon estuary,' says the agronomist Oscar Nogueira. It is drunk for every meal - in much the same way as bread or rice is eaten in other cultures.

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Indigenous Resistance

2010-05-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Indigenous societies today face difficult choices: can they develop, modernize, and advance without endangering their sacred traditions and communal identity? Specifically, can their communities benefit from national education while resisting the tendency of state-imposed programs to undermine their cultural sovereignty, language, and traditions? According to Lois Meyer and Benjamín Maldonado, these are among the core questions being raised by indigenous societies whose comunalidad—or communal way of life—is at odds with the dictates of big business and the social programs of the state.

To explore these issues in depth, Meyer and Maldonado conducted a series of dialogues with Noam Chomsky, and invited numerous organizers and intellectuals from indigenous communities of resistance to comment. In three in-depth conversations, Chomsky offers poignant lessons from his vast knowledge of world history, linguistics, economics, anti-authoritarian philosophy, and personal experience, and traces numerous parallels with other peoples who have resisted state power while attempting to modernize, develop, survive, and sustain their unique community identity and tradition.

Following the interviews are commentaries from more than a dozen activists and intellectuals from the Americas, who speak from their own on-the-ground experiences and work with indigenous communities in Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, Panama, and Canada.

This is a powerful reflection on the interconnected issues of education, cultural preservation, globalization, forms of resistance, and possibilities for hope on local, regional, and national levels. It is Noam Chomsky at his best—lucid, accessible, and deeply informative.

Book available from Amazon.com

A home in the Amazon Rainforest

2010-05-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

The colorful story of one couple’s journey across the world to build their dream home in the heart of the Amazon

In 1989, as their mid-life crises approached, concert pianist Binka Le Breton and her husband Robin, an agricultural economist, decided to uproot themselves from their home in Washington, D.C. and start a new life in Brazil.

Where the Road Ends is their story of building a house, a rainforest research center, and a new dream.

Since then, they’ve learned how to work with the trees, the animals, the weather, the local community, and each other.

Their technology now ranges from the oxcart to the Internet, and in 2000 they opened a rainforest conservation and research center that is visited by foreign researchers and Brazilian school children.

From meeting their resident cowboy, Albertinho, to beheading snakes, to chauffeuring a local wedding—the adventures described here are unparalleled.

This delightful memoir takes the armchair traveler deep into another world where matters of providing food and shelter can never be taken for granted.

Binka and Robin have embarked on an adventure that many readers only dream about—transplanting themselves in a different country and learning (often the hard way) what it takes to survive and flourish.

Find the book at Amazon

Acai Roots Introduces Pure Acai Juice

2010-05-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

New Product Brings Consumers The Authentic Brazilian Açaí Juice Experience.

Açai Roots™, a leading supplier of natural Brazilian açaí berry products, announces the launch of its newest ready-to-drink beverage, Açai Roots™ Pure Açaí Juice.

The company’s all-natural açaí beverage is a delicious, refreshing and healthy option for consumers looking to enjoy an authentic, tasty and nutritional açaí super-fruit beverage.

‘“Açai Roots™ carries the tradition of making authentic Brazilian açaí products, and this new beverage follows the same line. Our main objective while developing the Pure Açaí Juice was to offer consumers the real açaí juice experience, something they cannot find elsewhere”, said Açai Roots CEO, Igor Pereira.

The product is the fifth shelf-stable and ready-to-drink beverage the company produces, adding to the company’s already successful line which includes: açaí juice smoothies, açaí energy shots and the açaí liquid concentrate.

On top of its delicious and refreshing taste, the beverage is also full of antioxidants (3,000 ORAC per serving), omegas and other nutrients, making it a very healthy beverage - perfect for healthy-conscious consumers to drink between or with meals.

“We wanted to offer consumers the authentic acai juice; made with the best pulp available in Brazil and without adding other fruit juices or artificial flavors to it. In other words, this is the real deal - the authentic açaí juice experience”, said Açai Roots Marketing Manager, Rodrigo Correa.

The Pure Açaí Juice will be available in grocery and natural food stores nationwide, as well as through the company’s website beginning May 2010, in two different sizes, 10oz and 32oz bottles.

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Superfruits Product Benefits

2010-05-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Acai

Nutrients: Antioxidants, Anthocyanins, Protein, Omega-6 and Omega-9 Fatty Acids

For many centuries, the healing power of the acai berry was unknown outside of the Amazon rainforest. The acai berry grows as a wild plant on top of many native palm trees in the Amazon rainforest, with the fruits of the plant being harvested by local farmers and used to make a healthy and nutritious fruit pulp. When quickly frozen, this fruit pulp can retain its vast nutritional value even when being shipped around the world. The acai berry is known for its deep purple color, as well as for being a rich source of many important antioxidant vitamins and has been used by the indigenous peoples of the region for thousands of years to enhance health and vitality.

The major benefits of the acai berry are thought to include its strong heart health benefits. The acai berry is known to be a rich source of compounds called anthocyanins. These anthocyanins are the same compounds thought to give red wine its health benefits, but acai berries may contain even higher concentrations of these healthy chemicals than wine, with none of the health risks associated with alcohol.

The acai berry is also a rich source of protein and dietary fiber, in addition to high levels of both omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, thought to have a protective effect on the heart and cardiovascular system. The omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids contained in the acai berry may also play a role in lowering levels of cholesterol in the blood.

In addition to these important benefits, the acai berry is thought to play a vital role in slowing down the aging process. In health food circles, the acai berry is known as one of the most powerful of the anti-aging super foods. It is thought that this anti-aging effect is a combination of the high levels of anthocyanins and the strong antioxidant vitamin content the fruit contains. In fact, the acai berry is known to contain ten times as many antioxidant vitamins as grapes and twice as many as blueberries.

The acai berry is truly one of nature’s most healing foods, and a worthy addition to any healthy diet.

Historical Benefits:

Acai has been recommended for heart and cardiovascular health, may play a role in lowering cholesterol, thought to play a vital role in slowing down the aging process.

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Brazil: Power and the Xingu

2010-04-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

A huge Amazon hydropower project shows how hard it is to balance the demands of the environment and of a growing and prospering country

Protesters in paint and headdresses in Brasília, warring tribes of lawyers and a mountain of pig dung: yet another giant Brazilian public-works contract was up for grabs, and the lobbies were restless. After the courts struck down an avalanche of eleventh-hour injunctions, late on April 20th a consortium of contractors won the right to build Belo Monte, a huge hydroelectric power station to be raised on the Xingu river in the eastern Amazon basin.
Amazon: Power and the Xingu

A huge Amazon hydropower project shows how hard it is to balance the demands of the environment and of a growing and prospering country

The victors—led by Chesf, a state-owned hydropower generator, and several construction firms—celebrated quietly and quickly. Their discretion was understandable. Waiting outside the auction room at Brazil’s power regulator was an angry mob, kitted out in overalls and warpaint, and three tonnes of fresh manure, courtesy of a local pig farm. “Belo Monte de Merda” read the banner in the ripening heap.

But Brazil’s rapidly growing economy needs more energy, preferably renewable. The scale of the dam—it will be the world’s third-largest hydroelectric station after China’s Three Gorges and Brazil’s own Itaipu—is epic. So is the investment, of at least 19 billion reais (nearly $11 billion). But ever since the engineers in Brasília rolled out the blueprints for damming the Xingu two decades ago, the project has attracted powerful opposition.

Environmental groups and river dwellers say Belo Monte will flood vast patches of rainforest while desiccating others. “The forest is our butcher shop, the river is our market,” Indian leaders wrote in a newspaper. They were aided by greens from Europe and the United States, including the tribes of Hollywood. James Cameron, a film director, flew in to daub his face in red paint, hug an Indian and join the protest.

In his past as a labour leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president since 2003, might have joined them. Now he has a legacy to mind. Belo Monte is the centrepiece of the government’s ambitious public-investment programme—the flagship initiative of Dilma Rousseff, his former chief of staff and would-be successor, who faces a tough fight in October’s presidential election against José Serra, the main opposition candidate. As president, Lula has shown little patience for tree-huggers (see article), never mind grandstanding gringos. “They don’t need to come here and give us advice,” he snapped.

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The Acai Berry's proven antioxidants

2010-04-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

Beta carotene -- Beta carotene is a proven free-radical scavenger associated with lowered risks for several types of cancer, including breast, lung, skin and stomach cancers. Research also supports its use in promoting eye health, lowering cholesterol levels and preventing heart disease.

Vitamin C -- This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties found to improve symptoms of asthma and arthritis. Studies have also found vitamin C supplementation useful in protecting against atherosclerosis, stroke, cancer and reducing complications in macular degeneration in diabetics and promoting healthy immune function. When used in combination with vitamin E, a 2004 study from the Archives of Neurology found vitamin C reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Vitamin E -- Several studies have linked this vitamin to reduced risk of heart attacks and found it beneficial in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. The National Eye Institute also found vitamin E to be one of several antioxidants (including vitamin C, beta carotene and zinc)that may help reduce the risk of macular degeneration-related vision loss. New clinical research is also recommending vitamin E for diabetes prevention and treatment. Other benefits linked to vitamin E include use for inflammation, blood cell and cell-division regulation and connective tissue health.

Magnesium -- Magnesium deficiency has been linked to several chronic conditions. As an antioxidant magnesium improves the cardiovascular system's antioxidant threshold and increases the body's resistance to free radicals. It also protects agains free radical damage to mitochondria (cellular energy producers) and has been used to regulate heart rhythm and blood pressure.

Polyphenolic flavonoids -- Sixteen types of bioactive polypheolic compounds have been identified in acai berry. Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds found in produce, grains, tea and soybeans. Research shows that polyphenolic compounds have anti-tumor properties and may be useful in the treatment and prevention of cancers of the breast, colon, skin, lung and liver. Other benefits include antiinflammatory antiallergenic, immunostimulatory and cardioprotective properties.

Anthocyanins -- Two major types of anhocyanins have been found in acai, including cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyaninidin-3-rutinoside. Anthocyanins are exceptional antioxidant compounds believed to reduce heart disease risk by neutralizing free radicals that could damage blood vessel walls, leading to cholesterol and plaque buildup. Acai is believed to have up to 30 times the anthocyanins found in red wine.

Keep in mind that this does not require you to take a pill, these antioxidants are contained in this superfood from the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, the Ancient Acai Berry.

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Farmer fined over rainforest destruction

2010-04-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

A famer operating in the Amazon rainforest has been fined 6.15 million dollars (£4 million) for illegally clearing large parts of the tropical forest, it has been reported.
Amazon farmer hit with fine over illegal deforestation

According to a G1 report cited on Times Live, the unnamed farmer in the Brazilian region of Mato Grosso was fined after they were found to have cleared more than 2,230 hectares of land. The news source noted that the area of the Amazon is well known for clearing by fire.

The area the farmer is said to have illegally cleared is near to the Xingu National Park nature reserve, some 500 kilometres from the Mato Gross capital Cuiaba.

As well as this, another five farmers were given heavy fines over illegal tree felling, the source reported.

Illegal clearing is one of the biggest threats facing the world's tropical forests and despite strict guidelines restricting it in many rainforest nations, illegal deforestation continues.

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The One Country That Might Avoid Recession Is...

2010-04-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

Brazil is no stranger to economic crises. In the 1970s and '80s, Latin America's economic giant turned financial mismanagement into an art form. The current global turmoil has not left Brazil unscathed: stock prices, exports and growth are all down. But something interesting is at work this time around, and the best place to see it is in one of Brazil's favelas, the vast urban slums that are desperate even in the best of times. Walk through São Paulo's sprawling Brasilândia, though, and you don't sense the relentless doom and gloom gripping other cities in the world. Take Efigênia Francisca da Silva, who exudes middle-class expectations and remains positive despite the tsunami of bad news. Thanks to a government scheme to encourage entrepreneurs, the once dirt-poor housewife has received some $8,000 in low-interest bank credits in recent years and now owns three shops that sell everything from shampoo to public-transit tickets. "I didn't have a bank account before," says Da Silva, 37, standing beneath graffiti-covered walls and pirated power lines. "I never had a car. I bought a Fiat Palio." Does she fear the global recession will quash her dreams? "I trust Lula. I don't think we'll be hit that hard."

"Lula" is President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (no relation to Efigênia), and most Brazilians believe he's the reason their country is surviving the current downturn better than other places. In past crises, Brazil was usually the nation in need of the largest life preserver. If it wasn't drowning under fiscal recklessness, it was being held under by draconian austerity plans. Brazil, the old joke goes, is the country of the future — and always will be. Now, in the middle of the worst global downturn for decades, Brazil could finally be the country of the moment. According to a recent study by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), Brazil may be the only one of 34 major economies that avoids recession in 2009. While the U.S. debates whether to nationalize its crippled banks, Brazil's remain comparatively sound. Oil companies worldwide are slashing investment, but Brazil's state-run Petrobras is going ahead with a four-year, $174 billion expansion plan. "Brazil," Lula boasted to TIME, "is riding the current crisis better than many developed countries."

To be sure, the boom — years of 5% growth and soaring exports — is over. Industrial production has plunged. Even Embraer, the aircraft maker whose jets sell to scores of airlines, and which has become a symbol of Brazil's newfound confidence, recently announced plans to lay off 4,000 employees, almost one-fifth of its workforce. Commodity exports — soybeans, steel — are weak. The main stock market is down 25% since September. But Lula, a former shoe-shine boy who heads the leftist Workers Party (PT), has so far kept the good times from becoming a hellish bust. In Brazil, that's nothing short of miraculous.

There may be another miracle in the making. Because unfettered capitalism is widely blamed for the global meltdown, economists and laborers alike say Brazil has become an example of what Lula likes to call "the financial strategy of the future." By that he means a postideological approach that is equal parts wealth creation for corporations such as Embraer and wealth redistribution for underdogs like Da Silva. All this under the kind of prudent financial regulation that seems to have gone missing in the developed world of late.

Brazil still faces huge challenges; its education system is dysfunctional, its political system squalid, corruption endemic. But consider: 53% of Brazil's 190 million people now occupy the middle class, up from 42% in 2002. This increased social mobility happened at the same time the country's main stock index soared some 480% before last fall's downturn. Lula seems to have cracked Latin America's chronic conundrum: how to expand underachieving economies while reducing epic inequality. In so doing, he's created a model that's "an insurance ticket, not a lottery ticket," says Marcelo Neri, head of the Center for Social Policies in Rio de Janeiro.

All Change

In an interview last fall at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Lula, 63, told TIME that he wants to "change the world's political and economic geography" before he leaves office in December 2010. It may be futile to stump for a permanent Brazilian seat on the United Nations Security Council, but the developed world's financial shambles has made Lula's campaign to challenge U.S. and European hegemony in global trade talks less quixotic — and enhanced Brazil's leadership role among developing nations. "Capitalism will be a different animal once the turbulence is over," Lula told TIME. "Developing countries will be responsible for a major percentage of world economic growth."

Twenty years ago, when Lula was a firebrand unionist, that sentiment might have been dismissed as dreamy rhetoric. Not today. However the crisis ends, there is widespread agreement that developing economies such as Brazil, China and India will be crucial to ensuring that demand remains buoyant. Lula, too, has changed. These days he's a pragmatist who is as popular inside corporate boardrooms as he is in the favelas. On March 17, he will meet new U.S. President Barack Obama — a fellow moderate liberal who shares Lula's passion for green-energy ventures — in the White House. He will be the first Latin American leader to meet Obama since he took office, a sign, perhaps, that the new U.S. Administration sees Brazil as a key partner in forging a new policy for the Americas.

That too would mark a change. Brazilian officials have long wanted to make a mark outside their neighborhood, but until recently, the world rarely noticed what went on there — unless it involved beaches, soccer or Carnaval. "Brazil always suffered externally because of its internal poverty," says Lula's foreign-policy adviser, Marco Aurelio Garcia. The nation's founding monarchy, which lasted until 1889, insulated the country from the region's 19th century upheavals but also spawned a quasi-feudal class system that led to the inequalities that persist today. In 2000, fewer than 3% of Brazilians still owned more than two-thirds of the arable land, and the divide between the rich southeast and destitute northeast, where Lula was born, was as stark as ever.

Lula's predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, was the first President to recognize that change was needed. He restored fiscal sanity by slaying hyperinflation, but his attempts at social reform were timid. Lula's victory in 2002 panicked Wall Street and the Brazilian élite. But instead of defaulting on Brazil's foreign debt or busting the budget, as they feared he would, Lula embraced one of the few positive legacies of Brazil's royalist roots: deliberate, negotiated consensus-building. It's a hallmark of Brazil's widely respected diplomatic corps — and it tempered Lula even when he was a metal-workers union boss in the 1970s. Unlike more radical Latin leftists, such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Lula "was always a negotiator," says union pal and former congressional Deputy Djalma Bom, who recalls Lula telling him to stop reading Lenin 30 years ago. Even rivals like Rubens Ricupero, a former finance minister and Cardoso ally, agree. "The danger with Lula is that he can be rather messianic," says Ricupero. "But he's one of the world's most intelligent politicians."

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Health Benefits Of Acai Berry

2010-03-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Acai berry has long been a hidden secret in the world of alternative medicine. It was originally utilized by natives only before its healing powers became known to the rest of the world.

Scientists now say that Acai berry contains all the necessary nutrients including vitamins, minerals, proteins and fatty acids to maintain perfect health.

Healing, weight loss & anti oxidant properties of pure Acai Berry

The Acai berry fruit is naturally found in the Amazon rainforests. It has strong health traits including anti cancer properties, weight loss and anti aging abilities.

Fresh fruit of Acai berry contains antioxidants and necessary amino acids that serve in the combat against illnesses. It works efficiently to fight heart related illnesses and its antioxidant properties are helpful in removing toxic substances from your body cells.

Acai berry diet

Acai berry is rich in fiber content. Hence it works well by maintaining a low cholesterol level and beneficial for heart disease. Futhermore, Acai berry's anti bacterial properties helps to improve eyesight and the digestion process.

You can buy Acai berry in powdered form. It is used in recipes and in making of healthy drinks.

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ACAI, A GLOBAL SUPER FRUIT, IS DINNER IN THE AMAZON

2010-02-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

Clustered high up in the slender, tilting palms of the eastern Amazon, the little purple orbs known as acai look mighty, like blueberries that took a very wrong turn out of Maine. These are no mere muffin makers, though.

Virtually unknown outside the Amazon two decades ago, and until 2000 not exported from Brazil, its major producer, acai (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) is now an international celebrity, riding the wave of the antioxidant craze and rainforest chic. On the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, surfers seeking an energy boost spoon acai smoothies from bowls. In the United States, companies touting its antioxidant powers blend the fruit into Snapple red tea; Red Brick Pizza’s frantically trendy multigrain, whole-wheat artisan crust; and everything from dietary supplements to beauty products.

But for families who live here along the winding, interlaced rivers at the hub of acai production, the fruit has long been a vital part of their diet, a cheap way to fill up and a taste of home. And now, for some, it is a source of newfound prosperity.

In places like Cameta, a town of about 117,000, and Belem, the capital of Para State, a bowl of acai pulp is a filling side dish especially valued by poorer families.

Unlike the pulp used in Rio’s smoothies, the kind here is not pre-sweetened or frozen, but fresh from cylindrical machines known as batedores de acai, “acai beaters,” that remove the thin layer of fruit from the pit. Most every neighborhood has stands or small stores where customers get a daily or weekly supply.

Acai’s international reputation as an energy booster and diet aid tickles those who grew up with it as a caloric side dish.

“I find it funny,” said LetÝcia Galvao, a psychologist who was having a lunch of seafood and acai with her husband and 1-year-old daughter at a restaurant called Point do Acai. “Generally, when you have acai here, you take a nap. There, it’s an energy drink.”

Galvao said that her brother, a doctor living in the southern state of Parana, wasn’t a big acai fan growing up. But these days he asks anyone visiting him from Belem for a liter of the fresh stuff.

“Acai has the taste of our land,” she said. “It’s a way of reconnecting. It’s a taste of childhood.”

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or

Dinner in the Amaxzon

Rainforest: Big business leaves big forest footprints

2010-02-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

Consumers around the globe are not aware that they are "eating" rainforests, says Andrew Mitchell.

In this week's Green Room, he explains how many every-day purchases are driving the destruction of the vital tropical ecosystems.

Burning tropical forests drives global warming faster than the world's entire transport sector; there will be no solution to climate change without stopping deforestation

When was the last time you had a "rainforest picnic"? Or even, perhaps, an "all-day Amazon breakfast"?

Next time you are in a supermarket picking up a chicken sandwich for lunch, or fancy tucking in to a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage and bacon before setting off for work, spare a thought for the Amazon.

A new report by Forest Footprint Disclosure reveals for the first time how global business is driving rainforests to destruction in order to provide things for you and me to eat.

But it does also reveal what companies are doing to try to lighten their forest footprint. Sadly, however, the answer is: not much, at least not yet.

Consumers "eat" rainforests each day - in the form of beef-burgers, bacon and beauty products - but without knowing it.

The delivery mechanism is a global supply chain with its feet in the forests and its hands in the till.

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Amazon deforestation 'record low'

2010-02-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

Brazil's disappearing rainforests have been a concern for decades

The rate of deforestation in the Amazon has dropped by 45% and is the lowest on record since monitoring began 21 years ago, Brazil's government says.

According to the latest annual figures, just over 7,000 sq km was destroyed between July 2008 and August 2009.

The drop is welcome news for the government in advance of the Copenhagen summit on climate change.

But Greenpeace says there is still too much deforestation and the government's targets are not ambitious enough.

According to the Brazilian space agency, which monitors deforestation in the Amazon, the annual rate of destruction fell by 45%.

Green credentials

Welcoming the news, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described the drop in the level of deforestation as "extraordinary".

He said climate change was the most challenging issue the world was facing.

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Sambazon Acai: Results from Pilot Study Earned Top Honors

2010-02-05T07:47:00.001-08:00

A new clinical trial investigating the health benefits of açaí, the antioxidant and vitamin-rich berry, is adding to the emerging scientific evidence of the fruit’s ability to potentially reduce some metabolic risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke. The latest study won top honors during the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine on January 23 and revealed promising initial results for using Sambazon açaí to improve vascular health, lower fasting blood sugar levels, and lower bad cholesterol.

“This pilot study demonstrated the ability of the Sambazon açaí pulp product to significantly lower several markers of cardiovascular risk in a relatively short period of time. Given these promising results, and the biologically active components in the açaí fruit, further study is merited,” said Dr. Jay Udani, MD, CEO and Medical Director of Medicus Research, a leading contract research organization with functional food experience.

Medicus Research recently conducted a pilot study with 10 slightly overweight, but healthy adult male and female participants (representing 1/3 of the American population). Each study participant consumed 100 grams of Sambazon® açaí frozen fruit pulp twice daily for one month. Researchers measured participants’ baseline fasting plasma glucose, plasma insulin levels, lipid levels (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides), high sensitivity C-reactive protein and blood pressure. After 30 days of consuming Sambazon® açaí, participants’ fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, and LDL (bad cholesterol) were significantly reduced, as compared to the baseline. In addition, post-prandial (between meals) increases in blood glucose levels were significantly reduced.

“While additional research is needed, this pilot study suggests that in otherwise healthy, overweight adults, daily consumption of Sambazon açaí reduces several markers of metabolic syndrome associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke,” said Jack F. Bukowski, MD, Ph.D., a former Harvard professor and currently Director of the Nutritional Science Research Institute.

Read more: here

Belo Monte dam moves step closer

2010-02-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

Brazil's government has granted an environmental licence for the construction of a controversial hydro-electric dam in the Amazon rainforest.

Environmental groups say the Belo Monte dam will cause devastation in a large area of the rainforest and threaten the survival of indigenous groups.

However, the government says whoever is awarded the project will have to pay $800m to protect the environment.

The initial approval was a key step before investors could submit bids.

Resignations

The proposal to build a hydro-electric dam on the Xingu river, a tributary of the Amazon in the northern state of Para, has long been a source of controversy.

The initial project was abandoned in the 1990s amid widespread protests both in Brazil and around the world.

The government says the scheme has been modified to take account of fears that it would threaten the way of life of the indigenous peoples who live in the area.

Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc revealed that those who win the bidding process to build and operate Belo Monte will have to pay millions of dollars to protect the environment and meet 40 other conditions.

However, critics say diverting the flow of the Xingu river will still lead to devastation in a large area of the rainforest and damage fish stocks.

They say the lives of up to 40,000 people could be affected as 500 sq km of land would be flooded.

When it is completed, Belo Monte would be third largest hydro-electric dam in the world, after the Three Gorges in China and Itaipu, which is jointly run by Brazil and Paraguay. It is expected to provide electricity to 23 million Brazilian homes.

With Brazil's economy continuing to show signs of growth, ministers say hydro-electric plants are a vital way to ensure power supplies over the next decade - and at least 70 dams are said to be planned for the Amazon region.

Full story here

Amazon revolution? - Lost Cities

2010-02-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

One of the many Hollywood films that will hit theatres this year is "The Lost City of Z," in which a group of explorers set out to find a colleague who vanished in the Amazon rainforest.

Based on a true story, the movie stars Brad Pitt as Percy Fawcett, a world-famous British explorer who disappeared in 1925, during an expedition to find the mythical city of El Dorado, which Fawcett codenamed "Z" to keep his plans secret.

The premise of the movie, and its name, are taken from a book by David Grann, who retraced Fawcett's route through the Amazon to investigate what happened to him.

Along the way, Grann learned of a group of archeologists who are unearthing evidence that, just as Fawcett believed, there were indeed large communities thriving in the Brazilian rainforest before Europeans arrived.

As the evidence mounts, it's challenging conventional wisdom of the Amazon as a place so inhospitable it could only support small, nomadic tribes.

Instead it seems that large, complex societies may have tamed parts of the Amazon centuries before Spanish explorers sailed across the Atlantic. As that idea gains momentum, it's also gaining more attention beyond archaeological circles.

"There is now becoming, not just in the scientific and academic work but in the public world, a sense of the breadth of these discoveries," Grann told CTV.ca from New York. "They're transforming our view of what the Americas looked like before Columbus."

"It's finally kind of breaking through."

Turning point

Last month, a major archeological find was published in the British journal Antiquity. Using Google Earth and other satellite imagery, researchers found 260 geometrical shapes dug into a now-deforested 250-kilometre stretch of the upper Amazon basin.

"We know they're spread over this wide region and they display very similar construction techniques," said Denise Schaan, an archeologist from Brazil's University of Para who co-authored the study. "So if it was not a single people building them, they had a kind of culture or religion that was spread over that territory."

"We want to know who built these structures and for what reason," Schaan added, speculating that they could have been fortified villages or ceremonial centres.

Some of the earthworks may date as far back as AD 200, a millennium before the Incan empire was founded. As many as 60,000 people lived in or near the "perfect circles, rectangles and composite figures" carved into the ground, the researchers reported. And many were linked by bridges or "avenue-like" roads.

What's more, Schaan and her colleagues suspect there could be 10-times as many earthworks in surrounding areas, where the jungle is still standing.

The people who inhabited the sites disappeared around the same time that Spanish conquistadors ventured into South America, suggesting that diseases from Europe may have wiped them out.

A number of earlier discoveries suggest the Amazon was by no means virgin rainforest before the Age of Discovery began.

Archaeologists came across a series of 127 granite blocks on a Brazilian hilltop in 2006. Some of the blocks appear to be arranged astrologically, and may have been placed there as long as 2,000 years ago. The site has become know as the Stonehenge of the Amazon.

To read more click here

Clinical Trial on Sambazon Acai

2010-01-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

A new clinical trial investigating the health benefits of acai, the antioxidant and vitamin-rich berry, is adding to the emerging scientific evidence of the fruit's ability to potentially reduce some metabolic risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke. The latest study won top honors during the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine on January 23 and revealed promising initial results for using Sambazon acai to improve vascular health, and lower fasting blood sugar levels.

"This pilot study demonstrated the ability of the Sambazon acai pulp product to significantly lower several markers of cardiovascular risk in a relatively short period of time. Given these promising results, and the biologically active components in the acai fruit, further study is merited," said Dr. Jay Udani, MD, CEO and Medical Director of Medicus Research, a leading contract research organization with functional food experience.

Medicus Research recently conducted a pilot study with 10 slightly overweight, but healthy adult male and female participants (representing 1/3 of the American population). Each study participant consumed 100 grams of Sambazon(R) acai frozen fruit pulp twice daily for one month. Researchers measured participants' baseline fasting plasma glucose, plasma insulin levels, lipid levels (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides), high sensitivity C-reactive protein and blood pressure. After 30 days of consuming Sambazon(R) acai, participants' fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, and LDL (bad cholesterol) were significantly reduced, as compared to the baseline. In addition, post-prandial (between meals) increases in blood glucose levels were significantly reduced.

"While additional research is needed, this pilot study suggests that in otherwise healthy, overweight adults, daily consumption of acai reduces several markers of metabolic syndrome associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke," said Jack F. Bukowski, MD, Ph.D., a former Harvard professor and currently Director of the Nutritional Science Research Institute.

This study follows a recently published study showing that acai consumption lowers cholesterol and raises antioxidant activity in rats. Sambazon(R) is committed to scientific and nutritional research about acai and supported the Medicus clinical trial. Sambazon(R) Acai Pure Pulp Packs, which were used in the Medicus study, are a top selling frozen fruit item and available in finer grocery and natural food stores.

Read More

Rainforest allies make headway

2010-01-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

International climate negotiators failed last month in Copenhagen to agree on ways to preserve tropical rainforests. But they came closer to crafting a global system to reduce deforestation — an achievement that environmentalists, businesses and nongovernmental organizations attribute to the progress they’ve made over the past year.

“Three years ago, very few people understood this as being a significant issue,” said Jeff Horowitz, co-founder of Avoided Deforestation Partners. “It’s been this quiet, dirty secret that there is an extra amount of pollution coming from tropical rainforests that needs to be dealt with.”

Forests, which store carbon, play a key role in slowing the buildup of greenhouse gas emissions across the globe. The clear-cutting and burning of forests, largely in Latin America and Southeast Asia, account for nearly 20 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Read More:

Brazil reflects on Lula's last year.

2010-01-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

In his last full year as Brazilian leader President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva still commands the political stage here, his popularity at levels most other world leaders would envy.

Now a sympathetic portrayal of his early life is showing in cinemas across the country, although not without creating considerable controversy.

Lula, Son of Brazil, tells how the president was born into poverty in the north east of the country, and how like millions of Brazilians his family headed to the more prosperous south in search of a better life.

It ends as his political career begins as a union activist, arrested during the period of Brazil's military dictatorship and only able to attend his mother's funeral under police guard.

Read full story here

Growing Demand For Soybeans Threatens Amazon Rainforest

2010-01-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

Some 3,000 years ago, farmers in eastern China domesticated the soybean. In 1765, the first soybeans were planted in North America. Today the soybean occupies more U.S. cropland than wheat. And in Brazil, where it spread even more rapidly, the soybean is invading the Amazon rainforest.

For close to two centuries after its introduction into the United States the soybean languished as a curiosity crop. Then during the 1950s, as Europe and Japan recovered from the war and as economic growth gathered momentum in the United States, the demand for meat, milk, and eggs climbed. But with little new grassland to support the expanding beef and dairy herds, farmers turned to grain to produce not only more beef and milk but also more pork, poultry, and eggs. World consumption of meat at 44 million tons in 1950 had already started the climb that would take it to 280 million tons in 2009, a sixfold rise.

This rise was partly dependent on the discovery by animal nutritionists that combining one part soybean meal with four parts grain would dramatically boost the efficiency with which livestock and poultry converted grain into animal protein. This generated a fast-growing market for soybeans from the mid-twentieth century onward. It was the soybean’s ticket to agricultural prominence, enabling soybeans to join wheat, rice, and corn as one of the world’s leading crops.

U.S. production of the soybean exploded after World War II. By 1960 it was close to triple that in China. By 1970 the United States was producing three fourths of the world’s soybeans and accounting for virtually all exports. And by 1995 the fast-expanding U.S. land area planted to soybeans had eclipsed that in wheat.

Read more

Brazil delays Amazon hydro power bid to 2010

2009-11-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

Brazil is delaying a bid to build a multi-billion dollar hydroelectric dam in the Amazon until 2010, an official said on Wednesday, amid criticism of the project's environmental impact.

The 11 gigawatt Belo Monte project, with an estimated cost of at least 16 billion reais ($9.4 billion), is to be developed with state-run generator Eletrobras (ELET5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

"We can say that the auction for Belo Monte is viable for January," Marcio Zimmermann, executive secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, told reporters.

The delays have come largely from trouble in acquiring an environmental license for the project. Brazil seeks to have licenses in place before starting the bid to reduce investors' perception of political risk.

Private industry leaders say the cost will be considerably greater than the official estimates.

Government leaders say the project is necessary to ensure that Brazil can meet growing demand for power, but activists say it would displace indigenous people living in the area and flood large parts of the sensitive Amazon rainforest.

Brazil suffered a major blackout last week that left nearly half of the nation without power, but that incident was attributed to transmissions problems rather than lack of generation capacity.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1850756020091118

Brazilian President Calls for Commitment to Reduction of Carbon Emissions

2009-11-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that he expects the leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to commit to a reduction of the greenhouse gases.

In his weekly radio show, the president expressed his worry on the matter of climate change and said that he expects the APEC leaders to advance on the discussions, in order to reach a proposal to be presented to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-15), which will take place in December in Copenhagen.

The APEC leaders met over the weekend in Singapore, but failed to reach an agreement on the carbon emission reduction.

President Lula also noted Brazil's commitment on the matter last week. The country announced its intention to commit to a reduction of 36.1 to 38.9 percent in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

"Brazil made a decision which I consider extremely important," he said.

According to the government plan, about 20 percent of the reduction will originate from the reduction in the deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest region, while the other 20 percent will result from actions to protect the Brazilian savannah, to promote the use of green steel and biofuels and to increase energy efficiency.

President Lula said that Brazil's commitment indicates that things are going well in the country, and stressed that the government will keep on working hard so that things will improve even more.

http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/11/17/2021s529808.htm

Wal-Mart is betting on acai

2009-11-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Acai berries, found in the Amazon, are believed to have healthy qualities and may also help the big box retailer in a down economy. Acai Berry Juice sold some $40 million within its first 90 days on the market and is expected to hit roughly $110 million in sales next year, Lindsay Duncan, Genesis Today founder, president & CEO, told CNBC.

The Brazilian berry juice, developed by Wal-Mart and Genesis Today, contains the protein content of an egg, the fat content of olive oil and the highest level of antioxidants known to any food, claimed Duncan.

“It’s very clear to me and it’s very clear to Wal-Mart that America is very vertically ill,” he said. “And we’re interested in doing something about that with products that do no harm.”

Studies at the University of Florida also indicate that acai killed 86 percent of Leukemia cells in a laboratory, Duncan said.

Wal-Mart reached out to Duncan to develop a healthy food product, he said.

“They [Wal-Mart] just wanted to learn about my 27 years of helping people heal their body with nutrition,” he said. “It’s kind of what like Whole Foods has done. They believe that food’s your medicine. And that’s what we do, and they wanted to pick my brain and find out what foods do I believe are the most healthy foods in the world.”

Genesis Today is not considering going public, said Duncan: “There's no reason to go public.”

http://www.cnbc.com/id/33910374

Rainforest money doesn't grow on trees

2009-11-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

The fall in deforestation in Brazil is welcome, but our leaders must make a financial commitment to replicating this success

My colleagues in the Amazon office of Greenpeace like to characterise deforestation as a lion, oscillating between periods of slumber and bouts of frenetic and violent activity. New figures released by Brazil's government yesterday suggest that over the past year the lion has slept a little more soundly than usual. This is very good news, but we must not take our eyes off him.

The reported fall in the rate of Amazon deforestation should be kept in perspective. Over the past year "just" 7,000 square kilometres of rainforest was destroyed – which means that an area just a little smaller than Puerto Rico was razed to the ground. Of course the Amazon is also only one of the world's ancient rainforests. The lions of deforestation are on the prowl in the paradise forests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In the Congo basin, they are stretching their limbs for the very first time, eyeing up a tasty meal in the world's second largest rainforest.

The key questions we must answer are these: how do we maintain this progress in Brazil, and how can we replicate this success elsewhere in the world?

The fall in deforestation in Brazil can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the global economic recession. Civil society has played its part, by voicing public opposition to changes to the Brazilian forest code, which could have become a charter for industrial logging interests. A pioneering agreement banning deforestation for the production of soya beans also helped remove one of the key drivers of deforestation in the region.

Then, earlier this year, a Greenpeace campaign exposed the cattle industry as the biggest single cause of deforestation in the Amazon. Under pressure from high street brands like Nike, Adidas and Clarks, which were using Brazilian leather, as well as makers of tinned beef products like Princes, the four largest players in the global cattle sector have now committed to "zero deforestation in their supply chains".

These steps, although hugely significant, will not stand the test of time without an international agreement to remove the drivers of deforestation. The situation is urgent, and with a long-term deal on forests at Copenhagen hanging in the balance, a short-term fix must be found.

Earlier this year the Prince of Wales launched a project calling for an interim finance package to slow rates of deforestation in rainforest countries in the next few years. More than 40 countries signed on to the initiative, which has led to the establishment of an international working group which recently suggested that €15-25bn would be needed between 2010 and 2015 to fight deforestation. The UK's share of this would be a few hundred million pounds over a five-year timescale.

The proposals have received broad international support, but no official backing from the UK government in terms of money on the table to help stop deforestation. It's time for our leaders to commit a relatively small amount of financial support to protect an ecosystem that all of us rely on for our survival.

Amazon Deforestation

Trucks, Trains and Trees

2009-11-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

No matter how many times you hear them, there are some statistics that just bowl you over. The one that always stuns me is this: Imagine if you took all the cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships in the world and added up their exhaust every year. The amount of carbon dioxide, or CO2, all those cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships collectively emit into the atmosphere is actually less than the carbon emissions every year that result from the chopping down and clearing of tropical forests in places like Brazil, Indonesia and the Congo. We are now losing a tropical forest the size of New York State every year, and the carbon that releases into the atmosphere now accounts for roughly 17 percent of all global emissions contributing to climate change.

It is going to be a long time before we transform the world’s transportation fleet so it is emission-free. But right now — like tomorrow — we could eliminate 17 percent of all global emissions if we could halt the cutting and burning of tropical forests. But to do that requires putting in place a whole new system of economic development — one that makes it more profitable for the poorer, forest-rich nations to preserve and manage their trees rather than to chop them down to make furniture or plant soybeans.

Without a new system for economic development in the timber-rich tropics, you can kiss the rainforests goodbye. The old model of economic growth will devour them. The only Amazon your grandchildren will ever relate to is the one that ends in dot-com and sells books.

To better understand this issue, I’m visiting the Tapajós National Forest in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon on a trip organized by Conservation International and the Brazilian government. Flying in here by prop plane from Manaus, you can understand why the Amazon rainforest is considered one of the lungs of the world. Even from 20,000 feet, all you see in every direction is an unbroken expanse of rainforest treetops that, from the air, looks like a vast and endless carpet of broccoli.

Once on the ground, we drove from Santarém into Tapajós, where we met with the community cooperative that manages the eco-friendly businesses here that support the 8,000 local people living in this protected forest. What you learn when you visit with a tiny Brazilian community that actually lives in, and off, the forest is a simple but crucial truth: To save an ecosystem of nature, you need an ecosystem of markets and governance.

“You need a new model of economic development — one that is based on raising people’s standards of living by maintaining their natural capital, not just by converting that natural capital to ranching or industrial farming or logging,” said José María Silva, vice president for South America of Conservation International.

Right now people protecting the rainforest are paid a pittance — compared with those who strip it — even though we now know that the rainforest provides everything from keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere to maintaining the flow of freshwater into rivers.

The good news is that Brazil has put in place all the elements of a system to compensate its forest-dwellers for maintaining the forests. Brazil has already set aside 43 percent of the Amazon rainforest for conservation and for indigenous peoples. Another 19 percent of the Amazon, though, has already been deforested by farmers and ranchers.

So the big question is what will happen to the other 38 percent. The more we get the Brazilian system to work, the more of that 38 percent will be preserved and the less carbon reductions the whole world would have to make. But it takes money.

The residents of the Tapajós reserve are already organized into cooperatives that sell eco-tourism on rainforest trails, furniture and other wood products made from sustainable selective logging and a very attractive line of purses made from “ecological leather,” a k a, rainforest rubber. They also get government subsidies.

Sergio Pimentel, 48, explained to me that he used to farm about five acres of land for subsistence, but now is using only about one acre to support his family of six. The rest of the income comes through the co-op’s forest businesses. “We were born inside the forest,” he added. “So we know the importance of it being preserved, but we need better access to global markets for the products we make here. Can you help us with that?”

There are community co-ops like this all over the protected areas of the Amazon rainforest. But this system needs money — money to expand into more markets, money to maintain police monitoring and enforcement and money to improve the productivity of farming on already degraded lands so people won’t eat up more rainforest. That is why we need to make sure that whatever energy-climate bill comes out of the U.S. Congress, and whatever framework comes out of the Copenhagen conference next month, they include provisions for financing rainforest conservation systems like those in Brazil. The last 38 percent of the Amazon is still up for grabs. It is there for us to save. Your grandchildren will thank you.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/opinion/11friedman.html?ref=opinion

Sambazon PowerCaps

2009-10-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Packed with wholefood nutrition, Sambazon’s Açaí PowerCaps offer a powerful boost of antioxidants in your daily diet. And what’s more important than staying healthy as we head into the festive holiday season?

Made with 100% pure organic and freeze dried açaí, Sambazon’s supplements are the most nutritious you’ll find on the market.

So don’t be confused with any açaí supplement blends, products that look pink instead of dark purple, or conventionally grown açaí.

Stick with the original Sambazon Brand from the Rainforest of Brazil, for the freshest, most nutritious, organic açaí on the market.

Sambazon Becomes First to Achieve Fair-Trade Crop Certification for Acai

2009-10-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sambazon, the leading global supplier of acai, announces the certification of its acai crop as Fair Trade in Brazil. The certification by Ecocert, a global control and certification organization, guarantees that Sambazon ensures fair labor conditions and wages for workers, promotes environmentally sustainable farming methods and reinvests money into the community.

Sambazon's certification occurs in conjunction with Fair Trade Month, which promotes and celebrates the socially responsible system of trade that prioritizes the needs of human beings and the environment over the drive for profits. The certification supports all three pillars of Sambazon's triple bottom line business model (people-planet-profits) by guaranteeing that the agro-forestry farms and the families who supply Sambazon with acai fruit receive a fair market price.

The company commitment to this mission is evidenced in its Sustainable Amazon Partnership (SAP), which Sambazon founded with the Brazil Foundation and the Peabiru Institute to ensure the lasting sustainable management of the acai regions and communities. In addition to acai training programs, the partnership also offers alternative income-generating activities for thousands of woman, youth and small family farmers.

"By promoting triple bottom line success, these families are proving the case for sustainable development in the Amazon," said Ryan Black, Sambazon co-founder and CEO. "Through Sambazon Acai, we're bringing long-term development and improved quality of life to an impoverished region."

In 2003, Sambazon was the first company in its category to certify its acai crop as organic, and many other companies have since followed suit. A similar trend with Fair Trade would represent a win for all the stakeholders in the acai supply chain -- from the farmers to the consumers.

About Sambazon

Sambazon is the global leader in Acai. Founded in 2000 as the first company to bring the antioxidant-rich Acai berry from the Amazon to North America, Sambazon's mission is to deliver high quality, organic acai products to the planet. Sambazon's product line of Organic Acai Juice and Smoothies, Frozen Acai Smoothie Packs and Sorbets, Acai Supplements are enjoyed by world-class athletes and health-conscious consumers everywhere. Products are available at major retail stores and juice bars across North America including Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Super Target, Safeway, HEB, Albertsons, Vitamin Shoppe, Jamba Juice and Juice It Up! Sambazon is also a leader among organic foods and sustainable agriculture. In November of 2006, Sambazon was named a winner of the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence for helping to create worldwide awareness and demand for the acai fruit. Sambazon pioneered the first of its kind Fair Trade and Certified Organic supply chain of Acai which benefits thousands of local families and protects the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest through sustainable agriculture. Sambazon is the largest vertically integrated supplier and marketer of Acai products, controlling every step of the manufacturing process to ensure sustainable and organic origin of the fruit as well as the highest level quality, nutrition, taste. To learn more about Sambazon Acai and creating positive change in the Amazon and beyond please visit

Independent Review Highlights the True Costs of Belo Monte Dam

2009-10-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

What would be the true environmental, social, and economic costs of Belo Monte Dam? New studies by a group of independent experts have highlighted the serious consequences the dam would have for the region, its inhabitants, and ecosystems of the Amazon rainforest.

Belo Monte, which with an installed generating capacity of 11,231 MW would be the world's third largest dam, and its complex array of two powerhouses, artificial canals, huge dykes, two reservoirs, spillways, ports, roads, and work camps would devastate more than 1,500 sq km of the Xingu River region of the central Brazilian Amazon.

The vast mosaic of indigenous reserves and protected areas of the Xingu would be in harm's way, and according to the experts, more than double the official figure of 19,000 people would likely have to moved to make way for the dam. A 100 km stretch of what is known as the "Big Bend" of the Xingu (number one on the map) would dry up when most of the Xingu's flow is diverted to the power house (casa de força).

Opposition has been growing since the first Xingu indigenous gathering in Altamira in 1989 and the second protest in 2008, and recently activists and community leaders met with President Lula to voice their concerns. Lula promised to review the project.

But, a strong police presence at recent public hearings on Belo Monte, and the government's insistence on offering the concession for Belo Monte by year's end have made it clear that Brazil is determined to push forward with the dam no matter what the cost.

The Belo Monte experts panel was convened to respond to the uncertainties facing local communities in the Xingu region. 40 specialists in diverse fields analyzed the project feasibility and environmental impact studies. Their conclusions were delivered to licensing authorities and public attorneys, and will be made accessible to the people of the Xingu in a simplified text.

http://www.internationalrivers.org/node/4729

Brazilian president to cut deforestation

2009-10-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, will offer to reduce the pace of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest by 80% at this year's climate talks in Copenhagen.

Mr Lula said he would make the pledge at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is due to take place this December in the Danish capital.

He told listeners of his Coffee with the President weekly radio programme that he foresees making this reduction by 2020 amounting to 4.8 billion fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

However, Mr Lula added that with respect to global warming, the responsibility of rich countries is much greater than that of emerging ones.

"We have to draw a line between rich countries, which have a had an industrial policy in place for more than 150 years, and the poor ones which only now are beginning to develop," he said.

The Amazon rainforest is the largest in the world and is the source of one-fifth of all free-flowing fresh water on earth.

According to the WWF, if deforestation continues at its present rate 55 per cent of the Amazon will have disappeared by 2030.

http://www.sidewaysnews.com/environment-nature/brazilian-president-cut-deforestation

Brazil vows to slow deforestation

2009-10-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he will offer to reduce the pace of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest by 80 per cent by 2020 when he attends December's global climate talks in Copenhagen.

Lula said his pledge will come during high-stakes talks in the Danish capital that aim to push 192 nations towards a climate deal to succeed the landmark Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

"We're in the process of preparing our proposal for Copenhagen," he said on his weekly radio program overnight.

"I foresee that by 2020 we will be able to reduce deforestation by 80 per cent, in other words we will emit some 4.8 billion fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide gas," Lula said during his Coffee with the President program.

Brazil's rainforest, the largest on Earth, is shrinking at the rate of some 12,000 square kilometres per year because of deforestation.

Lula said he will also demand in Copenhagen that industrialised countries pay their fair share of the costs of reducing greenhouse gases.

Proposals offered by developed countries should not only cover "initiatives to reduce their emissions, but all the other harm they already have inflicted on the planet", the Brazilian leader said.

"We have to draw a line between rich countries, which have a had an industrial policy in place for more than 150 years, and the poor ones which only now are beginning to develop," he said.

"With respect to global warming, the responsibility of the rich countries is much greater than that of emerging countries," said Lula.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26207950-23109,00.html

British delegate's pro-logging stance prompts EU apology

2009-10-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

Embarassed official apologises after a British negotiator at the Bangkok climate talks rewrites the EU's climate change policy to sanction the felling of rainforests

The EU called the removal of forest protection wording a 'mishap' ... an aerial view of cleared rainforest in the Amazon basin. Photograph: Bruno Domingos/Reuters

The EU had to apologise last night after a British official at the Bangkok climate negotiations single-handedly rewrote its position to effectively sanction the felling of the world's rainforests in order to grow plantations of palm oil.

Wording that would have protected natural forests was in the draft UN text at the start of the week's negotiations, but had mysteriously disappeared by Wednesday – to the delight of loggers and some African countries.

On Friday, more than 20 countries led by Brazil, Mexico, India and Norway protested vigorously and pleaded for the safeguard to be put back in. But the EU, supported by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and other countries not known for their forestry protection policies, declined to reinstate it.

This prompted environmentalists and others to accuse the EU of being in the pocket of the global logging industry – some of whose members were at the negotiations lobbying delegates in the Bangkok conference halls.

But at a press conference this afternoon, the EU gave way. A clearly embarrassed Swedish spokesman was forced to say the negotiator had blundered. "It was an unfortunate mishap," he said. "Sometimes negotiators think of tactical moves. In this case, he wanted to wait until the Barcelona talks next month (to reinstate it). The EU has not changed its position. It is unfortunate. The poor negotiator has been slapped in his face."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/09/british-logging-eu-apology

Sambazon Introduces New Antioxidant Elixir

2009-09-23T11:34:00.001-07:00

Sambazon, the global leader in Acai, announces the launch of a powerfully nutritious premium juice line. Antioxidant Elixir(TM) is a organic revitalizing beverage that provides powerful antioxidants and 600% DV Vitamin C, yet remains refreshingly light on calories, sugar, and contains no fat. Sweetened naturally with agave and infused with a blend of acai, acerola, and the finest organic botanical extracts, this is truly a powerful concoction of ingredients. Ideal for health-conscious consumers on the go, Sambazon Antioxidant Elixirs are the first products in Sambazon's line of organic juices containing a mere 70 calories per serving.

"We are launching Elixirs with the blessing of our female consumers," said Jeremy Black, vice president of marketing. "This is a low-sugar, all-natural acai beverage that is light enough to drink between or with meals. And the complex flavor of the Elixirs comes through in each pure and unique blend."

Sambazon Antioxidant Elixir will be offered in three exciting flavors, acai berry, acai passionfruit, and acai blackberry and will be available in 11oz bottles for $2.99 (MSRP) in grocery and natural food stores nationwide beginning mid-Oct. 2009.

About Sambazon:

Sambazon is the global leader in Acai. Founded in 2000 as the first company to bring the antioxidant-rich Acai berry from the Amazon to North America, Sambazon's mission is to deliver high quality, organic Acai. Sambazon's product line of Premium Organic Acai, Frozen Acai Smoothie Packs and Sorbets, Acai Supplements and Amazon Energy are enjoyed by world-class athletes and health-conscious consumers everywhere. Products are available at major retail stores and juice bars across North America including Whole Foods, Publix, Kroger, HEB, Albertsons, Safeway, and Vitamin Shoppe. Sambazon is also a leader among organic foods and sustainable agriculture. In November of 2006, Sambazon was named a winner of the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence for helping to create worldwide awareness and demand for the Acai fruit. Sambazon pioneered the first of its kind Fair Trade and Certified Organic supply chain of Acai which benefits thousands of local families and protects the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest through sustainable agriculture. Sambazon is the largest vertically integrated supplier and marketer of Acai products, controlling every step of the manufacturing process to ensure sustainable and organic origin of the fruit as well as the highest level quality, nutrition, taste.

To learn more about Sambazon and how they create positive change in the Amazon and beyond please visit www.sambazon.com.

Sambazon Announces Scientific Advisory Board

2009-09-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sambazon, the global leader in acai, announces the creation of a Scientific Advisory Board. The Board of established and respected individuals in the health and wellness community will assist in communicating the accuracy of existing data stating the nutritional benefits of Sambazon organic acai. They will also develop and execute human studies examining the health impact of Sambazon acai consumption in the diet.

To further educate their loyal consumers and advance their expertise in acai, Sambazon has assembled a team of professionals with extensive knowledge in organic foods and nutrition to provide insights and conduct additional research on the benefits of Sambazon acai. "This is not only an investment in Sambazon, it is an investment in our consumers," explains Ryan Black, CEO. "We are excited to be working with the preeminent scientific authorities in our industry and to continue to uphold superior nutritional integrity through all of our current and future product lines."

The Sambazon Scientific Advisory Board includes the following experts:

Jack Bukowski M.D., Ph.D. - As Chief Scientific Officer for the Nutritional Science Research Institute and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Bukowski's focus has been on immununutrition, the study of how nutrients in certain foods & beverages can induce our innate immune systems to fight off disease. In 2003, his study was published, proving that drinking five to six cups per day of tea boosts, by 500 to 1500%, the ability of an innate immune system component to make interferon gamma.

Jonathan Gordon, Ph.D. - With undergraduate degrees in Engineering and Food Science and a Doctorate in Chemical and Process Engineering for research in Soy Protein Chemistry and Microbiology, Dr. Gordon has been an integral player in the continued development, commercial production and determination of health impact of soy products. Over the years, Dr. Gordon has worked in and managed a multitude of food and beverage product development areas such as aseptic beverages, juices, emulsions, fat-replacers, nutraceuticals, diet and wellness products, center-plate items, meats and meat analogs, flavors, and bars. He now runs Glasgow Consulting Group LLC., a full service product development consulting company.

Marie Spano, MS, RD/LD, FISSN, CSCS - Spano is one of the leading sports nutrition and nutrition communications experts in North America. Currently serving as Vice President of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, she has helped elite, professional and amateur athletes go beyond their personal best and achieve maximum performance in their respective sports. She has appeared on Fox, NBC and CBS affiliates in the greater metropolitan Washington, DC area, Georgia and Alabama and is a regular contributor to Muscle & Fitness Hers, FitnessRx for Women, Diabetes Self Management and Today's Dietitian.

About Sambazon:

Sambazon is the global leader in Acai. Founded in 2000 as the first company to bring the antioxidant-rich Acai berry from the Amazon to North America, Sambazon's mission is to deliver the highest quality, organic Acai products. Sambazon's product line of Organic Acai Juice, Frozen Acai Smoothie Packs and Sorbet, Acai Supplements and Amazon Energy are enjoyed by world-class athletes and health-conscious consumers everywhere. Products are available at major retail stores and juice bars across North America including Whole Foods, Publix, Kroger, HEB, Albertsons, Vitamin Shoppe, and Jamba Juice! Sambazon is also a leader among organic foods and sustainable agriculture. In November of 2006, Sambazon was named a winner of the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence for helping to create worldwide awareness and demand for the Acai fruit. Sambazon pioneered the first of its kind Fair Trade and Certified Organic supply chain of Acai which benefits thousands of local families and protects the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest through sustainable agriculture. Sambazon is the largest vertically integrated supplier and marketer of Acai products, controlling every step of the manufacturing process to ensure sustainable and organic origin of the fruit as well as the highest level quality, nutrition, taste. To learn more about Sambazon and how they create positive change in the Amazon and beyond please visit us at www.sambazon.com.

SOURCE Sambazon

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon Rainforest up 157% in July

2009-09-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

The deforestation rate in Brazil's Amazon rainforest region in July went up by 44 percent from June and 157 percent compared with June 2008, a Brazilian institute announced on Tuesday.

According to the National Institute of Space Research, the deforested area, which is 836.5 square km, equals half the size of Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America.

Para state in the north of the country registered the highest deforestation in July with 577 square km, almost 70 percent of the total deforested area.

During the January-July period of this year, the accumulated deforestation area reached 1,958 square km, down 60 percent from the same period in 2008.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/02/content_11983156.htm

Amazon Jungle Lodge Reveals Its Indigenous Spa

2009-09-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

La Selva Jungle Lodge, located deep in primary rainforest in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador has taken the traditional spa idea to a new level. Using native Indian women, who live nearby the famed ecotourism resort,the one hour and twenty minute "Rainforest Treatment "is a combination of ancient techniques with jungle herbs and a touch of mysticism combined with modern spa practices given an Amazonian flair.

The world of the spa has just been given an Amazonian manipulation spa novices and sophisticates alike will not soon forget. La Selva Jungle Lodge, located in the heart of the pristine Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador has created what they call The Indigenous Spa. Two native Quichua Indian women who reside deep in the forest but near the remote lodge walk barefoot for an hour through the jungle from their huts to give their spiritual version- all one hour and 20 minutes of it- of the spa experience in the attractive spa rooms on the lodge grounds.

For $69 the participant is treated to a magical dusting away of evil spirits with special leaves brought fresh for each guest, next a footbath and foot massage with special scented plants also from the forest sets the transcendental mood, followed by the two women in harmony massaging the client's body. The women, who are immaculately clean and wear uniforms which do little to conceal their glowing aboriginal cheekbones and other attractive features, have very strong hands after toil since childhood in fields and in the home virtually without tools, but are surprisingly soft and tender when they massage just the right places. They add an organic milk-rice facial mask after they have worked the muscles of the backside and continue working the frontside as the mask dries.

La Selva Jungle Lodge began this project as yet another way to find sustainable work for its rainforest dwelling neighbors. Since women are in short supply for work outside the home the labor pool was small. Three groups of two have now been established and the women work in tandem for the $69 the lucky rainforest resort guests are clamoring to shell out. La Selva Jungle Lodge (http://www.laselvajunglelodge.com) hopes to develop more Spa options for their female neighbors to develop and are considering a line of rainforest products like those used in the spa. La Selva shares the wealth as broadly as it can with most profits from The Indigenous Spa returning to the community as donations through their foundation, Helping Hands In The Forest.

With the guest now like putty in their hands they escort the thoroughly relaxed participant to a large stone tub where he or she sits in the center on a stool and receives what the women call their "Rainforest Shower" a final organic dousing with a concoction of herbs that have been brewed and cooled to a luke warm temperature which is lovingly poured over the guest removing the facial, and supplying new organic rainforest nutrition for the skin.

A Final rubbing of oil, based on Amazon ingredients, and the supple guest is given over to some fluffy towels and a lounge chair. If they are not in jungle heaven- the lodge's surveys concur- they are certainly within whispering distance.

A tray of gorgeous tropical fruit arrives for the participant freshly prepared from the lodge kitchen and an energy drink, also fruit based which among other fresh juices, contains Noni and acai. With the guest now sated inside and out the spa women, (one of whom has no identity papers and has never been to a city) smile and relax for a moment with the client. An intimacy has been shared, for the women, who speak only a handful of words in English and speak Spanish as a second language to their native Indian dialect have communicated much to their guest. And their guest understands everything.

About La Selva Jungle Lodge:

Founded in 1986 by North Americans Eric and Maggie Schwartz, La Selva's (http://www.Laselvajunglelodge.com) longevity is a testament to the quality of their service and the preservation of the wildlife that guests come to view. Typically guests in groups of 8 or less go with an English-speaking Naturalist and native Tracker to learn and see the sights of the Rainforest in short hikes combined with canoe trips. The lodge sleeps 36-40 people in trips that usually run for 3nights /4 days or 4nights/5days. La Selva has accommodated more than Fifty thousand guests from almost 40 countries and was a pioneer in Ecotourism. The company has won many ecotourism awards and is always at the vanguard of the industry in jungle tourism.

The lodge also features a butterfly farm and is currently undergoing a 2 million dollar project to turn many of their standard bungalows into luxury suites so that those of our guests who put a premium on comfort when not in the forest will have everything luxury implies in the rainforest. That does not include television, internet, or recorded music. The balconies, however, will be so wide and so equipped that they can have the Indigenous Spa Treatment come to them. After which they can lounge in their living room or take a siesta.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2009/9/prweb2807394.htm

Alternative energy powerhouse Brazil finds big oil

2009-08-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Brazil, long proud of its push to develop renewable energy and wean itself off oil, has a bad case of fossil-fuel fever.

An enormous offshore field in territorial waters — the biggest Western Hemisphere oil discovery in 30 years — has Brazilians saying, "Drill, baby, drill," while environmentalists fear the nation will take a big leap backward in its hunt for crude.

There has been virtually no public debate on the potential environmental costs of retrieving the billions of barrels of oil, a project one expert said will be as difficult as landing a man on the moon.

"The government is whipping Brazil into a euphoria that this is going to be a solution for all our societal problems," said Sergio Leitao, director of public policies for Greenpeace Brasil. "Brazil is no longer seriously looking at alternatives."

Home to the bulk of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil for decades has developed alternative energy as an issue of national security following severe energy shortages in the 1970s. It uses hydroelectric power for more than 80 percent of its energy needs, is the world's largest exporter of ethanol, and nine out of every 10 cars sold in the nation can run on ethanol or a combination of ethanol and gasoline.

A U.N. study found that in 2008, Brazil accounted for almost all of Latin America's renewable energy investment, to the tune of $10.8 billion.

But since the national oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, discovered the massive Tupi field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro two years ago — estimated to hold 5 to 8 billion barrels — it is the development of oil fields that has gone into overdrive.

Thirty years ago, more than 85 percent of Brazil's oil came from foreign sources. Today, it is a net exporter.

There have been a series of other discoveries since Tupi — each lying at least 115 miles (185 kilometers) offshore, more than a mile below the ocean's surface and under another 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) of earth and salt. Estimates of the entire area's recoverable oil range between 50 billion and 100 billion barrels.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed the finds as the nation's future, a second declaration of independence and an economic savior for 57 million Brazilians living in poverty — 30 percent of the population. The military wants new submarines and jets to protect the crude. Leftist groups want it all nationalized.

The enthusiasm is also fanned by Brazil's devotion to Petrobras, routinely listed as one of the most-admired companies in national polls.

Founded in 1953 to fend off an economic crisis and dependency on foreign oil, Petrobras has long embodied Brazilian nationalism and the notion of shielding domestic wealth from foreigners — particularly the United States and Europe.

In 2008, Brazil's total oil and natural gas production was nearly 2.3 million barrels per day. Petrobras was responsible for more than 96 percent of it.

"Most Brazilians think of Petrobras like they think of their soccer stars," said Eric Smith, an offshore oil expert at Tulane University in New Orleans who likened efforts to get at Brazil's oil to a trip to the moon. "Try to find Americans who support Exxon like that."

Petrobras fattens government coffers with more than $30 billion a year in taxes and royalties.

The company is led by Sergio Gabrielli, a bearded economics professor-on-leave, who was jailed under the nation's military regime for his political activities. He defends the company's environmental record emphatically.

"Our ethanol program, our biodiesel program is still there. Petrobras is allocating $2.8 billion dollars to develop our infrastructure and production capacity for producing ethanol and biodiesel," Gabrielli told The Associated Press at an economic forum in Rio this spring.

The company's record is not untarnished, however.

In January 2000, a pipeline spilled about 350,000 gallons of crude into Rio's Guanabara Bay. Six months later, there was a spill at a refinery near Curitiba in Brazil's south — 1 million gallons of oil flooded two rivers. In March 2001, explosions on what was then the company's biggest offshore platform killed 11 workers. The rig sank, releasing more than 300,000 gallons of oil.

Petrobras quickly initiated a $4 billion investment program to prevent future disasters and Gabrielli says Petrobras can safely develop the difficult offshore fields.

Judy Dugan, a founder of OilWatchdog.org, cautions Brazilians against embracing an oil company as a national benefactor.

She said the track record of global oil companies shows none "truly have the good of the citizenry first in mind. The oil business creates corruption in many governments and large sources of political influence for an oil company's benefit, not for the benefit of citizens."

Brazil's Senate recently opened an inquiry into corruption at Petrobras. Opposition lawmakers say the company failed to pay more than $2 billion in taxes and that it overpays firms with ties to the Silva administration.

Silva swears Brazil will not go the way of a Venezuela or Nigeria, where petro dollars routinely mix with politics.

Instead, he is pushing a version of the Norwegian model, working to set up a government-controlled oil fund for social projects that he argues would operate with transparency. The opposition, however, fears giving the central government control of such a fund would give it massive new political influence.

Leitao, of Greenpeace, wonders if the billions of dollars needed to develop the offshore finds will be worth it should the price of oil fall.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, we were the largest producers of rubber in the world. People were lighting cigars with money," he said. "But the hangover came quickly because the English started producing rubber in Asia. The prices fell and our fortunes ended.

"We're not looking at the lessons our own history has given us."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hxQdx6DomM1By5mqzTtFFibxZ2eAD9A8O5L02

Brazil's former environment minister leaves ruling party over 'destruction of natural resources'

2009-08-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Marina Silva is expected to make a 2010 presidential bid and put the environment back on the agenda

Brazil's former environment minister, the rainforest defender Marina Silva, has resigned from the ruling Workers' party, paving the way for a 2010 presidential bid, which supporters hope will put the environment back on the political agenda of South America's largest country.

For weeks speculation has been growing that Silva, who resigned from government last May after a dispute over the development of the Amazon region, would defect to the Green party in order to dispute the presidential elections next October.

Speaking at a press conference in Brasilia earlier today, Silva, who has been a Workers' party member for over 30 years, said politicians had failed to give sufficient attention to the environmental cause.

In her resignation letter to the president of the Workers' party, Silva said her decision was an attempt to break with the idea of "development based on material growth at any cost, with huge gains for a few and perverse results for the majority" including "the destruction of natural resources".

She added that "political conditions" had meant that "environmental concerns had not been able to take route at the heart of the government."

Silva, 51, stopped short of formally announcing a presidential bid but few doubt that she will now front the Green Party's 2010 election campaign.

The Brazilian media has been overtaken with Marina mania since earlier this month when rumours about a possible bid for the presidency began spreading. This week one major news magazine stamped Silva's photograph onto its front-page alongside the headline: "President Marina?"

Writing in the O Globo newspaper yesterday, the influential columnist Zuenir Ventura said Silva could bring a touch of Barack Obama to the Brazilian elections.

"Marina excites young people, those who are disenchanted with the current situation [and] with the Workers' Party … in such a way that she could create a spontaneous and contagious movement within society … as innovative as that which occurred in the US with Obama," he wrote.

Born in an impoverished community of rubber tappers in the remote Amazon state of Acre, Silva was orphaned at 16 and was illiterate until her early teens.

In 1994, aged 35, she was elected as Brazil's youngest ever female senator and subsequently became renowned for her staunch defence of the Amazon rainforest and its inhabitants, winning a succession of international awards for her work. The president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has not so far commented on her resignation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/19/marina-silva-resigns

Brazil's former minister resigns in environmental protest

2009-08-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Speculation mounts that Marina Silva is preparing a presidential bid that will drive rainforest protection back up political agenda

The protection of the Amazon rainforest could take centre stage in next year's Brazilian presidential election, after the country's former environment minister announced yesterday that she has resigned from the ruling Workers' party, raising speculation that she is preparing a presidential bid.

Speaking at a press conference, Marina Silva said she was leaving the party in protest at the "political conditions" that had meant "environmental concerns had not been able to take root at the heart of the government".

She added in her resignation letter that she was leaving in an attempt to challenge ideas of "development based on material growth at any cost, with huge gains for a few and perverse results for the majority", including "the destruction of natural resources".

Silva, who resigned last May following a row over plans to develop parts of the Amazon, has been subject to speculation that she is to defect to the Green Party and launch a presidential bid next year. While she yesterday stopped short of joining the Greens, media commentators remain convinced that a presidential bid is on the cards.

Any presidential race involving Silva would likely drive the issue of the environment and rainforest protection back to the top of the political agenda, following several years during which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been accused of letting the issue slip down his list of priorities.

Commentators are also convinced that Silva, 51, could pose a considerable challenge to Lula.

The Guardian cited the influential columnist Zuenir Ventura, who this week drew parallels between Silva and US President Barack Obama.

"Marina excites young people, those who are disenchanted with the current situation [and] with the Workers' Party… in such a way that she could create a spontaneous and contagious movement within society," he wrote, "as innovative as that which occurred in the US with Obama."

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2248165/brazil-former-minister-resigns

World’s dust bowl

2009-08-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Changing ecosystems: Recent studies highlight the potential for changes in the quantities of desert dust, and the consequent alterations in ecosystems functioning in places far flung from the sources of desert dust. So, half of all the Amazonian dust supply is from the Sahara desert, writes Meera Iyer

DUST STORM... A mind boggling 240 ± 80 million tons of dust is transported from the Sahara desert to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond every year. Getty Images
We already know that climate change might drastically alter landscapes around the world. Interestingly, one of the prime agents of changing ecology might be dust from deserts, and often where you least expect it.

Several studies have shown that the Sahara desert is the world’s largest source of desert dust. A mind boggling 240 ± 80 million tons of dust is transported from the Sahara desert to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond every year.

Dustiest place in the world

Within the Sahara, the Bodélé Depression, on the northeastern end of Lake Chad, is notable as the single largest source of dust, responsible for about half of all the dust in the Sahara! This seems extraordinary, considering that the Bodélé Depression is only 150 km2, or about 0.2 per cent of the area of the Sahara desert.

The Bodélé owes its status as the world’s premier dust source to its past history, its unique topography and the resultant weather patterns.

Today’s Lake Chad is but a poor shadow of the vast lake that existed here about 7,000 years ago, at which point Mega-Chad was the world’s biggest lake. Diatoms – a type of algae found in water bodies – thrived here.
The remains of their silicaceous shells were deposited in thick layers on the lakebed, forming a soft rock called diatomite, which was exposed once the lake began drying. This very fine-grained mineral is easily dislodged and transported by the strong near-surface winds here (called the low-level jet) which are accelerated and funnelled by mountains on the north and southeast of the Bodélé.

About 50 million tons of all the dust transported out of Africa reached the Amazon rainforest every year. And about half of all the Amazonian dust supply is from the Bodélé, making it the largest supplier of dust to the Amazon.

For most of us, dust is merely something to be periodically cleared off surfaces, an irritant that we would gladly be rid of. But Saharan dust is in fact a lifeline for the rainforest. The soils of the Amazon basin are typically nutrient-poor, so that the rainforest trees are able to maintain their nutrient balance only through the inputs of nutrient-rich desert dust from the across the Atlantic Ocean.

Impacts of climate change

Two recent studies highlight the potential for changes in the quantities of desert dust, and the consequent alterations in ecosystem functioning in places far flung from the sources of desert dust.

In a paper published in late July in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Richard Washington from the University of Oxford, along with colleagues from Universite Blaise Pascal in France and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Germany, outline how the Bodélé Depression could be considered a tipping element for climate. Taking off from Malcolm Gladwell’s enormously popular book on tipping points – about how “little things can make a big difference”, a tipping element in the earth’s climate describes components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point.

To determine how climate change may impact the production of dust from the Bodélé, Washington et al.’s paper focused on the controls on the amounts of dust produced, viz., controls on the strong near-surface winds, and on the amounts of diatomite available for erosion.

The authors used leading models of the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to estimate the effects of climate change on the Bodélé.

Based on these climate models, and with the caveat that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the models, the authors expect an increase in rainfall over the region. Lake Chad has in fact emptied and refilled more than three times in the last 3-4000 years, with dust output dropping to zero during wetter periods and increasing once again during dry periods.

However, the authors aver that the rainfall increases predicted by the climate change models would be insufficient to cause a drop in dust production.
Instead, the researchers believe that climate change could in fact increase the amounts of Bodélé dust produced over the coming century.

This is based on climate models that also predict an increase in near surface wind speeds in this region in the later decades of the coming century.

Impact on alpine ecosystem

A second paper, also in PNAS, examines the impacts of increasing desert dust on the alpine ecosystem of the San Juan mountains, Colorado, USA. Dust here comes largely from the southwestern United States, with minor inputs from Asia. In the last two hundred years, the introduction and expansion of livestock rearing and railways in the southwest has led to an astonishing 500% increase in dust deposition in the San Juan.

To understand the possible implications of such an increase, Heidi Steltzer from Colorado State University and colleagues, set up experimental plots in the mountains, adding desert dust to some plots, removing naturally arrived dust from a second set and leaving a third set of test plots unchanged.

They found that increased dust deposition caused snows to melt 7 to 13 days earlier. Interestingly, climate warming in the region also advances snowmelt, but because early snowmelt caused by dust is not accompanied with higher temperatures, it has different biological consequences. The researches found that it led to synchronised growth and flowering across species, a result which could impact ecosystem functioning, including nutrient cycling, and inter-species interactions and hence species compositions.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/18880/worlds-dust-bowl.html

Brazilians Take On Global Warming and Steal the Show

2009-08-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Brazilians take global warming seriously, much more than the rest of the world. The recently published 2009 Pew Global Attitudes Project survey of twenty five prominent nation-states, including the United States, China, India, France, Kenya, and Poland among many others, now confirms that Brazil is now the world leader in concern over global warming.

The Pew survey reveals Brazil's highest affirmative response rate to the question: Is global warming a serious problem? 90 percent of Brazilians think so, by far the highest proportion of any country in the study. Argentina ranks second with 69 percent, the U.S. response is well behind at 44%, and China is last in this survey with only 30 percent of the respondents troubled by greenhouse gas emissions.

Since the election of President Lula in 2002, Brazilians have become increasingly aware of national and global environmental problems, from the impact of land use practices in the Cerrado to deforestation in the Amazon.

President Lula told Reuters that Brazil was open to adopting targets for greenhouse gas reductions, "the issue is not a taboo for us.", thus reflecting the national preoccupation with global warming and all but reversing the country's adamant opposition to adopting emission reduction targets.

Brazilians did not always share such a unique perspective on the global warming challenge. Before Lula's election, only 20 percent of the population expressed concern for the environment according to the Pew Center. By 2007 this number had jumped to 49%, the largest increase of the survey. According to Larry Rohter of the New York Times,

"The factors behind the re-evaluation range from a drought here in the Amazon rain forest, the world's largest, and the impact that it could have on agriculture if it recurs, to new phenomena like a hurricane in the south of Brazil. As a result, environmental advocates, scientists and some politicians say, Brazilian policy makers and the public they serve are increasingly seeing climate change not as a distant problem, but as one that could affect them too."

Climate change is now front and center in Brazil. Members of Congress from all political parties race to affiliate with the environmental caucus and co-sponsor "green" legislation. The former Minister of the Environment under Lula, Workers Party Senator and former Amazon rubber tapper, Marina Silva, is now considering an invitation from the Green Party to run as their presidential nominee in 2010.

Even S.O.S. Mata Atlântica, a prominent environmental advocacy organization, is running humorous television ads asking Brazilians to "piss in the shower" to save millions of liters of fresh water in a campaign to preserve the Atlantic coast's dwindling rainforest.

Dare to compare Brazil with the U.S.?

During the same period from 2002 to 2007, the U.S. level of environmental concern rose from 23 to 37 percent, but alarm over global warming decreased from 47 percent in 2007 to 44 in 2009 as the economy crumbled. Although President Obama and the Democratic Party passed the controversial American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (known as Waxman-Markey) in the House of Representatives by a very close vote; efforts to pass a climate change bill in the Senate face stiff opposition.

In fact, the ranking Republican member of the key Environment and Public Works committee responsible for developing climate change legislation, Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, doubts the scientific findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore in 2007. In 2003 Sen. Inhofe remarked that global warming was the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."

Of course, there are other countries in the Pew Center survey that also play down the threat of global warming, including the very large greenhouse gas emitters China and Canada, yes Canada! However, the public opinion gap between Brazil and the U.S. may prove to be a major obstacle in galvanizing international cooperation to reduce emissions.

48 percent of Brazilians are willing to pay higher prices (for energy, food, etc.) to address global warming, compared to only 41 percent for the U.S. Even more interesting, 79 percent of Brazilians are willing to tolerate slower economic growth and job creation to protect the environment compared to 64 percent for the U.S.

With respect to who is most trusted to deal with global warming, 57 percent of U.S. citizens believe the U.S. is the most trustworthy while only 17 percent of Brazilians place their faith in U.S. leadership. Of the countries studied, only Israel, Kenya, and Nigeria place more than 40 percent confidence in the U.S. on climate matters.

Even more telling, Brazil ranks high in the list of countries who blame the U.S. for global warming. 49 percent of the Brazilians single out the U.S. Only Turkey and Bangladesh (61%), Spain (56%), Venezuela and Slovakia (55%), France (53%), and Indonesia (52%) surpass Brazil suspicions. Evidently, these numbers partially reflect the animosity unleashed by President George W. Bush's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.

Brazil's recent and very rapid increase in public awareness stands in sharp contrast with the partisan rancor and controversy surrounding U.S. efforts to confront global warming. Moreover, Brazilians about-face is now bearing down on domestic policy making. The government's Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAM) got off to a slow start, but is now showing measurable results.

No doubt this effort has its critics, but Brazil's National Institute for Space Research confirms that the rate of Amazon deforestation is slowing. Also, the current Minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc, announced in June that President Lula himself would directly participate in efforts to stop deforestation by visiting Amazon communities involved in sustainable production. Even Brazil's Army is joining the campaign to stop deforestation!

These efforts highlight Brazil's broader commitment to protect the Amazon and play a leading role in climate change negotiations at Copenhagen. They are now coupled with international campaigns to diminish the external threats to the rainforest. Greenpeace's recent campaign, "Slaughtering the Amazon," has already pressured such companies as Nike to "certify" that leather used in the company's products does not come from cattle herding in the Amazon.

Taken together, Brazilians' concern with global warming, the Lula administration's increasing commitment to stop deforestation, international efforts, such as the Amazon Fund, to assist the country with sustainable development in the Amazon, and Brazil's historic leadership of the G-77 nations in climate change talks add up to a prominent position at this year's Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change negotiations in Copenhagen or COP15. Indeed, the U.S. Climate Change envoy, Todd Stern, recently visited Brasilia for talks with the government and remarked,

"And I think that an issue like this, which is of enormous importance to the world ... is an ideal opportunity for Brazil to demonstrate leadership on the global stage. And if you want to be a global player, that's what you have to do."

According to the Pew Center, over 180 million Brazilians have weighed in are now ready to take the stage and steal the show.

http://www.brazzil.com/component/content/article/207-august-2009/10231-brazilians-take-on-global-warming-and-steal-the-show.html

Brazil's environment minister Minc to step down

2009-08-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

Brazil's environment minister Carlos Minc will step down in March to run for deputy in the Rio de Janeiro state legislature in general elections next October, reports Reuters.

Brazilian law requires a public official seeking office to step down six months before an election.

Minc has publicly clashed with development interests over environmental laws in the Amazon rainforest. Since taking over the position vacated by former rubber tapper Marina Silva in May 2008, Minc has pushed for stricter environmental rules, called in federal troops and police to crack down on illegal forest clearing, and fought infrastructure projects that would promote deforestation in the region. Minc's efforts have made him powerful enemies who have worked to undermine his policies.

Reuters reports that ministers who leave their posts toward the end of the government's four-year term "are typically replaced by career civil servants." President Lula leaves office next year.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0810-minc.html

Amazon rainforest devastation continues

2009-08-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest was four times higher in June than the previous month, according to official data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.

The figures, taken from satellite images, come in the same week UK Energy and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband is visiting the country to discuss global warming.

Satellite imagery analyzed by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research showed 578 square kilometres (223 square miles) of Amazon woodland was burned or cut down. The area is roughly the size of Switzerland’s Lake Geneva.

The forest is under threat from the logging and cattle ranch industries. The Amazon holds up to 86 billion tonnes of carbon and if destroyed, would vastly speed up the effect of global warming.

According to the Space Agency, nearly 4,700 square kilometres of rainforest has been felled in the past year despite promises from the Brazilian Government to slow deforestation by 70 percent over the next 10 years.

Earlier this week Ed Miliband urged world leaders ahead of the Copenhagen meeting in December to protect the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous tribes whose livelihood are at risk from deforestation.

http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/12489-amazon-rainforest-devestation-continues.html

Sangre De Drago is a Medicinal Power House

2009-08-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

(NaturalNews) Sangre de drago (grado) or "blood of the dragon" is the latex-like sap that comes from the Croton species of tree that grows throughout the Amazon rainforests of Peru and Ecuador. This medicinal sap used for centuries by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon for the treatment of various ailments that include diarrhea, ulcers in the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines, upper respiratory viruses, cancer, as well as topically to heal wounds has slowly been getting more attention from mainstream medicine. Over the last ten years several studies conducted by the University of Calgary, the Albany Medical Center and several others have pointed to concrete documented evidence that sangre de drago is a medicinal power house of phytochemicals.

Dr. Mark Miller of the Albany Medical Center conducted a study on treating stomach ulcers in rats with sangre de drago. The conclusions that he and his colleagues found are incredible. Out of three groups induced with ulcers, two groups of rats, through their drinking water, ingested the sangre de drago in different concentrations (1:1,000 and 1:10,000 dilutions) and one group was used as a control. Both the bacterial content and size of the ulcers in the two groups of rats treated with sangre de drago was greatly reduced at both concentrations. It was also found that sangre de drago greatly inhibits the inflammation of nerve endings and the creation of Myeloperoxidase, an enzyme in white blood cells that is linked to inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

Though this wonderful sap from the rainforest contains a number of beneficial phytochemicals, the healing and anti-inflammatory properties of sangre de drago can be attributed to two main chemicals. These two chemical compounds are Taspine, an alkaloid that has been documented as anti-inflammatory, antitumorous, and antiviral, and Dimethylcedrusine, a lignan that plays a central role in sangre de drago's wound-healing capabilities. In a study done in Belgium, it was found that the healing properties of the raw sangre de drago resin were four times more effective at forming collagen and healing wounds than the administration of the isolated chemicals. When sangre de drago resin was smeared onto a sterile plate, allowed to dry and then doused with E. Coli bacteria the bacteria promptly died versus a similar plate treated with the antibiotic ampicillin.

Sangre de drago has so many benefits that it is hard to cover all of it within the scope of just one article. Between its internal and external uses it has been used for over thirty-one different ailments, and its uses keep growing in popularity. This sap from the Amazon rainforest is truly a miracle of nature and the more it becomes known to the masses, the better.

http://www.naturalnews.com/026764_Sangre_de_Drago_ulcers_medicine.html

Miliband delivers message to forest tribes deep in the Amazon

2009-08-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Energy minister to meet Brazil's environmentalists, policy makers and people on the frontline of deforestation.

Halting deforestation is essential to preventing dangerous global warming, the energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, has told indigenous tribesmen and women on a visit to the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

Cutting down trees causes 17% of global carbon emissions — more than global transport — and much of it happens in the Amazon. But mechanisms by which rich nations can persuade forested nations that the trees are worth more standing than felled have been problematic, with issues of land ownership, the role of indigenous people and corruption hindering progress.

"We can only get an agreement on climate change if it involves Brazil and it involves forestry," Miliband said during a boat trip on the Xingu river near the remote indigenous community of Pavuru.

The world's governments will gather in Copenhagen in December to agree a global treaty on fighting global warming, with deforestation very high on the agenda. "There is no solution to the question of climate change without forestry," he added.

During the five-day diplomatic offensive Miliband will meet environmentalists, policy makers and scientists as well as the people on the frontline of Brazil's battle against climate change – Brazil's indigenous communities, cattle ranchers and soy farmers.

Yesterday afternoon he touched down in the Xingu National Park — a sprawling indigenous reserve home to 5,000 Indians from 14 different ethnic groups — to discuss the perils of climate change and deforestation with those who inhabit the world's greatest tropical rainforest .

Addressing the Indians in a straw-roofed auditorium in Pavuru, Miliband said:

"We recognise the very important steps that you are taking to protect the environment against illegal activities and other threats against the forest and we are very grateful to you. But we know there is more that we can do to help you manage the forest in a sustainable way."

Tribesmen and women had travelled from across the 2.8m hectare Xingu National Park to reach this tiny village at the heart of the reserve. "They told us the minister wanted to talk to us about deforestation, about water," said Tom Aweti, 48, the leader of the Aweti people who had travelled several hours by boat to reach the meeting. "We will listen."

But the Indians also came to be heard; from the early hours of Sunday dozens of boats carrying tribal leaders and their families began mooring on Pavuru's small beach. Others came onboard a single motor aeroplane.

"The white man is invading our land," Chief Tinini, from the Xingu's Juruna village, told Miliband, holding a tribal spear in his right hand. "Many fish are dying," he added, blaming the construction of hydroelectric plants in the Xingu region. "Our children will starve."

Napiku Ikpeng, 33, from Pavuru's indigenous association, said he was concerned government infrastructure plans, involving roads and hydroelectric plants, would harm his peoples' way of life. "We aren't against economic growth… but this growth has to respect the Indians who live in this place," he said.

Speaking to the Guardian after the meeting Miliband said he had been shocked "seeing the actual logs piled up and the illegal roads that have been built" during a flight over the Amazon rainforest.

"The Amazon forest is such a beautiful place when it is untouched and then you see these scars on the landscape of the deforestation, bigger and bigger scars," he said.

"Brazil is up for a deal we just need proper ambition from developed countries, the right financial architecture in place," he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/03/ed-miliband-amazon-deforestation

Alcoa mine to clear 25,000 acres of rainforest, suck 133,407 gallons of water per hour from the Amazon

2009-08-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

A bauxite mine under development by Alcoa, the world’s second-largest primary aluminum producer, will consume 10,500 hectares (25,900 acres) of primary Amazon rainforest and suck 133,407 gallons of water per hour from the Amazon, reports Bloomberg News in an extensive write-up.

Located in the Juruti region of the Amazonian state of Para, the project will produce millions of tons of bauxite ore — used in the production of aluminum — per year, but more than half the mine will lie within a sustainable use forest reserve set aside for locals, according to Bloomberg. Further, state and federal officials are questioning the legality of the mine. Alcoa maintains the mine has the proper permits.

Michael Smith and Adriana Brasileiro write:

Bauxite mining road in Suriname.
A growing array of evidence in court documents puts Alcoa among the multinational corporations that prosecutors accuse of destroying or causing destruction of the world’s largest rain forest.

Brazilian federal and Para state prosecutors sued Alcoa’s Brazilian mining subsidiary in 2005 in an effort to block the Juruti mine, saying the company had circumvented the law by not applying for a federal permit and instead seeking a license from the state of Para.

After four years of legal haggling, the suit is still pending. Alcoa, which denies any wrongdoing, has already completed construction of the railway, port and processing plants. It’s now ready to start mining.

“The state agency has no power to give anyone full rights to exploit land, especially in the case of a reserve,” state prosecutor Raimundo Moraes says. “Alcoa invaded the area, undeterred. Alcoa has no shame.” For the full story: Alcoa Razes Rain Forest in Court Case Led by Brazil Prosecutors

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170

An Amazon Culture Withers as Food Dries Up

2009-07-28T08:56:00.001-07:00

As the naked, painted young men of the Kamayurá tribe prepare for the ritualized war games of a festival, they end their haunting fireside chant with a blowing sound — “whoosh, whoosh” — a symbolic attempt to eliminate the scent of fish so they will not be detected by enemies. For centuries, fish from jungle lakes and rivers have been a staple of the Kamayurá diet, the tribe’s primary source of protein.

But fish smells are not a problem for the warriors anymore. Deforestation and, some scientists contend, global climate change are making the Amazon region drier and hotter, decimating fish stocks in this area and imperiling the Kamayurá’s very existence. Like other small indigenous cultures around the world with little money or capacity to move, they are struggling to adapt to the changes.

“Us old monkeys can take the hunger, but the little ones suffer — they’re always asking for fish,” said Kotok, the tribe’s chief, who stood in front of a hut containing the tribe’s sacred flutes on a recent evening. He wore a white T-shirt over the tribe’s traditional dress, which is basically nothing.

Chief Kotok, who like all of the Kamayurá people goes by only one name, said that men can now fish all night without a bite in streams where fish used to be abundant; they safely swim in lakes previously teeming with piranhas.

Responsible for 3 wives, 24 children and hundreds of other tribe members, he said his once-idyllic existence had turned into a kind of bad dream.

“I’m stressed and anxious — this has all changed so quickly, and life has become very hard,” he said in Portuguese, speaking through an interpreter. “As a chief, I have to have vision and look down the road, but I don’t know what will happen to my children and grandchildren.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that up to 30 percent of animals and plants face an increased risk of extinction if global temperatures rise 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in coming decades. But anthropologists also fear a wave of cultural extinction for dozens of small indigenous groups — the loss of their traditions, their arts, their languages.

“In some places, people will have to move to preserve their culture,” said Gonzalo Oviedo, a senior adviser on social policy at the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland. “But some of those that are small and marginal will assimilate and disappear.”

To make do without fish, Kamayurá children are eating ants on their traditional spongy flatbread, made from tropical cassava flour. “There aren’t as many around because the kids have eaten them,” Chief Kotok said of the ants. Sometimes members of the tribe kill monkeys for their meat, but, the chief said, “You have to eat 30 monkeys to fill your stomach.”

Living deep in the forest with no transportation and little money, he noted, “We don’t have a way to go to the grocery store for rice and beans to supplement what is missing.”

Tacuma, the tribe’s wizened senior shaman, said that the only threat he could remember rivaling climate change was a measles virus that arrived deep in the Amazon in 1954, killing more than 90 percent of the Kamayurá.

Cultures threatened by climate change span the globe. They include rainforest residents like the Kamayurá who face dwindling food supplies; remote Arctic communities where the only roads were frozen rivers that are now flowing most of the year; and residents of low-lying islands whose land is threatened by rising seas.

Many indigenous people depend intimately on the cycles of nature and have had to adapt to climate variations — a season of drought, for example, or a hurricane that kills animals.

But worldwide, the change is large, rapid and inexorable, heading in only one direction: warmer. Eskimo settlements like Kivalina and Shishmaref in Alaska are “literally being washed away,” said Thomas Thornton, an anthropologist who studies the region, because the sea ice that long protected their shores is melting and the seas around are rising. Without that hard ice, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to hunt for seals, a mainstay of the traditional diet.

Some Eskimo groups are suing polluters and developed nations, demanding compensation and help with adapting.

“As they see it, they didn’t cause the problem, and their lifestyle is being threatened by pollution from industrial nations,” said Dr. Thornton, who is a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. “The message is that this is about people, not just about polar bears and wildlife.”

At climate negotiations in December in Poznan, Poland, the United Nations created an “adaptation fund” through which rich nations could in theory help poor nations adjust to climate change. But some of the money was expected to come from voluntary contributions, and there have been none so far, said Yvo De Boer, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “It would help if rich countries could make financial commitments,” he said.

Throughout history, the traditional final response for indigenous cultures threatened by untenable climate conditions or political strife was to move. But today, moving is often impossible. Land surrounding tribes is now usually occupied by an expanding global population, and once-nomadic groups have often settled down, building homes and schools and even declaring statehood.

The Kamayurá live in the middle of Xingu National Park, a vast territory that was once deep in the Amazon but is now surrounded by farms and ranches.

About 5,000 square miles of Amazon forest are being cut down annually in recent years, according to the Brazilian government. And with far less foliage, there is less moisture in the regional water cycle, lending unpredictability to seasonal rains and leaving the climate drier and hotter.

That has upended the cycles of nature that long regulated Kamayurá life. They wake with the sun and have no set meals, eating whenever they are hungry.

Fish stocks began to dwindle in the 1990s and “have just collapsed” since 2006, said Chief Kotok, who is considering the possibility of fish farming, in which fish would be fed in a penned area of a lake. With hotter temperatures as well as less rain and humidity in the region, water levels in rivers are extremely low. Fish cannot get to their spawning grounds.

Last year, for the first time, the beach on the lake that abuts the village was not covered by water in the rainy season, rendering useless the tribe’s method of catching turtles by putting food in holes that would fill up, luring the animals.

The tribe’s agriculture has suffered, too. For centuries, the Kamayurá planted their summer crops when a certain star appeared on the horizon. “When it appeared, everyone celebrated because it was the sign to start planting cassava since the rain and wind would come,” Chief Kotok recalled. But starting seven or eight seasons ago, the star’s appearance was no longer followed by rain, an ominous divergence, forcing the tribe to adjust its schedule.

It has been an ever-shifting game of trial and error since. Last year, families had to plant their cassava four times — it died in September, October and November because there was not enough moisture in the ground. It was not until December that the planting took. The corn also failed, said Mapulu, the chief’s sister. “It sprouted and withered away,” she said.

A specialist in medicinal plants, Ms. Mapulu said that a root she used to treat diarrhea and other ailments had become nearly impossible to find because the forest flora had changed. The grass they use to bound together the essential beams of their huts has also become difficult to find.

But perhaps the Kamayurá’s greatest fear are the new summer forest fires. Once too moist to ignite, the forest here is now flammable because of the drier weather. In 2007, Xingu National Park burned for the first time, and thousands of acres were destroyed.

“The whole Xingu was burning — it stung our lungs and our eyes,” Chief Kotok said. “We had nowhere to escape. We suffered along with the animals.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/science/earth/25tribe.html?hp

Amazon River on New 7 Wonders of Nature top list

2009-07-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

The Amazon Rainforest/River has reached the final stage of an international online competition to name the world's seven natural wonders, the New 7 Wonders Foundation announced today.

The 28 official finalists also include Angel Falls (Venezuela), Galapagos (Ecuador), Grand Canyon (The United States), Iguazu Falls (Brazil/Argentine), Bay of Fundy, Black Forest, Bu Tinah Shoals, Cliff of Moher, Dead Sea, El Yunque, and Great Barrier Reef.

Halong Bay, Jeita Grotto, Jeju Island, and Kilimanjaro, Komodo, Maldives, Masurian Lake District, Matterhorn/Cervino, Milford Sound, Mud Volcanoes, Puerto Princesa Underground River, Sundarbans, Table Mountain, Uluru, Vesuvius and Yushan, were also added to the list.

Competition organizers expect more than a billion people to participate in the online voting, which will continue into 2011, when the finalists by categories will be announced.

A panel of experts chose the finalists among the 77 nominees that gained the most votes in an early round of polling. People had suggested 261 landmarks in countries all over the world.

The panel chaired by Federico Mayor, former chief of Unesco, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, picked the finalists depending on geographical balance, diversity and the importance to human life.

The Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia, the Amazon jungle or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres), located within nine nations: Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana; Suriname and Venezuela.

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined.

It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow and has the biggest drainage basin on the planet. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon.

http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=TjV3xvhBG6M=

A smooth way to extra nutrients

2009-07-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

Prepared properly, smoothies are a tasty way to pack extra nutrients into your diet

Including fresh, local fruit, such as strawberries, in your smoothies is a great way to both increase the quality of your diet and decrease the size of your carbon footprint. Peter J. Thompson, National Post Including fresh, local fruit, such as strawberries, in your smoothies is a great way to both increase the quality of your diet and decrease the size of your carbon footprint.

How do you build a better smoothie? A question that plagues post-modern society, to be sure. All kidding aside, however, smoothies have become big business, with a bevy of products and specialty shops available to satisfy your every desire for drinkable fruit. And while blending up a few berries sounds like a simple enough way to eat a more healthful diet, as with so many things in our world today, we've managed to turn something that was once simple into an increasingly complex science.

So whether you're an athlete looking for a drink to help with muscle recovery, a busy professional who needs to get out the door in a hurry or a parent looking for a nutritious snack for kids on a hot day, here is a primer for building a better smoothie for both health and taste.

THE FRUIT

When it comes to picking the ingredients for a smoothie, you really can't go wrong by starting with any kind of fruit, whether fresh or frozen. Bananas are probably the most common choice, partially for the taste, but also because they add a rich texture, especially if they've been frozen before blending. As for the calorie content, don't be afraid:While they are one of the more energy-dense fruits, the roughly 110 calories a banana provides is quite low compared with many other snack foods -- and few foods of any kind are as rich in blood pressure-lowering potassium.

Aside from bananas, berries of any kind are a great choice for their antioxidant and fibre content, as well as their relatively low calorie content. So if you're a fan, then now is the time of year to load up on strawberries, raspberries and wild blueberries, or any other locally grown fruit, which will not only up the quality of your diet, but also eliminate the carbon footprint that comes with choosing more exotic fruits from overseas.

If you want to step beyond bananas and berries, however, then consider fresh or frozen peaches, melons, pineapple, oranges or mangos. Not only will they add a twist of flavour, also a blend of potentially disease-fighting nutrients, known as flavonoids, that is unique to each fruit.

THE "SUPER FRUIT"

If you're a fan of the growing number of smoothie bars popping up across North America, then you're probably familiar with the various "super fruits" that are added to pump up your drink of choice. One of the most popular is the acai (pronounced a-sigh-EE) berry, a product of the Brazilian rainforest that peaked in popularity after being featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2008. Despite a limited body of research, acai supporters argue that it is a powerful, antioxidant-rich superfood that can be useful for everything from weight loss to colon cleansing. While a number of dubious companies have sprung up selling purported acai-based weight loss products, the berry itself--like all berries -- is nutritious, even though it probably won't live up to the hype it has generated.

THE PROTEIN

If you combine fruit and ice cream or sorbet and call it a smoothie, you're probably better off calling it dessert. Not only will you be including a chunk of added sugar in your diet (which is to be expected if it is dessert, but not so much if you're using it as a meal or snack), it also lacks a source of protein, which means you are more likely to feel hungry shortly after eating it. Likewise, many of the so-called smoothie products available at grocery stores today are simply fruit purees, which means you're not only missing the protein, but they're often blended with mixture of fruit juices that simply don't have the same nutritional value as the whole fruit.

If you want to build a smoothie that will satisfy you and can serve as a meal or substantial snack, then use whole fruit whenever possible, and include a source of protein. Yogourt, milk and soy beverages are all good places to start (all three contain about eight grams of protein per cup), but you can ramp up the protein even more with a scoop of whey protein powder (one scoop of which usually provides around 20 to 25 grams of protein).

THE CALORIES

While smoothies can undoubtedly be a highly nutritious meal or snack, they can also pack a serious caloric punch if you're not careful. At the popular juice bar Booster Juice, for example, most smoothies contain between 375 and 425 calories -- enough to serve as a small meal for most people. While not an issue if you use it to replace a 600 calorie burger, it can be a problem if you pick a smoothie over ice cream or frozen yogourt, thinking you are saving yourself a few calories (most single-scoop ice cream cones contain between 250 and 300 calories, cone included).

Likewise, if you are making your own smoothie at home, then be careful not to add too many extra calories, particularly from fats and oils. While they are certainly good for you, high-fat ingredients like peanut or almond butter, flaxseed or hemp oil can pack a major caloric punch (about 90 calories per tablespoon of nut butters, or 120 calories per tablespoon of oils) that can turn your seemingly harmless drink into a caloric bonanza before you know it. The bottom line: Use careful portion control, or save the nuts for a snack instead.

http://www.nationalpost.com/life/story.html?id=1788953

The Brazilian Dilemma

2009-07-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

A nation struggles not to exploit its own greatest resource.

Seen from the height of 36,000 feet aboard a Brazilian Air Force jet, the Amazon rainforest looks tranquil as we approach our destination, the town of Tabatinga, a jungle outpost in the state of Amazonas where Brazil meets Colombia and Peru. A dark green velvet blankets the land as far as we can see through the fluffy clouds below us. The monotone is free of vehicle tracks, broken only by muddy threads of rivers flowing into the Upper Solimões, as the main branch of the mighty Amazon River is called where it enters the country on its 4,000-mile descent from the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic.

But if this five-hour flight from São Paulo offers a glimpse of a vast and untouched Amazon, it also highlights the checkerboarding created by recent development. To reach the wilderness from the south, we first fly over countless towns, coffee and sugar cane plantations, and processing plants covering the state of São Paulo. Then the flight continues northward over immense cattle areas that lay siege to the unique, biologically diverse floodplain called the Pantanal, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Passing over Rondônia state, an hour or so before we land, we see how soybean plantations—prominent newer stars in the country’s growing array of exports—have replaced whole swaths of Amazon rainforest.

In sum, the flight gives the passenger a quick snapshot of a massive ecological dilemma. Of the original 1.5 million square miles of Brazilian Amazon forest, far and away the world’s largest, some 82 percent remains intact. This entire area, roughly the size of India, is home to only twenty-four million people and is endowed with incredible biodiversity of global significance. But it continues to give way to logging, cattle, and soy plantations.

The big question is whether this southern giant will follow the development path favored by many Brazilians, once again plundering Amazonia’s natural capital and suffering the severe consequences of deforestation. Or will it learn from unsustainable prior experience along its Atlantic coast, and resist dragging the Amazon rainforest into the same trap?

The recent news has been good. According to satellite photos taken by Brazil’s highly regarded National Institute for Space Research, deforestation rates have been dropping steadily since 2004. That was the year that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, responding to increasing pressure from the international community and a growing contingent of ecologically minded Brazilian voters, revealed the Amazon Deforestation Action Plan. The plan involves tighter controls over loggers and ranchers, including fines and even imprisonment, and the refusal of credit by official banks to farmers who are not able to document that they abide by environmental regulations. Chief among these is the Forestry Code, which requires the preservation of at least 80 percent of forest cover on Amazonian properties.

Another piece of good news is Brazil’s Amazon Fund, an innovative idea first announced by former Environment Minister Marina Silva at the United Nations climate conference in Bali in 2007. The fund, newly operational this year, collects voluntary contributions from other nations, companies, and even individuals: the government of Norway has pledged $1 billion to it, of which a first installment of $110 million was deposited at the end of March. Another $18 million is expected to come from Germany soon. Fund officials working at the National Economic and Social Development Bank, a federal agency, then channel these funds to conservation groups and projects—but only after a country-wide reduction in deforestation has been achieved and documented.

The emergence of this government-run fund, a spinoff from international discussions about Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), constitutes an advance in several important ways. First, by retaining Brazilian control over how the money is spent, the fund’s structure counters nationalist objections to receiving foreign funds in exchange for forest conservation and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Control over the national patrimony has been a strongly valued concept in Brazil ever since the bad old days of the mid-twentieth century, when foreign interests owned local electric power and oil companies. Dreams of Amazonian prosperity arouse similar feelings. Second, for the first time after decades of resistance, the fund commits Brazil to deforestation targets. The goal is to achieve an 80 percent reduction in Amazon deforestation by 2020. Third, the willingness of Norway and other countries to hand over substantial monies to Brazil, for projects chosen by Brazil only, reflects growing international confidence in the country’s ability to measure deforestation rates and select anti-
deforestation controls.

But even as Brazil pursues policies to slow deforestation, it advances others that could speed it up. In particular is the government’s $328 billion Accelerated Development Plan, an ambitious long-term national effort to strengthen Brazilian infrastructure and ties with neighboring countries by means of new highways, bridges, airfields, and electric power installations. Support for such initiatives comes from powerful farming and mining interests. Each new mile of road in the Amazon creates new opportunities to exploit the forests. Meanwhile, agribusiness leaders and sympathetic members of Congress have launched an offensive against the Forestry Code and some of its more restrictive provisions. They are, for example, trying to restore the 80 percent reserve rule in the Amazon to the 50 percent level previously required.

The bottom line: the battle is far from over when it comes to balancing Amazonian economic growth and conservation, and in Brasilia the tug of war continues. The severe effects of Amazonian deforestation on regional weather and the global climate are becoming ever better understood. The forest’s biodiversity remains impressive, and there are still countless plant and animal species yet to be analyzed for their possible benefits to all of us. Still, the reality is that if Brazilians were forced to choose today between forest and development, many would favor the latter, matching the amount of forest that has already been lost and abandoning another 18 percent or more to development, exports, and short-term prosperity for some. Most would gladly retrace the path the nation followed along the coast while eradicating the no less diverse Atlantic forest—thus replicating the fate of most of the temperate forests in the developed world.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0907.leite.html

NEW Jungle Love and Diet Amazon Energy

2009-07-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Sambazon has launched two new flavors of the Amazon Energy beverage you all know and love.

First off, they have added a lighter alternative - Amazon Energy Diet.

A touch of organic stevia (no artificial sweetener here) gives this energy drink all the flavor you want without the burden of unwanted sugars and calories.

Boasting only 40 calories and 9 grams of sugar per serving, this diet puts a guilt free spring in your step. And Sambazon's Amazon Energy Jungle Love and Diet are launching nationwide.

Second, Jungle Love is added to the mix. For this unique beverage, start with açaí, and add powerful love herbs and rainforest botanicals like guarana and yerba mate, giving you an organic passion potion that goes way beyond giving you an energy boost.

Jungle Love delivers 1000mg Jungle LoveTM Herb Blend per can including maca, catuaba, damiana, and passion flower.

Like original, Diet and Jungle Love don't skimp on the antioxidants and also deliver over 200% of your daily vitamin C and 80mg of natural caffeine per can.

Ready for Business in the Amazon

2009-07-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

FIAM 2009 - Amazon International Fair (Feira Internacional da Amazonia), will take place once more take in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas State, from November 25 to 28, 2009. It will be the largest display of products, services, and business opportunities in the Brazilian Amazon region this year.

FIAM is sponsored by the SUFRAMA (Superintendence of Manaus Free Trade Zone), an independent institution linked to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. It is part of the Brazilian government official event schedule, and is aimed at fostering economic, social, scientific and technological developments, in addition to sustainability proposals for the Amazon.

Right now, you need to start getting ready to visit this show. November is at hand for those of you that need to plan an international trip, right? You may read more about the show at Suframa’s web site in Portuguese, English or Spanish here.

So in four months, next November, FIAM 2009 will take place in the heart of the Amazon rainforest? Manaus. To help out I interviewed Mr. Jorge Vasques, responsible for the organization of FIAM and at present the manager of the “Nucleo de Promocao Comercial at Suframa” in Manaus.

Dear Mr. Vasques, thank you very much for granting us this special interview. First, why people should come to FIAM 2009?

Vasques: In all approximately 300 booths of both companies and government institutions will be exhibiting products and services. Also during the show a series of academic and scientific events will take place, business rounds and also tourism. So this is an exceptional time to come to Manaus and check all the potential and business opportunities offered in the Brazilian Amazon.

Besides exhibiting innovative products and services in areas such as the electronics, information-technologies, and automobile industries, as well as environmental services, FIAM 2009 will also include several international seminars to discuss strategic regional issues, as well as business and tourism in round-table sessions, projects rooms, scientific exhibitions, technically-oriented visits, among other activities, for both investors and the general public.

Regarding the show itself and also accommodation in the city of Manaus, what can the exhibitor and the visitor expect?

Vasques: The attractions of the state of Amazonas are countless. Manaus is a city with almost two million inhabitants in the middle of the rain forest. Manaus has an excellent network of hotels of all categories and rates. Visitors may check Amazonastur website here. It offers all the necessary information.

What was the volume of business generated during the last fair?

Vasques: Fiam 2008 Business Rounds have generated something closed to US$ 10 million in business immediately, with excellent prospects for other major businesses over the medium and long term in the field of regional products such as herbal and fruit cosmetics derived from plants, flowers and fruits of region, including the already famous acai; craft pieces made from natural fibers, boxes for packing wine made from recycled wood fiber, seed and vegetable peelings. Moreover, companies in the Industrial Pole of Manaus also made great business, but these numbers are considered confidential by them.

Who should definitely come to visit or exhibit products and services at FIAM 2009?

All entrepreneurs wishing to visit the event may contact the coordinators of the event via e-mail: fiam@suframa.gov.br. Only businesses located in one of nine states of the Brazilian Amazon (Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Roraima, Rondonia, Tocantins, Maranhao, Para and Mato Grosso) may expose the International Fair of the Amazon. Visitors are all very well received, and on the 25th and 26th only special guests will have access to the exhibit. On the other two days 27th and 28th, the Fair will open to the public.

Why are so many companies attracted to Manaus?

By granting tax incentives, areas for installation of plants have exceptionally low prices, good logistics, a nice city, safe and with good infrastructure, universities, research centers and a huge field for investment, with competitive advantages to meet the large Brazilian market, South American neighbors and other countries such as North America and Europe, great importers of our products. The 550 plants in operation meet more than $6 billion in total investments focused on production. Together, these companies still produce around 500 thousand direct and indirect jobs. In the area of bioindustry, the Center for Biotechnology of the Amazon (CBA) has been an important partner for the development of this segment, which is in the Amazonian biodiversity vast source of wealth. Thus, investing in the Industrial Pole of Manaus (PIM) is part of a regional development model of success that contributes to the preservation of the Amazon forest.

Is FIAM a doorway for companies interested in Brazil, how and why?

The International Fair of the Amazon is the largest showcase of Amazon's businesses. It is certainly an attractive alternative for companies to invest in Brazil, and for investors to have access to products manufactured in the region. Come to Manaus and we will be glad to welcome any visitor and provide at the very least, a great experience visiting Brazil and the Amazon region.

Very nice and what help foreign exhibitors and visitors may receive from Suframa?

In addition to the information in our website by e-mail and telephone, the staff of the Center for Trade Promotion SUFRAMA is available to provide all information requested. These services will be available from now and throughout the event.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=385415&rel_no=1

Peru army moves into Amazon after tribes blockade rivers and roads

2009-05-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ecology and culture at stake say environmentalists, as government plans to exploit rainforest for oil, gas and timber

Huge parts of Peru's rainforest is threatened by its government's deals with several multinationals. Photograph: Paul A Souders/Corbis

Peru's army is poised to deploy in the Amazon rainforest to lift blockades across rivers and roads by indigenous people opposed to oil, gas, logging and mining projects.

The government has authorised the military to move into remote provinces where a state of emergency has been declared in the wake of a month-long stand-off between indigenous people and police.

President Alan Garcia said the state had the right and responsibility to develop mineral and hydrocarbon wealth to benefit all Peruvians. "We have to understand that when there are resources like oil, gas and timber, they don't belong only to the people who had the fortune to be born there because that would mean more than half of Peru's territory belongs to a few thousand people."

In the past two years the centre-right government has signed deals with multinationals to open swaths of rainforest, including a £1.3bn agreement last month with the Anglo-French oil company Perenco.

Indigenous groups, backed by environmentalists and Catholic bishops, have protested that the developments will devastate the area's ecology and their culture.

About 65 tribes have mobilised 30,000 people to disrupt roads, waterways and pipelines, leading to skirmishes with police. Up to 41 vessels serving energy companies are stuck along jungle rivers, paralysed by the protests, one private sector source told Reuters.

One of the most tense areas is along the Napo river in northern Peru, said Survival International, a London-based rights advocacy group. "After local indigenous people blockaded the river with a nylon cable, a naval gunboat and three boats belonging to Perenco broke through the blockade, sinking some of the protesters' canoes in the process."

The National Organisation of the Amazon Indigenous people of Peru said last week's declaration of a state of emergency, which suspended some constitutional rights in four jungle provinces, amounted to a declaration of war by the government.

The group responded by calling for an "insurgency" but retracted the term on Saturday after being threatened with 10 years in jail for sedition. Protests will continue but within the rule of law, it said.

The Peruvian rainforest is the largest swath of Amazon outside Brazil. According to one study oil, gas and timber deals would cover an estimated 70% of the forest.

The government says such developments are needed to boost economic growth and state revenues in one of South America's poorest countries. The projects, which could turn Peru into a net oil exporter, are in line with a free trade deal with the United States.

Alberto Pizango, an indigenous leader, said the tribes – who claim the forest as ancestral land – were not seeking a blanket ban on projects. "What we want is development from our perspective."

Each side has blamed the other for breakdown in negotiations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/18/peru-army-rainforest-blockades

BRAZIL: Vigil Against Farming Offensive in Amazon

2009-05-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

Celebrities and environmental organisations held a vigil at the Brazilian Congress in an effort to block passage of a bill that they say could cause an even greater "environmental disaster" in the Amazon jungle.

The vigil, which began Wednesday and ended Thursday morning, was held inside the Senate chamber in Brasilia, the capital. Organised by the Movimento Amazônia Para Sempre (Amazonia Forever Movement), it was led by actress Christiane Torloni and other actors like Victor Fasano and Marcos Palmeira.

According to the movement, the bloc of legislators representing agribusiness interests in Congress is promoting reforms that would "weaken environmental legislation."

One example is a provisional measure that would grant farmers title to up to 1,500 hectares of illegally occupied land in the Amazon jungle.

The original purpose of Provisional Measure 458/2009, introduced by the government, was to regularise the tenure of land occupied before 2004, in exchange for the fulfilment of a number of requirements, such as replanting deforested areas and limiting further logging.

But amendments introduced by lawmakers in the lower house of Congress, like Asdrúbal Bentes of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), allied with the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, seek to eliminate these conditions.

Environment Minister Carlos Minc, who took part in the vigil, said that if these amendments were passed they could usher in an "environmental disaster," in the form of rampant deforestation.

The government would be seen as "giving land titles away with one hand and a chainsaw with the other," the minister told the press.

If the amended law is approved, the administration fears that the Amazon Fund, launched to receive international donations for protecting the Amazon rainforest, would be threatened.

Mario Menezes, assistant director of Friends of the Earth-Brazilian Amazon, told IPS there was a "great risk" that the bill in question could benefit "grilheiros," illegal settlers who occupied public land "illicitly and often violently."

The government argument that the bill will benefit small farmers is "not true," according to Menezes. Large "grilheiros" who occupied, for instance, 15,000 hectares can easily comply with the letter of the law by registering parcels of 1,500 hectares in the name of third parties, and end up occupying even larger stretches of land.

The Brazilian Artists' Open Letter on Amazon Deforestation, which will be presented to the legislative committees discussing the amendments to the bill, calls attention to the latest statistics on the deforestation of the Amazon.

"We have just celebrated the smallest Amazon rainforest deforestation rate of the past three years: 17,000 square kilometres," equivalent to nearly half the size of the Netherlands, it says.

Sixteen percent of the total rainforest area, equivalent to three times the size of the state of Sao Paulo, has already been deforested, the letter says.

"We have absolutely no reason to celebrate. The Amazon is not the planet’s lung, but it renders services to Brazil and to the world," it continues.

This green area extending over five million square kilometres is "a thermal layer generated by nature to prevent the sunrays from reaching the ground, thus enabling the existence of the most luxuriant forest on earth, which helps to regulate the planet’s temperature," it says.

The Amazon Forever Movement also refers to the expansion of the agricultural frontier in protected areas.

"A country that possesses 165,000 square kilometres of abandoned or semi-abandoned deforested areas could double its grain production without having to fell one single tree," the open letter says.

Menezes has just published a study on livestock-raising in the Amazon, in which he concludes that 40 percent of the Brazilian cattle herd is located in the jungle.

He found that cattle ranchers, who occupy 60 million hectares in the Amazon, were responsible for 80 percent of the 73 million hectares that have already been deforested. One-third of all the beef produced in the region is exported.

According to Menezes, "above all, the study shows that the public money is going to the meat packing plants," because the National Development Bank (BNDES) is financing this sort of development.

Last year alone, he noted, the BNDES invested six billion reals (2.9 billion dollars) in cattle farming, more than its total investment in the automotive industry, for example.

In Menezes' view, livestock farming stimulates the most deforestation, thus favouring the illegal occupation of land by large farmers.

One solution to this problem, he suggested, would be for public finance to be redirected to agriculture and livestock farming in areas that have already been deforested, and to invest in technological development to increase productivity and avoid further expansion into the rainforest.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46850

The Amazing Amazon Rainforest

2009-05-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

In a report published in the 6 March 2009 issue of Science, Oliver L. Phillips of the UK's University of Leeds and his 65 co-authors write that "old growth forests in Amazonia ... through photosynthesis and respiration ... process 18 petagrams [18 x 1015 grams] of carbon annually," which they say is "more than twice the rate of anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions." They also state that over the past quarter-century of intensive region-wide measurements, the productivity of the Amazon rainforest -- even in its extreme old age -- has been found to be "increasing with time," in support of which statement they cite the comprehensive observational studies of Phillips et al. (1998), Nemani et al. (2003), Baker et al. (2004), Lewis et al. (2004) and Ichii et al. (2005).

Against the backdrop of this very positive phenomenon, the goal of Phillips et al.'s new analysis was to determine what negative effect a severe drought might have on South America's surprisingly-spry-for-its-age tropical mega-forest, especially a drought of the type that the world's climate alarmists predict will occur if anthropogenic CO2 emissions are not significantly abated. What the international team of scientists wanted to know, essentially, was whether such a decline in the availability of water might wipe out the super ecosystem's biomass gains of prior decades, thereby fulfilling one of the climate alarmists' worst-case catastrophic scenarios.

Focusing their attention on the Amazonian drought of 2005, which they describe as "one of the most intense droughts of the past 100 years," as well as "a possible analog of future events," the 66 researchers (who had monitored a host of forest plots across the Amazon basin over the prior quarter-century) utilized tree diameter, wood density, and allometric models to compute the basin's woody biomass at each time of measurement, both before and after the drought, deriving the results that are plotted in the figure below.

The post-1980 cumulative biomass increase of Amazon trees >= 10 cm in diameter as a function of the mid-date of each forest-plot census interval, portrayed as a 50-interval moving mean. Adapted from Phillips et al. (2009).

As may readily be seen from these real-world measurement-based results, the great Amazonian drought of 2005 resulted in only a slight hiatus in the strong upward trend of tree biomass accumulation that was exhibited over the prior two decades, which had occurred, as Phillips et al. note, through a multi-decadal period spanning both wet and dry episodes, the latter of which are not even detectable in their wood biomass data. Hence, it would appear that although extremely severe drought conditions can indeed bring a halt to biomass accumulation in old growth tropical forests -- and sometimes even lead to minor reductions in biomass due to selective tree mortality -- the vast majority of the aged trees are able to regain their photosynthetic prowess and add to their prior store of biomass once the moisture stress subsides, thanks in large measure to the enhanced growth (Lin et al., 1998) and water use efficiency (Hietz et al., 2005) that are experienced by nearly all woody plants as the air's CO2 content rises.

Additional support for this attribution is provided by the work of Lloyd and Farquhar (2008), who concluded that "the magnitude and pattern of increases in forest dynamics across Amazonia observed over the last few decades are consistent with a CO2-induced stimulation of tree growth," while still more support for the premise comes from the work of Phillips et al. (2008), who concluded that the simplest explanation for the phenomenon is that "improved resource availability has increased net primary productivity, in turn increasing growth rates," and who further note that "the only change for which there is unambiguous evidence that the driver has widely changed and that such a change should accelerate forest growth is the increase in atmospheric CO2," because of "the undisputed long-term increase in [its] concentration, the key role of CO2 in photosynthesis, and the demonstrated effects of CO2 fertilization on plant growth rates."

So if the nations of the world are truly concerned about the health of "old growth forests in Amazonia" -- as they truly should be -- they had better not be in too great a hurry to drastically curtail anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In light of the overwhelming evidence for (1) no global warming over the past decade or so, and (2) the significant biological benefits provided by atmospheric CO2 enrichment, the climate-alarmist clamor to reduce fossil fuel use now -- and by whatever means deemed necessary -- makes no sense at all, especially when there is so much evidence for much warmer periods in our planet's past (such as the Medieval, Roman and Mid-Holocene Warm Periods), when there was so much less CO2 in the air than there is today.

World governments clearly have the time to analyze this subject much more carefully than they have done to date; and until they do so, they should not act upon demands for radical actions to reduce CO2 emissions that could greatly exacerbate the world's current economic crisis, as well as lead to a greater propensity for biological crises in unique and high-biodiversity places ... like the Amazon.

http://www.co2science.org/articles/V12/N19/EDIT.php

Brazil's other big forest in dire straits

2009-05-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

The ongoing degradation of the Amazon rainforest has obscured the plight of its smaller sibling: the Atlantic forest in Brazil, which is a biodiversity hotspot. Once covering about 1.5 million square kilometres, the rainforest has been reduced to about one-tenth of its original area in the past 500 years, a new study has shown.

The Atlantic forest supports more than 20,000 species of plants, 260 mammals, 700 birds, 200 reptiles, 280 amphibians and hundreds of unnamed species.

Unless the damage is halted, monkeys and birds unique to the region will go extinct, including iconic species such as the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) and the northern woolly spider monkey (Brachyteles hypoxanthus), both among the most endangered of all the world's monkeys.

"Unfortunately, the forest is in very bad shape," says Jean Paul Metzger at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. "Species extinctions will occur more rapidly and, since 30 per cent of the species are endemic to the region, they will disappear forever."

The desperate state of the forest became clear when Metzger's colleague Milton Cezar Ribeiro mapped the entire region in great detail using satellite images, combined with vegetation maps produced by the SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation, a charity campaigning to save the forest.

Ribeiro found that of the remaining forest, about 80 per cent is split into fragments of less than 0.5 square kilometres. The average distance between these fragments is 1.4 kilometres, making it difficult for animals to move from one part of the forest to another.

To make matters worse, only about 14 per cent of the remaining forest is protected. That's because 70 per cent of Brazil's population lives in what was once the Atlantic forest, including the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. "So in 500 years, and mainly in the past 100 years, we destroyed 90 per cent of the forest," says Ribeiro.

One priority is to protect the largest remaining tracts of forest, particularly the Serra do Mar, along the coastal mountains near São Paulo. Also, reconnecting the fragments to create larger areas will help the movement of otherwise marooned animals.

"If the Atlantic forest were a medical patient, it would be on life support and gasping for breath," says Bill Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Manaus, Brazil. "I see a dire need to protect the remaining fragments, and to reconnect fragments wherever possible."

Mark Cochrane of South Dakota State University in Brookings agrees: "It is imperative to create a comprehensive conservation plan as soon as possible."

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/183942-Brazil-s-other-big-forest-in-dire-straits

Acai - how the secret of the Amazon was revealed

2009-05-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

Acai might not be such a global sensation today were it not for a pair of Southern California brothers, Ryan and Jeremy Black, who co-founded Sambazon, based in San Clemente. The company now boasts sales of $25 million a year in juices, powders and other acai products. But it all started with a surfing trip.

Ryan Black returned from a millennium-marking surfing visit to Brazil blown away by acai. In the 1990s, acai had spread from the Amazon to become a staple in surfer shacks, juice joints and weightlifting clubs along the heavily populated Brazilian coast. Now it's a common sight at major supermarkets and health food emporiums the world over. Among the retail chains selling acai products are Whole Foods Market, Vons, Albertsons, Gelson's Markets, Jamba Juice and Juice It Up.

This year, Black says, Sambazon plans to process 11,000 tons of acai from its Brazilian production base, making it the world's leading supplier.

All of it comes from individuals such as Rosa picking the fruit from wild acai palms, according to the Black brothers, who have won praise internationally as "green" business pioneers.

"The whole idea is to protect the biodiversity of the forest," Ryan Black says. "The idea is not to clear-cut everything on the land and plant acai trees."

But a growing concentration of acai plantings amid rising demand has Black worried about a "dangerous cycle": transformation of bio-diverse forests into proliferating stretches of acai palms. That means removing other tree species to make way for acai. His hope is that consumer preference for certified organic acai, picked in the wild, will help preserve the forest and support harvesting families.

"We want to look back [in] 20 years and see that acai has been a positive force in the Amazon," Black says, "not just a fruit that became domesticated and found success at the price of the local people and their environment."

http://www.sambazon.com/remoting/news_article.aspx?id=116

Amazon Cruise

2009-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Amazon River, surrounding nearly half of the territory of Peru, is the mightiest river in the world, flanked by vast stretches of pristine rainforest. International Expeditions has been exploring the Amazon for all of our 29 years of existence, and we continue to be amazed at all we find on our 10-day Amazon Cruise.

The rainforest canopy shelters the richest and most diverse ecosystem on Earth, making it the perfect place for an Amazon River cruise. We begin our Amazon River tour in Iquitos, the world’s furthest inland seaport. The Amazon Cruise travels upstream along the Amazon’s tributaries, going deep into the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve — the largest wetland reserve in the world.

On our exclusive Amazon itinerary, you go deeper into the reserve and as a result, you see much more. On our Amazon Voyage, we’ll look for the Amazon’s myriad forms of wildlife — monkeys, birds, sloths and other mammals, pink and gray dolphins and many more. You might even spot the endangered giant otter or the rare harpy eagle on our Amazon Cruise.

Expert local naturalist guides and an expedition leader will accompany you on your Amazon travel expeditions. Many have worked with us for more than a decade. They are extremely friendly and very knowledgeable about the Amazon, with the uncanny ability to find wildlife and the desire to share their knowledge.

http://www.ietravel.com/AmazonCruises/index.asp?itinid=1214&ieid=628609

Latin American Leaders Aim to Redefine Relationship With United States

2009-04-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

When President George W. Bush traveled to Argentina four years ago for a gathering of Latin American leaders, protesters smashed windows, looted stores and sang anti-Bush slogans. Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, drew 25,000 to a soccer stadium to rail against the United States’ free trade policies.

The summit meeting was a qualified fiasco for Mr. Bush and a low ebb for relations between the United States and Latin America.

Now President Obama is planning to visit Trinidad and Tobago this weekend for the fifth Summit of the Americas, with a chance to dim memories of the last such meeting and re-engage with Latin America, a region that took a distant back seat to the Iraq conflict during the Bush years.

But Latin American leaders are seeking more than re-engagement. They are looking to redefine the relationship.

“I’m going to ask the United States to take a different view of Latin America,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, said last month before meeting with Mr. Obama in Washington. “We’re a democratic, peaceful continent, and the United States has to look at the region in a productive, developmental way, and not just think about drug trafficking or organized crime.”

Leaders from the 34 countries with democratically elected governments that make up the Organization of American States are expected to press Mr. Obama on issues including the global economy and the United States’ policies on Cuba and on drugs.

Mr. Bush was the most unpopular American president ever in Latin America, polls showed, while Mr. Obama has rock-star status throughout the hemisphere — for the moment.

“Yes, there are other leaders coming, but people do not understand that, they only concerned about Obama,” said Kenneth Job, a street merchant in Port of Spain, Trinidad’s capital, where the meeting will be held.

“He is the main man who everybody love and want to see,” said Mr. Job, who sells framed photos of Mr. Obama, and of Nelson Mandela, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

Ultimately, Mr. Obama’s appeal in the region could be what keeps anti-Americanism in check at the meeting, analysts said. Mr. Chávez, a fiery populist, is also less likely to try to use the event to take a stand against the United States. In Argentina his ire was directed at sinking a free trade agreement, a deal that ultimately died and has yet to be revived.

But the steep decline in oil prices and Brazil’s ascendancy in the region may throw Mr. Chávez off balance. “He is not going to have the same support to be defiant or make provocative statements against the United States,” said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy research center in Washington.

Senior American officials said they did not expect Mr. Obama to try a formal reconciliation with either Mr. Chávez or with Evo Morales, Bolivia’s president. Each leader has expelled American ambassadors in recent months, accusing them of being involved in coup plots.

The conference is focused on “human prosperity,” energy security and environmental sustainability, but the global economy will be central for Latin American leaders, including Mr. da Silva, who is still smarting over how the crisis threatens to derail one of Brazil’s greatest periods of prosperity in a generation.

White House officials also worry that economic contagion could reverse the region’s growth and poverty alleviation in the past half-decade.

“In the last year, these achievements have started to dwindle away,” said Jeffrey S. Davidow, the White House adviser for the summit meeting. “There is a real concern that Latin America or the hemisphere may be entering into another lost decade.”

The Latin American leaders are hoping Mr. Obama will not shy away from subjects that have historically been taboo at such meetings. In the past, the United States has vetoed discussions about Cuba and shrugged off criticism of its drug policy.

But the Obama administration has signaled it agrees with some leaders in the region who want to rethink the approach to curbing drug violence. Several of the region’s leaders have also said in recent months that lifting the embargo with Cuba would go a long way toward repairing relations between Latin America and the United States.

American officials said this week that the president welcomed the discussion, but he is not expected to go beyond steps announced on Monday: lifting restrictions on travel and money transfers to Cuba by Cuban-Americans.

“They may not lift the embargo or legalize drugs, but there will be more space to talk about those kinds of things,” Mr. Shifter said. “Something could happen on these issues that hasn’t really happened before, which is an open debate. That is Obama’s style.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/world/americas/17trinidad.html?ref=global-home

Amazon Rainforest: Environmentalists oppose Amazon road proposal

2009-04-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Brazil's top environmental groups on Thursday warned of serious damage to the Amazon rainforest if a proposal to allow unrestricted road paving is approved.

The measure was quietly slipped into legislation aimed at stimulating economic growth that Brazil's Chamber of Deputies approved Monday. It still needs approval in the Senate and then the president's signature to become law.

"Road paving is the largest vector of deforestation in the Amazonia," 30 environmental groups said in a joint statement.

"Historically, 75 percent of the deforestation of the region happened along paved highways."

The real goal of the measure, the groups say, is to pave a road between the Amazon river city of Manaus to Porto Velho, some 765 kilometers (475 miles) to the southwest in Rondonia state.

"We consider the paving of highway BR-319 unacceptable," the statement read.

The road would "open the Amazon's most remote and preserved region to disorganized occupation."

The measure "would drastically harm the Amazonia," former environmental minister Marina Silva told the daily O Globo.

The legislators "are carrying out scorched earth politics with environmental legislation," she said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNtVdGzLqBJtS_HrZbDjwHBOIRxg

Brazil's Lula -

2009-04-17T06:28:00.001-07:00

U.S. must have a new look at Latin America

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talked to U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday, asking him to have a new look at Latin America.

In a phone conversation with Obama, Lula said there are conditions for the United States and Latin America to establish partnership, the technological development in particular.

"The U.S. must look at Latin America thinking about technological development, partnership, contribution," he said.

Later on Thursday, during an Armed Forces event in Brasilia, Lula said that the U.S. hesitation about the region is not justifiable, since democracy has been established in the area.

"There must be a change in the U.S. policy on Latin America," said Lula, "There is no Cold War anymore, and there is no armed conflict."

He was also optimistic about a change in the U.S. stance towards Latin American countries, as "President Obama has every condition to improve and expand his country's relations with the Latin American nations," he said.

The two leaders will meet again at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which will take place in Trinidad and Tobago from Friday to Sunday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/17/content_11197620.htm

Rainforest reserves

2009-04-13T21:42:00.001-07:00

- even those disturbed by roads - provide an important buffer against fires that are devastating parts of the Brazilian Amazon, according to a new study by a trio of researchers at Duke University published 8 April in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

'Our findings show that reserves are making a difference even when they are crossed by roads,' said lead author, Marion Adeney, a PhD candidate at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. 'We already knew, from previous studies, that there were generally fewer fires inside reserves than outside - what we didn't know was whether this holds true when you put a road across the reserve.'

Fire is one of the chief causes of deforestation in tropical rainforests. Fires in humid tropical forests are always caused by people, Adeney says - they typically start on farms or ranches and spread to the nearby forest. Since tropical forest trees have no natural protection against fire, even a small fire can kill most of the trees.

Nearly 90 percent of fires occur within 10 kilometres of a road, a key factor, Adeney says, in explaining why fires are much more common and concentrated in the southern Amazon, where roads are more numerous.

Determining whether reserves with roads provide protection against deforestation caused by fires was critical, she explains, because the pace of road-building has accelerated in recent years in many parts of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, including in many reserves. Especially important are the region's indigenous reserves, which cover five times the area of fully protected parks. Despite having roads and settlements, many of these indigenous reserves contain ecologically important areas of rainforest still largely unaffected by the human development in surrounding areas.

'There is a lot of discussion about how to curb deforestation and fire as new roads are built or paved into these forests,' says Adeney's co-author and faculty co-advisor, Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke's Nicholas School.

To assess what degree of protection reserves with roads provide against these fires, Adeney, Pimm and Norm Christensen, professor of ecology at the Nicholas School, analysed ten years of satellite-detected fire data from the entire Brazilian Amazon.

Overall, they found no significant difference in fire incidence between sustainable-use reserves, indigenous reserves and protected parks. Location and timing were found to be much more important factors than type of reserve, Adeney notes. Fires were more likely to occur during El Nino years, as a result of drought. But, the increase in fire in El Nino years was greater outside than inside of reserves, suggesting that reserves are also buffering against these climate effects. 'Still, although there are overall many fewer fires inside than outside reserves, we found that reserves in highly impacted areas still experienced more fires than reserves in remote areas. Large and remote reserves, not surprisingly, had the fewest roads and the fewest fires,' she says.

'This reinforces the importance of reserves for protecting forest cover in the Amazon' says Pimm. 'Our results show that even inhabited reserves can be an effective tool to reduce fires, even when they have roads built through them.'

http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09040824-reserves-found-be-effective-tool-reducing-fires-brazilian-rainforests

Amazon Rainforest: Brazil targets illegal logging in raid in Amazon

2009-04-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

* Minister: raid is warning to illegal loggers

* Illegal saw mills destroyed as workers watch

* Crackdown part of gov't campaign to slash deforestation

* Gov't trying to help timber-reliant areas (Updates with revised amount of wood, adds quotes, details, changes dateline)

Environmental police in Brazil seized the equivalent of 300 truckloads of wood in a major raid on illegal loggers, the government said on Wednesday, the latest effort to curb destruction of the Amazon rain forest.

During the surprise raid in Nova Esperanca do Piria, 120 miles (190 km) southeast of the city of Belem, police shut down 13 logging companies and sawmills, and seized tractors, guns, and ammunition, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said during a visit to the remote jungle site. The owners fled the area.

The crackdown is the latest in a series of measures by the government to meet a new target of reducing destruction of the Amazon forest by 50 percent during the next decade.

"We are determined to slash deforestation -- this operation is a warning to illegal loggers," Minc told Reuters before ordering the destruction of 120 kilns for making charcoal, which is used by iron ore smelters to fire blast furnaces.

Brazil's government last year abandoned years of opposition to deforestation targets and now is under pressure to show the world community and critics at home that it can deliver, particularly ahead of a major climate change summit in Copenhagen in December.

Minc aims to reduce deforestation to about 3,700 square miles (9,500 sq km) in the 12 months through July, the lowest on record and down from 4,600 square miles (11,900 sq km) the year earlier.

The government initially said the latest raid netted 400 truckloads of illegal wood but lowered the figure to about 300 after surveying the area.

Each year advancing loggers, ranchers and farmers cut huge swathes of forest in search of cheap land.

"This is why Brazil has an image abroad of destroying rain forest and emitting carbon," Minc said after overseeing the dismantling of a clandestine saw mill.

Dozens of townspeople, many of whom worked at the saw mills, watched as bulldozers demolished their livelihood.

"We know it's illegal but we have to work," said Keno Alverenga, the son of a mill owner.

In an attempt to prevent social unrest in Nova Esperanca, where most of the 32,000 inhabitants depend on the timber industry, the government pledged welfare measures and alternative economic activities.

SEEKING ALTERNATIVES TO LOGGING

The steps include unemployment benefits, food baskets and plots of land for the poorest. The estimated 5 million reais ($2.24 million) in proceeds from the sale of the impounded wood will finance local infrastructure projects where redundant loggers will be hired.

"Alternative economic activities are more important than repression," Minc said. "Without them, they'll just keep deforesting down the road."

Last year similar police operations in other areas caused violent protests in which loggers took officials hostage and fled with the impounded tree trunks.

Since he took office 10 months ago, Minc has cut credit to illegal ranchers and farmers and impounded beef and soy products from deforested areas. He also struck deals with timber and grain wholesalers as well as banks to boycott products of illegal origin.

But critics say President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government remains deeply divided over conservation. It is promoting a series of new roads and hydroelectric plants that conservationists fear could increase deforestation.

The country's influential agriculture lobby also has resisted costly measures to improve productivity and recover depleted land instead of slashing and burning forest.

Norway, which last year pledged contributions of $1 billion through 2015 to a new Amazon Fund, has made its annual contributions conditional on progress in cutting deforestation rates. The fund will finance conservation, scientific research and sustainable economic development.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN08531657

Ancient Acai: Amazonian Fruit's True Nutritional Properties

2009-03-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sambazon, World Leader in Acai, Stands up for the Amazonian Fruit's True Nutritional Properties

Sambazon, the pioneer and global market leader in acai, with certified organic food and beverage products sold in 10,000 retailers nationwide from Whole Foods to Publix, Kroger and Safeway, announces factual acai nutrition information in light of current false claims by acai scam campaigns and consumer watchdog organizations alike.

Acai, an Amazon palm berry historically consumed by locals for centuries, is a highly nutritious fruit scientifically found to be rich in powerful antioxidants and healthy omega fats. Sadly, the acai scams today are clearly misleading consumers with outrageous health claims from rapid weight loss to enhanced sexual performance. Sambazon urges consumers to be wary of claims made by online diet scams as well as those made by organizations discrediting the many true benefits of acai -- and for those consumers unfortunately caught up in a scam, we encourage them to contact the BBB.

There is an increasing amount of misleading information in circulation comparing packaged products to whole fruit or juice in an inaccurate attempt to discredit the true properties of acai. Years of tests conducted by accredited organizations in Brazil and the U.S. prove that when comparing pure fruit to pure fruit, or pure juice to pure juice, the antioxidant capacity of acai reigns superior to pomegranate, blueberry, blackberry and most fruits available.

"Acai is one of the few fruits that are rich in heart-healthy omega-9 fats, like the type you would find in olive oil," says David Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life. "A four-ounce portion of pure acai is only 100 calories, is low in sugar and contains powerful antioxidants including anthocyanins which may help fight inflammation."

Over the course of 8 years, as part of their quality assurance standard operating procedures, Sambazon has spent over $500,000 dollars routinely testing the acai processed at their proprietary facility in the Brazilian Amazon to ensure that they continually are delivering the most nutritionally potent and highest quality acai available.

"Our acai products are packed with powerful antioxidants along with healthy fats -- claims that have been validated through years of scientific data," states Ryan Black, CEO, Sambazon. "It's a shame that the extravagant and unfounded claims made by illegal scam businesses are undermining the public's understanding of the true benefits of the fruit. With testimonials from renown athletes and nutritionists, and products that are consumed by millions of satisfied consumers worldwide, we're proud to offer the highest quality acai products made with integrity in every step of the process -- the 'real deal.'"

About Sambazon

Sambazon is the global market leader in Acai -- a delicious and powerfully nutritious purple berry that grows on palm trees in the Amazon Rainforest. Sambazon's product portfolio of Organic Acai beverages, frozen Acai berry products and Acai supplements are enjoyed by both world-class athletes and health-conscious consumers, and available at major retailers across North America including Whole Foods Market, Jamba Juice, Krogers and thousands of grocery chains, specialty stores and juice bars across the country.

Sambazon's market-driven conservation business model in the Amazon Rainforest promotes forest stewardship, creates new jobs, improves living conditions and educational opportunities for thousands of small family farmers through the sustainable management of the Acai palm tree.

In 2006, Condoleezza Rice named Sambazon winner of the "Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence" for helping to create worldwide awareness and demand for the Acai fruit while supporting local indigenous communities in Brazil.

To learn more about Sambazon Acai and creating positive change in the Amazon and beyond please visit www.sambazon.com.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/sambazon-world-leader-acai-stands-amazonian-fruits-true-nutritional-properties/

Norway emerges as champion of rainforest conservation

2009-03-20T13:33:00.001-07:00

Scandinavian country with population 1.5 percent that of the United States is the biggest international funder of rainforest conservation.

While citizens in western countries have long paid lip service to saving rainforests, Norway has quietly emerged as the largest and most important international force in tropical forest conservation. The small Scandinavian country has committed 3 billion krone ($440 million) a year to the effort, a figure vastly greater than the $100M pledged — but never fully contributed — by the United States under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA). Norway now hopes it can help push to include forest conservation in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol by providing funding and fostering cooperation among international actors like the UN and World Bank, as well as developing countries, to fund the creation of an international architecture which makes it possible to incorporate deforestation and degradation into a post-2012 climate regime.

Norway's leadership on forest conservation arose from its concern over the impacts of climate change and what it sees as an attractive source for cuts in carbon dioxide emissions: reducing deforestation and forest degradation, which together account for roughly 20 percent of emissions caused by human activity or more than all the world's trucks, cars, ships and airplanes combined. The country, which is the world's third-largest gas exporter, the fourth-biggest oil exporter, and has some of the highest emissions per capita in Europe, aims to be carbon neutral — in terms of compensating for all remaining domestic emissions through emission reductions in other countries — by 2030. Although Norway was among the first countries in the world to adopt a carbon tax (in 1991) and hydropower is the source of nearly 99 percent of its electricity, it needs to aggressively reduce n emissions to meet its targets.

Norway's intention to support forest conservation as a mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas emissions was announced by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the 2007 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali, Indonesia. At the time, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), was still a somewhat esoteric idea for curtailing emissions; one championed by a handful of major conservation groups, a coalition of tropical nations led by Papua New Guinea, and the World Bank. Today the landscape has changed. REDD — in various forms — is backed by a broad range of interests, from politicians to business leaders to environmental groups. Still, few have ventured forth with the funds needed to jumpstart REDD projects. The United States for example has not directly committed money to the initiative. Norway hopes its commitment will prod other countries to follow its example.

"The Norwegian government realized REDD was a field which needed leadership in order to kick start the process," Hans Brattskar, ambassador and director of the Norwegian government's International Climate and Forest Initiative, told mongabay.com. "Norway, by making significant initial contributions, could be catalytic in the sense that we could start building the international framework needed to make it easier for other countries to follow."

"Our main goals are to include emissions from deforestation and degradation in a new climate regime and to reduce emissions from forests—but we also recognize that this may have added value in terms of protecting biodiversity, strengthening indigenous people's interests and improving local livelihoods," he continued.

The Norwegian government cites these multiple benefits — a "triple dividend" — as the critical reason for supporting REDD. It also sees REDD as an opportunity to engage developing countries in climate negotiations set to resume in Copenhagen this December.

"We think it is important to underline that REDD is more than development aid, and more than combating climate change," Brattskar said. "It might seem ambitious but we strongly hope that the work with reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation can create deep, substantial, lasting partnerships between developed and developing countries to help put the latter on the path to genuine, sustainable, low-carbon development."

Oil palm plantation border rainforest. Oil palm has arisen as an important driver of deforestation in Southeast Asia
Norway is optimistic about the potential of REDD to simultaneously reduce the risk of dangerous climate change, alleviate rural poverty, and protect ecosystem services and biodiversity. But it notes that daunting challenges need to be overcome, including building capacity for developing nations to reduce deforestation, thus ensuring equitable distribution of benefits to stakeholders including forest people, verifying reductions in emissions, and providing the long-term funding needed to compete economically with the primary drivers of deforestation, among them agriculture and logging.

"REDD is recognized as a cost-effective and relatively fast way to reduce emissions," Brattskar said, but added that it will be neither cheap nor easy. "Our main goal and challenge is the inclusion of REDD in a future climate regime, in a form that ensures cooperation and predictable financing for REDD in developing forest countries."

Norway has demonstrated its willingness to commit substantial sums for forest conservation — provided recipient countries honor their commitments to reduce deforestation. Last year Norway pledged up to a billion dollars to Brazil's Amazon Fund, an initiative that seeks to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 70 percent relative to a 1996-2005 baseline. It also announced NOK 500 million ($73 million) towards the development and implementation of a national REDD strategy in Tanzania over the next five years, millions of dollars for the South American country of Guyana, and more than $100 million to Congo Basin countries. It continues to seek new partnerships and opportunities in countries committed to developing national strategy plans for REDD. Most of the support is channeled through multilateral organizations such as the African development bank (which administers the Congo Basin Forest Fund), the World Bank (Forest Carbon Partnership Facility) and the UN (UN Redd Programme) that support countries in drafting national strategies for REDD.

Norway is counting on other industrialized nations to eventually join the effort initiative by supporting multilateral processes for REDD. Brattskar said Britain is already providing financial backing for the Congo Basin Forest Fund while Germany is supporting forest conservation through its international climate initiative. He said other donor countries are showing "great interest".

"In addition to our contributions to the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is also supported by a number of other countries, Norway is financing the first phase of the United Nations' REDD program," which is run by three UN agencies, UNEP, FAO and UNDP. "In the long run, this needs to be supplemented by funding from other donors. We do not want this to be seen as a 'Norwegian project'."

"We are certainly not alone in this field. At the same time, we would strongly appreciate more countries' getting involved and providing support to REDD efforts."

Norway has demonstrated its willingness to commit substantial sums for forest conservation — provided recipient countries honor their commitments to reduce deforestation. Last year Norway pledged up to a billion dollars to Brazil's Amazon Fund, an initiative that seeks to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 70 percent relative to a 1996-2005 baseline. It also announced NOK 500 million ($73 million) towards the development and implementation of a national REDD strategy in Tanzania over the next five years, millions of dollars for the South American country of Guyana, and more than $100 million to Congo Basin countries. It continues to seek new partnerships and opportunities in countries committed to developing national strategy plans for REDD. Most of the support is channeled through multilateral organizations such as the African development bank (which administers the Congo Basin Forest Fund), the World Bank (Forest Carbon Partnership Facility) and the UN (UN Redd Programme) that support countries in drafting national strategies for REDD.

Norway is counting on other industrialized nations to eventually join the effort initiative by supporting multilateral processes for REDD. Brattskar said Britain is already providing financial backing for the Congo Basin Forest Fund while Germany is supporting forest conservation through its international climate initiative. He said other donor countries are showing "great interest".

"In addition to our contributions to the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is also supported by a number of other countries, Norway is financing the first phase of the United Nations' REDD program," which is run by three UN agencies, UNEP, FAO and UNDP. "In the long run, this needs to be supplemented by funding from other donors. We do not want this to be seen as a 'Norwegian project'."

"We are certainly not alone in this field. At the same time, we would strongly appreciate more countries' getting involved and providing support to REDD efforts."

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0319-norway_forests.html

Amazon Rainforest damage and destruction

2009-03-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

37,000 sq km of Amazon rainforest destroyed or damaged in 2008

New satellite system provides a more detailed look at forest degradation and may help Brazil stop deforestation before it occurs.

Logging and fires damaged nearly 25,000 square kilometers (9,650 square miles) of Amazon rainforest in the August 2007-July 2008 period, an increase of 67 percent over the prior year period, according to a new mapping system developed by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The damage comes on top of the nearly 12,000 sq km (4,600 sq mi) of rainforest that was cleared during the year.

The increase in activity has been attributed to the sharp rise in commodity prices over the past two years. While grain and meat prices have plunged since last March, higher prices have provided an impetus for converting land for agriculture and pasture. Accordingly, the burning season of 2007 (July-September) saw record numbers of fires in some parts of the Amazon as farmers, speculators, and ranchers set vast areas ablaze to prepare for the 2008 growing season. The high levels of degradation relative to deforestation for 2007-2008 may be an indication that some of the area slated for development was abandoned — before clearing — as commodity prices fell.

Mato Grosso and Pará, states on Brazil's agricultural frontier, saw the highest levels of deforestation and degradation. Large swathes of forest land and cerrado (tropical savanna) in both states have been converted for large cattle ranches and mechanized soy farms in recent years.

Monitoring deforestation before it occurs

The new system, dubbed DEGRAD, is based on special processing of satellite images provided by LANDSAT and the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS). DEGRAD may allow Brazil to become the first rainforest nation to accurately track carbon dioxide released during deforestation and forest degradation, the source of roughly two-thirds of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions. Such monitoring capacity is critical to REDD, a proposed mechanism for compensating countries for reducing such emissions. Brazil expects to enhance the system when it launches the Amazon-1, an advanced satellite that will use cloud-penetrating technology to allow more detailed monitoring of the Amazon.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0319-brazil_inpe_degrad.html

New report confirms uncontacted tribe has been fleeing to Brazil

2009-03-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

A report published today by Survival International confirms that some of the world’s last uncontacted Indians have been fleeing from Peru to Brazil in order to escape illegal logging.

The report details evidence found by employees of the Brazilian government’s Indian Affairs Department (FUNAI) since 2004. The evidence consists of numerous sightings of the Indians and includes photos of arrows belonging to them and houses built by them. It also includes mahogany boards which have floated past the FUNAI team’s protection post on the remote Envira River, coming downriver from Peru where uncontacted Indians are known to live.

‘(There has been a) forced migration of autonomous groups in Peru, caused by mahogany exploration in the headwaters of the Jurua, Purus and Envira (rivers in Peru),’ says Jose Carlos Meirelles, head of the FUNAI team, in the report. ‘The collection of arrows (belonging to the Indians) on my table is piling up. . . The situation will only be resolved when the Indians are left alone on the other side of the border.’
Download Survival's new report
(.pdf format)

Loggers have illegally invaded the uncontacted Indians’ land in Peru in search of some of the last commercially-viable mahogany trees in the world. They are often armed and expose the Indians to diseases to which they have no immunity. After loggers forced first contact with members of the Murunahua in 1996, an estimated half of the tribe were wiped out.

Survival’s report urges Peru’s government ‘to protect uncontacted Indians’ land by removing all loggers and prohibiting the entry of any other outsiders and any form of natural resource extraction in areas where they live. . . At present, uncontacted Indians are at huge risk and face extinction.’

http://www.survival-international.org/news/4333

Prince of Wales continues tour of the Amazon

2009-03-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, toured the Amazon in Brazil, home to the world's biggest rain forest, British broadcaster Sky News reported on Sunday.

Charles and his wife arrived on Friday in the state capital, Manaus, as part of their four-day visit to Latin America's biggest country.

The couple's trip culminated in Manaus, the Amazon's biggest city with a population of two million, where he and Camilla have been staying.

Charles met with the Maguari people as he traveled down the Amazon River, dancing with locals and playing music instruments.

The prince has been traveling in South America for a week to raise awareness about climate change and the problem of deforestation of rainforests.

Prince Charles is a known environmentalist and has spent more than 20 years campaigning on climate matters.

On Friday he was named "Friend of the Forest" by the Governor of the Amazonas state for his efforts.

Carlos Miller, of the Amazon Permaculture Institute said the Prince was one of his idols "because he has been pushing this sustainable agenda for years."

On Thursday, Prince Charles told a group of business leaders in Rio de Janeiro that mankind has 100 months or less to save the planet from a climate-caused disaster.

The British royal couple will next be in Ecuador and its Galapagos Islands, the final stop on their tour of South America.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/World/2009/03/15/Prince-of-Wales-continues-tour/1237134939.html

Amazonian amphibian diversity traced to Andes

2009-03-10T11:10:00.001-07:00

Study of poison frogs the first to show that the Andes Mountains have been a major source of diversity for the Amazon basin

Colorful poison frogs in the Amazon owe their great diversity to ancestors that leapt into the region from the Andes Mountains several times during the last 10 million years, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin suggests.

This is the first study to show that the Andes have been a major source of diversity for the Amazon basin, one of the largest reservoirs of biological diversity on Earth. The finding runs counter to the idea that Amazonian diversity is the result of evolution only within the tropical forest itself.

"Basically, the Amazon basin is a 'melting pot' for South American frogs," says graduate student Juan Santos, lead author of the study. "Poison frogs there have come from multiple places of origin, notably the Andes Mountains, over many millions of years. We have shown that you cannot understand Amazonian biodiversity by looking only in the basin. Adjacent regions have played a major role."

Santos and Dr. David Cannatella, professor of integrative biology, published their findings this month in the journal PLoS Biology.

It has been assumed that much of the evolution of biodiversity in the Amazon basin occurred over the last one to two million years, a mere snapshot in time.

Santos and Cannatella peered about 45 million years into the past using novel biogeographical techniques to create a deep evolutionary history of poison frogs in space and time. Because of the lack of an extensive fossil record for the tropical forest, their work used DNA sequences to discover the frogs' evolutionary history.

The poison frogs, or dendrobatids, are diverse and widely distributed across the Neotropics, an area that includes Central and South America. The scientists created an evolutionary tree, or phylogeny, using 223 of the 353 species of poison frogs known from throughout this region.

In analyzing the evolutionary relationships among the poison frogs, they discovered that Amazonian diversity is the result of at least 14 dispersals of ancestral frogs into the region beginning about 23 million years ago.

All living Amazonian poison frogs evolved from these ancestors, most of which (11 dispersals) came from the Andes Mountains.

The Amazon basin has changed dramatically over that long time. A large inland system of water has come and gone, the Andes Mountains started their uplift (about 15 million years ago) and the Amazon River was formed (about nine million years ago).

Most of the frog dispersals from the Andes occurred between one and seven million years ago, when the modern tropical rainforest of the Amazon River basin was forming.

"There was a repeated dispersal of frogs from the foothills of the Andes after the extensive inland wetlands retreated from the Amazon," says Santos.

These frogs then evolved into about 70 species found today in the Amazon basin.

The scientists also discovered that frogs have historically immigrated out of the Amazon basin to adjacent areas, and to and from other regions within the Neotropics.

Evolution and diversification of the poison frogs is ongoing, especially in the Amazon rainforest, the Chocó (a narrow region of tropical forest along the northwest Pacific Coast of South America) and in adjacent Central America.

Cannatella says many other tropical plants and animals in the Amazon may share this more complex geographical and temporal history with the poison frogs.

"The Amazon rainforest is not just gradually accumulating diversity over time," says Cannatella. "Ancestral frog species moved into and out of the area, and we can predict that other organisms restricted to these wet tropical forests may show a similar pattern of dispersal, evolution.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uota-aad030309.php

Acai Berry

2009-03-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

As part of the Organic-Acai-Berry.com ongoing effort to help consumers select the highest quality acai berry products with the highest potency, the company has published on it's website an Acai Berry Buyers Guide. This guide provides a simple overview of some of the critical criteria that consumers should look for, when shopping for acai products.

The reason to buy acai berry products is to get the nutritional benefits that this remarkable fruit offers. But there are wide differences in nutritional value from product to product.

In order to reap the benefits of acai you must buy the most potent products.

We like freeze dried the best because the freeze drying process captures the nutritional properties of the fresh fruit.
acai berry is an excellent source of nutrition but consumers should understand that they are getting little more than aggravation when something is advertised as free.

According to company spokesperson Charlie Lynch, "The reason to buy acai berry products is to get the nutritional benefits that this remarkable fruit offers. But there are wide differences in nutritional value from product to product." He adds "In order to reap the benefits of acai you must buy the most potent products."

Unlike most acai berry related websites, the Organic-Acai-Berry.com website explains how consumers can distinquish between the highest quality acaiberry products and those of lesser quality. According to Lynch, acai is widely accepted to be a remarkably nutritious fruit with an unusually high level of antioxidants but many companies are going overboard by making outrageous health claims. And many of these companies fail to disclose the amount of acai in their products, or exactly which ingredients are contained in the products they offer.

The company website explains the different forms of acai that are available outside of the rainforest region of Brazil. The acai berry grows only in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. And within a short time after harvesting the fruit begins to lose nutritional potency, which is the case with many other fruits as well. Therefore, the fresh acai fruit is not available outside of Brazil. If the fresh fruit was shipped to the US, for instance, it would be nutritionally worthless by the time it was purchased from a supermarket shelf.

Since buying fresh acai fruit outside of Brazil is not feasible, consumers must select from other forms of the fruit. Company spokesman Lynch says "We like freeze dried the best because the freeze drying process captures the nutritional properties of the fresh fruit." Lynch says the company's favorite freeze dried acai product is the product called Perfect Acai which is available through the company website.

In order to help consumers avoid rip-offs and time consuming entanglements, the company has been aggressively warning consumers to reject free offers for acai products, as well as free offers for most other products too since most of free offer promotions are essentially marketing ploys in which consumers requesting the free samples are unwittingly placed in monthly auto-shipment programs. These programs automatically ship products and they are often extremely difficult to cancel. Victims have reported great difficulty cancelling these programs as a result of hard to find customer service phone numbers, disconnected phone lines, and excessively long hold times. These free offer schemes often bury the disclosure about the auto shipment programs behind links titled 'Terms' or 'Terms and Conditions' which many people don't read. The company advises consumers to simply avoid websites promoting free offers altogether and to realize that it is not realistic to expect to get something for nothing. They have placed an acai berry scam alert prominently on the website to help consumers avoid these problems. When something is advertised as being free there is usually a catch. They also advise consumers to read product labels in order to make sure they are getting the best product available at a fair price. Flynn says "acai berry is an excellent source of nutrition but consumers should understand that they are getting little more than aggravation when something is advertised as free."

http://www.prweb.com/releases/acai/berry/prweb2210504.htm

Prince Charles: 100 months to save the world

2009-03-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Prince Charles: 100 months to save the world

The Prince of Wales is to issue a stark warning that nations have "less than 100 months to act" to save the planet from irreversible damage due to climate change.

Prince Charles will say that the need to tackle global warming is more urgent than ever before and that, even in a global recession, the world must not lose sight of the "bigger picture".

His warning will be delivered on Thursday in a keynote speech in Rio de Janeiro.

Aides believe it will echo one he gave in Sao Paulo in 1991 at the start of the last recession, when he warned that caring for the world's long term welfare must not become a "luxury".

The intervention will help to put the environment at the top of the political agenda ahead of the meeting of G20 leaders in London next month.

The Prince starts a ten-day tour of South America today during which he will be playing an elevated role as an international statesman working on behalf of the Government to support British interests on key issues.

Senior sources have revealed that Gordon Brown's Government wants to make more use on the foreign stage of Prince Charles's experience, expertise and contacts, particularly on climate change.

Government officials believe that the Prince's passion to protect the environment is hugely respected abroad and that he can play an increasing important role as he inevitably moves closer to becoming king.

Some believe he is an "asset" that has been underused in the past and they want to use him more in a role of "soft diplomacy".

In Thursday's speech, the Prince will warn that a failure to act in the next eight years will have catastrophic effects for the planet.

In the country that is home to the world's largest rainforest, Prince Charles will urge world unity to combat deforestation in the run-up to the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen in December this year.

He will say there is not necessarily a clash between the needs of big business and the environment. He will argue that being green can be good for businesses and can create jobs.

The Prince will say that tackling deforestation in the 3.5 billion acres of rainforest on the planet is a key priority.

According to royal aides, Prince Charles will tell business leaders that he is in South America to "listen and learn" and that he believes that Brazil and other neighbouring countries must lead the way in moves to save the rainforests.

The Prince will also visit the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest rainforest, on Saturday.

The Prince's tour to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador (including the Galapagos Islands), when he will be accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, will see a greater emphasis than ever before on him becoming involved in talks with prime ministers, presidents and senior politicians, in a move aimed at promoting British interests abroad.

It is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), not the Prince himself, which chooses the location for his royal tours and South America is considered the ideal platform for his views.

One Government source said: "The Prince's visit to South America is very much in tune with the priorities that we have.

"Given both the Prince's position as a future head of state and his personal commitment to protecting the environment, we believe he can have a real impact abroad"

In a possible sign of his elevated role, Prince Charles will meet Barack Obama when the new US President comes to Britain next month for the G20 London summit.

They will meet at, or even before, a Buckingham Palace reception when the Prince is expected to raise climate change issues with the President.

Royal aides have welcomed the opportunity for the Prince to expand his role on behalf of the Government. One senior official said: "It could be argued that he has already established a role as an international statesman, especially on green issues.

"This is one of the reasons why Government has asked him to go to South America. He will be conducting Government business and one of his roles is to support the UK's environmental objectives."

This is the major royal overseas tour for the first half of the year. He will be meeting the presidents and heads of governments in each of the three countries for talks.

"In Chile and Brazil, he will host a "round table" meeting for corporate leaders aimed at encouraging businesses to do more to tackle climate change.

"This is about soft diplomacy," said a senior aide. "The Prince of Wales is not a politician who sits down with a world leader and hammers out an agreement.

"But what he can do is show support and get over the message that Britain wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with these countries in the fight against climate change, and bring his own experience and knowledge to bear."

Courtiers at Clarence House dislike suggestions that the Prince of Wales, who was 60 last year, is a "shadow king" keen to take on duties from his mother, who is 82.

However, one Government source said: "There is no plan for Prince to take over specific duties from the Queen but common sense dictates that as she gets older her diary will be tailored accordingly."

The Prince is likely eventually to take on more of the long, arduous overseas tours stand in for her at more investitures.

One senior FCO official said: "We are hugely supportive of this visit. The Prince's commitment to sustainable development is very much in line with one of our main priorities.

"The Prince's visit will advance that agenda in terms of both UK interests and the engagement of other countries in pursuing it.

"The real personal commitment that Prince Charles has to environmental issues and his interest in sustainable development really resonates with people, both at Government level and ordinary individuals."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/4952918/Prince-Charles-we-have-100-months-to-save-the-world.html

Amazon's Carbon Sink Under Threat

2009-03-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Researchers monitoring the long-term health of the Amazon tropical rainforest have made a startling discovery. A severe drought in 2005 not only restricted the rainforest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also, in some cases, killed off so many trees that it made areas net CO2 emitters. The findings, to be reported in tomorrow's issue of Science, suggest that not even rainforests can be considered fail-safe when it comes to sequestering greenhouse gases.

When the world's tropical rainforests are growing, they can absorb a huge amount of CO2 from the atmosphere--on the order of 1.8 billion metric tons annually, or nearly one-fifth of global emissions from fossil-fuel combustion. But when trees are not healthy, they don't use nearly as much CO2, and in some cases they can even be a net emitter.

RAINFOR, a team of scientists from 13 nations, has been tracking forest health in the Amazon for the past 25 years by surveying 136 plots scattered across 44 sites in the region. When the drought struck in 2005, the researchers raced across the Amazon Basin to assess the potential damage. They managed to remeasure 55 of the plots that year. Before the drought, trees on 76% of those plots had been sequestering about 0.5 tons of carbon per year per hectare, while the remainder were growing less rapidly and therefore packing away less carbon. During the drought, however, only 51% continued to sequester carbon, while the rest lost carbon--as much as 6 tons per year per hectare--the result of rot and digestion by soil microbes.

"We found the Amazon surprisingly sensitive to drought," says ecologist and lead author Oliver Phillips of the University of Leeds in the U.K. The 2005 event "was strong enough to switch the forest from being a long-term absorber of CO2 ... to being a temporary source of CO2." Because some climate models point to increased incidences of drought in the Amazon Basin this century, he adds, the loss of tropical rainforests as a carbon sink could cause CO2 levels to rise even faster.

Ronald Neilson, a bioclimatologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service in Corvallis, Oregon, says the study shows that drought in the rainforest "can have a very significant impact on the planetary carbon balance." But he points out that because droughts tend to produce fewer cloudy days, increased sunlight may encourage growth even in dry weather.

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/305/1

Amazon Rainforest Carbon Sink Threatened By Drought

2009-03-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

The Amazon is surprisingly sensitive to drought, according to new research conducted throughout the world's largest tropical forest. The 30-year study, published in Science, provides the first solid evidence that drought causes massive carbon loss in tropical forests, mainly through killing trees.

"For years the Amazon forest has been helping to slow down climate change. But relying on this subsidy from nature is extremely dangerous", said Professor Oliver Phillips, from the University of Leeds and the lead author of the research.

"If the earth's carbon sinks slow or go into reverse, as our results show is possible, carbon dioxide levels will rise even faster. Deeper cuts in emissions will be required to stabilise our climate."

The study, a global collaboration between more than 40 institutions, was based on the unusual 2005 drought in the Amazon. This gave scientists a glimpse into the region's future climate, in which a warming tropical North Atlantic may cause hotter and more intense dry seasons.

The 2005 drought sharply reversed decades of carbon absorption, in which Amazonia helped slow climate change.

In normal years the forest absorbs nearly 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. The drought caused a loss of more than 3 billion tonnes. The total impact of the drought - 5 billion extra tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - exceeds the annual emissions of Europe and Japan combined.

"Visually, most of the forest appeared little affected, but our records prove tree death rates accelerated. Because the region is so vast, even small ecological effects can scale-up to a large impact on the planet's carbon cycle," explained Professor Phillips.

Some species, including some important palm trees, were especially vulnerable", said Peruvian botanist and co-author Abel Monteagudo, "showing that drought threatens biodiversity too."

The Amazon accounts for more than half of the world's rainforest, covering an area 25 times as great as the United Kingdom. No other ecosystem on Earth is home to so many species nor exerts such control on the carbon cycle.

The study involved 68 scientists from 13 countries working in RAINFOR, a unique research network dedicated to monitoring the Amazonian forests.

To calculate changes in carbon storage they examined more than 100 forest plots across the Amazon's 600 million hectares, identified and measured over 100,000 trees, and recorded tree deaths as well as new trees. Weather patterns were also carefully measured and mapped.

In the wake of the 2005 drought the RAINFOR team took advantage of this huge natural experiment, and focused their measurements to assess how the drought had affected the forest.

The study found that for at least 25 years the Amazon forest acted as a vast carbon sink. A similar process has also been occurring in Africa.

In fact, over recent decades the tropical forests have absorbed one fifth of global fossil fuel emissions.

But in 2005 this process was reversed. Tree death accelerated most where drought was strongest, and locations subject even to mild drying were affected. Because of the study, we now know the precise sensitivity of the Amazon to warming and drought.

If repeated, Amazon droughts will accelerate climate warming and make future droughts even more damaging.

The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305141625.htm

World Bank Approves $1.3 Bln for Brazil Environment

2009-03-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

The World Bank approved today a $1.3 billion loan to help Brazil curb deforestation in the Amazon region and expand renewable energy.

The loan will be disbursed in two parts, with the second $500 million portion delivered upon fulfillment of goals set by Brazil that reconcile environmental protection with faster economic growth, the World Bank said in an e-mailed statement.

Deforestation in the Amazon region increased last year for the first time since 2004 to 7,341 square kilometers as surging prices for cattle and soybeans lured illegal land grabbers deeper into the world’s largest rainforest.

Environment Minister Carlos Minc announced last year a plan to slash deforestation 70 percent by 2017, a target contained in Brazil’s broader climate-change plan supported by the World Bank loans.

Ten environmental groups in Brazil had urged the World Bank to postpone a decision on the loan, arguing in a public letter that prior loans aimed at mainstreaming environmental considerations in economic growth policies have failed.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva created last year an international fund that will seek to raise $21 billion in donations over the next 13 years to finance conservation and sustainable development projects in the Amazon.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=algDrFzOfOMw&refer=latin_america#

Shallow clouds track deforestation

2009-03-02T07:57:00.001-08:00

Shallow clouds tend to form over deforested areas of the Amazon while deep clouds are more prevalent above the remaining forest. Now researchers from the US and Brazil have studied the mechanism behind this phenomenon and found that the mix of forested and deforested patches in damaged areas causes local atmospheric circulations that affect cloud distribution.

"The radiosonde data prepared by my collaborators made it possible to directly study the environmental conditions under which shallow and deep clouds occurred," Jingfeng Wang of MIT told environmentalresearchweb. "In fact, we have refuted several initial thoughts on the possible explanations of the observed cloud patterns as the research progressed."

Wang and colleagues believe they have assembled by far the most direct evidence that local atmospheric circulations driven by the inhomogeneous land cover due to deforestation in the Amazon basin are responsible for the distributions of clouds. "A common explanation would be that more active shallow clouds over the deforested area were caused by the boundary layer turbulence, which is more intensive due to stronger surface heating over grassy surfaces than over dense intact forest," he said. "We found this is not true in the deforested Amazon."

Together with colleagues at MIT, the University of Michigan, the Instituto Nacional Presquisa Espaciais, Brazil, and the University of California, Irvine, Wang studied an area of rainforest in the Rondonia, Brazil using radiosonde data taken in 1994 as part of the Rondonian Boundary Layer Experiment (RBLE-3) under the Anglo-Brazilian Amazonian Climate Observation Study (ABRACOS). Cloud information was provided by ivisible and infrared images from two NOAA satellites – GOES-7 and GOES-8. The area of deforestation studied contained a typical “fishbone” pattern of strips of tree removal.

While partially deforested areas exhibited a less unstable atmosphere than the neighbouring dense forest, the team found that shallow clouds formed over them. The researchers believe this was most likely due to mesoscale circulations developing from the contrast between forested and unforested strips and acting as a lifting mechanism. Boundary layer turbulence appeared to play a secondary role. Over the forest, a lack of lifting mechanism suppressed convective activity even though the atmosphere was more unstable. Those shallow clouds that did develop over forested areas eventually became deep clouds.

"The Amazon rainforest has some resilience in response to human-related disturbances - deforestation, fire etc. – but only to a certain degree," said Wang. "The clouds-landcover interplay may provide a negative feedback mechanism to restore the lost forest as long as the forest over a large domain is not completely removed. Whether the Amazon ecosystem is able to recover from the deforestation, in my opinion, depends on the size and shape of the land-cover caused by the deforestation."

Wang reckons this study is a step towards finding the threshold for deforestation beyond which the "green-ocean" of the Amazon – so-called because of the similarity in behaviour of the atmosphere above it to that above the oceans – will collapse.

Now the researchers plan to study other areas in the Amazon where deforestation has created much more uniform land cover to find out whether mesoscale circulations still play a major role in cloud climatology.

http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/research/38055

Climate forum: Water, wind and fire bombard Earth

2009-03-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

Stronger but maybe fewer hurricanes. Larger storm surges from ever-rising seas. More fires from intense lightning bolts.

Scientists and economists plan to explore those and other predicted consequences of global warming during Tuesday's forum at Florida Tech.

The changes could happen faster than many think because global warming is not linear, said Mark Bush, a Florida Tech biologist and speaker. He has found geological evidence of drastic species extinction in the Amazon rainforest and other hotspots of biological diversity as a result of past abrupt climate shifts.

"Amazonia is going to become very flammable," Bush said at another recent climate change forum at Florida Tech. Long term, "Brazil will basically lose its Amazon forest, and that will be a huge extinction event. We hit tipping points. We're very close to them."

Global warming could fuel more lightning, resulting in more forest fires, especially in the tropics, researchers have found.

Lightning bolts, like tailpipes and smokestacks, form nitrogen dioxides, a chemical compound that contributes to lung damage and acid rain. Scientists want to know how climate change might affect lightning intensity and contribute to nitrogen dioxides in the atmosphere.

Joseph Dwyer, a world authority on lightning, will talk about his research into thunderstorm physics and X-rays and gamma-ray flashes from lightning.

Recent studies show wave heights have increased over the past few decades because of more hurricanes and more powerful storms.

Randy Parkinson, a Melbourne consultant with the Brevard County Climate Change Group, plans to present evidence of the accelerating rise in sea level.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090302/NEWS01/903020314/1006

Humans: the Amazon’s greatest enemy

2009-02-27T06:01:00.001-08:00

Human activity continue to be biggest threat to the “planet’s lungs.”

British researchers recently found that the Amazon rainforest is in a better state to confront climate change than previously thought.

But the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences, said there is a clear possibility that human activity could cause a rapid degradation of Amazon forest this century.

The study simulated and compared 19 possible global climate change models and their effects on the land, but found that they underestimated current rainfall levels in the Amazon region and were unable to copy some of the intricacies of the South American climate and geography.

The researchers found that the eastern Amazon will likely maintain its rainfall level to possibly become a seasonally dry, or monsoonal climate, instead of a dry savannah climate, but added that greenhouse gas emissions must be controlled.

"The study warns that [seasonal dry] areas will become tinderboxes if deforestation, logging and heavy fire use is not controlled," a release said.

Natural resource exploitation, infrastructure development and human settlements are further threatening the Amazon, which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

The population in the Amazon region has increased by nearly 580 percent in the last 40 years, the United Nations Environment Program said in a Feb. 18 study. Brazil´s Amazon region highways increased 10-fold between 1975 and 2005.

"The dominant production model that does not take any lasting development criteria into account, is driving the fragmentation of ecosystems and the erosion of biodiversity," said the UN study, which was conducted along with Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization.

http://www.latinamericapress.org/articles.asp?art=5803

The Endless Allure of El Dorado

2009-02-27T05:37:00.000-08:00

Following in the Footsteps of a British Explorer Who Vanished in the Brazilian Jungle

Percy Harrison Fawcett, the affection-starved son of an independently wealthy Devon cricketer, joined the British army, got "slightly gassed" during World War I, surveyed Bolivia, went quietly mad, devoted his middle years to searching for the Lost Cities of the Brazilian rainforest and, while doing so in 1925, vanished.

Men who go missing -- think Livingstone, Scott, Shackleton -- are much beloved in the British Isles. Col. Fawcett's story gripped the nation for years: Expeditions were sent to look for him; contrite Brazilian Indians offered up bones, strips of cloth and wristwatches that may have been his; and others told stories of how he had been clubbed to death or tossed into the Xingu River by their recent ancestors. His widow, Cheeky, still alive when I was a schoolboy, to her very last kept up pressure to find her long-lost husband. But his fate remains unknown, and his Lost City -- of which Arthur Conan Doyle made much, with the Professor Challenger of his novels based largely on Fawcett -- remains unfound.
[Percy Fawcett mapping the frontier between Brazil and Bolivia in 1908.] Royal Geographical Society

Numberless books and articles have over the past 80 years retold a story that is known to British audiences to the point of tedium but less familiar here in America. Now in the hands of David Grann, an amusingly self-deprecating Brooklyn nerd on the staff of the New Yorker, it is brought vividly alive once more in "The Lost City of Z."

So good is his recounting of the yarn that no less a luminary than Brad Pitt is said to be interested in a film version. Since poisoned arrows, cannibalism, impenetrable canopies of rainforest, incomprehensible maps, utility-pole-size pythons, stiff upper lips, gray-bearded geographers, steam packets, naked jungle folk and incessant drumming -- as well as possibly the aforementioned Mr. Pitt -- all figure boldly in the epic, it is not hard to imagine Hollywood backer-types feeling the near-certainty of commercial reward.

What makes Mr. Grann's telling of the story so captivating is that he decides not simply to go off in search of yet more relics of our absent hero -- but to go off himself in search of the city that Fawcett was looking for so heroically when he suddenly went AWOL.

Fawcett had first read about the supposed city in 1920, while researching the El Dorado legend in the manuscript department of the National Library of Brazil, in Rio. He came across a slim and rather beautiful book, its fabric pages half-eaten by ants and worms. It had apparently been written by an 18th-century Portuguese mercenary and gold-seeking adventurer offering an account of his discovery in the heart of the jungle of "a large, hidden, and very ancient city."

Fawcett was certain that the document was genuine (so was the explorer Richard Burton, who also saw it and translated it). Though others have not been so sure (could a mere gold prospector have mastered such impeccable calligraphy?), the account swiftly became the fons et origo of Fawcett's fatal obsession. He persuaded the Brazilian government and the Royal Geographical Society in London to help fund a series of expeditions to go and look for the city, which he somewhat unimaginatively called "Z." Six months after first reading the bandeirante's account, he was axing his way merrily through the remote jungles of an Amazon tributary, at the start of what would be five years of incessant questing.

Mr. Grann -- with his kindly sounding wife clearly fretting that the degenerative eye condition from which he suffers might make it tricky for him to avoid pythons and poisoned darts and so advising him not to be "stupid" while up-country -- went off to Rio to examine the same book. He found himself as convinced by it as Fawcett and Burton had been 80 years before and promptly thrust his exercise-averse body off into the jungle to look for Z himself. Before venturing to Brazil he also went to London to ferret through the well-thumbed RGS archives and then cleverly found, living in a Welsh bungalow, one of Fawcett's descendants, who let him look at her grandfather's diaries. (They turned out to be amusing but perhaps a little less valuable to the quest than the book's publicist would have us believe.)
[The Lost City of Z]

The Lost City of Z

Mr. Grann's accounts of his travels in central Brazil -- where he had a GPS device and satellite phone, ate freeze-dried chicken teriyaki, traveled in planes and SUVs, and suffered rather fewer hardships (other than getting muddy and pricked by thorns) than his illustrious predecessor -- are somewhat less successful than his well-wrought and occasionally funny historical account of the Fawcett saga. The characters he encounters are rather smaller than life: His guide was a samba dancer who dresses up as an explorer; his jungle Indians, who watch Woody Woodpecker on TV, seem more interested in coming to Manhattan than in hearing the story of Fawcett; and his expedition adviser turns out to be a smooth São Paolo banker wannabe who took a trip into the jungle in 1996 only to get his party detained and then released on payment of a derisory ransom.

Then again, and crucially, the author also encounters anthropological theories (with which South America is all too replete) that lead him to end the book all too fancifully. I found it tricky, for instance, to judge Michael Heckenberger, the Florida anthropology professor he meets in mid-jungle. In an online description of his work of 13 years in Brazil, Mr. Heckenberger says that it "requires a commitment to holistic and deeply contextual research and interpretation" and "is not framed in opposition to 'positivist' viewpoints, whether evolutionist or functionalist." But Mr. Grann has few doubts and seizes on his theories -- all too readily -- as a neat way to conclude his own search.

For when the bouffant-haired professor shows him what he insists is an ancient moat cut through the jungle and goes on to display other relics that, Mr. Grann says, "were, clearly, the remains of a massive man-made landscape," the author drinks the Kool-Aid lustily. "I began to picture the flutists and dancers . . . crossing moats and passing through tall palisade fences . . . along wide boulevards and bridges. . . . I could see this vanished world as if it were right in front of me. Z."

Oh, please. It is all just too pat, too wanting in healthy skepticism. Sure, after all the mud and scratched knees and far too many astronaut dinners, Mr. Grann surely wanted to go home to Brooklyn. But I wish he had lingered and considered the legacy of the poor, mad and utterly memorable Percy Harrison Fawcett. Though Brad Pitt might never notice, it would have made for an even better book.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123569217402288043.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Preventing pillage in the rainforest

2009-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

A scheme to regularise land holdings in the Amazon forest faces many obstacles

GRAND plans to halt the destruction of the Amazon rainforest have come and gone over the years with scant success, so a degree of scepticism about Brazil’s latest scheme seems justified. However, one positive sign is that, this time, the federal government seems to have recognised the importance of working with, rather than against, state governments in the region.

The new plan, discussed at a meeting of state governors and federal officials earlier this month, involves regularising the titles to 80% of the private land holdings in Brazilian Amazonia over the coming three years. This, it is hoped, will encourage the occupants to stay and improve their land instead of abandoning it and moving on to clear the next patch of virgin forest.
Click here to find out more!

A small-scale initiative under way near the village of São Luiz do Anauá in Roraima state provides an illustration of what the scheme hopes to achieve. The local soil is the colour of cement and almost as rich in nutrients. The area was deforested 15 years ago. Cattle ranchers came and went, and for the past few years the land has been unproductive. But now, neat rows of palms sit waiting to be planted, thanks to a biofuels company based in São Paulo.

Brazil lacks a central land register, suffers widespread forgery of title deeds and has a long history of squatters seizing land. A widely-quoted study by Imazon, an NGO, reckoned that only 4% of private land in Amazonia is covered by secure title deeds. Much of the rest has been grabbed in the hope of establishing de facto ownership eventually.

The government’s new scheme is, in principle, simple. Plots of up to 100 hectares (247 acres) will be given to the people farming them. Larger ones, of between 100 and 2,500 hectares, will be sold using various different pricing mechanisms. Plots of over 2,500 hectares will be reclaimed by the government, which is meant to own them anyway. Roberto Mangabeira Unger, the minister responsible for the new scheme, believes that solving the problem of insecure land title will “change the economic equation that has made pillage more attractive than either preservation or production in the Amazon.”

In the past, however, similar initiatives have floundered, for a number of reasons. First, state and federal governments have disagreed over who should be responsible for what. The state governors particularly dislike INCRA, a federal agency charged with distributing small plots of land. Eduardo Braga, the governor of Amazonas, says “INCRA abandoned the families it settled on land in the Amazon without electricity or infrastructure.” The agency certainly has a poor record of preventing deforestation on the land it administers.

Second, the existing laws that govern what land can be used and what cannot are confusing and close to unenforceable. In the 1960s and 1970s, farmers were sometimes required to cut down trees as a condition for getting credit from the state. Some token efforts were made to change this regime in the 1980s, and then in 1996 a decree was issued requiring 80% of each plot of land to be preserved as forest, with only 20% to be cultivated or ranched. This law is widely ignored, and when the government has tried to enforce it, it has often met with strong resistance from the men with the chainsaws. Given this history of mutual antagonism, the process is unlikely to be smooth.

Still, some of these problems have been resolved in the new plan, which has the force of law via a presidential decree. On a federal level, the Ministry for Agrarian Development will handle some of the implementation, taking it away from INCRA, which could be described politely as troubled. Mr Unger, a former Harvard law professor, seems to have succeeded in charming the governors of the states in the Amazon into a more co-operative mood. “We have Obama’s teacher here,” says José de Anchieta Júnior, the governor of Roraima, while addressing a public meeting in the state. “Things are looking up.”

Nevertheless, there is a risk that the scheme, by making it easier to get secure title for dubious land claims, might somehow stimulate demand for virgin forest land, not damp it. And, as ever, enforcing the rules will be the difficult bit. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government has shown an indulgent attitude to violations of property rights elsewhere in the country by the Landless Movement, making it an unlikely guardian of them now. The new scheme is not bound to fail, but the sceptics will take a bit more convincing.

http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13184683

Brazil's burden ... slavery

2009-02-22T22:14:00.001-08:00

IT was just after 8am when the growl of pick-up truck engines filled the car park outside the Augusto Palace Hotel and a convoy of four Mitsubishi 4x4s roared off into the tropical morning, the sun's fierce gaze already beating down on this remote and notoriously violent Amazon city.

Inside one of the vehicles sat Claudio Secchin, a fresh-faced Work Ministry inspector from Rio de Janeiro who has spent the past nine years battling a practice that was officially outlawed in Brazil over a century ago: slavery.

As ever, the atmosphere was tense as the convoy sped out of town and towards that day's target, kicking red clouds of dust up into the scorching air.

Four years ago, almost to the day, four of Secchin's colleagues from Brazil's mobile anti-slavery taskforce had been gunned down while on a similar mission. Now Secchin's team was accompanied by a handful of heavily-armed federal police agents, carrying pistols and automatic rifles.

"My wife thinks it's too dangerous," sighed 40-year-old Secchin, the father of a three-year-old girl. "She gets nervous."

Officially, slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888. But today, at the start of the 21st century, activists say as many as 50,000 impoverished Brazilian workers are still caught up in a web of exploitation, the majority here in the sprawling Amazon region.

The majority of Brazil's indentured workers hail from the country's dirt-poor north east and end up working as forced labourers in the Amazon.

Uneducated, unskilled and often almost completely unpaid, they are recruited by middlemen and then put to work clearing rainforest and making charcoal in order to pay off debts they have incurred while travelling to the region. Often they are forced to live in pigsties or squalid jungle camps. Some are prevented even from leaving by gunmen known here as pistoleiros.

Jose Batista, a local human rights activist who has dedicated his life to the battle against slavery, said one of the biggest challenges facing the government was the sheer size of the Amazon. It could take government officials days or even weeks to reach the remote areas where slaves were being held, he pointed out, making the Amazon a paradise for those wishing to profit from modern-day slavery.

"In this region of Brazil, crime pays," he said baldly.

In 2003 Brazil's leftist president Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva came to power vowing to change this reality and to bring the rule of law to a region often described as Brazil's Wild West.

Having been elected promising to transform Brazil, one of the world's most unequal countries, and help the poor, Lula doubled the work ministry's budget and began pumping extra funds into the mobile anti-slavery taskforces, known as the grupo moveis. It was an attempt, he said, to put an end to "Brazil's shame" once and for all.

Few doubt the group's successes. Last year the government's anti-slavery taskforce announced it had freed 4634 workers from "slave-like conditions" in 2008. According to government figures 31,726 workers were freed between 1995 and 2008, while more than 200 businesses are currently blacklisted because of involvement in slavery.

But despite the growing crackdown the practice of modern-day slavery persists, not just across the Amazon region but also in Brazil's south and midwest, where workers are put to work on sugar-cane plantations or soy farms.

With the sun forcing its way into the skies above Maraba, the Work Ministry convoy headed north, rattling past a monotonous horizon of cattle ranches and sawmills. Once this area was home to native Amazon rainforest. Now there is hardly a tree in sight, the result of 40 years of destruction at the hands of illegal loggers and cattle ranchers.

Fifteen kilometres out of town, Secchin and his team of inspectors pulled up at the gates of the Geladinho ranch. They had arrived at the day's target. On cue, 11 dishevelled workers emerged from the farm's rickety wooden charcoal factory. Wearing torn trousers, filthy T-shirts and rubber flip-flops, they wandered slowly towards the vehicles and asked simply: "Who are you?" The idea they might be saved by government officials hadn't crossed their minds.

Among the 11 workers was Walmir dos Santos, a 39-year-old farm hand from the north-eastern state of Maranhao. Mr Santos had arrived in Maraba by coach and was picked up from the bus station by a farmer who said he was looking for workers. For Mr Santos, born and brought up in one of the poorest backlands of Brazil, it had seemed like an opportunity too good to miss.

"At first I thought it was good because we came here in search of a better future," he recalled. "You know, we can't go back home without money and they said it was good around here."

But once at the farm he quickly realised he had been wrong. The workers were forced to drink from the same river used by cattle. The smoke from the charcoal furnace stung their eyes day and night. And while the farm owner did not directly threaten them, they had seen his weapons and feared what he might do if they tried to flee. It was difficult to sleep at night, he remembered.

"It hasn't been very good because all these things are happening and I don't really know what is going on," Mr Santos said.

For Claudio Secchin, a veteran of anti-slavery missions in the Amazon, this was just another day at work. But that made the situation no less disturbing.

"It is a shock for us when we come here. It is a situation of virtual anarchy' where everyone invents their own rules," he said.

Work inspectors like Mr Secchin share the frontline of Brazil's war on modern day slavery with dozens of anonymous heroes such as Jose Batista, a member of the Catholic support group the CPT, or Pastoral Land Commission.

The CPT, which has offices scattered across the Amazon, offers aid to workers who have fled abuse at remote jungle camps and provides information to the Brazilian work Ministry about the possible location of slaves.

Each year, hundreds of workers, fleeing their employers, arrive at the front door of the CPT's offices in central Maraba - a remote Amazon city so violent that locals have renamed it Marabala (Marabullet). Covered in insect bites and with their feet swollen from days walking in the forest, their stories are depressingly familiar.

"The story repeats itself," said Batista, explaining that the poverty-stricken north-east provided a constant flow of desperate workers who come to the region week after week only to fall into the same network of slavery.

As the son of an immigrant worker who was enslaved by unscrupulous farmers, Batista understands the mechanics of this trade better than most.

Batista charts the re-emergence of slavery back to the 1970s and the national integration plan, or Plano de Integracao Nacional, as it was known in Portuguese. Seeking to populate this vast Amazon region, the Brazilian government began to build a vast network of roads across the Amazon and offered incentives to farmers and businessmen who came to live and work here.

At the same time, faced with grinding poverty in the country's arid north east, many workers set off on open-backed trucks in search of a better future.

Some headed south to the favelas of Rio and Sao Paulo, Batista says, where they found "slums, misery and hunger". Others headed west to the Amazon rainforest, hoping to claim a piece of land or perhaps to build a house. Instead, however, many encountered debt-slavery, violence and even murder.

Having spent decades illegally deforesting the world's largest tropical rainforest, many ranchers no longer cared about what the government, thousands of kilometres away in Brasilia, might do, he said. "Impunity is the rule here."

"To say to these people that they should tell their workers they have rights well, it's unthinkable to them," Batista said, sitting next to eight bulging grey filing cabinets with labels such as "Massacres", "Slave Labour", "Conflict Areas" and "Rural murders".

The creation of Brazil's anti-slave taskforce in 1995 was an attempt to rescue these rights for men such as Francisco Raimundo Mendes, a 48-year-old farm hand from the rural north east who was also recently freed by the government taskforce.

"We were treated like slaves," said Mendes, who was paid less than two pounds a day to lift tree trunks. "We didn't stop work on Saturday, Sundays or even Christmas Day. It was so much suffering."

Few doubt that the raids, which have earned Brazil international praise, have improved things.

"Things have improved a lot here. Lots of people have corrected their ways and we are trying to move this cultural reality that means people come here and take advantage of the absence of the state to exploit others," says Secchin.

"The posture of the state over the last 15 years has made many people reflect on whether or not it is worth carrying on with this model."

Many, however, still do think it is worth it. While the public face of slavery are the exhausting looking workers the government rescues from remote farms, Batista, the activist, said he believed many workers were simply assassinated before they could report their employers to the government.

One worker, recently interviewed by Batista's team, recounted being told by his employer: "Any worker who has the courage to report me deserves a bullet." Another CPT activist in the remote Amazon town of Sao Felix do Xingu said she had recently heard reports of one worker's body being found floating in a local river, bound to a tractor tyre and riddled with bullets. The worker, she was told, had demanded his pay.

"The number of workers who are killed deep inside these farms is not in our statistics," Batista said.

"The raids are fundamental and have helped reduce the number of cases, but it is not enough," Batista added, arguing that without resolving the social problems of the north east, little would change.

Two says after the raid on the Geladinho ranch outside Maraba, Claudio Secchin and his team pulled up outside the city's work ministry in their white Mitsubishi L200. It was early afternoon and awaiting them were a dozen dusty-faced workers, among them the men freed earlier that week. They had come to receive compensation from their former employers.

The mood was upbeat among the unshaven workers, many of whom had not received their pay for months.

"I'll tell my friends back home not to come here, because it isn't very good," joked Walmir dos Santos, who said he planned to get the first bus out of Maraba as soon as he was paid. "That's what I'll tell them."

"After I leave the hospital I'm going back home to the north east," chipped in his colleague, Francisco Raimundo Mendes, who said he had suffered a hernia while lifting tree trunks at the ranch but had received no medical assistance. "Then I'll have to work again, I suppose."

But where would he find work, apart from here in the Amazon? He frowned and gazed out at a haze of pick-up trucks and lorries rushing past on the Trans-Amazonian highway.

"I don't have a clue," he said.

http://www.sundayherald.com/misc/print.php?artid=2490875

A Brief Tour of Brazilian Payments for Ecosystem Services

2009-02-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Brazil is home to more than four million plant and animal species – and, it seems, nearly as many laws and mechanisms for preserving the environment. That's one reason the next Katoomba Meeting is taking place in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso – at the heart of South America and the southern edge of the Amazon Rainforest.

Leading up to that event, Ecosystem Marketplace is examining Payments for Ecosystem Services in Latin America.First in a series

What pops to mind when you think of Brazil?

For many of us, it's the country's unending string of soccer virtuosos. For others, it's the four-day Carnaval that fills the streets of Rio and other cities this weekend.

But for ecologists, Brazil is something else altogether. It's the Amazon Rainforest, the Atlantic Forest, the Cerrado Savanna and other amazing biomes that help purify the world's air by extracting greenhouse gasses and other impurities from the atmosphere while supporting countless species of plant and animal.

Unfortunately, for the bulk of us, what comes to mind are not these natural treasures themselves, but their destruction – a direct result of our economy's inability to recognize the value of the ecosystems on which its own existence depends.

Twelve Steps to a Better Biosphere

Ecosystem Marketplace has documented scores of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporate donors who have launched voluntary Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes designed to incorporate the economic value of ecosystems into our market economy and to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), but such schemes will only bear enough fruit to make a difference if governments provide the regulatory drivers they need.

Brazilian state and federal governments have also launched a dizzying array of instruments and efforts to funnel private money towards environmental projects, and anyone looking to understand the evolution of PES in Brazil needs to be familiar with twelve of these efforts – even though many of them are not PES schemes in the strict sense of the word.

Most, for example, don't create a direct payment from the beneficiary of an ecosystem service (such as a city that gets clean water from mountain streams) to a provider of that service (such as indigenous farmers who maintain the catchments that provide the water). The principle of "protector receives" isn't always adhered to, but the principle of "polluter pays" is.

Furthermore, not all are created equally: some are little more than proposals, while others are backed by legislation long in force.

This brief overview of these mechanisms is by no means a comprehensive analysis, but rather a summary of the goals, strengths, and weaknesses of each effort. Many of these issues will be explored in more detail in the weeks leading up to the 14th Katoomba Meeting, which takes place April 1-2 in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.

ICMS Ecológico: the Ecological Sales Tax

The first mechanism is "ICMS Ecológico" (Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Serviços Ecológico, the "ecological sales tax" – although a direct translation is "Ecological Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services. Download the TNC brochure, right). ICMS Ecológico raises funds through a sales tax on all goods and services and then pays the money out to municipalities based on how many "conservation units" (protected areas) they maintain or the level of sanitation infrastructure present in the municipality.

This is not a federal initiative, but rather a common name for initiatives launched by several Brazilian states. The primary aim is to compensate municipal governments for the tax revenue they lose when land is designated a protected areas, but it also has an incentive effect, encouraging the designation of new conservation areas.

The main motivation for the ICMS is the creation of new protected areas, and criteria for improving management of existing reserves only exist in some states. However, we should add here that the money that gets distributed to the municipality is not earmarked for conservation – it is up to the local government to define how to utilize the resources, and in some cases, depending on the state there are quality criteria related to the use of the resources which ends up acting as an incentive to reinvest in protected areas.

The state of Paraná launched the first ICMS Ecológico in 1992, followed by São Paulo one year later. The idea quickly spread to the states of Minas Gerais (1995), Rondônia (1996), Amapá (1996), Rio Grande do Sul (1998), Mato Grosso (2001), Mato Grosso do Sul (2001), Pernambuco (2001), and Tocantins (2002).

São Paulo alone has amassed a conservation coffer of 40 million Brazilian Real ($R) since 1993, but critics say the mechanism isn't really delivering new conservation – in part because it simply rewards municipalities that are already fortunate enough to have large swathes of conservation, but also because debate over the best mechanism for distributing the funds is far from resolved.

Compensação Ambiental: Environmental Compensation

Brazil – like the United States and the European Union – has a program to offset the environmental impact of new development by requiring a compensatory payment for the non-avoidable impacts of new development. The program was initiated in 2000, but until recently required the payment of a licensing fee that had nothing to do with a project's environmental impact and everything to do with its budget.

to either the federal Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA – Ministry of Environment)

Specifically, developers were required to pay a licensing fee, usually amounting to between 0.5% and 2.0% of the cost of their development. The payment is supposed to bypass public budgets and go straight to a protected area that is impacted by the project, but the law failed to define a method for determining the size of the payment.

As we all know, the debate over how to best value the economic impact of environmental degradation is central to all PES schemes, and simply ignoring that debate in favor of a mechanism based on the cost of the project led to a flurry of lawsuits, culminating in a 2008 Supreme Court decision mandating license fees more closely related to actual impacts.

Now the licensing fee is truly meant to be a "Compensação Ambiental" (Environmental Compensation), which means that licensing agreements should be tied to environmental impacts, and payments are directed towards protected areas (in Brazil, these are protected areas equivalent to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Category One (nature reserve, free of development) or Category Two (limited protection) Protected Areas.

It all looks great on paper, right down to prescribing five specific uses for the money (studies for the creation of new reserves, management plan, sorting out land-tenure, purchase of goods and services necessary for managing an area, and management related research). The law creates a direct connection between private money and public action, and the amount of money raised since the initial licensing began is estimated at anywhere from $R237 million to double that amount.

In practice, however, there's still no way to assess environmental impact as mandated by the court ruling – and, as with ICMS Ecológico, no agreement on the best mechanism for executing the funds – or getting them into the protected areas. Now with the Supreme Court ruling everything has come to a halt while we await a new methodology for defining how to calculate costs associated with impacts, and with determining whether past payments needs to be revisited in order to meet the new valuation criteria.

Payment for Watershed Services

In 1997, Brazil passed the Lei da Política Nacional de Recursos, a law that essentially recognizes water as a public "good", whose use must be duly compensated through a financial payment. Furthermore it stipulates that resources generated through this means should be used to protect the resource at its origin. This opens up the possibility for water payments to be directed towards conservation projects, but does not mean that all resources from water usage is directed towards conservation. Part of the payments can go towards maintaining the infrastructure that delivers the water, and the water that we pay for through our utility bill has nothing to do with the charges that are established under this law.

Water payments that relate to the use of resources from a particular watershed are collected by the local water management agency, which charges a usage fee and redistributes a portion of the payment to local watershed management committees.

In an effort to promote local participation, payments are to be assessed and distributed by local committees made up of volunteers, whose job is to assess the charges and then distribute payments to reforestation or environmental conservation projects within their watershed.

Unfortunately, this very effort to involve local communities is also the program's weakness, subject to the same challenges that efforts involving community input face around the world. (Anyone who has ever been involved in a local civic group can attest to the heated battles that rage over what color to paint a fence – let alone the best way to revive a degraded watershed.)

As this is a new initiative, many committees either don't exist or have yet to figure out how to work together, how to develop a plan, or how to conceive a vision that sets priorities and guides what needs to be funded and where and how to control costs. Few of the participants are trained conservationists or engineers.

The challenge is to promote an understanding of organizational structures and technical issues – not to mention good governance. A fundamental problem is water theft: water is often diverted from existing pipelines, which means that funding never really makes its way into the budget. This is a promising law, but one that needs better enforcement and practical guidance for committees to function in order to achieve the program's goals.

Gas and Oil Royalty Payments

As in other parts of Latin America, oil and gas companies in Brazil are forced to pay royalties, either to the federal government or the local government, depending on the jurisdiction.

These payments are earmarked for protection of biodiversity and reduction of air and water pollution – but the priorities aren't clearly defined, and the money is often pooled into larger budgets. This leaves the money it public coffers with no financial mechanisms for channeling it to the economic projects for which it is intended.

Many of these local governance issues flow from the newness of Brazil's democracy, which is just over 20 years old. If these local governance issues are not resolved, authority may be consolidated at a higher level. Other examples where this happens are the compensation payments for hydroelectric dams and for mineral extraction, which include the concept of compensating for environmental impact but are not necessarily directed towards environmental conservation.

Private Nature Reserves

Brazil offers private land-owners an opportunity to avoid paying property taxes by turning their land into a private nature reserve (Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural, RPPN).

Again, this can be done either at the state or federal level, and the treatment is different for each.

If registered at the federal level, the land is considered a "sustainable use" reserve, which means that some productive activity is allowed, provided the land becomes part of the national protected area system – following the SNUC law (Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação or the National System of Protected Areas). This law obligates the owner to develop a management and monitoring plan and to earn money from limited extractive activities.

If registered at the state level, the land is considered a "strict protection" area, which means it can only be used for research and eco-tourism.

If incorporated into the national system, RPPNs fall into a category between strict protection and "sustainable use" – largely because the article describing sustainable use was vetted in congress. The result is a category that is often described as sustainable use, but in reality is more restricted.

Either way, the land is incorporated into Brazil's protected area system – and the designation is permanent. Because there is no turning back, most landowners have been reluctant to take advantage of this program.

Furthermore, exemption from the Imposto Territorial Rural (ITR, the Rural Land Tax) has proven to be a weak incentive, because the tax itself is low and often not enforced, and the bureaucracy created to administer the SNUC makes it difficult to create RPPNs.

While for-profit landowners have generally paid little heed to getting RPPN designation, we are seeing interest on the part of environmental NGOs and research organizations.

Mitigation Banking, Brazilian Style

Under the 1965 Código Florestal (Forestry Code), Brazil requires anyone owning more than 50 hectares of rural land to make sure that a certain number of hectares are set aside in a Reserva Legal (Legal Reserve). As in mitigation banking, the Código Florestal makes it possible for landowners to reach their quota either by setting aside their own land or by purchasing tradable certificates from other landowners within the same micro-region or watershed.

The percentage required to be set aside varies from as little as 20% to as much 80%, depending on the biome – and is the focus of a heated battle between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Not surprisingly, the highest figure for protection is in the Amazon, where the required set-aside was raised from 50% to 80% under the administration of President Fernando Cardoso, who preceded Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva.

The deadline for compliance is 2010, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries – backed by large agriculture interests – wants to not only roll back the ceiling to 50% in the Amazon, but also to allow the trading of certificates across watersheds and allow reforestation with non-native species. The Ministry of Environment wants to keep the ceiling at 80%, focus trading within watersheds, and limit most reforestation to native species.

The Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism

China and India have been erecting wind parks and other clean energy projects with funding from the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows greenhouse gas emitters in the developed world to offset some of their emissions by funding such projects in the developing world.

Brazil, however, already gets the bulk of its electricity from hydro plants and wind farms, while 75% of its cars run on ethanol. This leaves few options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources under the current Kyoto Protocol.

The bulk of Brazil's CDM income (or "MDL" income, for Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo) goes to support methane capture projects in landfills, and is not a significant generator of income.

Since the majority of Brazil's emissions come from deforestation, its main contribution for reducing emissions would come from avoiding forest loss. However, avoided deforestation is not eligible to receive carbon credits under the current regulated market. This opens the door for a voluntary market and for new negotiations that will unfold from a post-Kyoto agreement (post 2012).

Amazon Protected Areas Program

The Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA) is a federal program designed to protect 37.5 million hectares of Protected Area by 2012 – a size equivalent to all of Spain. It also aims to consolidate another 12.5 million hectares of existing reserves. It is estimated that R$900 million (US$395 million) is needed to meet this objective.

This program is now entering its third and final phase and now funds 60 protected areas covering 23 million hectares. It is overseen by a multistakeholder governing council, funded primarily by Germany's KfW Bank Group (formerly the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, or Reconstruction Credit Institute), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and WWF (formerly the Worldwide Fund for Nature), and administered by the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO).

Ultimately, the hope is to create a R$544 Million (US$240 million) endowment fund to cover recurring costs and support the protected areas. The fund currently has R$50 million (US$22 million).

The program is currently focused only on the Amazon, leaving other protected biomes such as the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest on their own.

Forest Concessions

Brazil also earns money from public lands by leasing them to timber companies, which are obligated to re-plant the forests and pay a tax. The program, however, is unevenly administered, and obligations to replant are often ignored by leasers, who find it easy to simply get away with non-compliance.

As with many of Brazil's environmental laws, this effort will hinge on enforcement, and the development of an effective enforcement mechanism is central to the debate.

Commercial Forestry Certificates

The environmental community is lobbying for a certification program that will go along with forest concessions to improve monitoring and enforcement of these instruments.

Such programs already exist, and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has been active in Brazil, but instead of one nationally-agreed upon standard for certifying that timber has been harvested in a sustainable way, the market has generated a gaggle of varying certificates that mean different things to different people.

Larger users of wood products, including Aracruz Celulose, Brazil's leading paper and pulp company, have expressed an interest in supporting a national standard. Indeed, companies like Aracruz have much to gain on the public relations front, but smaller producers say they can't afford the administrative costs.

Green Tax Deduction

In Brazil, as in most countries, people and companies can write charitable donations off on their income tax – but in Brazil, the only recognized categories of charity are Culture, Education, and Athletics.

A new bill, Imposto de Renda (Income Tax) Ecológico, aims to extend that status to donations in support of environmental projects. It has the backing of major NGOs like WWF, Conservation International, and the Nature Conservancy, as well as support from the Moore Foundation, but has run into stiff resistance from government entities concerned about reduced tax revenues and NGOs active in education, culture, and athletics.

http://ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/article.news.php?component_id=6524&component_version_id=9770&language_id=12

Ancient Acai – The Brazilian Amazon’s Super-Berry

2009-02-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

Acai (ah-sigh-ee) is a small purple berry from the Brazilian Amazon that has been found to be one of the most nutritious and powerful foods on the planet – jam packed with antioxidants, healthy omega fats, amino acids and dietary fiber.

Ancient Acai - the purple berry with an energy punch has been enjoyed and used as a subsistence food by the natives of the Amazon region for millennia. But it is only now beginning to become known to the American consumer, looking for ways to slow the aging process and maintain vibrant health.

Amazonian acai is establishing itself as an important superfood - gaining popularity with the healthconscious crowd.

Antioxidants help the body get rid of free radicals. The body produces free radicals when it digests food, metabolizes medicine and fights disease, so they are necessary parts of the human condition, but a buildup can damage the body. Antioxidants are credited with preventing coronary artery disease, some cancers, macular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, and some arthritis-related conditions. according to WebMD.com.

Pomegranates, blueberries -- even wine, chocolate and coffee -- contain high levels of antioxidants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture measures those levels with something called an ORAC score -- Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.

Acai berries have nearly eight times higher ORAC scores than pomegranate, which is near the top of published charts.

Anecdotal evidence may be good and well, but what have the lab studies said about the substances and ingredients that are actually proven to be contained in this ancient fruit?

The Acai Berry's proven antioxidants:

Beta carotene -- Beta carotene is a proven free-radical scavenger associated with lowered risks for several types of cancer, including breast, lung, skin and stomach cancers. Research also supports its use in promoting eye health, lowering cholesterol levels and preventing heart disease.

Vitamin C -- This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties found to improve symptoms of asthma and arthritis. Studies have also found vitamin C supplementation useful in protecting against atherosclerosis, stroke, cancer and reducing complications in macular degeneration in diabetics and promoting healthy immune function. When used in combination with vitamin E, a 2004 study from the Archives of Neurology found vitamin C reduced the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Vitamin E -- Several studies have linked this vitamin to reduced risk of heart attacks and found it beneficial in lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. The National Eye Institute also found vitamin E to be one of several antioxidants (including vitamin C, beta carotene and zinc)that may help reduce the risk of macular degeneration-related vision loss. New clinical research is also recommending vitamin E for diabetes prevention and treatment. Other benefits linked to vitamin E include use for inflammation, blood cell and cell-division regulation and connective tissue health.

Magnesium -- Magnesium deficiency has been linked to several chronic conditions. As an antioxidant magnesium improves the cardiovascular system's antioxidant threshold and increases the body's resistance to free radicals. It also protects agains free radical damage to mitochondria (cellular energy producers) and has been used to regulate heart rhythm and blood pressure.

Polyphenolic flavonoids -- Sixteen types of bioactive polypheolic compounds have been identified in acai berry. Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds found in produce, grains, tea and soybeans. Research shows that polyphenolic compounds have anti-tumor properties and may be useful in the treatment and prevention of cancers of the breast, colon, skin, lung and liver. Other benefits include antiinflammatory antiallergenic, immunostimulatory and cardioprotective properties.

Anthocyanins -- Two major types of anhocyanins have been found in acai, including cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyaninidin-3-rutinoside. Anthocyanins are exceptional antioxidant compounds believed to reduce heart disease risk by neutralizing free radicals that could damage blood vessel walls, leading to cholesterol and plaque buildup. Acai is believed to have up to 30 times the anthocyanins found in red wine.

Keep in mind that this does not require you to take a pill, these antioxidants are contained in this superfood from the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, the Ancient Acai Berry.

http://www.ancientacai.com/

A Brazilian palm berry sweeping the globe as a popular health food

2009-02-20T23:43:00.000-08:00

- though little research has been done on it – now may have its purported benefits better understood.

In the first research involving people, the acai (ah-sigh-EE) berry has proven its ability to be absorbed in the human body when consumed both as juice and pulp. That finding, by a team of Texas AgriLife Research scientists, was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Showing the berry’s absorption in humans is important because it is known to contain numerous antioxidants. The berry is heavily marketed in the U.S. as a health food.

The study involved 12 healthy volunteers who consumed a single serving of acai juice or pulp. Researchers believe the results point to the need for continued research on the berry which is commonly used in juices, beverages, smoothies, frozen treats and dietary supplements.

"Acai is naturally low in sugar, and the flavor is described as a mixture of red wine and chocolate,” said lead investigator Dr. Susanne Talcott, “so what more would you want from a fruit?”

Talcott, who also is assistant professor with the Texas A&M University’s nutrition and food science department, said that previous studies have shown the ability of the human body to absorb target antioxidants (from other produce), but “no one had really tested to see if acai antioxidants are absorbed in humans."

Sales of acai products have increased dramatically in the U.S. where it has been touted as a metabolism booster, weight reducer and athletic enhancer. Advertisements use buzzwords such as health, wellness, energy, taste and organic.

About the only buzzword not used with acai is "local." The berries are harvested in the Brazilian rainforest from acai palms that may reach heights in excess of 60 feet - one of the same palms used to harvest edible hearts of palm.

The fruit is about the size of a large blueberry yet only the outermost layers of the fruit, the pulp surrounding a large internal seed, are edible, Talcott noted.

Talcott and her co-researcher and husband Dr. Steve Talcott began studying the palm- berry in 2001. His first scientific report on acai, apparently the first such study in English, was published in 2004.

Initially, their studies on the berry examined antioxidant and nutritional components in pulp and juice. Later studies showed the berry’s activity against cancer cells, Talcott noted.

With that background, the researchers then decided to find out whether those elements were actually being absorbed into the human body or being eliminated unused as waste.

"Like vitamin C, the body can only absorb so much at a time," Steve Talcott explained.

He said the researchers now “need to determine potential disease-fighting health benefits, so we can make intelligent recommendations on how much acai should be consumed.

For the clinical trial, people were given acai pulp and acai juice containing half the concentration of anthocyanins as the pulp and each compared to the control foods: applesauce and a non-antioxidant beverage.

Blood and urine samples at 12 and 24 hours after consumption showed significant increases in antioxidant activity in the blood after both the acai pulp and applesauce consumption, she said. Both acai pulp and acai juice showed significant absorption of antioxidant anthocyanins into the blood and antioxidant effects. The research couple said future studies hopefully will help determine whether the consumption of acai will result in any disease-preventing health benefit and the proper serving sizes for a beneficial dose for people.

"Our concern has been that it is sold as a super food – and it definitely has some good attributes – but it is not a solution to all diseases,” she said. “There are a great number of foods on the market, and this could just be part of a well-balanced diet."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006112053.htm