SOUTH AMERICA ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND HEALTH NEWSLETTER

210 t h issue, November 26, 2012 The Role of Amazon Peoples in the Conservation of the Amazonia* By Luis Roman

The traditional knowledge of Amazon peoples is becoming prominent, as native groups are making proposals on climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as sustainable land management. However, when these communities lose their traditional practices and knowledge, they also lose their capacity to conserve and profit from natural resources in a sustainable manner, thereby reducing the quality of their lives. At present, the main factors affecting native communities and their lifestyles are demography and urbanization, messy expansion of agriculture, wood extraction, oil and mining, uncertainty about land titles, the scarce appreciation of their traditional knowledge, and reduced opportunities for participation in the decision-making processes. From a conservation perspective, native people relationships with Nature are based on their cosmology, and cosmology must be taken into account in conservation programs. In this context, the Initiative for Conservation of the Andean Amazon (ICAA) prioritizes aspects associated to land governability and the protection and appreciation of traditional knowledge. The main objective of the ICAA native component is to promote the highest participation in planning and decision-making for the conservation of the Amazon biome. ICAA works with native federations and with organizations of native communities who are part of the Amazon Basin Native Organization Coordinator (COICA for its initials in Spanish). Thus, there are approximately thirty native communities spread all over Peru,

Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia that work with ICAA. For ICAA, promoting participation of native communities means both a quantitative and qualitative increase in native engagement in the various instances of planning and decision making, through training and the creation of venues for dialog and exchange of experiences. Read more at: http://www.amazonia-andina.org/amazonia-activa/noticias/pueblos-indigenas-su-rol-conservacion-amazonia

The information contained herein was gathered from news sources from across the region, and the views expressed below do not necessarily reflect those of the Regional Environmental HUB Office or of our constituent posts.

Addressees interested in sharing any ESTH-related events of USG interest are welcome to do so.

For questions or comments, please contact us at quevedoa@state.gov.

* Free translation prepared by REO staff.

Amazon: The Role of

Native Peoples in its Conservation

Brazil: To Clone Its

Endangered Native Species.

Colombia: Cities and

Climate Change Summit in Bogota.

Argentina: Authorities

Must Respect Right To Water.

Science: Scientists

Estimate at Least One Third of Marine Species Remain Unknown to Humans.

Webcasts: Tales from

the Wild, Working Together for an AIDS-Free Generation.

Health: Biomedical

Network in South America.

November 28-30, 2012 Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the UNECE Water Convention http://www.unece.org/env/ water/mop6.html

Nov. 26—Dec. 7, 2012 UNFCCC COP 18 Doha, Qatar. http://www.unfccc.int

Next events:

In this issue:

Photo by actcolombia(flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.

CLIMATE CHANGE: World Bank Unveils 10-Year Environmental Strategy By Lisa Friedman

Scientists in Brazil are making an effort to one day clone animals who face extinction. Even so, the researchers say that such practices are difficult and not a replacement for conservation tech-niques. In order to fight the rapid decline of several types of animals and bring them back from the brink of extinction, scientists in Brazil have decided to clone them. According to CBC News, researchers at the Embrapa agriculture research agency announced this week that they spent that past two years constructing what they call a "gene library" with several hundred samples from eight species that are indigenous to the country. The animals include "the collared anteater, the bush dog, the black lion tamarin, the coati, and deer and bison varieties, as well as the maned wolf." The extinction evasion tactic for these animals is still pretty much in its infancy, and it will likely be a few years before the first clone is born. In addition to cloning, practices such as artificial insemination and embryo transplants will also be utilized reports Times Live. When the animals do happen to be cloned, they would not be released into the wild, and would attribute to keeping their species alive for the short term. The creatures born via artificial insemination or embryo transplant, however, could be released back into nature at some point in their lives. Despite a rather low success rate, CBC reports that scientists have been attempting to clone highly endangered animals for upwards of a decade. There has also been scrutiny about such practices by conservationalists who argue the protection of the animals' natural habitat should be first priority. The leader of the research team, Carlos Frederico Martins, asserted that the tactic was more of a last resort. "The idea is not to use cloning as a primary conservation tool," he said in a phone interview with CBC from just outside the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. He also pointed out that clones cannot remedy one of the main issues they face on the brink of extinction: "maintaining a suffic iently varied gene pool." Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/337031

Representatives from 30 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean met from November 19 through 22, for the Cities and Climate Change Summit in Bogota, a forum to pursue common policies and strategies against global warming. The Summit hosted local governments from Buenos Aires, Lima, Quito, Montevideo and Mexico City, among others. Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico City’s Mayor, shared the city's experiences with electric transport systems and cycle track systems. These measures, among others, have allowed the city to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7 million tons during his administration. In addition to Latin American authorities, this summit counted on European and African experts, including speakers from 12 coun-tries, who led the debate on the impact of climate change in cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose is to open a venue for regional politicians and experts to discuss how to fight climate change effects, and to ratify the Global Cities Covenant on Climate, signed in Mexico City in 2009.

Another goal of this summit was to create the “South American Cities Network” as a forum for dialog to foment regional integration of local authorities, in line with the South-South Cooperation and in order to define common agendas and goals leading to development. This initiative raised last May 7, 2013 in Bogota, when the mayors of Bogota, Gustavo Petro, Lima, Susana Villaran, and Quito, Augusto Barrera, met in that city with UNASUR Secretary General, Maria Emma Mejia. Read full article at: http://www.informador.com.mx/tecnologia/2012/418483/6/bogota-acogera-cumbre-de-las-ciudades-y-cambio-climatico.htm

COLOMBIA: Cities and Climate Change Summit in Bogota*

BRAZIL: To Clone Its Endangered Native Species By Abigail Prendergast

Photo by Tiago Falotico (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.

Photo by Juan Francisco Saldarriaga (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.

CLIMATE CHANGE: World Bank Unveils 10-Year Environmental Strategy By Lisa Friedman

Latin American Water Tribunal assessed cases of endangered water resources. Convened in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 5-9, the Latin American Water Tribunal, or TLA, submitted its verdict on four cases about damage of water resources in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Created in 2000, the TLA is an organization of alternative environmental justice whose rul-ings are not binding. Instead, it is an ethical tribunal. Its decisions are made by experts in law, health, and the environment, with the purpose of warning national authorities of the dangers that water sustainability faces. The hearing in Buenos Aires was the sixth hearing the TLA, headquartered in Costa Rica,

held in Latin America. The hearing discussed the possible damage of the aquifer in González Catan, Buenos Aires, in Argentina; the threats to the environment and the right to water in relation to the Pascua Lama gold mining project, in the border between Argen-tina and Chile, and in Conga, Cajamarca, Peru, as well as the possible water resources collapse in Mexico. In his inaugural address, Javier Bogantes, president of the TLA, declared that “it’s unavoidable to reflect on the difficulties that many communities in Latin America suffer as a result of projects that harm their living conditions.” Bogantes deemed the way that the governments of the entire region “allow the realization of projects without preventing socio-economic consequences on water systems, nature, and the social-environmental equilibrium of many communities” as “an errone-ous strategy.” The jury — made up of judges Philippe Texier from France and Alexandre Camanho de Assis from Brazil, the Mexican muralist Ario-sto Otero, and attorneys Silvia Nonna from Argentina and Giselle Boza Solano from Costa Rica — based its verdicts on the United Nations Resolution 64/292, approved by the General Assembly in 2010, which explicitly recognizes that “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right … is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights” and calls upon nations and international organizations to “scale up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.” Read more at: http://www.lapress.org/articles.asp?art=6736

It's been said that we know more about space than we do about our own ocean, and now a group of scientists have quantified what sea creatures we may still not know of. After compiling an open access, online database of known marine species with the help of more than 270 experts, researchers estimate that the briny depths may be home to a total of one million species, with one third of them potentially remaining entirely unknown. Of the grand total, humans have described roughly 226,000 -- more

than 20,000 of which in the past decade -- with another 65,000 tucked away in collections awaiting a write-up. Since previous estimates have been based on rates of species identification and other factors, these latest figures are consid-ered more accurate. The effort's researchers hope that this data will be used as a reference for ex-tinction rates and conservation. Hit the first source link below to dig through the compendium, aptly-named the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), for yourself. Read more at http://www.marinespecies.org/ Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/19/scientists-third-of-marine-species-unkown/

SCIENCE: Scientists Estimate at Least One Third of Marine Species Remain Unknown to Humans By Alexis Santos

ARGENTINA: Authorities Must Respect Right To Water

Image credit: NOAA’s National Ocean Service (flickr)

Photo by ERIO (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.

Photo by David Campbell (flickr). Under Creative Commons License.

Are you curious about wildlife, from large horned land animals to their striped, spotted and feathered counterparts? Learn more about wildlife and the importance of conservation from Animal Planet TV personality Jeff Corwin! Corwin will join us for two online Q&A discussions on Monday, December 3 and Tues-day, December 4, at the times listed below. Tune in to ask him your questions! Jeff Corwin is an American animal and nature conservationist best known as the host of Animal Planet television programs, The Jeff Corwin Experience and Corwin’s Quest, as well as his current ABC series, Ocean Mysteries. Since he was a teenager, Corwin has been an environmental activist and has worked on the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems around the world. During these hour-long webchats, he will share per-sonal stories and experiences from his travels and discuss the work that he has been doing.

Photo by hallie h (flickr). Under Creative Commons License.

Format: These programs will be video webchats in English. Please click on the URL below to participate. First webchat: Monday, December 3, 2012 at 22:00 EST (03:00 UTC on Tuesday, December 4) Second webchat: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 08:00 EST (13:00 UTC) Live webchat URL: http://conx.state.gov/digital-diplomacy (Short URL: http://goo.gl/sBHRZ )

Date: Thursday, November 29, 2012

Time: 08:30 (EST) | 13:30 (UTC)

Language: English Link: https://conx.state.gov/digital-diplomacy/

The organization MERCOSUR — dubbed the Common Market of the South — promotes free trade and movement of goods, people and currency within a trade bloc of five countries in South America. The organization has now funded a large biomedical network spanning research institutes in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. We hope that this unprecedented initiative will encourage other re-gional scientific endeavours in South America. The idea of the network is to help each other develop innovative biomedical projects that have poten-tial for translational medicine. The network will encourage contributions from young investigators. It aims to study the biological and epidemiological aspects of diseases that have social and economic impact; to create biotechnol-ogy platforms for clinical developments; and to build up human resources and technology to a high standard. In recognition of the importance of investment in science and technology on the development and welfare of communities, MER-COSUR will provide US$7 million, with a further $3 million coming from national funding. The MERCOSUR funding will come from its FOCEM budget, better known for supporting local construction projects such as roads or hospitals. Read more at: www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7424/full/491333d.html

Ta les f rom the Wi ld: Wi ld l i fe Q&A with TV Persona l i ty Jef f Corwin

Photo by Libertas Academica. Under Creative Commons License.

HEALTH: Biomedical Network in South America

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