Meio Ambiente

Inter-American Development Bank

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) supports the Government of Ceará in the preparation of the International Conference on Climate, Sustainability and Development in Semi-arid Regions - ICID 2010. The IDB and the State Government signed on July 20 a contract for technical cooperation to improve the conditions of semi-arid regions in Brazil and South America.

The cooperation aims to finance the participation of a group of national and international scientists and policy makers, which will help with technical knowledge in the event.

The signing took place at the IDB Headquarters in Brasília. The IDB Representative in Brazil, José Luis Lupo, and the Secretary of Science, Technology and Higher Education of the State of Ceará, Renan Teixeira Barrier, attended the ceremony.

The program is structured in two parts: Development of Preparatory Activities for ICID 2010, which will provide financial resources for the participation of the scientists selected, and Contribution of Technical Support for ICID, designed to finance the participation of three members of the working group of the project, including specialists of the Unit of Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, and the Department of Infrastructure and Environment of the Bank.

The conference will be attended by Alfred Grunwaldt, responsible for issues on Climate and Sustainable Development, and Tadashi Shimizu, responsible for the subject of Public Policy Processes on Climate.

The specialist in natural resources of IDB Brazil, Joseph Milewski, will present during the ICID, the results of the Program to Combat Desertification in South America. This program was completed in 2008 and expanded the institutional capacity of participating countries, creating a solid base of indicators to conduct a management that is facing the deterioration of drylands and drought in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

The estimated cost of support is equivalent to US$ 207.5 million, with US$ 166 million financed by the IDB and the other remaining US$ 41.5 million contributed by the Department of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Ceará, who will serve as the executing agency and manager of the Program.