Meio Ambiente

On behalf of the Brazilian government, the minister of the Environment, Izabella Teixeira, received on October 19, in Washington DC, a special recognition of WWF concerning the success of the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA), responsible for creating 24 million hectares of conservation units of Brazil, an area equivalent to the UK.

According to the Global Biodiversity Outlook, released in 2010 by UNEP, Brazil leads the creation of protected areas on the planet. According to the report, about 75% of 700,000 sq km of protected areas set up around the world since 2003 are located in Brazilian territory.

Granted by both WWF Brazil and WWF United States, the award acknowledges achievements in implementing the first phase of ARPA, from 2003 to 2009. "It is a recognition of our country, living a very special and auspicious moment in which economic growth occurs along the undeniable environmental achievements,"  minister Izabella Teixeira said.

According to her, the great global challenges require bold and creative solutions, different from conventional solutions. "ARPA is certainly an example of such a solution," she said. Divided into three phases, ARPA has the goal of creating 45 million hectares of conservation and sustainable use of protected areas by 2017.

Besides the creation of protected areas, the program also supported the consolidation of 18 existing units in an area of 8,500,000 hectares, created before March 2000. During the first phase, the government created the Protected Areas Fund, with $ 25 million raised, and run community projects in the vicinity of conservation units.

According to a study by WWF / UFMG / IPAM / Woods Hole Research Centre in Massachusetts, the reduction of CO² emissions promoted by ARPA, scheduled until 2050, accounts for 70% of the goal of global reducing emissions commitment agreed in the first Kyoto Protocol.

The minister also pointed out the Brazilian government's efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon. Izabella Teixeira said that from August 2008 to July 2009 was recorded the lowest rate of forest clearing, with 7,000 sq km.

RF