Workshop on Interlinkages Approach was a Success

October 26- 30, 2003 - The Center for Pantanal Research (CPP), the main Brazilian node of the Everglades Pantanal Initiative, coordinated an international workshop on interlinkages approach in partnership with University of the United Nations (UNU), through the Pantanal Regional Environmental Program (UNU/PREP). This event was held in the SESC Porto Cercado Reserve, one of Brazil's most recent additions to the Ramsar site list.  More than 80 participants from government, private, NGOs and academic sectors discussed various United Nations conventions related to the Pantanal, in the context of the three countries where it is located - Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. The interlinkages approach, proposed by UNU, is an integrating approach for decisions and management in the environmental area. One of the main outputs of this workshop was a document that will be available at this webpage, on a Pantanal Cooperation Treaty.  Recommendations aim to simultaneously implement various Conventions such as Ramsar, Migratory Species, Biodiversity, Climate Change, and World Heritage. The event was supported by MCT, MMA, UFMT, Sesc Pantanal and the Everglades Pantanal Initiative. [more]

National Committee on Wetlands Created in Brazil

October 24, 2003 - The Secretaries of Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA), João Paulo Capobianco (Biodiversity), João Bosco Senra (Water Resources) and Gilney Viana (Sustainable Development), met with representatives of UNESCO, Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE), IBAMA, MMA Pantanal Programme, Everglades  Pantanal Initiative, NGOs and other institutions, in the occasion of the new Secretary General for the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Peter Bridgewater, visited Brazil, to celebrate the  October 23 Decree that creates the  National Committee on Wetlands. Among many interesting ideas, the spotlight was made on the importance of interrelationship between all governmental sectors, the need to consider wetlands management plans in the context the watersheds where they are located, the effective participation of this Committee in the design of Water Resources National Plan in 2004, and the need to create other Ramsar sites in areas where there are settlements in order to involve communities in the management and protection of such areas. Keeping in mind that wetlands are swamps, marsh, fen, mangroves and other areas partially or totally covered by water, Dr. Bridgewater introduced the concept of three "P's" as the benefits brought by these ecosystems to the humanity - Protection, Purification and Production. The Committee will be formed by representatives of MRE, each Secretariat of MMA, ANA, IBAMA, FUNAI, ABEMA, Brazilian RAMSAR sites of International Importance and the National Agriculture Council.

EPI Coordinator becomes member of IWRN Executive Committee

October 9-10, 2003 - Alberto J. Palombo, EPI coordinator, became member of the Executive Committee of the Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN), with a term until December 31, 2005. The Everglades Pantanal Initiative and the WaterWeb Consortium are the only two initiatives working in thematic areas outgrowing of IWRN to date.  Recently, the DeltAmerica Project, funded by GEF and coordinated by the Secretariat of Water Resources of the Ministry of Environment of Brazil (MMA/SRH) nad the Organization of American States (OAS), aims to strengthen IWRN through mechanisms that promote experiences and information exchange on transboundary waters projects in the Americas.

Second Paraguay River Expedition - Its Waters, Its People 

August 17-25, 2003 - The Rede Pantanal (Pantanal Network) coordinated the second Expedition along Paraguay River, from Cáceres (MT) to Corumbá (MS). The objective was to register and discuss the Paraguay-Paraná Protected Wetlands System, a project that has been promoted by the Rios Vivos Coalition. Together, Paraguay and Paraná rivers form a navigable river 3,400 km long, with no dams.  EPI project coordinator, Maria do Carmo Zinato, presented a paper on the initiatives, projects and synergies among organizations that work along this system. [more]

Pantanal Fund Discussed in Brazil

August 11-18, 2003 - Dr. Alain Lambert, Senior Advisor for Environment and Development of the Ramsar Convention for Wetlands, visited Brazil and held a number of meetings and presentations organized by the Everglades Pantanal Initiative. In a road tour of Brasília, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Cáceres, and the Paraguay River, Lambert provided an inside in the subject of conservation finance, and along with EPI introduced the idea of proposing a Pantanal Fund. A discussion list has been created to discuss this possibility, with participation of professionals from all those cities. (How to join the discussion list)

EPI joined Rede Pantanal in the Workshop Knowing to Preserve

June 28-30, 2003 - The Rede Pantanal (Pantanal Network) coordinated a workshop on the Paraguay-Paraná river, developing with Living Rivers Coalition a proposal to protect wetlands along this system. NGOs and government representatives from Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina were there, learning more about this marvelous river, 3,400 km long, with no dams, completely navigable for the size of certain boats. Besides support by EPI, WWF, ECOA, the event was sponsored by GEF, IUCN  and Programa Pantanal, and participation of many other organizations. (Read more about this event at Living Rivers Coalition)

EPI and the Third World Water Forum in Japan

March 11 to 18, 2003 - Everglades Pantanal Initiative coordinator, Alberto J. Palombo, participated in the Third World Water Forum, especially in the Americas Day,  Wetlands Day and Water Information Day, organized by our WaterWeb Consortium colleagues and UNESCO WWAP.  The next World Water Forum will be held in Mexico in 2006.

EPI participated in the Global Biodiversity Forum and Ramsar COP8, Valencia, Spain 

November 18-26, 2002 - The Ministry of Environment of Spain, through the Global Nature Fund and the Banco Santander Foundation, sponsored the participation of the EPI Coordinator to present the experiences in the exchange of information between the Everglades and the Pantanal in the Iberian-American Workshop on Wetlands Cooperation, held in Toledo and Valencia (Spain).  Also, EPI made a presentation in the Global Biodiversity Forum.  As part of the Ramsar COP8, EPI participated in the contact groups that advanced the draft resolutions on climate change, agriculture, and South America regional strategy for wetlands management. (For more information on the resolutions adopted during COP8, please visit Ramsar Convention website). 

Pantanal Group Visited U.S. Wetlands

August 25 to September 6, 2002 - The South American Environmental Hub of the United States Department of State partnered with EPI to organize a Voluntary Visitor Program on U.S. Wetlands Management. Eleven participants from the Pantanal watershed in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay and the EPI Coordinator visited renowned environmental institutions and restoration projects in the United States, and in the regions of the Florida Everglades and the Chesapeake Bay. During the visit, participants exchanged views and expertise with colleagues and decision-makers involved in sustainable environmental management in the United States. (For more information, please go to Visitor Program)

CPP and CES sign cooperation agreement  

September 3, 2002 -  The Pantanal Research Center (CPP), represented by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Paulo Teixeira de Sousa Jr., and the Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES), signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote experiences exchange and research cooperation between the Pantanal and the Everglades.  Also, the MOU establishes the basis for institutional support for the Everglades Pantanal Initiative, promoted until then by CES.