Brazil Wants Fair Profit for Biodiverse Areas

Brazil’s Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, on January 21, emphasized the importance of a joint stance by the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries in discussions on the international system of benefit-sharing at the meeting that was held in New Delhi, in India.

The gathering was intended to establish a common position among the megadiverse countries for the talks that will begin in March, in Bangkok, Thailand, to debate the system.


“In our condition of megadiverse countries, we cannot afford to enter alliances with those who defend restrictive or procrastinatory positions regarding the creation of such a system,” the Minister told the closing session of the meeting.


The Group, formed in 2002, is composed of Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, South Africa, China, Congo, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, and Kenya.


Together they account for 70% of the planet’s biodiversity, of which Brazil is responsible for 22%, according to scientists’ estimates.


According to Minister Silva, the group’s unity will be essential in the discussions with developed countries.


In her opinion, the Bangkok encounter will provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to the world the megadiverse countries’ commitment to the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its constituents, and the fair and equitable division of the benefits.derived from the use of genetic resources. These are the main goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).


The international system of benefit-sharing contemplates the fair and equitable division of profits obtained through the exploitation of biodiversity and the knowledge of indigenous and traditional populations.


This mechanism is envisioned in the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed at the World Environment Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (Rio-92).


In Silva’s view, it is incongruous that, in the majority of the megadiverse countries, the areas richest in biodiversity are also identified with pockets of poverty and social exclusion.


“It is unacceptable that the populations of these areas, often those most responsible for the conservation of biological resources and possessors of knowledge associated with them, are not recompensed in a fair and equitable manner for the conservation of these resources and for the application of this knowledge.


“It is unacceptable not only because society is socially unjust, but also because the treatment meted out to these populations encourages environmental degradation, in the absence of survival alternatives,” the Minister concluded.


ABr

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil to Stay in Haiti Till New President Takes Office in 2006

The United Nations Security Council approved, today, an extension of the mission of the ...

Bull Times for Brazilian Beef

Revenues from Brazilian beef exports in the month of September reached US$ 241 million, ...

Morocco and Brazil Find Out They Are Open for Business

The search for partnerships with Brazilian companies was one of the main objectives of ...

Brazil’s Machinery: The US$ 23 Bi Gorilla Faces Chinese Invasion

The machinery and equipment industry is one of the greatest sectors in the Brazilian ...

Jimmy Carter in Brazil Gets Medal and Asks More Transparency

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US president Jimmy Carter was honored Sunday, May ...

Brazil Lula’s Foolish Guerrilla War Against Its Creator, the Media

The most recent press-hunt season started Wednesday (August 3), when President Lula went for ...

Machinery in Brazilian farm

Favorable Expectations Make Brazil’s Machinery Sector Grow 16%

Brazil's capital goods industry grew 16% in the first two months of this year ...

The Official Outlook: Brazil to Eradicate Poverty by 2016

If Brazil is able to maintain the same rate of poverty reduction and income ...

Lula Scolds ‘Cartel of Powerful’ for Blocking Brazil’s Progress

Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said that Brazil's booming ethanol business won't ...

Brazil and Argentina Look for Mutual Understanding and Cooperation

Brazilian Chancellor, Celso Amorim, and the Minister of Foreign Relations of Argentina, Rafael Bielsa, ...