EU supports conservation of tropical forest in Brazil
A pilot programme to conserve the tropical forest of Brazil was launched following initiatives in Europe (European Council of Dublin in June 1990) and at the G7 level (Houston Summit in July 1990). The programme, which was prepared by the Brazilian authorities in close collaboration with the World Bank and the European Commission, aims to support Brazilian initiatives to formulate and apply a sustainable development policy for tropical forests, principally in the Brazilian Amazon. This programme receives strong support from Europe, with over 90% of external funding coming from the European Community and the Member States, notably Germany. The current total direct financial contribution of the European Community is ECU 45.3 million. This contribution supports the following sub-components of the programme: natural resources policy, demonstration projects, directed research, extractive reserves, monitoring and technical assistance. A contribution has also been made to the Rain Forest Trust Fund which was created to initiate the programme and ensure coherence between the different components. New contributions are currently being prepared, in support of the "Environmental Education" and "Directed Research" sub-components, as well as in the form of technical assistance. This will bring the total direct Community contribution to ECU 56.6 million. In addition, the Commission supports projects associated with the Brazilian programme in such thematic areas as indigenous cartography, communications and certain forms of pollution (mercury). The most significant impact of this programme has been to inspire a new development strategy for the Amazon, but it also represents a tangible example of international coordination in the field of environment and development as recommended at the Rio de Janeiro conference of June 1992.
Kraje
Brazil