| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC July 20, 2006 Brazil and the U.S. Renew Amazon Forest AgreementsBrazilian Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Luis Manuel Rebelo Fernandes today is signing two continuation agreements for research on the Amazon. Under Secretary of State for Global Issues Paula Dobriansky will be signing for NASA on the first, the LBA (Large-Scale Biosphere - Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia). She will also be giving remarks. David Evans, the Smithsonian Institution’s Under Secretary for Science will sign the second, BDFFP (Biological Determinants of Forest Fragments Program). Brazil’s INPA (Brazilian Institute for Research in the Amazon), will lead the further implementation of these programs. Research within the LBA has discovered that tropical forests, unlike temperate forests, store more carbon in the dry season than in the rainy season. Less sunlight in the wet season constrains photosynthesis more than less water in the dry season. This is helpful to determine when certain human activities are damaging to the health of the forest and the people that benefit from it. The BDFFP studies revealed that forest fragments of less than 400 hectares are too small to sustain the microclimate and adequate biodiversity to maintain their Amazonian character. Therefore, conservation of larger forests is essential to protecting plants and animals. Both projects have produced numerous research publications and trained hundreds of students from the undergraduate through the doctoral level The continuation of this important scientific collaboration will strengthen our mutual understanding of the Amazonian region and foster further training of scientists on both sides. The delegation will represent Brazil during the first ever U.S.-Brazil Ministerial Level Joint Commission Meeting on Scientific and Technological Cooperation to be held the following day. For more information, contact William Armbruster (202) 647-1247 2006/700
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