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Report Submitted by Brazil to the Fourth International Workshop on the CSD Indicators of Sustainable Development
Hosted by the Government of the Czech Republic in Prague
19-21 January 1998

Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Legal Amazon (MMA)

1. ADEQUACY OF THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK IN THE COUNTRY

The testing of Sustainable Development Indicators will be developed by networking the state level agencies through the National Environmental System (SISNAMA). It is noteworthy that the SISNAMA has been working for, at least twenty years, promoting the cooperation between Federal and State Agencies.

The cooperation will be organized within the National Integrated Environment Monitoring Program (MONITORE), where selected indicators of the Environmental Category will be tested.

The central question in organizing the network cooperation will be the exchange of experiences between the State Agencies. In Brazil, each State has the autonomy to organize and implement its own environmental data inventory, therefore an inventory of the available data and the methodologies of primary data generation is needed before the start up of the testing process. As mentioned above, this will be done within the MONITORE Program. This phase will be developed, among other federal agencies, with the Brazilian Geographical and Statistics Institute (IBGE).

2. DATA AVAILABILITY

Some State Agencies have a long time experience in monitoring air and water quality, covering some of the Sustainable Development Indicators. However, the central question will be the extension of the monitoring process to achieve a nation wide network.

In 1998, and for the following two years, the MMA will be developing the MONITORE Program, where funds, technical skills and inter-state cooperation will help to overcome the gap between the State Agencies.

It is expected that a first inventory of the available data sources and a Director of Institutions working on environmental monitoring will be achieved by April 1998. This Directorate will also be available for download at the MONITORE Homepage at the Internet Site of the MMA.

3. ADEQUACY OF METHODOLOGY

The testing of the proposed methodology, and an in-depth analysis of nation wide use of a set of selected indicators, will be conducted after the inventory of the available data within the State Agencies.

It is expected that the Brazil-Germany twinning process will help to speed-up and improve the overall process of reviewing the usefulness of the CSD methodology to the Brazilian context.

4. SELECTION OF INDICATORS ACCORDING TO THEIR RELEVANCE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The sustainable development indicators to be tested by the Brazilian Government will be selected from the Environmental Category of Indicators. The final set of indicators to be tested will be discussed and agreed by the State Agencies.

The first step in the process, a preliminary list of indicators already in use by Brazilian institutions has been achieved at the end of 1997. These indicators will provide the necessary background of the indicator, methods and methodology and time series available.

This preliminary inventory of environmental indicators will be published by next August and will be available for download at the MONITORE Homepage, at the same time.

The building-up of this preliminary inventory was based on a series of thematic meetings covered the air, water, soil and biota issues, convened under the MMA coordination during last year, with the participation of representatives of the State Agencies, Universities and Technological Centers working on monitoring and ecological research.

For further information, please contact:

Dra. Marilia Marreco Cerqueira
Diretora do Departamento de Gestäo Ambiental
Ministério do Meio Ambiente, dos Recursos Hidricos e Amazônia Legal
Esplanada dos Ministérios, bloco "B", Sala 838
Brasilia, Brazil CEP 70068-900
Tel. no.: (55-61) 317-1215
Fax no.: (55-61) 317-1352
E-mail: mmcerqueira@mma.gov.br

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