JICA-RI Hosted a Special Event on the Cerrado Agricultural Development at Rio+20

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from June 20 to 22. It was attended by 97 heads of state and numerous cabinet-level officials from the 188 UN member states, as well as government officials, politicians, and ordinary citizens, a total of 30,000 participants. Rio+20 provided a forum for discussion on the results of twenty-year-long approaches around the globe to achieve sustainable development and environmental protection, starting from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit).

In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Ambassador Masahiko Horie, Ambassador for Global Environmental Affairs, introduced the book of JICA Project History on the Cerrado development, as a valuable example of Japanese ODA, with the copy in his hand. He expressed his hope that copies of English and Portuguese editions would be published in the future.

Marco Farani, Director of the Brazilian Agency for Cooperation (ABC), the co-organizer of this event, delivered his message: “In Rio+20, we have the opportune moment to present the successful results of the Japan-Brazil Cooperation Program for Agricultural Development or PRODECER. As agricultural development forms a key pillar in the Brazilian Government’s enhancement policy for African cooperation, we are pleased to work together with JICA, a trustworthy aid organization, in the tripartite cooperation among Japan, Brazil, and Mozambique for agricultural development in the tropical savannah (ProSAVANA-JBM), based on the Cerrado development. Brazil, through this project, will be able to gain a range of experience in the arena of international cooperation.”

In Session 2, Dr. Edson Sano, Head of Remote Sensing Center, IBAMA, and Dr. Koji Asano, Chief Advisor for the Jalapão Region Ecological Corridor Project, each gave presentation on the Cerrado development and environmental conservation efforts. With the examples of approaches to environmental conservation in the Cerrado, both presenters explained appropriate environmental protection measures that were incorporated in the Cerrado development: These included the Advanced Land Observing Satellite system for illegal logging and the protection of regional ecosystems through introduction of ecological corridors. They also referred to the efforts of Brazil and the support from Japan that minimized the risk to the environment.