The similarity of environmental problems such as floods and droughts between Brazil and the region of the Pearl River Delta in southern China, may favour the implementation of partnerships between the two countries, said in Brasilia Zhang Guang Yan, of the Pearl River Water Resources Commission.

Zhang, who is part of the delegation of representatives of the Pan Delta region visiting Brazil, said throughout the year the two regions have weather fluctuations, in addition to having a high urbanisation rate, which requires effective environmental management.

The size and complexity of the Amazon region in Brazil and work to protect the area carried out by the federal government is of interest to the Chinese provinces included in the mission, with Zhang saying, “we want to learn from Brazil” and adding that the area for establishing partnerships is “huge.”

On Tuesday, the delegation, composed mostly of environmental sector representatives, visited the Operations and Management Centre of the Amazon Protection System (Censipam), linked to the Ministry of Defence and the National Water Agency (ANA), which is linked to the Ministry of Environment.

Brazilian technicians explained the action and mechanisms of operation of the two institutions, and in the case of Censipam, which has the mission to plan and coordinate federal actions in the Legal Amazon, the Chinese watched a detailed presentation of the hydro-meteorological warning system, implemented in the North, which is part of the strategic supervisory action of the area by the Brazilian government.

The area of the Legal Amazon is 5.2 million square kilometres, which accounts for more than 60% of Brazil’s total area.

With this system, according to the Censipam technicians, the region can be fully monitored and information is produced in almost real time, including hydrological bulletins (short and long term), alerts and risk maps, for example.

During the trip to ANA, the delegation visited the “Situation Room,” which monitors the hydrological conditions of the main Brazilian water systems, identifies potential critical events and takes measures to minimise the effects of droughts and floods.

The delegation was received by representatives of the Ministries of the Environment and the Ministry of Planning, Development and Management, and technicians from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), who spoke about the features of environmental licensing and the plan to combat deforestation in the Amazon region.

At the Ministry of Planning, representatives of the International Affairs Bureau discussed projects with external funding agencies like the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank in several areas, totalling more than US$43 billion. Of these, 13 projects related to the environmental with funding of almost US$1.2 billion. (macauhub)