German Environment Minister visits Amazon Conservation Units
Visit precedes transfer of funds from the German Government to environmental projects of the Amazon Fund
- The minister's visit took place two days after the announcement of the transfer of €35 million from the German Government to the Amazon Fund, made by the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on the occasion of President Lula's inauguration, in Brasília.
The Minister of the Environment of Germany, Steffi Lemke, visited the Conservation Units of the Amazon, in the Lower Rio Negro Mosaic, this Tuesday (01/03), to learn about the sustainability work carried out by the Government of Amazonas and by the Federal Government, together with traditional communities in protected areas.
The Lower Rio Negro Mosaic officially comprises 11 Conservation Units, three of which are federal, seven state and one municipal. On the occasion, the minister visited the Anavilhanas National Park, under the management of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).
Accompanied by representatives of the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), in addition to members of the ministerial team and the German Embassy in Brazil, Lemke learned about the work of the ICMBio teams and the State Government. She also participated in a meeting with community representatives of Mosaico, to discuss investment possibilities.
“I am very happy with this experience. I know that there are close ties and long-standing contact between Germany and Brazil, but we know that practice is a little different, which is why seeing concrete situations was so fundamental”, said the minister, at the end of the visit.
The assistant secretary for environmental management at Sema, Fabrícia Arruda, highlighted the importance of the international leadership of Amazonas in this agenda.
“We are very honored to have received, in the first official agenda of 2023, the President of Germany and Minister Steffi Lemke. This highlights the importance of our State in this global agenda. Our expectation is to further strengthen our relations and bring these concrete benefits to the social, economic and environmental development of communities in protected areas”, she highlighted.
After participating in the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Germany came to Amazonas to learn about the environmental actions and projects developed with the support of the German government.
On Monday (02/01), he was received by Governor Wilson Lima, in his first official agenda of the second term. On the occasion, there was a guided tour of the Teatro Amazonas, where they talked about the fruits of German investments in combating deforestation and encouraging sustainable rural production in the state.
In the afternoon, the president visited the Center for Environmental Monitoring and Protected Areas of the Institute for Environmental Protection of Amazonas (Ipaam), to learn about the efforts and methodologies applied to combat environmental crimes, as well as the results achieved through cooperation, the challenges management and expectations with the resumption of the Amazon Fund.
Reproduction Amazon Agency
