The Regional Center for the Amazon (CRA) of the National Space Research Institute (INPE), in Belém, since its inauguration in 2009, receives diplomats and national and foreign authorities, mainly from countries interested in collaborating with the efforts of the Brazilian government for the Sustainable development, especially in combating deforestation. This Tuesday, May 16, INPE in the Amazon received the Ambassador of Norway in Brazil, Aud Marit Wiig.

Since last Monday, Aud Marit Wiig has fulfilled a diplomatic agenda in Pará in order to know and discuss the policies and works of state and federal governments, as well as the challenges and efforts undertaken in the fight against deforestation and protection of the environment in the State and in the Amazon. The Ambassador was accompanied by the Norwegian Ambassador for Climate Change, Environment and Peace Program Priscilla Santos.

Amazon INPE works with approximately 60 professionals directly involved in the creation and diffusion of efficient technologies to combat the deforestation of the Amazon and tropical forests as a whole. Its state-of-the-art infrastructure and advanced knowledge in geotechnology collaborate so that Brazil is a reference in satellite monitoring of forests and in the training of human resources to operate methodologies used by the country for monitoring.

In April, also of passage through Pará, who was in INPE was the Ambassador of Germany Georg Witschel. The Norwegian diplomat’s visit now reiterates the commitment of developed countries to strengthening policies for the protection and sustainable use of Amazonian forests, combating deforestation and reducing greenhouse gases to cope with climate change.

Norway and Germany are examples of contributing countries of the United Nations Green Fund for Climate, established in 2009 to support adaptation and emission reductions. On investments, Norway was the first contributing country of the Amazon Fund, an initiative launched by Brazil in 2008, which, through the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), collects donations for nonreimbursable investments in prevention, monitoring and combat actions Deforestation, as well as the promotion of the conservation and sustainable use of forests in the Amazon biome. CRA / INPE is one of the beneficiaries.

The Ambassador and Officer of the Climate Change, Environment and Peace Program of the Norwegian Embassy were welcomed by the INPE researchers, Marcos Adami and Igor Narvaes, who showed the rooms where the projects of the Regional Center of the Amazon are developed and executed.

“The projects that the CRA / INPE develops are financed with resources coming from, among others, Norway. This second visit by the Ambassador demonstrates Norway’s interest in issues related to environmental preservation. The Amazon Regional Center works with projects aimed at helping to control and combat deforestation, as well as understanding the dynamics of land use and land cover in the Amazon, “said researcher Marcos Adami. Aud Marit Wiig was at the INPE facility in Pará in November 2015, together with the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus.

“Visits such as that of the Norwegian Ambassador to the Regional Center of the Amazon show the importance of INPE in the monitoring of forests, especially the Amazon, and also highlights the usefulness of the data we provide on deforestation for the national and international scientific community,” added researcher Igor Narvaes.

Text: Julio Matos – Ascom CRA/Inpe
Translation: Matheus Castelo Branco – Guamá STP