Secretary for Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas, Brazil to Present Lecture Series

New Haven, Conn., February 23, 2006—Virgílio Viana, Secretary for Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas State, Brazil will present three lectures at the Yale School of Management (Yale SOM) and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (FES) on February 27, 28, and March 2.

Dr. Viana is a visiting scholar sponsored by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The grant, awarded to the Yale SOM-FES joint degree program in 2005, supports students, scholars, and practitioners who are committed to the biodiversity conservation field in South America.

Appointed in 2003, Dr. Viana is the first Secretary for Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas. His appointment coincided with the creation of the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development within the Amazonas government. The lecture series will focus on the main areas of his work: tropical forestry, sustainable business, certification, economic policies, climate change, and sustainable development.

Amazonas is the largest state of Brazil and contains 98 percent forest cover and the largest indigenous population in the country. Through the implementation of cross sector sustainable development and environmental conservation programs such as the Zona Franca Verde (Green Free Trade Zone), the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development has created 8.2 million hectares (approximately 20.2 million acres) of new protected areas, an increase of more than 100 percent. It has reduced deforestation rates in all three years since its formation by incorporating stakeholders’ interest into economic policies and environmental programs.

Prior to his position as Secretary for Environment and Sustainable Development, Dr. Viana was Associate Professor of Forestry Science at the University of São Paulo. In 1993, he led the creation of Brazil’s Institute for Agricultural and Forestry Management and Certification (IMAFLORA), a non-governmental, not-for-profit association that promotes sustainable development through good forestry and agricultural management. He holds a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University and completed post-doctoral studies in Sustainable Development at the University of Florida.

The lectures are free and open to the public:

Monday, February 27, 2006
Sustainable Development in Practice: The Case of Amazonas State, Brazil
4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Yale School of Management, 52 Hillhouse Avenue, Steinbach Lounge

Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Forest Certification and Climate Change
4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Yale School of Management, 55 Hillhouse Avenue, General Motors Room

Thursday, March 2, 2006
Sustainable Development in the Amazon: From Theory to Practice
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 230 Prospect Street

For more information, contact: marina.campos@yale.edu