2016-11-01
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The discussion held with European institutions and actions funded by the EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility have contributed to the push by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – IBAMA) to introduce open-source software systems in the institution’s environmental monitoring and control activities. The issue was the focus of a seminar organised in September by IBAMA: “Use of open-source software for geospatial information in government”.
“Changes are currently underway within IBAMA itself to incorporate the know-how and knowledge collected in Europe through Sector Dialogues Support Facility actions in the institution”, said IBAMA Vice-President Luciano Evaristo at the seminar’s opening session.
The purpose of the event was to discuss alternative uses of open-source software based on the experiences gathered by IBAMA specialists during an official mission to Europe. According to Vice-President Evaristo, the on-going dialogues between Brazil and the EU are of fundamental importance to the success of the institution’s policies.
“Traditionally, we used paid software, without any assurance that the information in the closed source code was secure. We lacked the necessary expertise in the Remote Sensing Centre (Centro de Sensoreamento Remoto) to develop enhanced software and, by extension, strengthen performance”, noted Mr Evaristo. “Thanks to the support of the Sector Dialogues Support Facility and the EU, we were able to share high-level experiences and knowledge in the environmental field and, above all, to ensure future progress from cooperation efforts between the two sides”, he concluded.
“The action is divided into two high-level dialogues, one centred on the environment and the other, on climate. Both sides have been active participants within the UN Framework Convention on climate change. In Paris [2015 Climate Conference – COP21], the two sides forged a strong partnership. This particular issue falls under the broader objective of fighting climate change and, concomitantly, protecting life in forest areas and life in urban centres”, said Rui Ludovino, Counsellor of the EU Delegation in Brazil (DELBRA).
According to Counsellor Ludovino, the actions underscore the need to reinforce the strategic alliance between Brazil and the EU and guarantee the exchange of experiences.
“The Sector Dialogues Support Services has provided support to IBAMA actions since the 1st Call in 2009/2010. The current action is a continuation of the activities launched under the aegis of the 6th Call in 2013, when exchanges were undertaken with the Joint Research Centre as part of the GLOBE-TREES project, an initiative aimed at global monitoring and evaluation of forests, which contributed to IBAMA efforts to conduct more systematic monitoring of deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado and the Amazon using satellite imagery”, reported Substitute Project Director Giovana Veloso.
Mission to Europe
On their mission to Europe in July, IBAMA technical staff toured agencies that operate geoinformation systems equipped with open-source software, a technology solution that was at the centre of subsequent discussions between the two sides.
“The mission was highly valuable to identify potential areas of cooperation on this front and disseminate some of the strategies currently adopted in Brazil to combat deforestation through the use of open-source software. It was clear to mission participants that IBAMA is as advanced as the institutions visited by the Brazilian delegation and, in fact, more advanced in certain areas”, observed George Porto Ferreira, General Coordinator for Environmental Monitoring (Coordenador Geral de Monitoramento Ambiental) at IBAMA.
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