Brazil's Minister of the Environment opens the Third LBA Science Conference, one of the largest scientific experiments in process in the world

Marina Silva, Brazil's Minister of the Environment, is the opening speaker at the Third Science Conference of the Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) on Tuesday, July 27 th , in Brasilia. More than 800 scientists from around the world, including top international specialists in climate change, and representatives from the most important Brazilian scientific organizations, are expected to attend.

The invitees include Cláudio Langone, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment; Cylon Conçalves da Silva, Secretary of Strategic Policy and Scientific Development, MCT; Adriana Carmelo, National Institute of Meteorology; Tatiana Deane de Abreu Sá, Embrapa- Eastern Amazonia; Herbert Cavalcante de Lima, Executive Director of the Embrapa Amazonian Research Centers; Ângelo de Lima Francisco, Manager of the Tapajós National Forest; Ima Vieira, Vice-director of the Goeldi Museum; Flávio Jesus Luizão, research ecologist at INPA and one of the conference coordinators; Lauro Morhy, Rector of the University of Brasilia; Ene Glória da Silveira, Rector of the Federal University of Rondônia; Mário M. Amin, Coordinator of the Masters Graduate Program at the University of Amazônia; Elinei Santos, Coordinator of the Santarém Campus of the Federal University Pará; Beatriz Machado Gomes, of the Ji-Paraná Campus, Federal University of Rondônia; and Paulo Blanco Barroso, Director of the Brazilian Institute of Science and Technology Informatics at MCT. Camila Teixeira, Project Officer from the British Embassy in Brasilia, and Jos G. van de Vooren, the Agriculture Advisor from the Embassy of the Netherlands, have also confirmed their attendance.

The Conference is considered one of the most important world scientific meetings, and is expecting the presentation of countless new data about the dynamics of Amazonian ecosystems, and their influence on regional and global climate, during a time of accellerated transformation due to human actions.

It is hoped that the scientific data, taken during more than six years of experiments, may help to consolidate proposals for sustainable development, and will be capable of reconciling the socioeconomic evolution of the region with the restoration of the natural patrimony of the forest. The consequences arising from how Amazonian ecosystems are put to use have the potential to affect the whole planet. Hence the international interest and the presence of scientists from around the world at the Conference.