Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and Dalmo Catauli Giacometti Foundation in Support of Genetic Resources and Biotechnology

Under this partnership, an agreement was signed in 2000 between the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), Embrapa Environment, and Dalmo Giacometti Foundation for the development of the project “Methane emissions from flooded rice production systems: quantification and analysis”, which includes the preparation of a technical study aiming at: a) quantifying in situ methane emissions from flooded rice crops, under different cultivation systems, in the Western Border, Central Depression, and Southern Coast regions of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, mainly focusing on the influences of climate, soil, water, and crop management on CH4 flux; b) investigating microbiological aspects involved in the process of methane emission, isolating and characterizing methanogenic bacteria from flooded rice soils; c) evaluating the interaction of environmental variables (soil, water, climate, and flooded rice production systems) on methane emissions; d) simulating by mathematical modeling methanogenic processes in flooded rice production systems; e) formulating management strategies that contribute to reducing methane emissions to the atmosphere, as well as envisaging forms of adaptation of rice cultivation to possible climate-related changes. The budget for this project was set at R$ 902,260 (nine hundred and two thousand, two hundred and sixty reals), of which R$ 381,400 (three hundred and eighty-one thousand, four hundred reals) are to be provided by MCT/Climate Change Program and the remaining value of R$ 520,860 (five hundred and twenty thousand, eight hundred and sixty reals) by the partner institutions. A timeframe of 4 (four) years was established for the preparation of this study.

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo/São Paulo State Agribusiness Technology Agency (APTA)/Institute of Animal Science (IZ), and André Tosello Tropical Research and Technology Foundation

Under this partnership, an agreement was signed in 2001 between MCT, Embrapa Environment, the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo/São Paulo State Agribusiness Technology Agency (APTA)/Institute of Animal Science (IZ), and the André Tosello Foundation for the development of the project “Influence of animal production management on methane emissions from beef cattle”. This project will study a pasture-based Nelore beef cattle production system feeding on tropical forage plants, with the purpose of monitoring and evaluating methane production in relation to animal management. The objectives of the project are: a) to quantify methane emissions in Nelore beef cattle production systems, for different herd categories (females, males, and youngstocks), with a view to obtaining methane emission rates under the climate conditions of the Southeast region, which is highly representative in terms of bovine production in the country; b) to identify animal management practices that promote a reduction in methane emissions along with the improvement of production efficiency, and contribute to the assessment of the vulnerability of animal production systems to climate change; c) to build the capacity of human resources and disseminate methodologies for measuring gases in the agriculture and livestock sector. The budget for this project was set at R$ 699,000 (six hundred and ninety-nine thousand reals), of which R$ 300,000 (three hundred thousand reals) are to be provided by MCT/Climate Change Program and the remaining value of R$ 399,000 (three hundred and ninety-nine thousand reals) by the partner institutions. A timeframe of 4 (four) years was established for the preparation of this study.

Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and Foundation for Support of Research and Extension (FAPEX)

Under this partnership, an agreement was signed in 2001 between MCT, the Federal University of Bahia, and the Foundation for Support of Research and Extension for the development of the project “Global Climate Change and Bleaching of Corals”, which includes the preparation of a technical and scientific study to assess the impacts of the increase in seawater temperature – related to global climate changes – on photosymbiotic organisms living in corals, the loss of which produces coral bleaching and reduces coral capacity to tolerate and/or adapt to sudden environmental changes. The specific objectives of this project are: a) to evaluate in vitro the changes undergone by corals and hydrocorals exposed to different degrees of water temperature. This study will be carried out in the Coastal Studies Laboratory (LEC) of the Geophysics and Geology Research Center (CPGG) of the Federal University of Bahia, with the use of aquarium tanks with a continuous monitoring system to promote environmental control in each experiment; b) to monitor the occurrence of any indication of bleaching in coral reefs in the coast of the state of Bahia under different climate conditions (summer and winter). This study will be undertaken jointly with the work initiated in 1999, the purpose of which is to monitor on an annual basis the vital conditions of Brazilian reefs (Leão et al. 1999, Kikuchi et al. 2001). The seasonal observation (two annual campaigns) of the occurrence of bleaching will be added to the observation protocol being applied to the region of Abrolhos, located in the south of the state of Bahia; and c) to evaluate the effects of bleaching of corals and hydrocorals by means of in vitro and in situ experiments in reef areas selected based on indications of the presence of coral bleaching hot spots, quantifying the extent of the areas affected in the coral colonies and registering the behavior of the phenomenon until its complete extinction. The results of this study will be compared to those of the research carried out in the northern coast of the state of Bahia, during the occurrence of the 1997/1998 El Niño event (Dutra 2000, Dutra et al. 2000). The budget for this project was set at R$ 412,850 (four hundred and twelve thousand, eight hundred and fifty reals), of which R$ 155,000 (one hundred and fifty-five thousand reals) are to be provided by MCT/Climate Change Program and the remaining value of R$ 257,850 (two hundred and fifty-seven thousand, eight hundred and fifty reals) by the partner institutions. A timeframe of 4 (four) years was established for the preparation of this study.

Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and Brazilian Association for Graduate Studies in Collective Health (Abrasco)

Under this partnership, an agreement was signed in 2001 between MCT, Fiocruz, and Abrasco for the development of the project “Analysis of the Vulnerability of the Brazilian Population to the Sanitary Impacts of Climate Change”, which includes the preparation of a retrospective study on the social and environmental vulnerability of the population when submitted to extreme weather events and endemic diseases that are sensitive to climate oscillations, as well as modeling a georeferenced information system (GIS) that makes it possible to prevent critical situations that increase the risk of morbimortality relative to the diseases selected for the study. The budget for this project was set at R$ 279,000 (two hundred and seventy-nine thousand reals), of which R$ 109,000 (one hundred and nine thousand reals) are to be provided by MCT/Climate Change Program and the remaining value of R$ 180,000 (one hundred and eighty thousand reals) by the partner institutions. A timeframe of 3 (three) years was established for the preparation of this study.