Brasília, 6/24/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The establishment of an observation station to evaluate the effect of cities in the Amazon region on water basins is one of the objectives of a symposium, "Amazon, Cities and Water Geopolitics," which begins this Wednesday in Belem, capital of the state of Pará, located at the mouth of the Amazon River [which flows through two of Brazil's largest states, Amazonia (the largest) and Pará]. The symposium is seen as a forum for discussions on the changes which have taken place in the Amazon region over the last few decades, and an opportunity to examine the effect of human urban populations on the environment in the Amazon with a special focus on the problem of water.

Some of the issues to be dealt with at the symposium are: sustainable development and the problem of water in the Amazon; cities and globalization; the Amazon in an international context; water, energy and hydroelectric power plants; vegetation, farming and the use of water; public policy and fishing; and the urban network in the Amazon.

The symposium will be attended by some 50 researchers. It is being organized by the Amazon Superior Studies Center (Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos) (Naea), which is housed in the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Emilio Goeldi Museum, and Finep: Financer of Studies and Projects, under sponsorship of the Banco da Amazonia. (AB)