Juliana Andrade
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Brazil is the first country in Latin America Latin to have an integrated management plan for water resources. The head of the Secretariat of Water Resources at the Ministry of Environment, João Bosco Senra, says that the action plan deals with much more than just water . "It establishes guidelines for the rational use of water resources while taking into consideration social, cultural, ethnic, technical and economic aspects of the problem," he explains.

The plan was approved yesterday by the Water Resources Council. It will be presented at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico in March. The plan meets a UN deadline on water resource management under the terms of the Millennium Goals project. "Brazl is one of the few countries in the world to achieve this Millennium Goal, and the only one in Latin America," says Senra.

Meanwhle, the minster of Environment, Marina Silva, points out that although Brazil has 12% of the world's fresh water resources, parts of the country are semi-arid and face frequent problems with drought. "That is why we must seek the ways and means to ensure the rational use of water resources and reduce the negative impact of human activities," she declared.

Translation: Allen Bennett