Beyond the Laboratory: Social Benefits of Science and Technology and International Cooperation

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Vice Minister Fernandez and the Brazilian delegation to Washington.  I also would like to recognize our Washington colleagues, and express my appreciation for their participation in this important event.

Last November, President Lula and President Bush identified science and technology cooperation as a priority for our two nations.  The U.S.-Brazil Joint Commission not only illustrates the increasingly close ties between Brazil and the United States, but also confirms the seriousness and importance of science and technology to both our countries. 

The world today is confronted by an array of global challenges including: infectious diseases, climate change, deforestation, clean water, the need for renewable energy sources, and pollution -- to name just a few.  Science offers decision-makers of today and tomorrow tools to address these problems and the means to improve the quality of life for people worldwide.

Today’s meeting is an opportunity to address the challenges of the 21st century together.  Allow me to highlight a few areas of particular interest:

Renewable Fuels

Brazil and the U.S. are among the world leaders in the production and use of renewable energy, as we seek sources of energy with less impact on our global climate. Indeed in 2003, the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy signed an agreement to initiate collaboration in the energy market.

Increased access to modern energy services benefits everyone by facilitating cheap electricity and catalyzing economic growth, especially in rural settlements. We appreciate Brazil’s recent proposals to enhance further our bilateral science and technology cooperation in renewable fuels. Brazil’s 30-year experience in the development of ethanol makes it a world leader and we welcome this opportunity. 

Agriculture

The lead Brazil and the U.S. have taken in agricultural research and technology makes us natural partners – as do our positions on opposite sides of the equator.  Agricultural research affects what people eat and drink, how much it costs, and importantly, how good it tastes.

Institutions such as Brazil’s Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa, and The Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are working together to implement programs of mutual benefit.  For example: USDA has provided technical support, at the request of the Government of Brazil, to help implement President Lula’s 2003 Zero Hunger Initiative, which benefited 20 to 40 million Brazilians. USDA’s Cochran Fellowship Program, which provides short-term training in the United States, has trained 120 Brazilians since 1998 on topics such as agricultural statistics, agricultural biotechnology, and food safety.

Under the Scientific Cooperation Research Program, U.S. and Brazilian scientists have conducted joint research and scientific exchanges for over 20 years.  One area is how to improve the common bean. Researchers in Brazil, Chile, China, and the United States are using new information technologies to forge an international seed technology consortium.  Together, we also have advanced genome research for more effective disease control in plants – including Pierce’s disease, which afflicts grapevines in California, and citrus disease in Brazil.

Earth Observation and Forestry

Another success story of U.S.-Brazil cooperation is earth observation. Through the Executive Committee of the Group on Earth Observations, the U.S. and Brazil are working to develop capacity worldwide for producing and using earth observations and for establishing a Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS).

Together, we can use the Earth observation system to provide the public, governments, organizations, and industry better scientific information for decision making on issues such as disaster preparedness, ocean protection, monitoring and managing energy resources, and climate change. 

We commend Brazil’s pioneering use of Landsat imagery.  Brazil has used this technology, coupled with forest science and market incentives, to track and reduce illegal logging in the Amazon. In fact, over one thousand communities in the Brazilian Amazon have expressed interest in exchanging information in order to adopt a modern, science-based forest management system.

With the backing of USAID, the U.S. Forest Service, and Brazilian scientists, applied research in reduced-impact forest management is changing the face of the timber industry in the Brazilian Amazon. Our large scale biosphere-atmosphere experiment in Amazonia, known as LBA, helps to protect tropical ecosystems.

NASA and NSF studies of high forest fire susceptibility in Brazil led USAID to prepare local Amazon communities to mobilize to fight accidental fires. As a result, a network of over 500 Amazon NGOs has built a social network to replace burning as a tool for preparing crop plots with science-based information on fire behavior, agro-forestry systems, and remuneration for ecosystem services. We truly have forged a strong bond in forest management.

Global Positioning Systems

Our countries have also collaborated on Global Positioning Systems, which has had a significant impact in accuracy and –thus – availability of aviation. The United States is interested in expanding GPS cooperation to address the broader use of the US-sponsored GPS satellite network, which is open and free of cost to all users.

GPS technology increases driver precision, helping to decrease the amount of fuel used. GPS also increases public safety by preventing transportation accidents and by reducing the response times of ambulances, firefighters, and other emergency services. Scientists and forecasters also use GPS to identify accurately weather trends – warning communities in threatened areas of approaching storms. 

We look forward to the possibility of sending a team to Brazil to continue our dialogue on satellite technologies and GPS applications.

Information, Communications and Technology 

And finally, on the information and communications technology frontier, Brazil and the United States are moving quickly toward enhancing broad internet access by leveraging broadband and wireless communication technologies.

Such technology ensures people in remote areas better access to information, as well as to government services and markets.  The Internet empowers rural residents by connecting them to knowledge, skills, training, and education.

The Internet is also an important catalyst for innovation as well as freedom of expression. In February, Secretary Rice launched the Global Internet Freedom Task Force, which I co-Chair with Under Secretary Josette Sheeran Shiner.  The Task Force’s goal is to monitor and report on Internet censorship, promote greater access to the Internet, and respond when Internet freedoms are restricted.

In fact, in the December 2005 Joint Declaration among the Organization of American States, the United Nations, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the right to universal access to the Internet was underscored. 

The United States is committed to meeting this obligation and we know Brazil is as well. We look forward to hearing about Brazil’s experience in using wireless communications technologies to expand Internet access.

Today’s problems are indeed challenging.  The promise of science and technology offers solutions and allows us, together, to create a better world for future generations. We have already seen the benefits when two great countries collaborate by applying science and technology to global problems. Thank you.