Brazil and the United Kingdom announce two contributions to an environmental project in the Amazon region

On Wednesday (24), the British government announced a contribution of 2 million pounds sterling, about 12.3 million Brazilian reals, for a project in the Amazon jungle. The announcement came during a visit by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, James Cleverley, to the AmazonFACE research station. The structure is located about 80 km north of Manaus, and the program under construction towers in the Amazon jungle.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Luciana Santos, took part in the visit on Tuesday (23).

With the amount announced today, the UK is adding £7.3 million (R$45 million) to support AmazonFACE, starting in 2021. The Brazilian government has invested R$32 million through the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT). The release of the funds was announced by Minister Luciana Santos during the visit.

According to MCTI, the AmazonFACE findings will help the international scientific community better understand how the largest rainforest can help mitigate global climate change, as well as increase the accuracy of its vulnerability to global warming. “The initiative has a central contribution to the most appropriate responses to achieving global climate goals,” the ministry added.

“AmazonFACE is the major scientific cooperation project between the two countries. The UK is Brazil’s second largest partner in science and technology, and in the past seven years there has been collaboration on no less than 700 bilateral research initiatives,” the ministry highlighted.

AmazonFACE is coordinated by scientists from the National Research Institute of the Amazon (Inpa/MCTI) and the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), in international collaboration with the British Government and implemented by the Met Office – British Met Service.

The experiment aims to answer the following global question: “How will climate change affect the Amazon rainforest, the biodiversity it protects and the ecosystem services it provides to humanity?”.

For this purpose, AmazonFACE is assessing the ability of rainforests to respond to elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the effects of this process on global climate, biodiversity, and ecosystems. That is, how the forest reacts to an increase in carbon dioxide concentration to understand its role in the context of climate change.

facial technology

The experiment uses FACE technology (Carbon dioxide enrichment in free air), or outdoor carbon dioxide enrichment, in Portuguese. FACE technology blows carbon dioxide-rich air over vegetation and monitors its responses. According to the ministry, this will help understand how increased carbon dioxide modifies leaves, roots, soil, and the water and nutrient cycle in the Amazon forest. The impact around the Amazon test area will be minimal and all carbon emitted will be offset by planting trees in areas bordering deforestation. This technology has been around since the 1990s and has already been applied in projects in temperate forests in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. AmazonFACE is unique in the rainforest.

infrastructure

According to the ministry to conduct the experiment, the rings are under construction (plots) in a designated research area in the Amazon rainforest. Each ring contains 16 towers, 35 meters high and 30 meters in diameter, surrounded by about 50 mature trees. Through these towers air with CO₂ will be released. It will also be linked to monitoring sensors that measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. In total, there will be six episodes. Each loop will also contain a crane about 50 meters high that will allow scientists to collect material and observe what is happening above the treetops.

The six episodes are expected to be operational in early 2024. The science project faces the challenge of creating the infrastructure for the research platform using FACE technology.

*With information from MCTI