Treaties on the Environment CHAPTER 2 — THE 21st CENTURY STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT The environmental theme is of growing strategic concern for Brazil and brings new challenges for the country in the field of defense. The protection of natural resources is a highlight of the National Defense Strategy, mainly in regard to the Amazon region. Brazil directs its environmental initiatives by “Principle 2”18 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, adopted during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED Rio-92)19. This principle reasserts every nation’s sovereign right to exploit its natural resources in accordance with its own environmental and development policies. In return for the sovereign right of exploitation, every state must make a commitment to not damage the environment due to activities performed within its jurisdiction or under its authority. Brazil acknowledges the importance of international cooperation, especially with neighboring countries, for the purpose of preserving the environment and to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. The nation is part of several regional and bilateral agreements that establish cooperative relations for managing transboundary natural resources, such as the agreements that regulate the cooperation and use of the hydro resources in the Prata basin and the agreement that regulates the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA). In the scope of cooperation among Amazonian nations, it is worth noting the establishment, in 2010, of the New Amazonian Strategic Cooperation Agenda, which encompasses a series of cooperation initiatives in the area of preservation and sustainable use of renewable resources. Within the scope of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB), Brazil defends its interests by upholding a balance between the three pillars of this Convention: the preservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of biodiversity and the distribution of benefits derived from the exploitation of genetic resources. Brazil considers that the establishment of an international agreement on the access to genetic resources and to the knowledge traditionally associated with this issue is an important measure to guarantee the rights of countries and communities which hold such resources, as well as to fight against biopiracy. Principle 2: “States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction”. 18 The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCSD) was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In 2012, the Conference Rio+20, or Earth Summit 2012, gave continuity to this issue, pursuant to Resolution No 64/236 of the United Nations General Assembly.”. 19 50 DEFENSE WHITE PAPER