USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean visits Brazil

Between January 27 and 31, Mr. John Barsa, USAID's Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, visited Brasilia and Boa Vista to learn about USAID's projects in Brazil. During his visit, Mr. Barsa met with Brazilian government officials and USAID/Brazil implementing partners.

In Brasilia, Barsa met with the implementing partners of the Partnership for the Conservation of Amazon Biodiversity (PCAB), with whom he discussed recent achievements and challenges related to working in the Amazon. In order to learn more about cooperation with the Brazilian government, and to better understand US Brazilian fire interventions, the Assistant Administrator visited the Brasilia National Park.

The visit began with a guided walk through National Park trails to see public use improvements implemented by ICMBio after consulting and partnering with the US Forest Service. In addition, he attended presentations by the Ministry of the Environment's Secretary for International Affairs, Mr. Roberto Castelo Branco; ICMBio's Chairman, Mr. Homero Cerqueira; and other officials from the same institution.

He also watched a presentation on the long-standing partnership on fire management and prevention, made by Mr. João Morita, Coordinator of Fire Fighting and Prevention at ICMBio. “This technical cooperation has contributed a lot to a paradigm shift and improved fire management," said Morita. 

Mr. Barsa thanked the Brazilian government for the visit and the partnership: “I have the best job in the world as I have the opportunity to work with people like you," he said. During the visit, the Assistant Administrator also announced additional resources to the cooperation on fire management initiatives. 

In addition to US-Brazil environmental cooperation, Barsa also learned about the humanitarian relief actions led by USAID to address the crisis in Venezuela. Before visiting the border area, Barsa attended  the launch of the Opportunities Project – a partnership between USAID and the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) which aims to support the economic integration of Venezuelans in vulnerable situations in Brazil.