On 16th April, co-hosted by the School of Journalism and Communication and the School of Public Policy & Management (SPPM) of Tsinghua University, and organized by the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (Tsinghua SDG Institute), the Seminar 'Environmental Protection and Governance in the State of Amazonas, Brazil' was held successfully.

The speakers of the seminar -Julio Pinheiro, Counselor of the Federal Court of Accounts -  Brazil (TCU) and Antônio de Lima Mesquita, Titular Professor, Amazonas State University (UEA), Brazil - gave speeches on the dilemmas and practical experiences of environmental governance in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Hu Yu, Professor, Secretary of the Party Committee, School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University; Dai Jia, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University; Zhu Xufeng, Associate Dean & Professor of SPPM and Executive Director, Tsinghua SDG Institute; and Alessandro Teixeira, professor of SPPM, attended the seminar.

Opening Remark by Hu Yu

First, Hu Yu expressed his warm welcome to the two guests from Brazil. He believes that environmental protection is one of the key issues affecting the development of mankind nowadays, and both China and Brazil have their own advantages and valuable experience in the construction of ecological civilisation, and he expects that the two countries will strengthen international academic exchanges and cooperation in the future, and join hands to promote the process of global environmental governance.

Moderated by Zhu Xufeng

The first half of the seminar was moderated by Zhu Xufeng, who mentioned that since the release of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, all countries in the world have been doing their best and taking action to build the community with a shared future for humanity. The UN 2030 Agenda aims to address the issue of sustainable human development in three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Environmental issues are one of the key topics of this agenda and are well reflected in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as Goal 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 13 Climate Action, Goal 14 Life Below Water, and Goal 15 Life on Land. This is why the two schools have togther with TUSDG, a representative Chinese academic institution in the field of sustainable development, co-organise this event. The organizers hope that this conference will strengthen cross-border and interdisciplinary exchanges between China and Pakistan in the field of SDGs, and provide a platform for both sides to carry out academic collaborative research projects.

Speech by Júlio Pinheiro

Then, Júlio Pinheiro introduced the key role of TCU in environmental protection in Brazil, which covers operational functions such as environmental auditing, environmental monitoring, inspections, data collection, etc. TCU also conducts research projects related to the environment in conjunction with the public and private sectors, and actively promotes the implementation of the national solid waste policy. In addition, He also shared that during his visits to different cities in the state of Amazonas, there were serious environmental problems, such as the incineration of medical waste and plastic waste in some cities, and environmental degradation that led to the collision of birds and planes, among others. Júlio Pinheiro said that environmental problems can only be improved through effective measures such as public awareness, rational use of solid waste, restoration of degraded grasslands, and improvement of citizens' health, stressing that the environment is an issue that should be of great concern to all of humanity, and that no one can afford to stand by and do nothing about it.

Moderated by Dai Jia

Speech by Antônio de Lima Mesquita

The second half of the seminar was moderated by Dai Jia. Antônio Mesquita presented the outcomes of his research on the use of agro-industrial waste in the state of Amazonas in the manufacture of alternative and environmentally friendly products under the title of "Sustainability of agroindustrial waste as an alternative environmental service for Amazonia", providing sustainable solutions for different sectors such as civil construction, building design and furniture. While the traditional particleboard industry in Brazil uses trees as the main raw material for production, the extraction of non-conventional materials from agro-industrial waste, such as bagasse, peanut shells, coconut fibre and the production of lignocellulosic particleboards, not only helps to reduce the use of wood, but also reduces the pressure on native and plantation forests. He shared the case of eco-particleboards made from chemically treated acai fibre vascular tissues in Brazil and described the technique as a good example of sustainable solutions for civil construction, building design and furniture. and said the technology offers a new option for the particleboard industry.

Comment by Alessandro Teixeira

In the end, Alessandro Teixeira summarized the discusssion and expected Tsinghua University, TCU and UEA to establish a long-term cooperation mechanism by taking advantage of their own strengths in cross-disciplines, such as scientific research, environmental governance and environmental communication.

group photo