Media Contacts: In Washington: Alejandra Viveros (202) 473-4306 Aviveros@worldbank.org In Brasilia: Mauro Azeredo (55-61) 329-1059 Mazeredo@worldbank.org  WASHINGTON, December 16, 2005 – World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz made the following statement upon his arrival in Belem, Brazil.  " I am delighted to be in Belem. This is my first visit to the Brazilian Amazon about which I have heard so much over so many years, and I am really looking forward to it. I am glad that I will be able to spend two full days here in the Amazon Rain Forest.  The Amazon rain forest covers 40 percent of the tropical forests in the world and I hope to be able to grasp something of the sheer magnitude of this incredible area, but also its richness and the conservation challenges that it presents.
My staff were showing me a map, just a few days ago, that shows that the area of the Brazilian Amazon is equal to the area of all of Western Europe plus Central Europe. Take all the countries in Europe and you can fit them on a map of the Brazilian Amazon – it’s enormous.
Over the next two days I will be visiting some development projects along the Tapajos River and around Santarem, where I hope to talk to different stakeholders, including project beneficiaries, local communities, women, representatives from NGOs and local governments to learn first-hand about some of the issues and challenges these different groups are facing.Â
The debate about sustainable development is too often a matter of balancing conflicting needs. The need for development on the one hand, and conservation of the environment on the other. I think that increasingly we understand that responsible management of the environment is an essential piece of successful, sustainable, long term development. And that these two concerns complement and reinforce one another, and in the right way do not compete.
Brazil has enormous experience in this area, which is of importance to other areas of the world. We know that we at the World Bank can learn a great deal from Brazil’s experience in addressing how the issues of agriculture, forestry, energy and environment in sensitive areas like the Amazon come together and how they can be managed, while ensuring at the same time that local communities have access to resources and access to decision making.
The World Bank has been engaged with Brazil and in the Amazon for a long time. I am very confident that we can continue to do so and I look forward to this visit to making a contribution in that regard."
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