The formation of the network CB27 was originally inspired by the World Climate Conference Rio +20. Its aim is the establishment of a platform that facilitates communication between the Brazilian regional capitals on matters concerning environmental management.
The world in the 21st century sees itself confronted with a variety of challenges. Chief among such is the development of cities towards sustainability regarding economic, ecological and social aspects. While international negotiations so far resulted in unsatisfactory outcomes, sub national actors such as the cities are new agents about to fill this lack of coordination. In the international city network C-40 for example, representatives of the world’s biggest cities joined forces in order to take action together against global warming and climate change. Until now, about 4700 measures with relevance for the environment have been implemented in this recently established organizational framework.
The crucial advantage of the cities compared to nation states is their closeness to its citizens what gives them the opportunity to really understand their daily life problems: public transportation, waste management and reduction of air pollution rank among the most urgent concerns. Communal leaders benefit from their knowledge about specific deficits and challenges in their cities and are able to identify and present possible individually adjusted measures. In that spirit the idea of the city network follows the motto of the Agenda 21: “Think global, act local!”
Following the example of the international city network C40, the Forum CB27 came into existence in Brazil. This cooperation serves communal decision-makers of the Brazilian regional capitals as a platform for a better exchange of information, experiences and best practices concerning the development of concepts for climate and environmental protection. Furthermore, the improved communication between environmental officers around Brazil, which results in increased efficiency in solving common problems, is at the centre of the initiative.
First meeting of the Heads of the Municipal Departments for Environmental Affairs
On the initiative of the Department of Environmental Affairs of the city of Rio de Janeiro, the first meeting of the CB27 took place in May 2012. As the CB27’s first official event it was marked by the UN Conference on Sustainable Development “Rio +20” that took place in June 2012 in its host country Brazil. The departmental heads of 23 Brazilian capitals discussed during two days in Rio issues such as systems of transportation, waste management and the reduction of CO2-emissions. Furthermore, the meeting enabled its participants to present their own successful approaches to fight climatic change and to exchange experiences. Moreover, it was agreed upon to institute a shared data base which is supposed to document the progress of implemented projects and there has been also compiled an overview of the conference’s results.
Despite the particularities of every large Brazilian city, numerous similarities and strategic key points became visible. Therefore, the communal decision-makers could benefit from the experiences of their colleagues who see themselves confronted with similar challenges. One of the major problems of all environmental offices is their lack of financial resources given that within the municipalities environmental politics still are of little priority. Furthermore, many of the Departments for Environmental Affairs still are working towards better connection with other Departments within the same municipality and on their thematic intersections as for example local transportation and waste management.
Second meeting of the Heads of the Municipal Departments for Environmental Affairs in Porto Alegre
In close cooperation the Environmental Offices of Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro organized the second national meeting of the Heads of the Municipal Departments for Environmental Affairs with the aim of advancing the initiated dialogue and assuring a continuous exchange of information. The main reason for the meeting was the presentation of the CB27 project to the new Heads of Department for Environmental Affairs who had been elected to office in January 2013 as well as to present them their colleagues. In addition, the forum that took place after a series of regional pre-meetings enabled the presentation and the discussion of best-practices. Finally, 25 representatives of the CB27 group agreed on their joint signature of the Porto Alegre Charta. This act can be seen as a first step towards the institutionalisation of the cooperation between the Departments for Environmental Affairs. The institutional principles are to be prepared by a work group this year in order to set the foundation for a long-term cooperation and the professionalization of local environmental politics.
Third meeting of the Heads of the Municipal Departments for Environmental Affairs in Salvador
The Department of Sustainability of the city of Salvador (SECIS), received the heads of the municipal departments for environment of the capitals of the Brazilian federal states gathered for the third meeting of the CB27 network. The purpose of the meeting was the creation of a separate legal personality for the network. Délio Malheiros, deputy mayor and head of the department for environment of Belo Horizonte, has been elected as the first coordinator of the network. Nelson Moreira Franco, head of the subsection on climate change within the department for environment of the city of Rio de Janeiro, has been appointed as the managing director of the CB27. The newly established legal entity serves as a platform to foster the exchange of experiences on best practices among the member cities.
The day featured an intensive exchange among the respective heads of the departments for environment. Amongst others, common challenges, such as dealing with public tenders, have been discussed. In this context, the department heads reported on the difficulties to divide responsibilities between the local and regional authorities. Whilst the municipalities are legally entitled to execute the tenders which provide the municipalities with access to substantial financial resources the responsibility might however fall to the regional government if the municipalities are not equipped adequately with trained staff and other resources. The construction of waste management or public transport is for example associated with extremely high expenditures. Often the cities cannot bear these costs on their own given a lack of sufficient financial resources.
The first day has been concluded with the signing of the Declaration of Salvador. It stipulates that the CB27 will cooperate in the future as a forum striving for the integration of the capital cities and for increasing their weight as actors in the area of environmental policy.
The second day focused on the issues of climate change and waste management. The seminar has been opened by Ivanilson Gomes, Head of the Department of Sustainability in Salvador. In the presence of Célia Sacramento, Deputy Mayor of Salvador, Carlos Alberto Muniz, Head of the Department for Environment of Rio de Janeiro, Congressman José Luiz França Penna and Felix Dane, Director of the Brazilian Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, specific questions on these subjects have been presented and discussed.
Documents and publications:
The "Rio declaration of sustainability“ is the result of the first meeting of the departmental heads for environment of the Brazilian capitals which took place from 15th to 18th of may 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. Numerous representatives of the 27 regional Brazilian capitals signed the declaration that afterward was passed on to the C-40. The entire declaration in English can be found here>>
The publication "Environmental management: success cases of the Brazilian State capitals", presents projects for climate and environmental protection that had been implemented successfully in different Brazilian capitals. The best-practice models should serve as an example for how cities can be designed in a more sustainable manner.
The entire publication in English can be found here>>
The signed declaration "Charta of Porto Alegre" in Portuguese can be found here>>
The full text of the "Charta of Salvador" in Portuguese can be found here>>
Presentations and further documents regarding the second meeting of the CB27 can be found
CB27 in the media:
Subsequently can be found a selection of media reports regarding den meeting of the departmental heads of the CB27 (in Portuguese)
Preparation of the second meeting:
First meeting of Heads of the Municipal Departments for Environmental Affairs in Rio de Janeiro:
Regional meeting 2012:
Second meeting of the Heads of the Municipal Departments for Environmental Affairs of the Brazilian regional Capitals in Porto Alegre: