Uruguay-Brazil green push seen
URUGUAY has invited Brazil to join a project to monitor the Uruguay River for environmental problems, IHS Global Insight reported today.
Uruguayan President Jos Mjica declared yesterday the initiative, which will include monitoring for shipping pollution on the major waterway. It runs through Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil and is the border between Argentina and Uruguay the basis of a seven-year dispute.
But the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled in April that Uruguay had violated a 1975 treaty by allowing a Finnish company to build a $1.1B paper processing plant on its bank, but that this violation was not sufficient to order its dismantling or relocation.
Both parties have agreed to create a system to assess possible environmental damage to the river, Global Insight said.
It commented: he new involvement of Brazil, a regional leader and heavyweight of customs union Mercosur (of which Argentina and Uruguay are members) is expected to see the consolidation of a firm and long-lasting resolution to the paper mill controversy.
Source:caribbeanshipping
