Brazilian activist, legislator and statesman Fabio Fedlmann will be featured in the Oct. 30 DENIN Dialogue.

Oct. 30: DENIN Dialogue

Brazilian activist, legislator and statesman to speak at Mitchell Hall

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4:28 p.m., Oct. 5, 2015--The Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) will host Brazilian activist, legislator and statesman Fabio Feldmann as part of its DENIN Dialogue speaker series on Friday, Oct. 30, from 4–5:30 p.m.

Feldmann has devoted his life to protecting and improving the environmental sustainability of his native Brazil, a goal he has relentlessly pursued in every possible arena, from business to politics to nonprofit advocacy organizations. 

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His visionary leadership has left its mark on Brazilian law and society and on the world stage. He is a winner of the United Nations' Global 500 award, which recognizes the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world.

Feldmann will be interviewed onstage at Mitchell Hall by Dan Parke, the director general of Agência Estado, Latin America’s largest real-time news agency, based in São Paulo, Brazil. Parke is a University of Delaware alumnus and member of DENIN’s external advisory board.

“Fabio is one of the few responsible for making Brazil a leader in conservation policy, science and impact,” Parke said. “He’s been a global environmental leader for decades and has achieved rock star status in Brazil for his vast accomplishments, including being the principal organizer of Rio '92. It’s an honor to bring Fabio to speak at my alma mater.”

Parke and Feldmann will conduct a question-and-answer session with the audience following the interview. Questions may be suggested ahead of time or during the presentation via Twitter, using the hashtag #DENINtalk.

The presentation is free and open to the public and will be available remotely via live video streaming.

About Fabio Feldmann

Feldmann is a lawyer who served three consecutive terms in the Brazilian parliament during which he drafted extensive environmental legislation and the environmental chapter of Brazil's 1988 constitution, considered to be one of the most advanced in the world. He has also served as secretary of state for the environment for the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

Feldmann has represented Brazil in many of the key international climate negotiations sponsored by the United Nations, beginning with the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, or Rio '92. Between 1997 and 2002, he was a member of the Brazilian delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which produced the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.  

In 2002, Feldmann was appointed by Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to coordinate the country's preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held that year in South Africa, and he served as President Cardoso's personal representative at that meeting and the Rio+10 climate summit.

In 2000, Feldmann initiated the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change with the main objective to engage the various spheres of Brazilian society in the dissemination and discussion of climate information. He served as executive secretary for the forum until 2004, receiving considerable support for his efforts from the international community, who saw in the forum a new model of social participation in the issue. 

In 2005, Feldman recreated this type of organization at the state level in São Paulo, with the addition of biodiversity to the agenda, in the São Paulo Forum on Global Climate Change and Biodiversity, which he led until 2010.

Feldmann has also been active with national and international NGOs. He was a founder and first president of the SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation (SOS Mata Atlantica) in 1986, an organization dedicated to defending the rainforest, conserving natural heritage and history, and seeking sustainable development to preserve the flora and fauna of the rainforest. 

He has served as legal counsel or on boards of numerous organizations, including The Nature Conservancy Brazil, Friends of the Earth, the Akatu Institute and Ecological Footprint.

In recent years, Feldmann has led his own consulting firm dedicated to promoting concepts of sustainable development and environmental excellence in various economic sectors. He speaks frequently at national and international events on issues such as sustainable development, climate change, environmental legislation and corporate responsibility.

About DENIN

The Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN), founded at the University of Delaware in 2009, is an interdisciplinary incubator of research, knowledge and solutions specifically dedicated to safeguarding the environment and addressing environmental issues. DENIN provides academic, government and industrial partners broad access to experts from multiple disciplines in a collaborative effort to advance environmental science, promote environmental education and devise innovative, multidimensional strategies for environmental sustainability. 

Article by Beth Chajes

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