Period: from August 3 to 6
Place: Centro Administrativo Presidente Getúlio Vargas - Banco do Nordeste do Brasil.
Av. Paranjana, no.5700 - Passaré. Fortaleza/Ceará.

August 3

5:00 p.m.  Official Opening of the Conference and Launching of the National Action Program
to Combat Desertification (PAN)

The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 
Executive Secretary of UNCCD, Hama Arba Diallo 
Minister of Environment,  Marina Silva
Minister of National Integration, Ciro Gomes
Minister of Science and Technology, Eduardo Campos
Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, Patrus Ananias
Governor of the State of Ceará, Lúcio Gonçalo de Alcântara

CULTURAL PRESENTATION

August 4

MORNING

09:00 a.m.  Panel: Public Policies in the Context of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
- UNCCD.
Chair: Marina Silva – Minister of Environment 

9:10 a.m. Sustainable Development Getting Along with the Semi-Arid Climateo
Speaker: Marina Silva – Ministra do Meio Ambiente
9:25 a.m . Linking and integrating the UNCCD in sustainable development strategies and policies of Latin America and the Caribbean
Speaker: Hama Arba Diallo – Executive Secretary of UNCCD
9:40 a.m. The Integration of Policies to Combat Desertification
Speaker: Ciro Gomes – Minister of National Integration
9:55 a.m. Plenary
10:35 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Links among Poverty, Hunger and desertification
Speaker: Patrus Ananias – Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger
11:15 a.m. Science, Technology and Innovation as Instruments of Sustainable Development in Semi-arid regions
Speaker: Eduardo Campos – Minister of Science and Technology
11:30 a.m. Plenary
12:00 a.m. Lunch

AFTERNOON

02:30 p.m. Panel: Advances and Challenges in the Combat of Desertification in South America
Chair: José Sydrião de Alencar Jr. - Superintendent of the Office of Technical and Economic Studies
of the Northeast (ETENE)

02:40 p.m. Latin America and Caribbean
Speaker:: Sérgio Zelaya – UNCCD Coordinator for Latin America and Caribbean
02:55 p.m. Cone Sul
Speaker: João Bosco Senra – Coordinator for the Southern Cone
03:10 p.m. The American Gran Chaco
Speaker: Elena Abraham, Instituto Argentino de Desertification y Investigación de Zonas Áridas
03:25 p.m. Plenary
04:00 p.m. Break
04:30 p.m. New Financing Opportunities Created by the Global Mechanism and the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Speaker: Ana Saez – Global Mechanism - Roma
05:00 p.m. Plenary

PARALLEL EVENTS:
01:00 p.m. RIOD/ASA
Chair: RIOD/Articulação no Semi-Árido Brasileiro
02:00 p.m. Meeting of Parlamentarians on Combat of Desertification
Chair: Edson Duarte - Federal Deputy

06:00 p.m. CULTURAL END OF THE AFTERNOON
- Launching of the books "Um Tributo a Guimarães Duque" and "Biodiversidade da Caatinga"
- Show folclórico