Toxigenic Cyanobacteriae in the MERCOSUR:Searching for strategies to determine their scope and regional impact and to develop measures for risk prevention and management.

SALERNO G.,; ANDRINOLO D.; , RUIBAL CONTI A.L.,; MEICHTRY N.,; FIORE M.,; AGUJARO, L

Salto Grande. Argentina-Uruguay

Taller; IV Taller Internacional sobre enfoques Regionales para el Desarrollo y Gestión de Embalses en la Cuenca del Plata; 2005

Comite Intergobernamental de paises de la cuenca Del Plata

The development of toxigenic cyanobacteriae is a sanitary, ecological and economic problem worldwide, exerting a negative impact on the quality of water for public supply, fishery and recreational purposes. Even though the phenomenon of harmful algae proliferation in the MERCOSUR region has become worse, the scope and consequences thereof has not yet been duly sized up. Aiming at creating an ambit wherein specialists of the MERCOSUR countries would meet, the Fundación para Investigaciones Biológicas Aplicadas (Foundation for Applied Biological Investigations) with the support of the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (Scientific and Technological Promotion National Agency) (Argentina) organized a workshop wherein experts and interested parties from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in order to evaluate the situation in the MERCOSUR countries and to set out the steps that would enable solving, from the scientifictechnological ambit, the problem of a massive development of potentially toxic algae. In the general conclusions, it was emphasize the fact that even though in the MERCOSUR there are research groups working in different aspects related to cyanobacteriae, there is no adequate interrelation between them or with management areas, thus existing significant gaps regarding research, legislation and cyanobacteria risk management. There arises a need to create networks allowing for the interaction of different sectors related to this subject matter. As a proposal, a framework action plan wherein the development of these activities is feasible was created. Said activities have been ordered in different stages and according to short, medium and long-term objectives. In this paper, the situation explained by regional experts and the proposal of a framework action plan tending to implement a regional cyanobacteriae monitoring program are described. Key words: cyanobacteriae,