US aluminum maker Alcoa said on Thursday it had halted bauxite shipments from Brazil’s Juruti port due to a stranded vessel in the waterway This was the latest in a series of disruptions to hit the aluminum raw material supply chain, which have pushed alumina prices to record highs and supported aluminum prices Alcoa declared force majeure at its bauxite mine in the Juruti region on Wednesday as an inaccessible waterway hindered its ability to supply its customers an Alcoa spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters The statement gave no estimate on when shipments would resume One trader source said the vessel has been stranded near Juruti port since late October and bauxite has not been moving for almost 10 days The Juruti area has one of the world’s largest deposits of high grade bauxite which is typically crushed and refined into alumina Alumina is the major raw material for making primary aluminum Three-month benchmark prices for aluminum on the London Metal Exchange surged to a five-month high of $2,732 per metric ton on Thursday Alumina prices rallied last month after disruptions to shipments in Guinea and Australia The most traded alumina contract for January expiry on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) has jumped 25% since the start of October to 5,279 yuan per tonne (By Julian Luk; Editing by David Evans and Susan Fenton) Read More: Alcoa ‘very bullish’ on aluminum for energy transition and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Gruyere gold mine joint venture partners Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources reach agreement on a friendly deal to consolidate ownership. The initiative will be delivered through the regional joint venture established by Fleet Space Technologies and Tahreez. The US central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady in this meeting. Romania has major reserves of rare earths, gold and copper, which have attracted interest from Canadian and American firms. Brazil — No one knew what a momentous day it would be about 1,500 people blockaded the road linking the town of Juruti with a mine belonging to Alcoa That protest was calculated to gain international attention by coinciding with the Fifth World Social Forum a gathering of progressive civil society organizations which had opened in Belém The Forum’s slogan: “Another world is possible,” interpreted by the Juruti occupiers as a bold call to direct action “We knew the eyes of the world would be on Amazônia [that day] and there would be international repercussions if anything happened to us,” recalls Sister Nilma a Franciscan nun and participant in the occupation and also responsible for organizing contacts with the Forum The protest proved decisive for the local communities that organized it diplomatically characterizes that community victory as “a moment of deepening our dialogue.” Gerdeonor Pereira is more blunt: “It was the highpoint of our confrontation with the mining company.” Certainly relations were bad between Alcoa and the activists at the time: So bad that the company had recently gone to the courts to request a “prohibitory interdict” aimed at Pereira and three other leaders — a judicial action to protect a valuable asset threatened by dispossession Alongside Pereira on the blockade was Sister Brunhilde also targeted by the “prohibitory interdict,” which accused her of threatening company employees and “trying to prevent the growth of the municipality.” Tensions mounted at the blockade; military police attacked the demonstrators with tear gas and pepper spray The local press and company supporters called the protestors “land squatters,” saying they lacked rights to the territory they and their ancestors had lived on for at least a century nearly all inhabitants of 40+ communities that would be severely affected by the mine Alcoa was opening were there precisely because they believed they had land rights and wanted authorities to back their claims Most were descendants of the Muirapinina Indigenous group who had been living in the region when the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century What the demonstrators achieved during that 9-day occupation was momentous: It got Brazilian authorities to consider new ways of dealing with collective land claims “In my opinion this is one of the best [most positive] stories about mining in Pará state,” says Lílian Braga a prosecutor for the Pará state Public Ministry who played an important role in the battle The story began nine years earlier in 2000 gaining the mining rights to one of the world’s largest bauxite reserves totaling 700 million tons located on the Amazon River’s south bank at Juruti At first, it seemed the company would be sympathetic to the needs and requests of local communities. In 2002 Alcoa published a “sustainability report” to guide its future actions. It stated: Partnerships are critical for us; we know that sustainability can’t be achieved by any organization in isolation We continue to engage with and involve supporters and opponents within communities where we have a presence and jointly refine our ability to work together to achieve balance among economic had recently faced charges of environmental negligence in the U.S. and paid out millions of dollars in compensation for impacts caused by its activities a sustainable project in the interior of Amazônia could become a fantastic showcase for disseminating a [positive] image of a company concerned with the environment and the wellbeing of the population,” explains Lindomar de Souza a researcher who has studied community resistance to the Alcoca mine the company believed that starting on the right foot with remote Amazon traditional communities could help the company grow its consumer market where socio-environmental concerns were growing stronger at the time urban improvements and environmentally responsible behavior was at first popular with many local inhabitants “The mining company arrived with two very pretty words: ‘development’ and ‘progress.’ About 90% of the people in the municipality the state government and the federal government were very enthusiastic but we knew straightaway that this kind of development wasn’t for us,” remembers Pereira The ore-rich area Alcoa planned to mine lay about 27 miles from the seat of the municipality inhabited by descendants of Munduruku and Muirapinima Indians who’d been living there for centuries and had intermarried with other traditional people who arrived later local residents all think of themselves as ribeirinhos (riverine settlers) These were the people Pereira was destined to represent Pereira became president of the Association of Communities in the Juruti Velho Region (ACORJUVE) The organization’s sole purpose: organize the people to oppose the mine But the people in ACORJUVE were a tiny minority then The first public meeting addressing the mine in 2005 with only the 200 or so from Juruti Velho opposed to the mine “The mining company promised 5,000 direct and indirect jobs for Juruti people and I said that these jobs would only be ours if the bauxite was dug out with a shovel and carried away in paniers [baskets] because this was the kind of thing we could do,” Pereira remembers the 44 communities united in ACORJUVE wanted to stop the mine outright “We had seen the [negative] social and environmental impacts of mining in Oriximiná [a neighbouring municipality where the big company I visited their sustainable projects in São Luís in Maranhão [state] and in Poços de Caldas in Minas Gerais [state] I saw the shantytowns around the mine,” he recalls a mother of five children and a teacher in Juruti Velho explains further: “We weren’t against progress but we wanted to guarantee our way of life and that of our children and future generations.” had mobilized to defend their territory against illegal logging as described in Lindomar de Souza’s doctoral thesis One local woman told him about an act of resistance in 1999: “We gathered in boats and canoes and slept on the beach waiting for barges laden with tons of [illegally harvested] rosewood on their way to Parintins port in Amazonas state we jumped onto the barges and forced the pilot and the laborers to unload the timber.” That bold action was coordinated by nuns of the Franciscan Sisters of Maristella increasing the political awareness of the ribeirinhos Born in 1940 in the German city of Würzburg Brunhilde witnessed the horrors of the Second World War and the war’s aftermath — all particularly appalling where she lived “About 95% of the city was destroyed,” she told the Museu da Pessoa a virtual archive of personal testimonies in Rio de Janeiro Brunhilde knew she wanted to be a nun and work abroad After two years training in Recife in northeast Brazil where she was introduced to the revolutionary ideas of educator based on Freire’s teachings and held regular community discussion groups “She was the person who encouraged us to learn about our [community land] rights and defend them,” recalls Coelho Sister Brunhilde was seriously ill when the Mongabay team visited Juruti Velho in February 2020 She believed that over the years the mentality of the riberinhos shifted Sister Brunhilde held that “The people understood that rights didn’t mean being given presents but feeling confident about demanding what was theirs by right.” It seemed ACORJUVE faced near-impossible odds of success given its lack of support in the town of Juruti along with the power of the government Alcoa was authorized to press ahead with the mine and start work at the site That’s when the desperate association decided it had no option but to stop trying to halt the mine and to negotiate with the transnational firm ACORJUVE told the company it would give the mine the go-head on three conditions: that Alcoa pay the community rent for occupying its land and give locals a share each year in the mine’s net profits ACORJUVE was dealing from a stronger position having gained legal recognition in principle of the community’s territorial rights had created the Juriti Velho Agroextractivist Settlement — a designation that guaranteed the traditional communities the right to occupy the land they were living on and not to be evicted there was a catch: the INCRA designation didn’t give local families a land title which gave the company legal maneuvering room Pereira was outraged: “The mining company said it couldn’t pay us because we didn’t own the land Alcoa’s Costa gives this alternative explanation: The company “could only [legally] give resources to official the Juruti Velho region hadn’t got this kind of recognition from INCRA.” ACORJUVE put pressure on INCRA to sort things out but got nowhere “Someone from the Public Ministry told us that Alcoa had got its operational license [the last authorization it needed before mining] and there was nothing we could do to stop it,” says Pereira “It was a sad day for us but also a turning point,” he remembers At a packed public meeting the association decided on a final desperate strategy: occupy Alcoa’s base in Juruti community activists occupied the road into the company’s regional headquarters and railway “We managed to bring together [all kinds of different people there] — Catholics many people judged the action as rash: “Even our brothers [supporters] said we were mad and the police would kill us,” said Pereira told how she was threatened with firing if she joined the community movement She took her place on the picket line anyway With the state capital a 3-day journey away by boat from Juruti Velho it seemed the desperate action would garner little attention “We set up our tents and resisted for nine days and nine nights,” remembers Coelho The protesters grew scared when the police attacked This gave us strength to put up with the rain and the hunger,” recalls Sister Nilma this resistance worked far more effectively than the years of patient attempts at negotiation Alcoa’s Regional CEO for Latin America & the Caribbean “He asked us bluntly how much money we wanted to allow mining on our land,” remembers Pereira The activists told him money alone wouldn’t solve their problems — that their basic demand was for official recognition of their community land rights and two weeks before Alcoa’s mine was opened INCRA issued a collective land title to a traditional ribeirinho community In a contract signed with the government agency ACORJUVE won surface land rights for more than 100,000 hectares (386 square miles) which allowed it to demand compensation from Alcoa for the mine being opened in its subsoil The association then ceded Alcoa the mining rights to 18,000 hectares (69 square miles) in exchange for payment of a kind of royalty equivalent to 1.5% of the mine’s net profits Alcoa also granted the association’s other demands: The public ministry mediated negotiations between Alcoa and ACORJUVE and together the opponents reached agreement on an assessment of community losses suffered identifying harm in the soil and the creeks and losses in timber and non-timber products,” recalls Prosecutor Lilian Braga That agreement had repercussions far beyond Juruti and across the Brazilian Amazon and was the culmination “of an age-old struggle of traditional communities in Amazônia to combat the corporativist [private] interests of large corporations and state sectors.” Alcoa has reformed its corporate image and ways earning an enviable collection of sustainability certificates along with a reputation for dialogue with local communities the company extracted seven million tons of bauxite from its Capiranga mine in Juruti Velho Over 80% of that tonnage went to its smelter in São Luís do Maranhão Alcoa’s Juruti operation employs 2,056 employees at least a third of the municipality’s urban population seems happy with the “positive agenda” implemented by the mining company “We’ve invested R$73 million (US$14 million) in Juruti in installations like the hospital which seems set to become an [example] for the region,” explains Alcoa’s Costa Alcoa has paid out RS$60 million (US$12 million) to ACORJUVE — its share in the mine’s annual net profits “Half of this is invested in collective projects and the other half is divided every three months between the 2,882 families affiliated with the association,” Pereira told Mongabay But there remains one outstanding issue: According to Pereira Alcoa has yet to pay R$20 million (US$4 million) in compensation for losses fulfilling the last of the association’s demands the Public Ministry recommends the creation of a new foundation that will receive the money and administer it Alcoa says it’s ready to make the payment and is just waiting for the creation of the foundation But Pereira is not happy with this arrangement and resists it He believes shared administration with Alcoa will weaken ACORJUVE’s autonomy That’s one reason why many of his old comrades are dissatisfied with the way ACORJUVE is now run “Resources that should be used to carry out long-term development projects for the community are being squandered on short-term She and the Catholic nuns think that the creation of a foundation now would ensure that the money is used in beneficial long-term community projects Coelho remembers with fond emotion the past days of struggle the fight with Alcoa echoes the 1835 Cabanagem — the first insurgency organized by Indigenous people and Afro Brazilians (then slaves) in Grão Pará state as the region was called under Portuguese rule “We tapped into the cabano that exists inside all of us!” she declared of the struggle led by ACORJUVE “We still have this warrior blood inherited from our ancestors this desire to defend our Amazonian way of life.” But Coelho also recognizes that yesterday’s victories are deeply threatened by today’s changed and challenging political landscape “We benefited [then] from the fact that all three levels of government — municipal state and federal — were in the hands of the Workers’ Party That “created a political context in which there was space for negotiation.” this spirit of government compromise is missing continues to lobby hard for a law that will open conserved lands and Indigenous territories to mining — without consultation or negotiation walked along the white sand beaches in Juruti Velho to catch the boat back to Juruti town Coelho spotted an older resident pushing a tricycle loaded with full plastic bags and commented: “One of the saddest things I’ve ever seen is that man who used to earn his living by collecting Brazil nuts in the forest — putting them into a basket he’d woven from lianas — [but now] walking the streets of Juruti Velho and picking up empty beer cans and stuffing them into a plastic bag “but the cans are made from the very metal that the company digs out from under the land that used to be covered with Brazil nut trees.” ACORJUVE is seen today by many as having won its David and Goliath struggle with Alcoa: ribeirinho families remained on their land and they gained significant financial compensation have conducted desperate land rights and environmental campaigns — with varying levels of success and failure — against the giants of the mining industry and of agribusiness and with the backers of mega-infrastructure projects the ribeirinhos’ traditional way of life and the rainforest they depended upon did not win The turbulent winds of change brought by Alcoa in 2000 changed those ancestral communities beyond recognition even those carried out with a degree of social and environmental responsibility continue to transform forever the life of the Amazon’s people Maria Luiza Camargo contributed to this article Banner image: A young ribeirinho boy enjoys a moment of happiness FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English Brazil — One of the little sand piles appears to be moving Fábio Andrew Cunha opens the way with his hands Measuring around 4 centimetrs (1.6 inches) the turtle passes its flipper over its right eye and then repeats the gesture on the left side Its eyes must be cleared so it can see the new world Living in one of the world’s most biodiverse biomes for chelonians residents of Juruti have seen the number of turtles and other species plummet over the past few generations Stories told by their ancestors and their own observations about that drastic reduction led riverside dwellers from 32 communities in the municipality of Juruti to organize independently and voluntarily to preserve species such as the Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa) Their work consists of watching the beaches at night from September onward when the spawning season begins and females become more vulnerable community members collect the eggs from each nest and take them to a nursery or hatchery — a fenced sand area where the eggs are protected until baby turtles are born Then they are placed in tanks until their release a priority area for the conservation of the group.” Former residents used to say there were more turtles in the rivers than stars in the sky navigation of large boats was impossible due to the concentration of females when they form large bales to go upstream and lay their eggs together on the beaches,” Cunha says the number of turtles has drastically decreased in the area a biologist with a PhD in aquatic ecology and conservation in the Amazon Juruti became a hub for gathering turtle eggs and hunting adult females and turtle meat was once considered the second main source of animal protein in the local diet Currently, laws protecting wild fauna ban the consumption of turtle eggs and meat the story is different between August and September: “You can often smell the [roasting] shell when you walk through the streets I’m talking about the reality of a single place but this happens in almost all small towns in the Amazon,” Cunha says It is true that a significant portion of the population has already realized the importance of preserving turtles but research shows that approximately 1.7 million of them were consumed in urban areas of Amazonas state in 2018 Deforestation, oil exploration and river dams built to expand energy options also pose dangers “There are several combined changes that ultimately reduce the numbers and population structure of both females and males.” and organized independently and voluntarily to protect their surroundings There is a 25-year-old guy who started following the work when he was 8,” says Marunei Guerreiro de Mesquita leader of the project in the Miri community in the rural area of Juruti which gathers 20 volunteers in the Miri Environmental Warriors Association the community members were able to relocate around 50 nests to the hatchery each season they have relocated more than 270 nests per year The enclosure with the eggs collected is located in front of Mesquita’s house, on the banks of the floodplain lake that connects to the Amazon River. In this season, there are 225 nests, fewer than in previous years, probably due to the severe drought that hit the area changing the water regime and leaving the headwaters of lakes and rivers extremely dry I got in trouble with people in the community with the [municipal environment] department But this work won’t pay my bills,” Mesquita says Despite the challenges faced to obtain resources to keep up the work Mesquita feels rewarded by the increase in the number of chelonians in the area by the fact that many people admire the project and by the new generations of volunteers joining it “We learn a lot and we’ll carry this forward to the generation of our children our grandchildren,” says 20-year-old Jelso Santarém who started working on the project when he was 13 The tank is located in Mesquita’s backyard where newborn turtles live for a few months the tank was already home to a sizable number of them Cunha recently arrived from Bolivia, where he participated in a meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess the status of Amazonian chelonians. He holds a baby pitiú in his hand one of his favorite species and one of the most threatened “It’s the most beautiful in the world; it seems to be asking us for a hug.” Two-year-old Henry Mesquita Santarém watches the event Henry goes up the hill in the backyard with his grandfather Mesquita helping as much as he can to carry the foam box to the breeding tank “The pitiú is predators’ favorite species,” says Ednaldo Lima de Sousa head of the project that has been operating in the Caapiranga community since 2005 “If we don’t take care of these animals that are here Not everyone is allowed; we try to preserve it for the community the increase in the number of turtles is visible and there has already been a season with 300 protected nests “The little animals started to get close to the area where they are already preserved,” says Edir Lima de Sousa who works with his brother Ednaldo and eight other community members which this year has almost a hundred nests with a privileged view of Lake Capiranga Sousa helps them by clearing space at the nest’s exit Few hatchlings come out; some eggs are partially or completely cooked inside the nest and some have failed to develop and hatch but the severe drought causes general disturbance,” Cunha says With the sand at 43o Celsius (109.4o Fahrenheit) reports of female turtles dead on riverbanks have also been common “They were going upstream to lay their eggs and couldn’t do it either because of the distance or the very high temperature.” Another current concern is that temperature has an influence on sex determination of several species of river turtles “It may be that high temperatures produce more females than the normal balance for the population so we are talking about a feminization process.” On a night with a full moon and stars hidden by smoke from fires Mongabay follows the forays of the little motorboat known as rabeta into the lake in search of adult females — without success “We put the nets in the water and didn’t catch any animals I believe that more severe drought and illegal capture have driven females away or led them to choose other locations.” Domingos Pereira Campos carries the foam container in his arms Inside are 29 tracajá eggs that he just collected from a nest on the banks of Lake Tucunaré The eggs will be relocated and monitored in the nursery a few meters away “You have to take them to the pit carefully so as not to shake them,” he warns who has worked with the project since its beginning in 2012 chooses a spot and digs a hole with a more pronounced “We take them out and then put them back in the other pit The last one to come out goes to the bottom first.” “If you can observe how carefully the female builds the nest … it’s very moving It’s a chamber that keeps the temperature,” Cunha says not everything can be copied as nature created it with the displacement of eggs from their natural environment to the hatchery there is some loss because we can’t literally choose the same microclimate as in nature So a small percentage is expected to fail,” he explains The increase in the number of turtles in Juruti is directly linked to the work of riverside dwellers who watch the beaches during the spawning season collect the eggs and care for newborn chelonians Every interference has its consequences — not only the change of nest location but also the months in which the young turtles grow in the tanks until they are released which can compromise their ability to escape predators their swimming agility and their aptitude to look for their own food Experts suggest that some of the young turtles be taken to the water immediately after birth to encourage adult females to return to the spawning site “With the discovery of vocalization, we found out that there is parental care between females and their offspring,” Cunha reports. Studies have shown that turtle embryos emit sounds If the females are waiting for it and do not receive any offspring they may consider the place unsafe for laying eggs in the future Even though the careful protection by community members is not exactly a mirror of nature the real positive impact of conservation work on rural communities can be seen in Juruti with the species’ population growth and the increase in the number of nests This will be the 183rd to be taken into the hatchery we already managed to obtain six nests and 212 baby turtles,” says Jorge Simões “Residents became more and more supportive Banner image: Tracajás protected by riverside dwellers in the Tucunaré community This story was reported by Mongabay’s Brazil team and first published here on our Brazil site on Aug The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] For travel to the United States on a temporary basis For foreign citizens who want to live permanently in the United States The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of participating countries* to travel to the United States without a visa for stays of 90 days or less Trump was sworn-in as the 47th President of the United States of America Learn more about quality higher-education opportunities in the U.S that you will not find anywhere else in the world The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a letter of intent with ALCOA Brazil an American aluminum manufacturer and the Sustainable Juruti Institute (IJUS) The partnership aims to improve local communities and improve biodiversity conservation and other natural resources through sustainable and innovative solutions in the Amazon Initiatives include promoting positive impact entrepreneurship strengthening sustainable products value chains “The government of the United States is committed to work with Brazil to foster economic development that respects the environment and creates value for the local population I am happy to take part in this celebration between USAID and Alcoa Brazil” Alcoa has maintained bauxite mining operations for eleven years in Juruti with a proposal for sustainable development for the region “We have a centuries-old trajectory of innovation responsibility and shared development in all of our operations in the world the responsibility of mining in the Amazon is experienced daily by us being reflected in our commitment to the mine’s socio-environmental efficiency and in building a legacy of sustainability in the region” and IJUS will work together to strengthen the organization and connection of value chain actors “Biodiversity and conservation of the Amazon forest depend on the development of new economic models that are ecologically sustainable we hope to create positive impact and the efficiency of our actions” The letter of intent also includes cooperation in the Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA) a collective action platform led by the private sector which aims to create sustainable development solutions for the Amazon ALCOA is a member of the PPA Deliberative Council Alcoa and IJUS are already working together in the response to COVID-19 in Juruti through the “Juruti against COVID-19” project The initiative works in three different lines of action “The Sustainable Juruti Institute (IJUS) makes effective investments in its actions to promote sustainability in Juruti and its surrounding regions We realize how much this Letter of Intent clearly establishes actions to create sustainable development solutions based on the wellbeing of communities and new models I believe we have the opportunity to create something new that has positive impact on people’s lives” the Partners for the Amazon Platform (PPA) and SITAWI Finances for Good have teamed up to create a cross sector partnership to help fight COVID-19 in Brazil PPA Solidarity: Response to COVID-19 in the Amazon is an initiative that engages with the private sector through strategic partnerships to leverage innovative and scalable solutions to strengthen the rapid response to the fight against COVID-19 With an initial contribution of US$ 2,1 million (around R$10,6 million) from USAID through NPI Expand and leveraged an additional US$ 3,5 million (R$18,2 million) with private sector partners that include Alcoa The partnership works with civil society and private sector partners on four lines of action: 1) Mobilize communication campaigns to address COVID-19 while empowering vulnerable and/or isolated communities to protect themselves against exposure and transmission of COVID-19; 2) Promote measures to prevent and control COVID-19 infection in health facilities and in the residence/community; 3) Support the local health system (hospitals health posts and community health units/services) to respond to and control  COVID-19 through case management and surveillance services; 4) Support small business in the Amazon Region affected by Covid-19 (entrepreneurs producer groups and cooperatives) with financial advisory services and low-interest loans Follow Ambassador Chapman @USAmbBr and follow us on our website, and our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr accounts For further information on this Press Release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Press Office in Brasília at BrasiliaEMBEUA@state.gov or on (+55 61) 3312 – 7367 / 7350 / 7364. Follow us on Twitter and Flickr We use cookies to make our website work better and improve your experience Can the degraded land of the Amazon rainforest be salvaged by large scale landscape restoration Is it really possible to rebuild ecological integrity and enhance the lives of local communities in a sustainable way?To delve deeper into these questions You've reached your limit of free weekly articles Keep reading The Northern Miner with a TNM NEWS+MARKETS Membership TNM Memberships is your key to unlocking access to the best news * Credit card required to begin free trial Your card will be charged 14 days from signup You will receive an email notification seven (7) days before the free trial period ends Enjoy unlimited News Stories and Specialty Digests along with Mining and Metal Market insights as part of your NEWS+MARKETS Membership Or go even deeper with our Global Mining Data platform Policies & Terms Subscription options Republishing License Advertise By continuing to browse you agree to our use of cookies. 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