Ecobreves – LATIN AMERICA: 'Green' Volunteers Mobilize

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MEXICO CITY, Sep 12 2005 (IPS) - Thousands of people in Latin America will take part in clean-up and repair campaigns for parks, streets and beaches Sep. 16-18. “We expect massive participation, especially among children and youth,” Rody Oñate, communications officer for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Latin America and the Caribbean, told Tierramérica.

UNEP is one of the engines behind “Clean the World”, sponsored by the foundation of the same name and by the Australian government.

The 13-year-old campaign will take place in 110 countries, with a mobilization of an estimated 35 million people, under the slogan: Green cities, green communities.

Activities are planned in 17 countries of the region. In Brazil, volunteers will clean up Rio de Janeiro's beaches, in Cuba they will plant trees in a national park, and in Peru and Mexico there will be communications efforts on how to take care of the environment.