Artists, scientists, teachers and entrepreneurs in Venezuela's northwestern state of Zulia have set up a foundation to sponsor the Eco-Tourism Museum of Maracaibo Lake, the largest in South America, covering more than 12,000 square kilometers. Epicenter of the region's most productive oil basin during the 20th century, “it was 2004 when the water lentils appeared that covered part of the surface, with its green layer and foul odor” that the residents along the shore who for many generations began to take note, artist Lía Bermúdez, spokeswoman for the project, told Tierramérica.

There will be an international contest to design a 'palafito', a stilt house in homage to the ancestral homes on Maracaibo, which will serve as a tourism and environmental center, she said.