Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Increased Public Concern Over Climate Change

Climate change is considered a “very serious” problem by 65 percent of Brazilians interviewed in a survey conducted by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) in December and released in the second week of May.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Partnership to Protect Environmental Rights

The non-governmental Mexican Center of Environmental Law (CEMDA) and the public but autonomous National Human Rights Commission have signed an agreement for the protection of human rights guarantees.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Chaco Forests Threatened by Cattle Ranching

The Argentine branch of the environmental organization Greenpeace has denounced the alleged deforestation of an area of forest where logging is restricted in the northeastern province of Chaco.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Moringa Trees for Reforestation and Nutrition

The moringa tree (Moringa oleifera), native to India, is being used in Honduras to reforest the area around the Nacaome River dam, in the southern department of Valle, as well as to provide a nutritious source of food for local communities.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Heat Enhances Biomass Energy Generation

The Luiz de Queiroz School of Higher Studies in Agriculture at the University of São Paulo has developed a technique to increase the energy production capacity of sugar cane and eucalyptus waste.

Small weather stations could help Kenyan farmers

Often the horn of Africa is unprepared to deal with sudden changes in climate, but small weather stations could change the luck of farmers in the region. Martha Nyambura reports.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Campaign for Communities Blighted by Pollution

The Chilean environmental organization Oceana has launched a campaign to support the communities of Ventanas and Puchuncaví, which face severe impacts from the pollution created by a nearby copper foundry and three coal-fired thermoelectric power plants.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: New Technology Lowers Cost of Biodegradable Plastic

The Federal University of São Carlos is developing a new technology that will lower the cost of producing biodegradable plastics.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Community Works to Rescue Coastal Sand Dunes

The community of Santa Rosa de Aguán, in the northern Honduran department of Colón, is preparing to implement a plan to rehabilitate coastal sand dunes as a means of reducing its vulnerability to extreme weather events.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Fundraising to Protect Sea Turtles

A lack of funds has forced the Centre for Sea Turtle Research and Conservation (CICTMAR) to cut back its patrolling of Cipara and Querepere beaches on the northeastern Venezuelan pensinsula of Paria, where female leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are laying their eggs.

Mauritians worried about new dam

The Mauritian Government has started the construction of 14-million cubic metres dam at Bagatelle, in the center of the island, to collect water that presently runs to the sea. But farmers in the area fear the new dam may damage their crops, particularly sugar cane and vegetables, and affect their livelihood.

SADC says better infrastructure would stop Diepsloot-like water issues

Problems with providing water to residents in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, prompted IPS to look at the issue at a regional level. Sipho Stuurman asked Southern African Development Community (SADC) water expert, Phera Ramoeli, about the problems the region faced.

Women process food to fight climate change

It is estimated that African farmers who sell their surplus harvest receive only 10 to 20 percent of the price of their produce due to post harvest losses brought about by extreme climatic conditions and the lack of access to appropriate technologies. But, says Martha Nyambura, women in the Kilifi county of Kenya, are now looking at new methods to help them combat harsh conditions.

Not enough was done: Diepsloot residents

 Audio Slide Show

Blind beggars face an uncertain future in South Africa

South Africa has seen an increased number of blind Zimbabwean beggars on the streets of Johannesburg.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Deforestation Endangers Northeastern Macaw

Deforestation of the caatinga, a semi-arid biome in northeastern Brazil, could place the blue-winged macaw (Ara maracana) in danger of extinction, according to a new study from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Environmentalists Call for Urgent Adoption of E-Waste Law

The environmental organization Greenpeace Argentina is calling for the swift approval of a proposed law on the collection and management of electronic waste, which was tabled in the country’s legislature four years ago.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Work of Local Water Boards to be Recognized at Rio+20

The Association of Water Administration Boards of the South Sector of Pico Bonito Park, in Honduras, will be recognized at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) for conserving water resources and the habitat of a species of hummingbird endemic to this Central American nation.

Civil Society Determined to Have an Impact on Río+20

An online platform to which up to 400,000 people can be connected at the same time will make it possible to propose recommendations to the leaders gathered at Rio+20.

Johannesburg township residents have to queue for drinking water

  After a warning by the Johannesburg City Council, residents of the Diepsloot township have been queuing for days to get their hands on a bucket of drinking water. Sipho Stuurman was in the township and spoke to residents and officials.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Public Officials Charged for Violating Environmental Law

Over the past year, the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Honduras has issued 19 injunctions against an equal number of individuals, including a number of public officials, for violations of the General Law on the Environment.