DECLINING DIVERSITY OF CULTURES AND ECOSYSTEMS ARE CLOSELY RELATED

We humans speak some seven thousand languages. The great majority are spoken by a vanishingly small number of people in isolated jungles and mountains while a few are spoken by billions. Languages, and with them cultures, are disappearing at an alarming rate; we may lose half in just the next generation. At the same time, plant and animal species are vanishing at an equally rapid pace. These two trends are closely related, writes Mark Sommer, host of A World of Possibilities, an award-winning, internationally syndicated radio program. Both anthropologists and biologists are finding that the diversity of plant and animal life is central to the richness of a culture ­ and to its long-term survival. Monocultures, be they in culture or agriculture, may be more efficient in good times but they are more vulnerable if and when attacked by disease and pestilence. In diversity lies resilience, the capacity to remain vital and viable even one some components are lost. Just as the smart investor diversifies her portfolio, a wise steward cultivates a diversity of flora, fauna and cultures so that if some are lost others will take their place. But as a species we've been remarkably heedless of this axiom. “Nature no longer trusts us,” says Vyacheslav Shadrin, head of the Yukaghir Elders Council in the Russian Far North. It's a haunting commentary on modernity's betrayal of ancient ways. Like thousands of other isolated peoples, his is under threat of being swallowed by the larger empire that surrounds them.

CABO VERDE LOOKS TOWARDS EUROPE

The European Union, which has constantly expanded towards the East, should now turn its sights to the West and look positively on the desire of the government of Cape Verde to find a way of integrating with the European Union, writes Mario Soares, ex-prime minister and ex-president of Portugal. In this article,Soares writes that the archipelago is turning into a prime tourist destination with modern hotel facilities and an appealing climate even in winter, affable people, and high quality dance and folklore. It is not surprising that European tourists find Cape Verde enchanting. The current president, Pedro Pires, an outstanding anti-colonialist warrior, respected politician, and consummate negotiator, recently stated, \"I want my country to gradually grow closer to the European Union in order to find new ways to guarantee development and security.\"

Tobacco Regulations as Solid as Smoke

Widespread cigarette advertising and the freedom to smoke in public -- including in hospitals and schools -- continue in most Latin American countries.

Titicaca Truths Revealed

A binational effort, with the backing of the UN Environment Program, is expected to shed light on the scope, origin and possible cures for the contamination of Lake Titicaca on the Peru-Bolivia border.

Green Standards Proposed for Biofuel Production

The world is beginning to debate the need for environmental rules to govern production of agriculture-based biofuels.

For a Tobacco-Free Youth

Most smokers begin the habit before reaching their 18th birthday, and a quarter of those began smoking before age 10, writes Mirta Roses, director of the Pan-American Health Organization, in this exclusive column for Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Connecting a Brain to a Computer

Researchers in Mexico are working on an invention that connects the brain of a disabled person to a computer, which it can give orders just by thinking.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Danger for Hake Fish

The Wildlife Foundation of Argentina warns that the common hake fish (Merluccius hubssi), the country's main fishing resource, is on the verge of collapse due to over-fishing.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Families Paid to Take Care of Jungles

The Family Forestry Grant, an innovative program of the northwestern Brazilian state of Amazonas, will benefit 2,000 more families by December, paying 50 reais (29 dollars) per month to those who help preserve the forest.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: A Bid to Curb Contaminants

Citizen groups and public and private organizations in Honduras have agreed to search for ways to regulate the trans-border movement of toxic pesticides.

HUMAN RIGHTS: BROKEN PROMISES

In the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, world leaders must apologize for six decades of human rights failure, and re-commit to concrete action, writes Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International. In 1948 in a move of extraordinary leadership, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Today, it amounts to no more than paper promises for countless millions of people around the world. Amnesty International\'s Report 2008 paints a grim picture of the state of the world's human rights in 150 countries. Civilians are treated as “fair game” by governments and armed groups in entrenched conflicts. Violence against women is pervasive in every region of the world. The absolute ban against torture and ill-treatment is being eroded. Political dissent is suppressed in many countries, and journalists and activists attacked and silenced. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are left unprotected. Despite unprecedented global prosperity, millions of people are being left behind. Big business is largely oblivious of its impact on human rights. Add to this dismal picture the human rights flashpoints around the world - in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Gaza and Myanmar. The burning imperative for action is clear – but where is the leadership and political will? 2007 was characterised by the impotence of Western governments and the ambivalence or reluctance of emerging powers to tackle human rights problems

UN DEATH PENALTY RESOLUTION HAS WIDE EFFECT

Any attempt to measure the effects of the resolution for a universal moratorium against the death penalty approved by the UN General Assembly last December 18 must also take into account the fact that its very passage has created an atmosphere conducive to elimination of the practice, writes Elisabetta Zamparutti, a leader in the Radical Party who prepared the annual report on the Death Penalty in the World for Hands Off Cain. She was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 2008 In this analysis, the author writes that the most significant steps towards abolition have occurred almost exclusively in Africa. However, the delays of the UN vote have also led European countries to go ahead and definitively eliminate the death penalty from their legal codes. This happened in France and Italy, where the death penalty was banned by the 2007 Constitution. But there is an important element of the resolution beyond the call for abolition of the practice: a demand that the death penalty countries furnish information on its implementation to the UN Secretary-General. Ninety-nine percent of the world\'s executions are carried out by totalitarian regimes in many of which, China especially, information relative to capital sentencing and executions is considered a state secret. In all of these countries, the definitive solution involves less a battle to end the death penalty than the fight for democracy, the affirmation of the rule of law, and the promotion of respect for political rights and civil liberties for which transparency is fundamental.

Biological Patents Yield Unequal Benefits

The existing patent system does not require the petitioner to document the origins of his or her knowledge or innovation, which experts say is a boon to biopiracy.

Ecobreves – GLOBAL: Tierramérica Wins International Zayed Prize

The weekly news service on the environment and development, Tierramérica, was awarded the Zayed International Prize in the category of Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society, granted by the United Arab Emirates.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Government Against All Whale Hunts

One month before the Chilean capital hosts a meeting of the International Whaling Commission, President Michelle Bachelet has repeated her rejection of allowing hunts for scientific purposes.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Legal Instrument to Protect Forests

The recently created Institute of Forest Conservation (ICF), entrusted with executing and supervising the application of the new Forestry Act in Honduras, is taking form following the arrival of its new director, Suyapa Otero.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Annual Rite with Crocs and Turtles

Venezuela released some 900 young Orinoco crocodiles (Crocodylus intermedius), hatched in nurseries and biological research stations of the Environment Ministry.

Ecobreves – CUBA: More Control over Energy and Environment

The Cuban National Assembly of Popular Power created a special commission made up of 32 deputies to reinforce government control over efficient energy use and environmental protection.

The Divorce of Agriculture and Biodiversity

Latin America's vast biological diversity has contributed little to the region's commercial agriculture, despite being the birthplace of two of the world's four most widely consumed food crops: maize and potatoes.

Climate Change Casts Marine Science Adrift

Ocean science lags far behind atmospheric research, mostly due to lack of funding, warn researchers.

CLIMATE CHANGE: WE NEED A PROACTIVE MEDIA

There is no moderately well-informed person who does not believe that climate change is if not the gravest threat facing humanity at least one of the top two or three. It is therefore worth asking whether the performance of the media in this regard rises to the challenge, writes Mario Lubetkin, Director-General of Inter Press Service (IPS). In this analysis, Lubetkin writes that addressing climate change cannot be achieved without the application of firm and constant pressure by informed and responsible citizens on governments and industry and without pushing for more effective action by civil society. It is inconceivable that the people can play this role without being well-informed, oriented, and stimulated by the media. Although it is correct to recognise that in the last decades the space dedicated to the environment has increased, it is also right to expect the media to improve their coverage by abandoning their attitude of merely passing on information and beginning to work actively to shape the opinion of the public and those in power such that they comply with the objectives set by the international community to address the problem of climate change.