Ecobreves – CHILE: Promises to Cut Air Pollution Risks in Santiago

The Chilean government has promised through Santiago metropolitan region leader Marcelo Trivelli that next year there will be no more "environmental pre-emergencies" declared in this city of five million inhabitants.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA: Wetlands in Danger

The wetlands of the Gulf of Fonseca, shared by Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, are threatened by the shrimp farming operations that use toxic chemicals to get rid of pests.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Opposition to Open Pit Mining

Environmental groups in Costa Rica aim to stop the Bellavista mining project in Miramar de Puntarenas, 100 km northeast of San José, because they say it will ruin the area's water sources.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Park Rangers Wanted in El Petén

The Protected Areas Council, CONAP, in Guatemala has just 45 park rangers to cover the 90 posts for monitoring the vast preserves in El Petén, the country's largest department and richest in natural resources.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Mining Activity Under Fire

Residents and authorities in 14 municipalities of western Honduras are demanding a reform of the mining law, saying it is an attack on the environment. They gave the government an ultimatum to remove the mining transnational Maverick from the Guiyasote ecological reserve.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Plans Against the Greenhouse Effect

Projects to fight global warming by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases will be the focus of the second Latin American Symposium on Carbon Fixation, Apr. 21-24 in Curitiba, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.

Ecobreves – URUGUAY: Gasoline Additive MTBE Rejected

The Uruguayan research center for appropriate technologies, CEUTA, condemned that lead tetraethyl, previously used as an additive in some gasolines, has been replaced by MTBE, a known carcinogenic and contaminating substance that is banned in many countries.

Ecobreves – PERU: Cyanide on the Loose

The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mining asked Congress to declare sodium cyanide a "controlled chemical input". Currently, it is marketed and transported without restrictions -- and last month killed five people.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Sheep Milk Recommended

Researchers at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico (UAM) say sheep milk should no longer be neglected, as it is an important source of protein, minerals and vitamins -- much richer than goat or cow milk.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Up With Avocados

Guatemala needs to foment wider production of avocados, a crop that is ignored despite its enormous potential, Cristian Smith, president of the Comité del Aguacate (Spanish for avocado), told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Forestry Directory to Be Launched

Representatives of the private sector in the northeastern Colombian city of Medellin will distribute the first Directory of the Forestry Productive Chain, which includes a broad range of participants in the sector: industrialists, engineers, technicians, suppliers, financial institutions and research centers.

Transgenic Corn Growing in Mesoamerica

Two thousand hectares of genetically modified corn are planted in Honduras with government approval. In the rest of the region -- birthplace of this grain -- there are reports that local varieties have been contaminated by transgenic corn.

'Via Dolorosa' for Palm and Parrot

A campaign was launched in Colombia prior to the Christian Holy Week to prevent the depredation of a local tree and bird species, both of which are facing extinction. On Palm Sunday, thousands of the Catholic faithful continue to use the fronds of the wax palm, the tree in which the yellow-eared parrot makes its nest.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Call to End Fumigation in Protected Areas

Senators and environmentalists have asked the Colombian government to annul a resolution, currently suspended, that would allow anti-drug fumigation in natural areas protected due to their biodiversity.

Ecobreves – CHILE: The Last Robinson Crusoe Castor-Oil Seed

Three scientists are working against the clock in Chile to reproduce the Robinsonia berteroi seed, a type of castor-oil bean endemic to Robinson Crusoe Island. And there is just one specimen of this castor-oil plant left.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: T for Transgenic

As of Mar. 31, Brazil is requiring labels to identify those foods that contain more than one percent genetically modified ingredients. Failure to comply is to be penalized with fines and seizure of the product.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Maya Assembly Under Way

The first National Assembly of Representatives of the Maya People began on Mar. 29 in Guatemala and aims to establish ties between the Indians, the state and the international community.

Natural Gas Crisis Shifts Focus of Chile's Energy Debate

Faced with cuts in natural gas supplies from Argentina, environmentalists in Chile call for diversification of energy sources, while officials consider moving up the operational start date for a controversial hydroelectric dam on the Bío-bío River.

Feared Expansion of Hydroelectric Dam

NGOs maintain that increasing the levels of the reservoir of the Yacyretá dam on the Paraguay-Argentina border will have serious environmental consequences. The authorities assure that they will relocate the residents and various species of plants and animals from the affected area.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Kites Kill Flamingoes

Dozens of flamingoes were killed in recent weeks by children and adolescents in the Tucurere wildlife preserve in the northwestern Venezuelan state of Falcón, reports the Ministry of Environment.

IN LONG RUN, OUTSOURCING WILL BENEFIT EVERYONE

The emerging reality of global enterprises that can shift their business across borders with increasing ease to maximise profits poses both an opportunity for competitive countries and a challenge to some of the standards prevailing in other societies, writes Reubens Ricupero, . In this article Ricupero writes that a heated debate is under way on whether or not outsourcing undermines the accepted trade liberalisation paradigm, is leading to a job exodus from developed to developing countries, and what the cost/benefit ratio is and whether protectionist government intervention is needed. Claims of a big wave of offshoring to poor countries swallowing up high-skill jobs in rich countries do not reflect reality. Outsourcing export opportunities for developing countries are much broader than generally presented, with a wide range of these countries significantly increasing their presence in global outsourcing markets. While the realisation of these opportunities may in fact lead to increased job losses in advanced countries, it should be recognised that these short-term costs will ultimately be trumped by the long-term gains of cheaper services being available to consumers in both advanced and developing countries.