- - | IPS Inter Press Service | News Agency | Journalism & Communication for Global Change

The Well

Natural wells are sacred to today’s Maya as they were to their ancestors. Tradition holds that the water in these wells were “virgin or pure” because they never came in contact with light.

Ecobreves – PERU: More Precise Weather Forecasts

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The first regional weather forecasting system in Peru will begin operating in July, providing assistance to the Agriculture Ministry, the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service and the International Potato Center (CIP).

Ecobreves – URUGUAY: The Environment Takes a Bus Ride

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Buses in the Uruguayan capital are providing a moving theatre for an environmental message, spreading the word about the value of potable water, biodiversity, and promoting active participation in environmental affairs.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: PCB Spills Alert

By IPS Correspondents and - -

An increase in spills of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), a toxic liquid used to cool large transformers, has put the Argentine population on full alert.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Endangered Species Rescued

By IPS Correspondents and - -

At least 12 endangered species of snakes have been bred at a center to rescue wildlife in peril operating here in the Honduran capital.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Alarm Over Damages to Lake Cocibolca

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Lake Cocibolca, also called Lake Nicaragua, the main source of potable water in the country, is being contaminated by chemicals and organic material coming from the southwestern city of Granada, said Salvador Montenegro, director of the Center for the Study of Aquatic Resources (CIRA).

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: What? Coffee Crisis? … Plant Cocoa!

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Agronomy students here are looking to cocoa to provide a substitute for coffee now that that industry is in a downturn. The students from San Carlos University are promoting cocoa cultivation on 10,000 hectares, 2,000 of which used to be in coffee.

Members of the Huaorani indigenous group from the Ecuadorian Amazon. - Hoy newspaper, Ecuador.

Isolated Indigenous Groups Face Extinction

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Native South Americans shunning contact with “civilization” are facing cultural genocide, warns a top United Nations official.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Protecting Forests in Aguán

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The governmental Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA) began a program this month in sustainable forest management aimed at preserving 10,000 hectares in the eastern region of Aguán, along the Atlantic coast.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA AND MEXICO: Final Touches to Bilateral Environmental Agenda

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Some 100 officials from the ministries of the environment and natural resources of Mexico and Guatemala sat down for the first time on Jun. 19 in the Guatemalan capital to outline a binational agenda on environmental protection.

Mafia Dominates Garbage Industry

By IPS Correspondents and - -

An estimated 158 families in organized crime rings in Italy are getting rich off the trafficking of 35 million tons of garbage a year.

Whales in Search of Safe Seas

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Ecologists are celebrating the approval of the International Whaling Commission’s so-called "Berlin Initiative", which could go a long way towards saving whales, large and small, from extinction.

Methyl Bromide on Its Way Out in Brazil and Cuba

By Mario Osava and - -

Pioneers in Latin America, the two countries have reduced consumption of this ozone-depleting substance by hundreds of thousands of tons.

Logging and Fire Lay Siege to Guatemalan Forests

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Conservationists say they are faced with an environmental tragedy, as 95,000 hectares of Guatemalan forests are lost each year.

Desertification

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Desertification and drought leave in their wake severe economic, environmental and socio-political troubles around the world. Every year, six million hectares of productive land disappear and millions of dollars in income are lost due to land degradation and declining agricultural yields.