Ecobreves – CHILE: Schools Seek Environmental Certification

A hundred primary and secondary schools in Chile are applying to obtain environmental certification through a government project launched Apr 22, in honor of Earth Day.

Alarm Sounds for Disappearing Birds

The planet is suffering the worst wave of species extinction since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago, warns a bird expert. Some 649 species of our feathered friends are in imminent danger of disappearing forever.

Caribbean Fish on the Decline

Several saltwater fish species are growing scarce in Cuban waters, where in the past it was not unusual to snag a porgy or a mero weighing as much as 15 kilos.

Water Divides, But Can It Unite?

Israel is building a wall that has revived a long-time focus of the Middle East conflict: water use.

A Black Week for Sea Turtles

The culinary traditions of Holy Week in predominantly Catholic Mexico are a threat to the survival of this millennia-old species.

A Crime Against the Culture of Humanity

The worst predictions about the consequences of the war on the immense cultural legacy that Iraq has possessed throughout more than 7,000 years of history have unfortunately proved correct.

US-IRAQ: THE POST WAR DILEMMA

Is it still possible to reintegrate the world's hyper-power into a truly multilateral, multipolar arrangement? asks Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992-1996.

Mesopotamia

In Mesopotamia, which means "land between rivers", the earliest human civilizations flourished. Thousands of years later, that territory is known as Iraq, a place where the echoes of war threaten the last vestiges of a millenniums-old history.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Health Impacts of Polluted Riachuelo

Argentina's Ombudsman Eduardo Mondino has asked the Health Ministry to conduct a study to determine whether the contaminated Riachuelo, a river marking the capital's southern boundary, causes illness among the population living along its banks.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Debate on Wetlands

Experts from numerous countries are to meet in the Colombian capital May 28-30 to assess experiences in wetlands recovery, particularly such areas that are degraded by human activities in urban areas.

Ecobreves – PERU: Proviso for Gas Plant

Under pressure from environmental groups, the Peruvian government decided to set conditions for the construction of a gas fractionation plant along the Ica coast, near the Paracas National Reserve, in the south.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Citizens to Participate in Environmental Council

- The recently created Consultive Council on Environment in Guatemala will include the participation of 16 entities, governmental and non-governmental alike, with the aim of regulating environmental policies and natural resources, conservation and sustainable development strategies.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Festival for the Great Green Macaw

Hundreds of people from Nicaragua and Costa Rica will take part in the binational Festival for the 'lapa verde', the great green macaw, an event in the Nicaraguan town of El Castillo, Apr 25-27, aimed at raising awareness about this endangered bird species.

Ecobreves – CHILE: ‘Where Muck Goes’

The popular children’s show “31 Minutes”, of the state-run Televisión Nacional de Chile, is hosted by puppets and includes a segment on the environment, the first broadcast of which will track “where muck goes”.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Forest Inventory

Venezuela will conduct an inventory of its forestry resources over the next six year, with help from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), announced environment and natural resources minister Ana Elisa Osorio.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Biosphere Could Lose Its Title

The biosphere reserve of the Plátano River, in northeast Honduras, could lose its “heritage of humanity” status, granted by the United Nations, due to the environmental deterioration of the area, official sources told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Trials for Illegal Logging

The environmental prosecutor of Guatemala is pursuing more than 20 lawsuits against companies and individuals for the illegal logging and trade of the country’s forest resources, the aim being to halt deforestation, legal assistant José Luis Rivera told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Effects of Solar Radiation Studied

Ten years of investigations into the impact of solar radiation on life and on human health have been compiled in the book “Tropical Solar Radiation”, written in Spanish, and published in Nicaragua by the Jesuit Central American University (UCA).

Cluster Bombs Turn Iraq into a Minefield

In the post-war it is essential, say experts, to assess the impact on civilians of the weaponry used by the United States in Iraq, including the lethal cluster bombs.

“The anthill from below and from above”

Brazil's environment minister, Marina Silva, comes from a movement that "defends the jungles inseparably from the people who live in them." And that means "introducing all aspects of sustainable development into the heart of government," she told Tierramérica.

'Better Off against the Soviets'

"The worst thing about the Iraq war is that it sets the precedent for unilateral action by Washington and makes clear that there is nothing to stand in its way," says Venezuelan commentator Ignacio Avalos Gutiérrez. To avoid this sort of unilateral action in the future it is essential to rebuild the United Nations, he adds.