Ecobreves – BRASIL: Agro-Ecology Is Growing

Family farming provides 70 percent of the food consumed in Brazil, representing an important step towards agro-ecology, say experts.

Ecobreves – PANAMA: Coffee Bees

The presence of African bees led to a 25-percent increase in the production and weight of two varieties of coffee grown in the western Panamanian province of Chiriquí, according to a study by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Sales of Oxygen to Netherlands

The Guatemalan government is negotiating an agreement for the sale of oxygen to the Netherlands, giving the European country a larger quota for the emission of greenhouse gases and the Central American nation resources to preserve its natural wealth.

Central America Wearies under Dengue Onslaught

The tropical epidemic has been merciless in the region, and is revealing the vulnerability of the poorest sectors of the population.

Ecobreves – PERU: Mining Companies to Pay for Environmental Damage

The mining companies operating in Peru must invest more than one billion dollars up to 2006 to mitigate the environmental damages caused by their activities, said the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Ecobreves – MEXICO:: Unpredictable Climate

Weather reports in Mexico are based on technology that dates back 15 years, which makes reliable forecasts, which are essential to farmers, impossible. The country's meteorological stations have only one person to collect the data, which ends up in card catalogues after passing through outdated telegraph and mail systems, said researcher Norma Sánchez at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico.

Ecobreves – PANAMA: Marine Laboratory Under Construction

Construction will be completed this year on the marine laboratory of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) on the Panamanian archipelago of Bocas del Toro, in the Caribbean sea.

Ecobreves – EL SALVADOR: Expanding the Number of Protected Areas

The Environment Ministry of El Salvador will declare the "San Benito" zone located in the El Imposible national park, one of the country's most valuable mountainous tropical forest regions, a protected area.

Alternative Energy – Still a Distant Dream

Latin America is far from meeting the target of obtaining 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2010, the proposal it will set forth at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.

Iguanas Dying En Masse in Galapagos

A second oil spill is threatening Ecuador's Galapagos islands, while the mortality rate among its marine iguanas has risen alarmingly, blamed on an earlier spill in 2001.

A Cup of Tea

Tea is a plant of Chinese origin which gave rise to the most widely consumed beverage in the world, from the far East to Latin America. It was first consumed by human beings nearly 5,000 years ago.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Endangered Grasslands

Around 75 percent of Argentina's topsoil has been depleted by desertification and damaging farming and grazing methods, warns the Secretariat on the Environment and Natural Resources.

Uniting Trees with Trees

The Meso-American Biological Corridor is an attempt to restore the chain of forests that until relatively recently connected South and North America.

The Future of the Mangrove

A Caribbean community in Colombia is attempting to utilize the mangrove forest in a sustainable way in order to counteract the threat of deforestation.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Amazonian Surveillance Begins

The Surveillance System of the Amazon (SIVAM) is slated to start operating – at least in part - July 25, when the project’s main center in the northwestern Brazilian city of Manaos is to be inaugurated.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Investment in Water Services

Costa Rica must invest 1.6 billion dollars to modernize its potable water and sanitation services, according to a recent study by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).

Ecobreves – CUBA: Accord with Guatemala

Cuba and Guatemala will now be able to develop joint projects for natural resources management and protection under a new environmental agreement signed by the two governments.

Ecobreves – CHILE: 120 Million Trees

Each year, 120 million trees are planted in Chile, a reforestation pace that surpasses the rate of logging, say government officials.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA:: Green Troops

In the countries of Central America, 170,000 police and military troops will receive training to protect natural resources and nature preserves in the region.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Justice Halts Forest Exploitation

The Guatemalan Constitutional Court put a 15-day halt on the transfer of a portion of the protected Sierra de las Minas to a logging company.

Ecobreves – REGIONAL: Sustainable Cities

In 2015 the world will have 23 mega-cities with more than 10 million inhabitants each, and 19 will be in developing countries, said experts at the "Reinventing the City" forum, held in Montreal Jun 27 under the auspices of the Secretariat of Environmental Management for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEMA).