Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – MEXICO:: Forest Emergency

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Seasonal fires are devastating the forests of Mexico, and officials should declare a national emergency, says the non-governmental Network of Peasant Forestry Organizations.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Digging Up Banned Pesticide

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A New Zealand firm, with the backing of the Argentine Chamber of Chemical and Petrochemical Industries, is beginning this week to dig up 30 tons of the toxic Gamexane, buried clandestinely 13 years ago in a northwestern province of Argentin

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Streamlining Environmental Paperwork

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental officials in the Colombian capital recently launched a program to shorten by up to 40 percent the timeframes for evaluation and follow-up for licenses, permits, concessions, authorizations and other instruments used in ecological controls.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Iodine in the Salt

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Saltworks Association of Nicaragua and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have signed an agreement to ensure the addition of iodine -- a nutritional necessity -- to 95 percent of the salt consumed in this Central American country.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA:: Reforestation of Two River Basins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Some 4,000 hectares of Los Esclavos and María Linda river basins, in central and southern Guatemala, will be reforested by the ministries of Agriculture and of Energy and Mines

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Illness Blamed on US Mining Firm

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents of Valle de Siria, in the central department of Francisco Morazán, suffer skin diseases and respiratory illnesses, which they blame on the mining activities of the U.S.-based transnational Entre Mares.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Dam Dilemma Resurfaces

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Brazil faces the dilemma of whether to build big hydroelectric dams, weighing the need to keep up with the demand for greater electricity generating capacity -- to avoid a repeat of the 2001 energy crisis -- and the fears of environmental and social harm.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Drought Triggers Religious Quandary

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The drought hitting Venezuela set off a debate with religious nuances when the state-run Parks Institute decided to limit the gathering of palm fronds on Avila mountain, which separate Caracas from the Caribbean coast, a traditional activity in the days before Catholic Holy Week

Ecobreves – CHILE: Water Protection Rules Complete

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Chilean government has finalized rules to protect water from contaminating emissions, expediting regulation on water courses and aquifers, reports the National Environment Commission (Conama).

Ecobreves – CUBA: Educational Expedition

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Scientists will provide environmental education in the eastern Humboldt National Park to improve the living conditions of the residents of this important preserve of Antilles flora and fauna.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Building a Bike Path

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The capital's government has begun work on a 90-km bikeway, demanded for more than a decade by cycling enthusiasts, but who now complain that the project does not go far enough.

Ecobreves – PERU: Reforestation Contest

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The firms that present the best plans for reforestation in Peru, in a contest organized by the institution Fondebosque, will receive up to 100,000 dollars in financing to make their project a reality.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Proposal to Create Wetlands Corridor

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Proteger, a non-governmental environmental organization, has proposed the creation in Argentina of a natural protected area for wetlands extending more than 800 km. The project would preserve freshwater reserves in an area covering 1.5 million hectares.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Productive Reforestation Begins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The state-run Rio Magdalena Corporation (Cormagdalena) this month began efforts in northern Colombia for productive reforestation over 20,000 hectares, to be carried out over five years at a cost of five million dollars.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Fires Devastate Forest

By IPS Correspondents and - -
- Honduras lost around 2,500 hectares of pine forest in February to fires, report officials from the government's Honduran Corporation for Forest Development.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: New Nature Reserves Proposed

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The scientific community is considering the addition of Garganta de Yukusama and San Luis to the list of Nicaragua's protected areas and whether it should back a bill before the legislature to expand the list of such areas to 78.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Marshes in Danger

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A 13,500-hectare marshland in Guatemala, the country's largest, is threatened by increased depredation and contamination, warns a new scientific study.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Limited Biodiversity Knowledge

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Brazil is aware of just 10 percent of its biodiversity, very little if one considers that this giant country is home to an estimated two million species of plants and animal, representing 14 percent of the world total.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Havana River Clean-Up

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Cuba plans to build three water treatment plants and 255 km of sewage network this year to protect the Almendares River, the principal waterway in the island's capital.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: To the Rescue of the Orinoco Caiman

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Venezuela has adopted the endangered Orinoco caiman (Crocodylus intermedius) as the symbol of the National Games to be held in December in the central city of San Carlos, the environment ministry's regional director, Nerio Escobar, told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – THE AMERICAS: Ag Experts Meet in Costa Rica

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Agriculture specialists from Latin America and the United States are gathering in the Costa Rican capital Mar 19-21 to discuss financial mechanisms and strategies to help small farmers prosper, but without harming the environment.
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