Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Climate Change Adaptation Projects in Indigenous Areas

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Work will begin in July on four climate change adaptation projects in four primarily indigenous departments in Honduras.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Office Created to Administer Climate Funds

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The government of Honduras has established a specialized unit to ensure transparency in the use of loans and donations earmarked for climate change initiatives, at the request of international financial institutions.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: The Páramos Are Shrinking

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Andean páramo grasslands, located between 3,000 and 4,500 meters above sea level, are shrinking as the result of the expansion of agriculture and cattle farming and the demand for freshwater, leading to the loss of endemic flora and fauna.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Consumers Less Concerned About the Environment

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Despite the growing amount of information available on environmental issues, the Brazilian public’s willingness to adopt eco-friendly consumer behavior has declined in recent years, according to a survey by the Trade Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Better Classification of Agrochemicals Demanded

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Social and environmental organizations in Argentina are threatening to hold a street protest if the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries does not respond to calls for more precise classification of the toxicity of agrochemicals.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Reuse of Wastewater for Agriculture

By IPS Correspondents and - -
In the southeastern Honduran department of La Paz, a project for the reuse of wastewater for irrigation of food crops will be implemented as part of a plan to promote more environmentally friendly practices.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Air Quality Rules Not Obeyed

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Mexican regulations to improve air quality are either ignored or outdated, and this has a serious impact on human health, according to a complaint filed by five non-governmental organizations.

Ecobreves – CUBA: First Eco-Friendly Apartment Block

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Construction has been completed on Cuba’s first "green" apartment building, equipped with technology for the more efficient use of water and electricity, thanks to a project supported by the government of Norway and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: NGO Fights Capture of Dolphins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental activists are calling on the Venezuelan government to prohibit the capture of Amazon river dolphins from the Orinoco River, after four of the animals died between January and April as the result of contaminated water in their pools at the aquarium in Valencia, an industrial city west of Caracas.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Grape Waste a Potential Source of Income

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Grape bagasse and seeds, now viewed as waste products of wine and juice production, could actually be an additional source of income, according to research by the Food Agroindustry department of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Government Promotes Agro-Forestry Systems

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The government of Honduras plans to implement an agro-forestry systems program in various regions of the country. These systems combine trees, agricultural crops and livestock raising, and are aimed at raising food production while mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Japanese Turtles to be Tested for Traces of Radiation

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Mexican scientists fear that loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) crossing the Pacific Ocean between the coasts of Asia and the Americas could be suffering the effects of the Japanese nuclear disaster.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Plant Fibers Make Concrete More Resistant

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Concrete blocks can be made more resistant with the addition of fibers from the sisal plant (Agave sisalana), commonly used to make rope and twine, according to research results from the São Carlos School of Engineering at the University of São Paulo.

Ecobreves – LATIN AMERICA: Concerted Efforts Needed to Protect Whales

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Close to 20 Latin American organizations devoted to the conservation of whales are urging Venezuela to resume full membership in the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Sugar Cane Straw Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Researchers at São Paulo State University in Brazil have determined that leaving sugar cane straw in the soil after harvesting reduces carbon emissions. They reached this conclusion after having compared two methods of harvesting sugar cane: mechanized harvesting and manual harvesting after the straw has been burned off the sugar cane plants.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Exotic Weed Used to Produce Charcoal for Export

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The exotic plant known in Cuba as marabu (Dichrostachys cinerea), formerly considered a pesky weed, is now being used to produce charcoal, and there are plans to increase production to 40,000 tons for export to Europe this year, official sources told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Argentine Birds Spend the Summer on the Orinoco

By IPS Correspondents and - -
During April, May and June, half a million brown-chested martins (Progne tapera fusca) flock from southern Argentina to the city of Guayana on the banks of the lower Orinoco River in northeastern Venezuela, where they set up their “headquarters” in 18 ceiba trees in the downtown square known as Plaza de las Ciencias.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: San Pedro Sula Wants to Sell Carbon Bonds

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The local government of San Pedro Sula, 250 kilometers from the Honduran capital, plans to sell carbon credits to finance the preservation of El Merendón mountain, considered the “green lung” of the city.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Nuclear Accident Action Plan Proposed

By IPS Correspondents and - -
An environmental organization in Argentina has proposed a citizen action plan in the event of a nuclear accident for use in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Nanotechnology Turns to Sugar Cane

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The University of São Paulo Polytechnic School has developed a new technique to produce carbon nanotubes, microscopically thin cylinders of carbon atoms, using the gases generated by burning sugar cane bagasse, a by-product of sugar production.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Clean-up of Yojoa Lake Begins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Over the past month, more than 33,000 square meters of parasitic plants have been removed from the waters of idyllic Yojoa Lake in western Honduras.
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