Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Regional Cyber-Forum on Biodiversity

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A network of groups, with the World Conservation Union - South America (UICN-Sur) at the fore, is convening an Internet debate in the region to set up actions aimed at preserving biodiversity.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: A Bio-Process for Purifying Wastewater

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico (UAM) has developed biological methods for treating wastewater that are more effective than the standard approaches, which use physical and chemical processes.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Call for Bids on Controversial Project

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Brazil's national integration minister, Pedro Brito, announced Feb.14 that after Carnival the government will take bids for projects to transfer water from the Sao Francisco River to supply the country's dry northeastern region.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Energy for Amazon's Frontiers

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Oil from the inaja palm, or great Brazilian palm (Maximiliana regia), will be used to fuel small electrical plants for isolated communities in the Amazonian frontier.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Contamination from Mine Confirmed

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Contamination of the main source of potable water for the Honduran town of Valle de Angeles, 20 minutes from the capital, is the result of waste found at the mouth of a mine that was shut down 50 years ago, according to CESSCO, a contamination control and research center.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Demolishing Construction to Save Varadero

By IPS Correspondents and - -
From 1996 to date, more than 80 buildings and three kilometers of walls and fences on the dunes in the resort of Varadero have been demolished as part of an integrated management program.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Don't Rule Out Aysén Volcano

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Tremors recorded since Jan. 22 in the southern Chilean city of Aysén are being caused by magma under the sea floor pressing for release, say experts, who are not ruling out the possibility of a volcanic eruption.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Fire Destroys Plain

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A fire that started Feb. 2 on La Negra high plain, 600 km southwest of the capital, consumed more than 1,000 hectares of vegetation, Yuri Bermúdez, commander of the local firefighting team, told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Sustainable Buildings on the Rise

By IPS Correspondents and - -
To promote construction of sustainable residential and commercial buildings -- a still-emerging sector in North America -- government officials, architects, engineers and other experts from Mexico, United States and Canada are meeting here this month.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Sport Hunting a Boost for Puma Trafficking

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Fourteen pumas (Felis concolor), being kept illegally, were rescued by the Natural Resources Directorate of the central Argentine province of La Pampa in operations on Jan. 26 and Jan. 31.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: At the Gates of the Carbon Market

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Honduran government announced that in the next two months it will launch a reforestation effort in the northern mountains of Pico Bonito, a pilot project for selling carbon credits to national and foreign investors.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Nuts for Energy

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The shell of the Brazil nut (Bertholettia excelsa), normally thrown out as waste, is a better source of energy than the best plant-based charcoal used in Brazil's steel industry, says the National Institute of Amazonian Research.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Mining Companies Demand Legal Framework

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Representatives from the mining industry in Honduras are calling for a new legal framework to guarantee greater investment in the sector to prevent collapse. But despite social pressures, the industry recorded rising profits in 2006.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Grumbling Over Rule on Batteries

By IPS Correspondents and - -
An environmental norm that the Mexican government intends to approve for managing used battery waste has triggered the ire of environmental activists because the plan fails to include recycling.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Protecting Endemic Fish

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Children from the Zapata marsh area, one of the Caribbean islands' most important wetlands, are part of a campaign to protect the manjuarí, a fish native to Cuba that is in danger of extinction. On Jun. 5 the children will release in their natural habitat fish they have raised in their schools.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: CFC Production Falls

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Venezuela will produce 4,000 tons fewer of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) annually, and 2,900 less in 2008, thanks to the closure of Produven, the leading local manufacturer of these refrigerants that deplete the Earth's atmospheric ozone layer.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Activists Sound Alarm on Transantiago Plan

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Transantiago Plan, which is to take effect Feb. 10 in the Chilean capital, is in the sights of ecologists, who are demanding a clear commitment from government officials to the initiative.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Unlocking a Bacterial Genome

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The genetic map of the Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus bacterium, an important nitrogen fixant for sugarcane, sweet potato and pineapple crops, was deciphered in Brazil, and its use in agriculture could generate significant environmental benefits.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Renewed Campaign Against Garbage Burning

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Citizen Anti-Incineration Coalition relaunched its campaign this month for Argentina to ban the polluting process of waste incineration.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Forest Fire Alert

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Some 45 fires were reported in the first two weeks of 2007 in Montería, capital of the northwestern Colombian department of Córdoba, affecting pastures and brushland, Jorge Arbeláez, commander of the local fire department, told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Recycled Debris for Public Works

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Sao Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab signed a decree recently that makes it obligatory to use recycled debris for paving and structures in public works projects.
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