Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: No to Unregulated Fishing

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Family fishing operations in Guatemala's Izabal Lake, the largest in the country, covering a thousand square kilometers, have denounced a rise in illegal fishing by smugglers, whose activities they say could push several species to extinction.

Ecobreves – PERU: Carrot and Stick for Polluters

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The reform of Peru's Environmental Code will include economic incentives for compliance with environmental regulations, lawmaker Fabiola Morales told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Entrepreneurs Dissuaded from Buying Preserve

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Protests by residents and by environmental groups against the sale and logging of 25,000 hectares in Argentina's General Pizarro nature preserve, in the northern province of Salta, led businessman Manuel Santos Uribellarrea to withdraw from the project, Greenpeace representatives told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Promoting Commercial Forestry

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The forest industry is responsible for 38,000 direct jobs in Colombia, and if the area planted for commercial ends would expand from 150,000 to 3.0 million hectares in the next five years, the number of jobs would be 760,000, according to ''Outlook for investment in the Colombian forest industry''.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Plans for Planting 75 Million Trees

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Some 75 million trees are to be planted in Guatemala before 2008 as part of the ''Guate Verde'' plan, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Mario Dary told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Reporter Faces Trial for Defending Environment

By IPS Correspondents and - -
- Journalist Frank Mejía tried to protect the trees in the Honduran capital's main park, and ended up in the courts, accused of ''disobedience''.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Bio-Construction at the World Social Forum

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The 5th World Social Forum put into practice the technique of bio-construction -- ''less expensive and more ecologically correct'' -- in building the venues for five days of conferences and debate by 120,000 civil society activists gathered in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Ecologists Applaud Energy Efficiency Plan

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The non-governmental Sustainable Chile Program congratulated Economy Minister Jorge Rodríguez for presenting a National Energy Efficiency Project, which includes standards for both the public and private sectors for rational use and saving energy.

Ecobreves – CARIBBEAN: Community Education to Save Birds

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents of coastal ecosystems in two Cuban provinces, like their counterparts in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, are learning in conference and workshops about protecting the 'yaguasa criolla' (Dendrocygna arobrea), a Caribbean bird that faces extinction.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Indians Pro-Water, Anti-Coal

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Indigenous and peasant communities of the northwestern Venezuelan oil-producing state of Zulia, bordering Colombia, founded the Water for Life Committee as a counterweight to a government proposal to mine coal in the watersheds of the area's two main rivers, the Socuy and Cachirí, and the Tulé reservoir.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Demands for More Forest Protection

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Social and environmental groups from the northern Argentine province of Santiago del Estero, which lost 2.5 million hectares of forest in the 20th century, denounce the government's bill on forest conservation and use.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: A Guide to Fruits and Seeds

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The EcoAndina Foundation has launched the ''Guide to Fruit and Seeds of the Middle Otún River'', a record of the great diversity of the flora of the Colombian Andes

Ecobreves – PERU: Investigation Into Gas Leak

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Elena Foronda, head of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law, and representatives of the Machiguenga indigenous council are demanding that the authorities conduct a public environmental inspection of the gas leak that occurred in the pipeline that runs from the south-central zone of Camisea to the central Peruvian coast on the Pacific.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Protests Against Mine Continue

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Opposition to open-pit mining in Guatemala will continue, rural leader Daniel Pascual told Tierramérica, despite the violence that erupted on Jan. 11, claiming the life of one protester.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Tsunami Fizzles on Copacabana Beach

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The giant waves that killed more than 150,000 people around the Indian Ocean reached this Brazilian coastal city, but had been reduced to small waves some 20 hours after the underwater earthquake the triggered the tragedy on Dec. 26.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: A Green Belt for the Capital

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Officials in the Guatemalan capital are seeking a way to create a ''green belt'' to improve the environment and the flow of water through the city.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Prevention Plans Come Up Short

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The torrential rains that hit Costa Rica last week, killing two people and causing economic losses that will surpass 20 million dollars, demonstrated the fragility of the country's disaster prevention systems, admitted an official source.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Cellulose Plant Construction Halted

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The regional environmental commission, COREMA, of Biobío, in southern Chile, ordered a stop to the construction of the Itata cellulose plant, which was designed for a production volume greater than what was authorized, as environmental groups denounced two months ago.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Bays Increasingly Contaminated

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Contamination from organic waste in Cuba's bays increased 2.3 percent during 2004, in contrast to a decline of 3.6 percent of the waste burden received by the island's eight main basins.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Shrimp Granted a Visa for U.S.A.

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The United States has lifted a ban that since the late 1990s prohibited entry of shrimp from Venezuela, saying the South American country now meets the international requirements for protecting sea turtles that accidentally get caught in the fishing nets.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Reforestation Means Jobs for Peasants

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Regional Corporation of Quindío in Colombia carried out activities aimed at re-establishing ecosystems and forests, generating employment for at least 90 families, as part of the 2004-2006 Action Plan.
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