Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – CHILE: Promises to Cut Air Pollution Risks in Santiago

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Chilean government has promised through Santiago metropolitan region leader Marcelo Trivelli that next year there will be no more "environmental pre-emergencies" declared in this city of five million inhabitants.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA: Wetlands in Danger

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The wetlands of the Gulf of Fonseca, shared by Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, are threatened by the shrimp farming operations that use toxic chemicals to get rid of pests.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Opposition to Open Pit Mining

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental groups in Costa Rica aim to stop the Bellavista mining project in Miramar de Puntarenas, 100 km northeast of San José, because they say it will ruin the area's water sources.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Park Rangers Wanted in El Petén

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Protected Areas Council, CONAP, in Guatemala has just 45 park rangers to cover the 90 posts for monitoring the vast preserves in El Petén, the country's largest department and richest in natural resources.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Mining Activity Under Fire

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents and authorities in 14 municipalities of western Honduras are demanding a reform of the mining law, saying it is an attack on the environment. They gave the government an ultimatum to remove the mining transnational Maverick from the Guiyasote ecological reserve.

Ecobreves – URUGUAY: Gasoline Additive MTBE Rejected

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Uruguayan research center for appropriate technologies, CEUTA, condemned that lead tetraethyl, previously used as an additive in some gasolines, has been replaced by MTBE, a known carcinogenic and contaminating substance that is banned in many countries.

Ecobreves – PERU: Cyanide on the Loose

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mining asked Congress to declare sodium cyanide a "controlled chemical input". Currently, it is marketed and transported without restrictions -- and last month killed five people.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Sheep Milk Recommended

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Researchers at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico (UAM) say sheep milk should no longer be neglected, as it is an important source of protein, minerals and vitamins -- much richer than goat or cow milk.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Up With Avocados

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Guatemala needs to foment wider production of avocados, a crop that is ignored despite its enormous potential, Cristian Smith, president of the Comité del Aguacate (Spanish for avocado), told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Forestry Directory to Be Launched

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Representatives of the private sector in the northeastern Colombian city of Medellin will distribute the first Directory of the Forestry Productive Chain, which includes a broad range of participants in the sector: industrialists, engineers, technicians, suppliers, financial institutions and research centers.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Kites Kill Flamingoes

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Dozens of flamingoes were killed in recent weeks by children and adolescents in the Tucurere wildlife preserve in the northwestern Venezuelan state of Falcón, reports the Ministry of Environment.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Call to End Fumigation in Protected Areas

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Senators and environmentalists have asked the Colombian government to annul a resolution, currently suspended, that would allow anti-drug fumigation in natural areas protected due to their biodiversity.

Ecobreves – CHILE: The Last Robinson Crusoe Castor-Oil Seed

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Three scientists are working against the clock in Chile to reproduce the Robinsonia berteroi seed, a type of castor-oil bean endemic to Robinson Crusoe Island. And there is just one specimen of this castor-oil plant left.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: T for Transgenic

By IPS Correspondents and - -
As of Mar. 31, Brazil is requiring labels to identify those foods that contain more than one percent genetically modified ingredients. Failure to comply is to be penalized with fines and seizure of the product.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Maya Assembly Under Way

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The first National Assembly of Representatives of the Maya People began on Mar. 29 in Guatemala and aims to establish ties between the Indians, the state and the international community.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Latin American Environmental Observatory

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Argentina's National Ecological Action Network (RENACE), an umbrella for more than 70 non-governmental organizations, in May will launch the Latin American Environmental Observatory to unite groups that are dealing with similar challenges.

Ecobreves – NORTH AMERICA: Protection for Three Marine Species

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Canada, Mexico and the United States will seek a common strategy to protect the humpbacked whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), the pink-footed shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) as part of an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of migratory species.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: National Parks in Crisis

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Costa Rica's national parks are in an distressing state of abandon due to lack of money to hire the 300 park rangers necessary to protect areas' biodiversity from hunters, charged Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, the national environment minister.

Ecobreves – PERU:: New Anti-Desertification Center Announced

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Peru's National Human Resources Institute (INRENA) is working with Brazil to set up a Regional Anti-Desertification Center, which will include the other countries that share the tropical forests of the Amazon.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Anti-Rabies Campaign Under Way

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Guatemalan Ministry of Health launched a campaign on Mar. 20 to vaccinate 1.6 million dogs and 30,000 cats in rural areas to prevent rabies in the wake of a prolonged drought.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: ChevronTexaco Supports School in Indigenous Area

By IPS Correspondents and - -
An agricultural technical school attended by 400 children and adolescents in the Orinoco Delta, in eastern Venezuela, received 75,000 dollars from the U.S.-based oil giant ChevronTexaco for building repairs and equipment
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