Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Limits for Corvina Catches

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Argentina and Uruguay have banned the use of trawl nets to fish for 'corvina rubia' in the Rio de la Plata estuary that the two countries share. The ban lasts from October to March and is intended to protect this species that has begun to suffer the consequences of overexploitation.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Glyphosate in Nature Reserves

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Colombia's Environment Minister Sandra Suárez will have to explain to her country's Congress the U.S. financing received for spraying glyphosate herbicide on illegal coca plantations in nature reserves.

Ecobreves – NORTH AMERICA: Transgenic Maize Under Scrutiny

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America will hold a meeting Mar. 11 in Mexico of representatives from civil society, government and academia to study the contamination of Mexican maize with genetically modified material.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Fire-Fighting Funds Embezzled

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Guatemala was not able to carry out its plans to fight forest fires in 2003 because 62 percent of the million-dollar budget was misappropriated by the officials of the previous administration, the new presidential spokesman, Eduardo González, told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Landless Movement in Photos

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Peasant farmers from Guatemala and Brazil have been united in an exhibit by famed Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado about the problems and struggles of the Landless Movement, showing here until the end of the month.

Ecobreves – CUBA: More 'Noni' Trees

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Cuban scientists are researching -- in the unique conditions of this island country -- the characteristics and uses of the 'noni' tree, which has medicinal and nutritional properties.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Funding Sought for Potable Water Reservoir

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Honduran government's national aqueduct and sewage service is seeking financing to build a third potable water reservoir to supply the capital, where water rationing has been in force this month, with services cut off six to 10 hours each day.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Energy from Wood, But Sustainable

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The use of plant-based coal and firewood is seen as an environmental sin because it foments deforestation. But the forest biomass is proving to be a source of sustainable energy in Brazil, taking advantage of waste from legal logging operations.

Ecobreves – AMERICAS: Congress on Privately Run Nature Preserves

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Inter-American Congress on Private Conservation is to meet Apr. 18-21 in Chile with the goal of contributing to protecting biodiversity across the Americas.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Lack of Oxygen Killing Fish

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Three tons of sardines, sable fish and crustaceans were found dead in mid-February along the shores of Carenero Bay, on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Vicuña-Friendly Wool

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Argentine scientists and shepherds have shown they can obtain the valuable wool from the wild vicuña (Lama vicugna) using methods that do not harm these cousins of the llama.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Network of Environmental Investigators

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Strengthening and coordinating the networks of regional environmental investigators is one of the recommendations for fighting environmental crimes that emerged out of the first World Summit of Attorneys General, Prosecutors and Justice Ministers, held in Antigua, Guatemala Feb. 2-5.

Ecobreves – PERU: Lead Poisoning in El Callao

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Four impoverished districts in the port city of El Callao have high levels of lead contamination, which the World Health Organizations considers one of the greatest urban environmental dangers, because it affects the neurological development of children.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Shrimp Waste Turned Fish Food

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Researchers from the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Mexico found a formula to turn the waste from shrimp production, a source of contamination, into a valuable source of nutrition for fish.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Indians Out to Protect Sea Turtles

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Indigenous Miskito communities are promoting the creation of a hatchery preserve in northeast Honduras to protect green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback (Dermochelys cariacea) sea turtles, all in danger of extinction.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Better Forestry Practices

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The World Wildlife Fund is promoting voluntary certification programs in Nicaragua for lumber processors and furniture factories committed to sustainable development of forests.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Stolen Flamingoes

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Hundreds of pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) chicks -- perhaps as many as 1,500 -- have been stolen during the past few weeks from Los Olivitos Marsh wildlife refuge, near the Caribbean and Maracaibo Lake, in northwest Venezuela. The authorities were tipped off by anonymous reports.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Ban on Building Near Dams

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Honduran Environmental Prosecutor and the Secretariat of Natural Resources are to issue a new regulation on Feb. 13 that bans construction near the dams and reservoirs that supply water to the capital.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Wind Blows, Fields Watered

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Cuba has introduced wind energy into its farm irrigation systems. This renewable energy source has long been used to pump water for most of the country's cattle and dairy farms.

Ecobreves – CHILE: New Environmental Chief

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Paulina Saball, a social worker with a background in urban development, was named by Chile's President Ricardo Lagos to head the National Environmental Commission (CONAMA) after the contentious resignation of her predecessor, Gianni López.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Alert Against Bird Flu

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Brazilian government is preparing preventive measures against avian flu, a disease that has spread among birds in a dozen Asian countries, and is considered unlikely to reach this South American country.
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