Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – CUBA: Cranes at Center of Study

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Cuban scientists this year will study potential reproduction sites of the Cuban crane (Grus canadiensis nesiotes), considered endangered due to changes in its natural habitat.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Land Handed Over to Indians

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Venezuelan Indians this year will receive land property titles for the first time, although the authorities have not determined which territories will be granted to each indigenous group.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Protecting a Thorny Forest

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A small forest populated with thorny plants was declared a protected area by the local Cabañas government in eastern Guatemala. The move is aimed at protecting endangered species.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Sustainable Tourism Gets a Boost

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Twenty initiatives for rural tourism in Talamanca, in Costa Rica's southeastern highlands, this year are becoming pilot projects for sustainable tourism in Central America.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Cloning Cacao

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Biotechnology and specialized agronomy practices are contributing to the recovery of the cacao crop in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, which until 1989 was the world leader in this raw material for chocolate.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Gold Mining Begins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Montana Exploradora mining company, a subsidiary of the Canadian Glamis Gold, will begin extracting gold in late January in the eastern Guatemalan department of San Marcos, despite the opposition of environmentalists.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Peasants Protect Natural Resources

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Some 271 families of the Rio Platano biosphere and the Tawahka Asagni reserve, along the northeastern Honduran Atlantic coast, are leading projects to preserve one of the main stretches of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Fishing Law Comes Out of the Freezer

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A law to regulate the use and conservation of Nicaragua's fishing resources, frozen 10 years ago in the nation's Congress, could be approved once the lawmakers convene this year, now that political consensus has been achieved in the parliamentary commission on the environment.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Promoting Biodiesel

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Costa Rican Center for Cleaner Production will this year present a proposal for the wide-scale production and use of biodiesel, fuel created in part from natural oil sources, such as the African palm.

Ecobreves – PERU: Water Treatment for Lake Titicaca

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The city government of Puno, in southern Peru, is to build a wastewater treatment plant in order to fight the serious contamination problem afflicting Lake Titicaca.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Little Known Law on Waste Is Enacted

By IPS Correspondents and - -
On Jan. 1 a law on solid waste took effect in the Mexican capital, requiring residents to separate organic matter from other materials. Mexico produces nearly 12,000 tons of garbage each day.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Reforesting River Basins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
With an investment of 6.6 million dollars over the next five years, the Colombian public works agency EPM will reforest 5,000 hectares of forests in the watershed areas of the northwestern department of Antioquia.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Onions as Psoriasis Treatment

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A salve based on onion extract, manufactured in the eastern Cuban province of Guantánamo, is proving an effective substitute for steroids in treating psoriasis, a non-contagious skin disease that causes inflammation and dryness

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: The Battle Over Used Tires

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Importers of used tires for retreading have won the latest battle in Brazil. A Supreme Court ruling on Dec. 12 authorized imports for the BS Colway firm, despite efforts by the Brazilian Environment Institute to ban the deal.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Hydroelectric Firm Helps Animals

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The state-run electric company Edelca, which builds and operates several hydroelectic dams in southeast Venezuela, turned in 95 rattlesnakes (Crotalus terrificus) to laboratories of the Central University to produce a snakebite serum.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Noisy Power Plant Shut Down

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Environment Ministry of Guatemala ordered the closing of the U.S.-based Duke Energy plant due to noise pollution, which was affecting the residents of several communities along the country's southern coast.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA: Forestry Program Mission Accomplished

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Regional Forestry Program of Central America (PROCAFOR), ended its operations after setting up more than 100 production groups involving Indians and peasant farmers, who now sustainably manage the forests.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Promoting Sustainable Tourism

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Twenty initiatives for rural and village tourism in the southeastern Costa Rican highland region of Talamanca, will become a pilot project in 2004 for Central America and will be prepared to obtain the Sustainable Tourism Certificate.

Ecobreves – MEXICO:: Fruit to Fight Poverty

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Mexican scientists are working to turn 'pitaya' and 'xoconoxtle', native Mexican fruits, into products for export -- and catalysts for development for poor communities.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Pinabete Tree Traffickers Arrested

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Eight people were detained in Guatemala in early December for trafficking in 'pinabete' (Abies gatemalensis), a plant that is on its way to extinction and is used illegally as a Christmas tree.

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Safe Haven for Leatherback Turtle

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Around 4,000 leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are rescued each year in Costa Rica from their nests that are threatened by floods or human movement through the nursery in Las Baulas Marine Park, on the country's northern Pacific coast.
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