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Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Diseases Follow Environmental Degradation
The contamination of canals and other sources of water led to the outbreak of chikungunya in the Indian state of Kerala. The finger of blame is pointing at fish processors and coconut fiber factories.
China Takes Over Carbon Market
The Asian giant accounts for 60 percent of the global total of carbon credits. More than 100 "clean development" projects are under way in China
Airport Divides Government and Mapuches
Indigenous groups are fighting to halt construction of a new airport in the Chilean region of Araucanía. It is one of President Bachelet's biggest infrastructure projects.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Saving the Walnut Tree
Environmental authorities are carrying out a conservation plan for the Venezuelan walnut (Juglans venezuelensis), native to the mountains that separate the capital from the Caribbean sea, a habitat that is under threat from logging, urbanization, soil degradation and changes in rainfall patterns.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Membrane Maintains Fruit Aroma
The membranes -- very thin "skins" made from different materials, generally plastic polymers -- can recover complex aromas and improve the quality of Brazil's agricultural products, say scientists.Ecobreves – CHILE: Hydroelectric Plans Advance in the South
The Comptroller General of Chile granted the Hydro Aysén company a provisional electrical concession to begin studies for the construction of four hydroelectric dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers, in Chile's 11th region of Aysén, 2,000 km south of the capital.Ecobreves – URUGUAY: The Internet as a Tool to Foment Energy Efficiency
A web site of Uruguay's Ministry of Industry seeks to promote energy efficiency amongst its customers.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Controversy Over Registry of Pollutants
Environmental groups say they will prevent the Mexican government from making good on its intention to release local industries from having to measure eight of the greenhouse gases they emit.
Lebanese Waters Still Stained Black
Four months after the oil spill caused by Israeli bombing, Lebanon continues to struggle to clean up its coastline. Thousands of marine species are in danger and the coming winter brings a new urgency to the problem.Ecobreves – BOLIVIA: Protection for Isolated Peoples
At a conference Nov. 20-22 in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, experts, indigenous communities and government officials will propose public policies to protect isolated populations in South America's tropical jungles.
Climate Measurements Better from Siberia
The data collected at a tall tower in a remote, virgin forest in Russia will expand knowledge about the effects of greenhouse gases worldwide.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Designing Eco-Friendly Heaters
Argentine researchers will present a project this month in innovations of gas heater design in order to double their efficiency and reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.Will Forests Adapt to a Warmer World?
Some scientists believe that a warmer planet means forests will grow more quickly. But others say forested areas will dry up or become disease ridden.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Growing Freshwater Pearls
In a pioneering initiative in Brazil, the University of Sao Paulo is studying the viability of in vitro cultivation of two threatened bivalve mollusk species in order to use some of them for producing freshwater pearls.Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Protecting Bats Can Be Profitable
Researchers at the National University of Colombia are working to raise awareness in local communities about the importance of preserving the caves where bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) seek refuge, and that bat guano is useful as organic fertilizer.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Training for “Servants of the Environment”
In December the first 30 youths will graduate from a Honduran education project that for the past two years has been teaching children of farming families about environmentally friendly farming techniques.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Mega-Cities Far From Meeting Air Quality Standards
Brazil's major cities will have to reduce their air pollution much more if they hope to comply with the new parameters for air quality established by the World Health Organzation (WHO).Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Flamingos Enjoy Good Health
- So far in 2006, in the northwestern Venezuelan marsh of Los Olivitos alone, 6,700 Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) have hatched, reports Betsabey Motta, from the Environment Ministry's office of biodiversity.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: European Union to the Rescue of a River Basin
Over the next 18 months the European Union will be promoting a reforestation project in the Goascorán River Basin, along the Honduras-El Salvador border, which flows into the Pacific Ocean.Ecobreves – CUBA: Eco-Gardens in the City
- Urban crops in Cuba will produce some 4.3 million tons of vegetables and fresh herbs this year, Adolfo Rodríguez Nodals, head of the National Urban Agriculture Group, told Tierramérica.
Kids Pay Dearly for Lack of Clean Water
Diarrhea, caused by contaminated drinking water, kills more children in Latin America and the Caribbean than tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS, warns the United Nations. Millions of children -- children of the indigenous and black communities in particular -- are at risk.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Tierramérica is the main communications platform on sustainable development and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is produced by IPS Noticias, the agency’s Spanish-language service, which created it jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with later support from the World Bank. The weekly editions of Tierramérica are published in Spanish, Portuguese and English and are picked up and printed by dozens of media outlets in the region. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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