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Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Protection for Cerrado Ecosystem
The Cerrado, a savannah-like ecosystem that covers a fifth of Brazil's territory, is slated to receive 81 million dollars under a program for environmental protection.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Pinabete Tree in Danger
The national forest institute, INAB, issued a warning about the extinction of the pinabete tree in Guatemala -- the result of illegal cutting of this tree during the Christams season.Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Pacific Reserve Expanded for Species Protection
The Colombian Ministry of Environment extended the fauna and flora sanctuary from six to 25 nautical miles from Malpelo Island, located in the Pacific Ocean.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA:: In Search of Young Eco-Leaders
Around a hundred children and youths from Latin America are in the running to be part of the "Ecopibes" council, an Argentine organization dedicated to education for sustainable development.
The Post-Kyoto Era Up for Debate
Another international forum on climate change is underway this week in Montreal. The hope is to relaunch the debate about what will happen after 2012 -- but that task won't be easy.
Poisoning Victims Demand Pesticide Restrictions
A group of 73 Chilean workers who were poisoned demand regulation of agro-chemicals that have chronic effects on human health. The authorities are studying the case.Ecobreves – PERU: Herbal Viagra
The pharmaceutical company Hersil de Peru, which works with endemic medicinal plants, is about to launch a new product based on 'maca' (Lepidium meyenii Walp), known popularly as "herbal Viagra" because of its supposed sexual stimulant qualities.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Smuggling Snakes by Mail
Nine small boa constrictors were found last week by postal employees in Caracas, inside a package destined for the United States that raised suspicions because the return address was incomplete, reported Miguel Arévalo of the Postal Institute.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Protecting a Poisonous Lizard
Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas, CONAP, will begin a strategy for preserving the endangered venomous beaded lizard "Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti", native to the Motagua region, east of the capital.Ecobreves – CUBA: Construction Put to Hurricane Test
Ecological and inexpensive building materials proved again this year how strong they are in withstanding hurricanes, according to a survey conducted in this city, 268 km from Havana.Ecobreves – CHILE: Metro Grows, Pollution Declines
Chile's President Ricardo Lagos announced on Nov. 15 the start of two projects to extend the Metropolitan Railroad, slated for 2009, to benefit several impoverished districts around the capital
Evolution Faster Than We Thought
Tierramérica spoke with scientists Peter and Rosemary Grant, who have documented that the process of mutations in finches in the Galapagos Islands is faster than Charles Darwin, father of evolutionary theory, realized.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Negotiating Pay for Reducing Deforestation
Brazil will propose negotiating some form of financing or compensating forest conservation during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 9 in Montreal, Canada.
A Crusade Against Nanotechnology
The award-winning activist Pat Mooney travels the world calling for a moratorium on commercial development based on nanoparticles, pointing to what he says are their potentially harmful effects.
Pediatricians Turn Spotlight on Environmental Risks
Hospitals in Mexico and Argentina have specialized units focused on children's health and the environment. But the region as a whole has a long way to go in this area.Ecobreves – MEXICO:: Transgenic Survey
The environmental watchdog Greenpeace at the end of the year will release the results of a survey on the use of genetically modified organisms by food companies in Mexico.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Drought in the Pantanal
A drought is taking a toll on the Mato Grosso Pantanal, a 210,000-square-km floodplain in central-western Brazil, while the Amazon, to the north, is struggling to overcome five months of lack of rainfall.Ecobreves – BOLIVIA: Funds Needed to Save Dinosaur Tracks
The municipal government of Sucre needs 1.5 million dollars to conserve and protect Cal Orko, the world’s largest bed of dinosaur tracks.
Delays in Land Reform a 'Time Bomb'
Unfinished agrarian reform has Bolivia on tenterhooks as the nation prepares for December's presidential elections. Indigenous communities demand regularization of at least 34 million hectares of farmland.Ecobreves – HONDURAS:: Food Security in Poor Towns
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is promoting a program for food security, appropriate technology, and environmentally friendly management in the 24 most impoverished municipalities of the Honduran interior.
The Emptying of Brazil’s Mega-Cities
Brazilian metropolises like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are seeing their population density -- and their quality of life -- decline.« 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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