Languages
Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Cleaning Up a Garbage Dump
The local authorities in Valencia, 80 km west of Caracas, have launched a program to clean up La Guásima garbage dump. The 2.5 million dollar project will include the construction of a solid waste treatment plant, waste classification pits and leaching ponds, reported Mayor Argenis Loreto.Ecobreves – CHILE: Video on Dead Swans Censored
Environmental watchdog group Oceana is using the Internet to disseminate a video on the death of hundreds of swans at the Rio Cruces nature sanctuary in southern Chile after its public screening was censored.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Electrical Energy from Hydrogen
With support from the Argentine government, experts at an experimental hydrogen factory are studying the technical-economic possibilities of producing large quantities of electrical energy through turbines fed by this clean fuel.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: World Forum on Sustainable Tourism
Tourism that is not seasonal or destructive, that preserves biodiversity and has cultural and social content is the aim of the World Forum on Tourism for Peace and Sustainable Development, whose second annual meeting, DestiNations 2005, takes place Oct. 24-26 in this Brazilian city.
Indigenous Peoples Left Vulnerable to Disasters
Disaster prevention plans often fail to take into account the cultures and world views of indigenous communities. If the plans were more inclusive, say activists, there would be fewer tragedies resulting from climate phenomena like the recent Hurricane Stan.
A New Satellite for Measuring Polar Ice Melt
The European Space Agency hopes to launch the CryoSat II satellite within three years -- following the failure of the first mission on Oct. 8.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Against Mining Exploration
Residents of the southern Honduran department of Valle oppose the permit that the government granted mining companies to explore and exploit some 5,000 hectares in the area.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: War on Invasive Species
Of the 204 exotic land species recorded to date in Brazil, 130 have become invasive, spreading rapidly because they had no predators, and destroying the local biodiversity.Ecobreves – CHILE: “Smart” Traffic Signals
Four computer science students at the Federico Santa María Technical University in Valparaíso, 120 km west of the Chilean capital, have developed the "Smart Traffic" program, which will modernize the coordination of traffic signals along urban vehicle circulation routes.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Protest Against Ban on Scrap Exports
Hundreds of workers at recycling companies protested Oct. 3 outside the Venezuelan Parliament against a government decree that banned the export of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap.Ecobreves – CUBA: Re-investing in Sustainable Heritage
Declared Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations in 1982, the historic center of Havana in 10 years generated 160 million dollars in tourism, services and taxes, most of which was reinvested in rehabilitating the district itself.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Misquitos Challenge World Bank Project
The indigenous Misquito peoples of Honduras and Nicaragua have expressed their doubts about the World Bank's Mesoamerican Corazon Biosphere project, saying it is exclusive and an attack on the preservation of their population and culture.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Recycling Vehicle Air Conditioners
By the end of the year the Brazilian government will deliver most of the 335 machines used for recycling the gases used in the air conditioning units of cars, trucks and other vehicles.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Aquatic Species Discovered
Two fish species, five new types of crustaceans and two micromollusks were found in the delta of the Orinoco River, in northeast Venezuela, by researchers from the LaSalle Foundation for the Natural Sciences.Ecobreves – CHILE:: Defending Water Against Mining Company
Los Caimanes, a small rural community in northern Chile, launched a signature collection campaign to convince the government to prohibit a big mining company from building a reservoir that would contaminate the area's aquifers, the only local source of potable water.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Forests Produce More Intact than Cleared for Farming
The Amazon forests that remain intact are more ''competitive'' than farming in this globalized economy, according to a doctoral thesis recently approved by the University of Brasilia.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Christmas Threatens the Pinabete
The situation of the pinabete (Abies guatemalensis R), an endangered tree in Guatemala, worsens every Christmas season due to the widespread use of its branches as decoration by the mostly Roman Catholic population.
Venice Doesn't Want to Be Another New Orleans
A gigantic engineering project, slated for completion in 2010, aims to save the mystical Italian city of canals from the encroaching sea. Environmental groups sound the alarm on the work's potential environmental impact.
Childhood in the Pit
More than 13,500 children and adolescents work in small mining operations in Bolivia, exposed to toxic gases, accidents and explosions. Their life expectancy is just 45 years.Health Authorities Silent on Dangers of Sun's Rays
The hole in the ozone layer reached record size over southern Argentina in September. But there were no special measures by the government to alert the population about the dangers of ultraviolet radiation.
Thousands of Kilometers with Camera in Hand
Photographer Mauricio Ramos will cross Mexico on foot, from the United States border in the north, to Guatemala in the south, in a challenging five-month adventure covering 3,100 km. Ramos hopes for an abundant harvest of images of nature and of the people he encounters.« 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.
From the Frontline of Environment
Supported by
Tierramérica en Español
Terramérica em Portuguese
