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Monday, November 9, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Threat to Machu Picchu: Too Many Tourists
The Peruvian government is finalizing a plan to protect the legendary Inca city of Machu Picchu. But the tourism industry opposes cutting the number of visitors to the Andean mountaintop ruins.Clean Patagonian Energy from Wind and Hydrogen
A small village in the far south of Argentina hopes to free itself of dependence on fossil fuels by 2008.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Airport Remodel in Maya Zone
A major effort is under way in Guatemala to boost visits to the country's Maya ruins. This includes renovation of the international airport in Santa Elena, in the northern department of Petén.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Clean Energy in Patagonia
A small town in Argentina's southern Patagonia region has set up a laboratory for the production of clean fuel produced with clean energy.Ecobreves – BOLIVIA: Cochabamba Water Project Recognized
The project Water for All, being developed in the outskirts of the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba to provide potable water to the poorest population, could soon receive fresh financing after winning the SEED award on Apr. 22.Ecobreves – MEXICO: International Pressure Wins Environmentalist's Release
Pressure from environmental groups was key in winning the quick release of activist Araceli Domínguez, imprisoned for denouncing the deaths of dolphins in the Mexican resort of Cancún.
Much-Maligned DDT Still Has Supporters
The insecticide DDT remains an effective weapon against malaria, according to the United Nations. All indications are that the first meeting of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, this week in Uruguay, will approve its continued but limited use.Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Catfish Ban
The Colombian rural development institute, INCODER, is banning from May 1 to 30 the fishing, storage, sale and transport of the tiger shovelnose catfish (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) in the Magdalena River basin, which crosses national territory from north to south.
Priest Proposes 'March for Life' Across Mesoamerica
Roman Catholic priest Andrés Tamayo, winner of the Goldman Prize, popularly known as the environmental Nobel, said in a Tierramérica interview that he and his supporters are planning a region-wide demonstration to protect Central America's forests.Ecobreves – PERU: Thermoelectric Plant Threatens Resort
With the backing of non-governmental organizations and of most of the municipal leaders, neighborhood groups in Chilca, a small Peruvian city 64 km south of Lima, announced mobilizations against the planned construction of a thermoelectric plant just 500 meters from the town's limits.
Mapuche Land Dispute a Pending Problem
Indigenous leaders, who continue their demands for their communities' rights over ancestral lands, continue to be stigmatized as ''terrorists'' in Chile, say rights activists.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Massive Logging Deprives Capital of Water
The Honduran Environmental Prosecutor is investigating the state-run electrical energy company and a forestry company for the massive logging of the Guacerique River basin.Ecobreves – CHILE: Tracking Glacier Melt
For the first time in Chile's history there will be a systematic process for monitoring an important glacier in the country's southern region, as a means to measure melting that could be associated with global warming.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Emergency at Valencia Lake
Lake Valencia, covering 375 square km and the second largest in Venezuela, is in a state of emergency because of the contamination resulting from the sewage water reaching the lake via rivers, and the imminent increase in incoming water as rainy season expands those rivers.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Aerodrome Construction Threatens Maya Ruins
The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations of Honduras (ASONOG) denounced to the Cultural Heritage and Environment prosecutors offices that the government's intention to build an aerodrome in Amarillo River valley, in the department of Copán, could harm the environment and Maya ruins and threaten the Maya-Chortí peoples who live there.
Gene Study Puts Indians on Guard
Indigenous peoples in Latin America cast a suspicious eye towards the Genographic Project, which aims to study their genes to determine how their ancestors populated the planet. A U.S.-based NGO is calling for a boycott.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Kyoto, Remedy for Waste
Big garbage dumps will no longer be a serious socio-environmental problem in Brazil, turning into an energy source instead, thanks to the clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, say officials.
Water Returns to Iraq's Eden
The rehabilitation of wetlands in the region known since ancient times as Mesopotamia stands to benefit four million people.Ecobreves – CUBA: Plans to Halt Coastal Erosion
A project backed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) aims to halt erosion along the southern strip of coastline of Havana province in Cuba.
The Losers in the Andean Free Trade Agreement
The free trade treaty being negotiated with the United States threatens 50 percent of Ecuador's small farmers. The political instability in this country -- with former president Lucio Gutiérrez seeking asylum in Brazil -- is complicating finalization of the agreement.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Certified Lumber for Sale Soon
Seven processed wood companies from various countries agreed to purchase certified lumber from the northern Guatemalan department of Petén to foment sustainable forest management.« 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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