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Monday, November 9, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Mangroves on the Verge
Costa Rican scientists and environmentalists say the country's mangroves, on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, are on the verge of collapse despite the numerous regulations in place to protect them.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: People's Trial on Transgenics
An International People's Tribunal on Transgenics held sessions in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre on Mar. 11, finding genetically modified soy "guilty".Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Canada Gives a Hand to Caracas Sanitation
Canada will contribute a half-million dollars to build wastewater systems in poor districts of the Venezuelan capital, says the Canadian ambassador Allan Culham.Ecobreves – CHILE: Proposal for Mining to Pay for Forests
The executive director of the Chilean Forestry Research Institute, Roberto Ipinza, proposed that a portion of the income tax revenues from mining operations should be earmarked for forest development.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Fire-Fighting Funds Embezzled
Guatemala was not able to carry out its plans to fight forest fires in 2003 because 62 percent of the million-dollar budget was misappropriated by the officials of the previous administration, the new presidential spokesman, Eduardo González, told Tierramérica.
Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Eco-Manual for Journalists
The Honduran Environmental Prosecutor has published a manual for journalists that explains the agency's legal and judicial procedures in handling environmental crimes, as well as actions for protecting ecosystems.Ecobreves – PERU: Millions Needed to Clean Up Mining Waste
Peru needs to spend some 200 million dollars to recuperate the environmental losses caused by mines that are now inactive or abandoned, according to government sources.
Latin America's Ailing Environment
Latin Americans lose as many as 11 years off their lives due to environmental degradation, says a new study by the United Nations Environment Program.
'Precaution should be the new paradigm for conservation'
Award-winning Argentine biologist Claudio Campagna is promoting a new model for preserving the whale habitat of the Patagonian coast.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Limits for Corvina Catches
Argentina and Uruguay have banned the use of trawl nets to fish for 'corvina rubia' in the Rio de la Plata estuary that the two countries share. The ban lasts from October to March and is intended to protect this species that has begun to suffer the consequences of overexploitation.Animal Welfare, Human Welfare
More than 450 delegates from 70 countries took part in the Global Conference on Animal Welfare, in Paris last week. Inadequate conditions in managing farm animals could be the cause of diseases like avian flu, which is currently taking its toll on the poultry industry in Asian countries.Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Glyphosate in Nature Reserves
Colombia's Environment Minister Sandra Suárez will have to explain to her country's Congress the U.S. financing received for spraying glyphosate herbicide on illegal coca plantations in nature reserves.Ecobreves – NORTH AMERICA: Transgenic Maize Under Scrutiny
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America will hold a meeting Mar. 11 in Mexico of representatives from civil society, government and academia to study the contamination of Mexican maize with genetically modified material.
Fund Launched for Preserving Plant Genetics
More than forty million dollars are at hand to fund plant genebanks this year. But activists doubt that the fund will ensure equal North-South access to biodiversity.
Cabbages and Peppers at the Feet of Skyscrapers
Caracas is following in Cuba's footsteps in experimenting with urban gardens. Critics, however, say it is a very costly "folkloric" endeavor
Mars a Dangerous Destination for Humans
During a voyage to the "red planet", astronauts would be vulnerable to psychological problems due to confinement, genetic harm from radiation, and loss of bone mass as a result of zero gravity, say experts.Solar Energy
Viable but costly, solar energy is just beginning to find its way a half-century after it was proposed as an alternative. For developing countries, the use of this energy source could facilitate sustainable economic growth.Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Landless Movement in Photos
Peasant farmers from Guatemala and Brazil have been united in an exhibit by famed Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado about the problems and struggles of the Landless Movement, showing here until the end of the month.Ecobreves – CUBA: More 'Noni' Trees
Cuban scientists are researching -- in the unique conditions of this island country -- the characteristics and uses of the 'noni' tree, which has medicinal and nutritional properties.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Funding Sought for Potable Water Reservoir
The Honduran government's national aqueduct and sewage service is seeking financing to build a third potable water reservoir to supply the capital, where water rationing has been in force this month, with services cut off six to 10 hours each day.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Energy from Wood, But Sustainable
The use of plant-based coal and firewood is seen as an environmental sin because it foments deforestation. But the forest biomass is proving to be a source of sustainable energy in Brazil, taking advantage of waste from legal logging operations.« 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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