Tierramerica

Ecobreves – CHILE: Environmentalists on War Footing

By IPS Correspondents and - -
More than 70 national and foreign organizations together issued a public statement in opposition to the proliferation of open-pit coal mining projects in Chile, citing their disastrous environmental consequences.
Lonesome George in captivity. - Courtesy of Joe Flanagan, Houston Zoo

The Return of the Giant Tortoise

By Gonzalo Ortiz and - -
An ecological restoration plan in Ecuador is unfolding with the successful return of 39 Galápagos tortoises to their habitat.
Eduardo Gudynas - Milagros Salazar/IPS

“Latin America Faces an Environmental Emergency”

By Milagros Salazar and - -
An Uruguayan expert warns that the unrelenting extraction of natural resources in Latin America fails to take into account the environmental damage, with the pretext that the wealth generated will sustain social programs.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Self-Sufficient Streetlights

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A self-sufficient streetlight created by engineer Fernando Ximenes, of the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará, could save up to 21,000 reais (11,280 dollars) per kilometer of public lighting.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Referendum on Agro-Chemical Plant

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents of Casilda, in the eastern Argentine province of Santa Fe, will gather at the voting booths in July to vote on whether an agro-chemical factory can be built in their town.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Wanted: Plan to Fight BP Oil Spill

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Mexican environmentalists are demanding that the Felipe Calderón administration do something to prevent the massive oil spill off the U.S. coast in the Gulf of Mexico from reaching this country's coast.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Take Over Forest Management

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Two communities in the west-central Honduran region of Orica will be in charge of control and management of 496,000 hectares of forest as part of the benefits granted under the March 2008 Forestry Law.
Rural worker Esteban Martínez, in Mexico's Sierra Gorda. - Daniela Pastrana/IPS

Conservation Can Be a Weapon Against Poverty

By Daniela Pastrana, IPS, and - -
In the Sierra Gorda, in central Mexico, a new approach is being tested for protecting the environment in a way that also ends poverty.
Bavarian Forest National Park - Courtesy of Alice Alteneder/Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald

Nature vs. Nurture in Forest Recovery

By Julio Godoy and - -
Some experts disagree with the German government's plan to extend virgin natural areas, saying it will open the way for pests. Supporters say it will help protect biodiversity.
Coastal degradation hurts fish and fisherfolk alike. Credit: Inés Acosta/IPS

URUGUAY: Rio de la Plata Under Land-Based Attack

By Inés Acosta
Unregulated population growth along Uruguay's southern coast has hurt the Río de la Plata (River Plate) along an extensive stretch where the freshwater mixes with the Atlantic's salty seas, warn scientists.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Logging Town Halts Deforestation

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Green Municipality program in the district of Paragominas, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará, is held up as an example for having dramatically reduced deforestation, planting 50 million trees and standardizing rural properties -- which means better environmental regulation.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Quake Alert Continues

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Cuba has beefed up its system of prevention for dealing with a major earthquake disaster after the series of temblors that followed the tragic January quake in nearby Haiti.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Agatha Cost 72 Million Dollars

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Tropical storm Agatha left a wake of destruction in her path across Honduras three weeks ago, causing 72 million dollars in losses in farming and road infrastructure, say officials.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Yellow Butterflies Return to Caracas

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The yellow butterflies have returned, after a harsh dry season, as the rainy months begin in the valley where Caracas is located. These insects have been absent for nearly three decades as a result of urban sprawl.
Howler Monkey in the Capiro Calentura jungle. - Sonia Edith Parra/IPS

Natural Heritage of the Honduran Caribbean on a Tightrope

By Sonia Edith Parra, IPS, and - -
The great biodiversity of a protected area on the Honduran Caribbean coast is at risk, despite the efforts of a handful of residents and local institutions.
Coastal degradation hurts fish and fisherfolk. - Inés Acosta/IPS

Río de la Plata Under Land-Based Attack

By Inés Acosta and - -
The waters of the Río de la Plata (River Plate) estuary flowing into the Atlantic Ocean suffer the effects of poor management along the Uruguayan coast, though there are some signs of improvement.
Margarita Astrálaga Credit: Courtesy of UNEP

Q&A: “Sustainability Is Paramount for Latin American Development”

By Marcela Valente
Although the financial, climate, energy and food crises continue to create new challenges, Colombian biologist Margarita Astrálaga believes that now could be the time for Latin America "to advance towards a more equitable and sustainable development."
Aerial view of expanding agricultural frontier in Paraguay's Chaco region. Credit: Courtesy of the Guyra Paraguay Association

PARAGUAY: “Pause” Farming Expansion in Gran Chaco, Say Activists

By Natalia Ruiz Diaz
Extensive cattle farming in northwestern Paraguay is the leading cause of deforestation in the Gran Chaco, one of the world's leading regions in biodiversity and South America's second largest forested area, after the Amazon.
Modesto Bravo, head of construction, converses with Dr. Yosvany Tamayo, director of Héroes del Baíre Hospital, in Nueva Gerona, Cuba. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

CUBA: How to Hurricane-Proof a Caribbean Island

By Patricia Grogg
The residents of Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), the second largest of the Cuban archipelago, know a lot about hurricanes, but it wasn't enough to avoid the destructive power of Hurricane Gustav two years ago.
Scientists take samples from the Antisana glacier. In the background is the active Cotopaxi volcano. Credit: Courtesy of Bernard Francou/IRD

CLIMATE CHANGE: As Humans Advance, Andean Glaciers Recede

By Gonzalo Ortiz
The spectacular glacier Number 15 of Antisana, one of the Ecuadorean capitals' sources of potable water, lost at least 36 percent of its original mass in the last 50 years.
Aerial view of farm expansion in the Paraguayan Chaco. - Courtesy of the Guyra Paraguay Association

“Pause” Farm Expansion in Gran Chaco, Say Activists

By Natalia Ruiz Diaz and - -
Paraguayan authorities admit they are powerless to stop the advance of ranching and soy farming into the forests of the Gran Chaco, which his home to more than half of the country's indigenous peoples.
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