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Thursday, November 5, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Restrictions on Sábalo Fishing
Given the national government's delay in setting a quota for exports of the sábalo fish (Prochilodus lineatus), an overexploited river species, the eastern province of Santa Fe established the maximum for catches until year end.
GUATEMALA: Relentless Devastation of Mangroves
"This place used to be beautiful. It was truly a mangrove forest. When the shrimp farmers arrived, we lost 60 percent of it because of the logging," said Francisco Vásquez, manager of a hotel on the Pacific coast, in the southeastern Guatemalan department of Jutiapa.
COLOMBIA: Gold vs Preservation in the Central Mountains
In a protected area of the Cordillera Central, Colombia's central mountain range, gold mining plans are clashing with the desire of farmers, activists and environmental officials to preserve forests and water resources.Ecobreves – CHILE: Mapuches Unite for Rights
Leaders of the Mapuche, the largest indigenous group in Chile, announced a new offensive against the Michelle Bachelet government to demand greater land, political and cultural rights.
Red Card for Porto Alegre?
The 2014 soccer World Cup has created a dilemma for the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre: real estate and tourism development or environmental preservation?Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Weed Problem Worsens in Lake Maracaibo
The lemna sp, or duckweed, extends like a skein about 30 centimeters thick over Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela. The weed covers 13 percent of the lake's 12,000 square kilometer surface.
Unstoppable Devastation of Guatemalan Mangroves
Guatemala's priceless mangroves are disappearing because efforts to slow the pace of deforestation have failed, warn environmentalists.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Creating a Market for Industrial Waste
Brazil's National Waste Exchange will help set up trade in industrial waste among companies through an Internet site.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: A Boost to Food Security
The Special Program for Food Security (PESA for its Spanish name) in two years has improved the living conditions of more than 14,000 families in rural Honduras, an official source reported to Tierramérica.
AGRICULTURE: A Stormy Time for Indigenous Wisdom
Indigenous peoples risk losing control over their traditional knowledge if the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) insists on strict standards for managing access to information.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Invention to Curb Industrial Pollution
Industrial sulfate pollution could be practically eliminated using a biological process discovered at the Engineering School of the University of São Paulo.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Grass for Ethanol
From greenhouse-grown grasses in the southern Mexican town of Atlixco, some 150 km from the capital, a new type of biofuel could ultimately emerge.
Gold Conflict in Colombia's Central Mountains
The Colombian authorities could determine this month whether they will move forward on a giant gold mining project in a nature preserve in the central mountain range.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Women Jailed for Defending Water Source
Residents of the northwestern Argentine province of La Rioja oppose exploration for an open-pit mining operation and have denounced "political persecution" against them.
A Stormy Time for Indigenous Wisdom
The World Intellectual Property Organization is making an effort to protect indigenous knowledge, but its criteria put it on a collision course with the indigenous concept of knowledge itself.
ENVIRONMENT: Scientists Study the Riches of the Mexican Pacific
Mexico’s Pacific coast, one of the world's richest seaboards in terms of biodiversity, has been the focus of very few scientific studies. A new observatory aims to fill that void.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Better Labor Practices in Sugarcane Fields
Brazil seeks to eliminate trade barriers for its ethanol, especially in the European market, with its National Commitment to Improve Labor Conditions in sugarcane production.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Baby Terecay Turtles Head to Orinoco River
Venezuelan school children released 1,000 young terecay turtles (Podocnemis unifilis) on the banks of the Caura River, a major tributary of the Orinoco.Ecobreves – CUBA: Crop Varieties to Confront Hurricane Threat
Agricultural scientists are working in Cuba to develop crop varieties that can withstand hurricanes and are resistant to other climate adversities as part of a food security strategy.
Petroleum Sullies the Peruvian Amazon
More than 70 percent of the Peruvian Amazon was divided up into concessions for oil investments between 2003 and 2008, according to a non-governmental report.
Scientists Study the Riches of the Mexican Pacific
A rigorous study of the waters and coastline of the Mexican Pacific is a pending task that will be taken on by a group of 30 scientists.« 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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