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Sunday, November 8, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Glaciers Disappear
The glaciers of Venezuela's Sierra Nevada mountains, more than 4,800 meters above sea level, lost 94 of their total 137 hectares in 30 years and will disappear by 2020, says Angel Viloria, of the governmental Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research.Ecobreves – CUBA: Dragnets Threaten Manatees
Experts in the central Cuban province of Villa Clara hope that the discovery of three dead manatees (Trichechus manatus) will speed up the regulation of dragnet fishing in this area, where these large marine mammals are abundant.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Local Governments Protect Environment
In Honduras, 102 of the country's 298 municipalities have joined an initiative for watershed preservation, reforestation and environmental education, say official sources.
No Place for Small Farmers at the Supermarkets
Efforts by small farmers in Mexico to avoid intermediaries and get their products on supermarket shelves have failed due to the chains' strict rules, say farmers groups.
“Doctor” Nature in Danger
Your health, and the health of your loved ones, is interlinked with that of a much larger family -- one we call "nature", says a new book about medicine and biodiversity.Eliminating Poverty at Low Cost
Monetary aid to the poorest of the poor, with certain conditions to be met, has born fruit in Latin America, and at relatively low cost to government.
“Transgenic Seed Companies Lie and Bribe”
Indigenous farmer Jesús León Santos hardly knew what to do 25 years ago when he decided to try to regenerate eroded land in southern Mexico. Now he is celebrating winning the Goldman Environmental Prize 2008.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA-URUGUAY: Threat to Block International Crossings
Residents of the northeastern Argentine city of Gualeguaychú threatened to completely block the three international bridges that connect their country to Uruguay in protest against a paper pulp mill on the shared border river.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Multi-Fuel Motor Invented
A motor made from scrap metal, cans, old pipes and computer discs, and which runs on any source of heat, is destined for use by small farmers, its inventor, Aldemir Chaim, of the government's agricultural research agency EMBRAPA, told Tierramérica.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Resistance to Obligatory School Transport
The decision by the Mexico City government to make school mass transportation obligatory beginning in September, to cut down on pollution and traffic jams, has met with opposition from parents and experts.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Rubber Tappers Manufacture Condoms
The first government-run condom factory in the Brazilian Amazon was inaugurated Apr. 7 in Xapuri, a small town in the northwestern state of Acre, where a quarter of the 15,000 inhabitants are "seringueiros", or rubber tappers, who harvest natural latex from the forest.
Latin America's Bid to Reconcile Oil and Environment
The Latin American petroleum industry is on its way, with varying levels of success, towards practices that attempt to be less harmful to the environment.Ecobreves – CHILE: New Life for Former Garbage Dumps
The Environmental Commission of the Chilean Metropolitan Region, the regional government, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and several municipalities are looking to refurbish two former garbage dumps in the capital: Cerros de Renca and Lo Errázuriz.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Glass Containers Banned in Parks
Venezuela has prohibited glass containers in its 43 national parks and 17 natural monuments, which cover a combined total of 13 million hectares, or 15 percent of the country.Ecobreves – CUBA: Saving a Native Bird
Researchers from the National Flora and Fauna Protection Agency in Villa Clara, 268 km from Havana, are promoting the recovery and conservation of the blue-headed quail-dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala), endemic in Cuba and in danger of extinction.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Difficulty Enacting Forestry Law
The recently approved Forestry Law in Honduras could turn into dead letter if the next director of the Forestry Conservation Institute (ICF) comes from the logging sector, which for decades has led deforestation in this Central American country, warn ecologists.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Larvicide to Fight Dengue Mosquitoes
A natural pesticide that eliminates mosquito larva may help control the dengue epidemic in Brazil. The disease has killed at least 44 people in Rio de Janeiro.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Environmental Atlas of the Sea
Some 50 experts from a variety of institutions and disciplines put together an Atlas of Environmental Sensitivity of the Argentine Coast and Sea, with data on fauna and flora, water salinity, fishing resources, contamination, and other aspects.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Highway Halted Through Forest
The Mexican government has postponed approval of a new highway near the capital that would affect 120,000 hectares of forest that are home to a vast biodiversity, following heavy pressure from local farmers and environmentalists.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: First Trimester Sees 150 Forest Fires
Honduran officials reported 150 forest fires so far in 2008, most of them in the central department of Francisco Morazán, where the national capital is located.
Biodiversity for Sale on the Streets
Mexico has meager resources to fight trafficking in fauna and flora across its vast territory, while the crime continues just down the street.« 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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