Water Harvesting Strengthens Food Security in Central America

At the school in El Guarumal, a remote village in eastern El Salvador, the children no longer have to walk several kilometers along winding paths to fetch water from wells; they now "harvest" it from the rain that falls on the roofs of their classrooms.

Three Million in Three Years: Jamaica’s Tree-Planting to Tackle Climate Change

By the time he is finished, Dr. Satyanarayana Parvataneni expects he will be responsible for planting over 200,000 tree seedlings in Jamaica. It is an effort driven by a desire to preserve the planet for the next generation, as well as the one of the largest contributions to date to a national effort to plant three million trees in three years.

Sowing Water: A Cuban Farm’s Bid for Sustainability

Cuban farmer José Antonio Casimiro found in the ageold technique of sowing water an opportunity to meet his farm's water needs and mitigate the increasingly visible effects of climate change.

The Dictator’s Daughter or the Farmer’s Son?

Peru’s first round of elections on 11 April saw voters choosing between 18 presidential candidates with no one candidate leading by an impressive margin.

For People with Disabilities, COVID-19 Lays Bare the Weaknesses in Social Safety Nets

People with disabilities were particularly hard hit by the social and economic impacts of efforts to control COVID-19.

The Caribbean Looks to Research for Answers to COVID-19, NCD’s and Climate Change Challenges

In 1956, the Caribbean held its first major scientific meeting, organised by the Standing Advisory Committee for Medical Research in the British Caribbean. At the time, the Mayaro Virus, a dengue-like viral disease often called ‘jungle flu’ had just been identified as a new human disease agent by W.G Downs and G.H Wattley in Trinidad.

Soil for Survival: Countries Commit to Halt Land Degradation

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the first United Nations General Assembly meeting on desertification and drought in a decade, that his country’s report card will show it is well on track to meet its land restoration commitments.

Betting on Green Hydrogen in Chile, a Road Fraught with Obstacles

Chile is in a privileged position in the world to produce green hydrogen and boost the development of the new fuel thanks to the country’s optimal conditions for generating solar and wind energy, but the large investment required and the scarcity of water are two of the biggest obstacles to overcome.

Damage to Coral Reefs Hurts Fishing Communities in Central America

As fisherman Luis Morán walked towards his small boat, which was floating in the water a few meters from the Salvadoran coast, he asked "How can the coral reefs not be damaged with such a warm sea?”

Infrastructure Expands in Brazil Despite Crises

Health, fiscal, environmental and political crises have not prevented Brazil from attracting private capital to expand infrastructure, according to the sector's minister, Tarcísio de Freitas.

Sowing Water by Restoring Ancient Ditches in the Peruvian Highlands

In the highlands near the capital of Peru, more than 3,000 metres above sea level, ageold water recovery techniques are being used to improve access to water for 1,400 families, for household consumption and for crops and livestock.

Latin America’s Challenge of Financing Energy Recovery

Hit by the pandemic's socioeconomic and health impacts, Latin America is facing the challenge of financing an economic recovery based on a sustainable energy sector and a transition to clean sources of energy.

Illegal Clearing by Agribusiness ‘Driving Rainforest Destruction’

Deforestation in Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 44 per cent of the global loss of tropical forests, with most of the conversion to agricultural land being carried out illegally, concludes a study by the non-profit organisation Forest Trends.

Why Latin America is the Middle East of Biofuel

Latin America has lots of natural advantages for the coming energy transition. It already has the greenest power matrix in the world. While having the planet’s largest reserves of copper make it a key provider for international electrification programmes.

Energy Transition Evolves in Central America and the Caribbean

The situation of the energy transition in Central America and the Caribbean was the main issue debated this Friday 21st in the sessions at the XXX La Jolla Energy Conference, which is attended virtually by high officials, business delegates and analysts from the region.

China’s Firms Gain a Foothold in South America as Energy Providers

Over the past decade, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from China have carved out a niche as owners and operators of electric utilities in South American countries through acquisitions of energy grids. As SOEs shift from their previous role as mostly builders to investors in large energy assets, policymakers in South America and in Washington should consider the implications of having these companies at the helm of such services.

International Cooperation Gives Biogas a Boost in Rural Cuba

Yunia Cancio cooked with firewood until a few years ago, when a biodigester was built on her family’s El Renacer farm in Cabaiguán, a municipality in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus, under the Biomass Cuba project. That change meant a lot for her family’s quality of life, but it was not the only one.

– Jamaica Failing to Cope with Plastic Waste –

On the occasion of World Environment Day, 5 June 2021, drawing from IPS’s bank of features and opinion editorials published this year, we are re-publishing one article a day, for the next two weeks. The original article was published on January 20 2021

Q&A: On the Frontline, Islands Aim to Seize Climate Initiatives

The “all-virtual” Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week (LACCW) that took place May 11-14 highlighted islands’ particular vulnerabilities in the face of both climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. But the event - hosted by the Dominican Republic - also provided “important momentum for a successful UN Climate Change Conference” (COP 26) in November in Glasgow, according to the United Nations.

South America’s Gas Dreams

The gas producing countries of South America are debating on how to make better use of the resource and how to integrate the sector, amid geographical and infrastructural barriers.

Latin America & the Caribbean Assess Climate Ambition and Action Ahead of COP26

The Dominican Republic opened the 2021 virtual Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week with a pledge to increase the country’s climate ambition by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 27 percent and maintaining progress towards climate neutrality according to the goals of the Paris Agreement.