Tierramérica

Issue of August, 19, 2006



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Inside a mine in Peru.
Credit: SNMPE.

Report
Peru - Beggar on a Throne of Gold
By Milagros Salazar
Just two of the 27 major mining companies operating in Peru under special contracts are paying royalties. An announcement is expected soon about "voluntary contributions" for social programs.

Hybrid buses are already on Sao Paulo streets. Hydrogen buses on the way.
Credit: José Antonio do Nascimento

Accents
Brazil Experiments with Hydrogen Transportation
By Mario Osava
The first public buses running on this alternative energy source will begin circulating in Brazil in 2007. But they won't be competitive cost-wise for at least 15 years, say experts.

Credit: Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Analysis
The Environmental Benefactor
By Monique Barbut
The Global Environment Facility has provided grants totaling more than six billion dollars since its creation 15 years ago. The third GEF assembly takes place in South Africa at the end of August.

Eco-Briefs

VENEZUELA: Tobacco Banned in Green Zone
The 75-hectare Parque del Este (East Park), a green area in the middle of the Venezuelan capital, will become smoke-free before the end of the year, announced Parks Institute spokeswoman Carolina Albarrán.

CUBA: Predicting Local Severe Storms
Experts at the Cuban Institute of Meteorology's forecast center have designed a system -- still in the experimental stages -- for predicting local severe storms, which cause serious damage in this Caribbean island nation.

BRAZIL: Garbage Collectors Demand Recognition
The "catadores" (informal garbage collectors) of Belo Horizonte, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, will launch their fifth Festival of Garbage and Citizenship.

GUATEMALA: Greater Efforts to Protect Sea Turtles
The Friends of the Forest Association, in the Guatemalan municipality of Coatepeque, is promoting a conservation program for sea turtles along the southwestern beaches of Tilapa and Ocós, on the Pacific coast.

CHILE: Warning for New Pulp Mill
The medical board of the Chilean city of Nuble, 500 km south of the capital, has issued a warning about the potential harmful effects of the imminent opening of the Nueva Aldea Industrial Forestry Complex of the CELCO company.

Lessons From a Unique Decade - José Graziano da Silva *
Rio+20 and Beyond: Together for a Sustainable Future - José Graziano da Silva *
Why Inclusive Green Growth Can Sustain Recent Gains in Latin America - Hasan Tuluy*
The Global Food Crisis and the Latin American Paradox - Pamela Cox