Eco-Briefs

	HONDURAS
	Sustainable Production Program Targets Two Thousand Poor Families

TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 14 (Tierramérica).- Some 2,000 families in poor rural areas of Honduras will take part in pilot initiatives in ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and local marketing of their products thanks to 6.8 million dollars in financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The two-year pilot projects will include training of the participating families in techniques for organic farming of coffee and other crops and the sale of their products in local markets.

The initiatives will be carried out in the departments of Colón and Gracias a Dios, on the Atlantic coast, the northeastern department of Olancho, and the southern Honduran region of El Paraíso, Mario Pineda of the National Sustainable Rural Development Program at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock told Tierramérica.

	ARGENTINA
	Land Donation Conditioned on Creation of National Park

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 14 (Tierramérica).- ) The Conservation Land Trust (CLT) has conditioned the donation of 150,000 hectares from the Iberá Natural Reserve, in the northeastern Argentine province of Corrientes, on the government’s creation of a national park.

"Beyond the expressed will of the CLT, the final decision will depend on the authorities of Corrientes and Argentina," CLT spokesperson Marian Labourt told Tierramérica.

The Iberá Natural Reserve encompasses 1.3 million hectares, of which 553,000 are publicly owned and have been declared a provincial park. Of the remainder, CLT controls 150,000 hectares that are maintained as conservation areas.

The wetlands, grasslands and forests of these areas are home to some 4,000 species of flora and fauna. The creation of a national park of more than 700,000 hectares would make it the country’s largest.

The CLT land was formerly owned by U.S. millionaire Douglas Tompkins, who created the trust and currently serves as president of its board of directors.

	BRAZIL
	New Marine Biology Image Bank Launched

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 14 (Tierramérica).- Two researchers at the University of São Paulo have set up a public digital image bank comprising 260 videos and 11,000 super high-resolution photographs cataloguing Brazil’s marine biodiversity.

The Cifonauta website, developed by researchers Alvaro Esteves Migotto and Bruno Vellutini, will serve as a shared repository of scientific data and images. Its contents are licensed under Creative Commons, which means they can be freely reproduced and shared as long as their source is mentioned and they are not used for commercial purposes.

"We have been setting up the project and collecting the images for more than two years. Brazil’s ocean coastline is vast and we know very little about it. The images are tools for spreading awareness, because they inspire curiosity and reflection on the enormous diversity of the oceans," Vellutini told Tierramérica.

The photographs were taken with digital cameras coupled with optical or electron microscopes, which can increase resolution by up to 1,000 times.

*Source: Inter Press Service.