Cablegate: South America Esth News, Number 81
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SUBJECT: SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 81
1. The following is the eighty-first in a series of newsletters,
published by the Brasilia Regional Environmental Hub, covering
environment, science and technology, and health news in South
America. The information below was gathered from news sources from
across the region, and the views expressed do not necessarily
reflect those of the Hub office or our constituent posts.
Addressees who would like to receive a user-friendly email version
of this newsletter should contact Larissa Stoner at
stonerla@state.gov. The e-mail version also contains a calendar of
upcoming ESTH events in the region.
2. Table of Contents
Agriculture
--(3)Brazil and Botswana Link Up On Agricultural Research
--(4)Uruguay Halts Production and Sale of GM Corn
--(6)Brazil State, Paraguay Sign Livestock Management Agreement
Health
--(7)Peru: Fast-tracking Detection of a Tropical Killer
--(8)Venezuela: Tobacco Banned in Green Zone
--(9)Chile: Warning for New Pulp Mill
Water Issues
--(10)Brazil: Small Farmers to Protect Water Source
--(11)Argentina: 'Unusual' Dispute Between Bottled-Water Giant and
Mining Company
Forests
--(12)Guyana: Verification System for Timber Products Being Crafted
--(13)Brazil Announces 11 percentDrop In Amazon Deforestation
--(14)Brazil Proposes Fund to Stem Rainforest Cutting
--(15)Brazil Announces New, Tamper-Free Forest Product Monitoring
System
Wildlife
--(16)Galapagos 'Face Species Threat'
Fishing & Marine Conservation
--(17)Chilean Salmon Farms Draw Official Scrutiny
Protected Areas
--(18)Bolivia Revokes Oil-Drilling Concessions in National Parks
Science & Technology
--(19)Argentina to Invest USD510 Million in Science by 2010
Pollution & Waste Management
--(20)Warning for Latin America: Used Cell Phones
--(21)Ecuador, Chevron Tangle over Pollution Trial
Energy
--(22)Soya Promises to Be the New Energy Source For Argentina
--(23)Chile's Debate on Nuclear Energy Intensifies
--(24)Brazil's Petrobras Finds New Way to Make Cleaner Diesel
--(25)Argentina to Expand Nuclear Program
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--(26)Brazil's Alcohol Cars Hit 2 Million Mark
Climate Change
--(27)L. America, Caribbean 'must act on climate change'
General
--(28)US Organic Company to Partner CI in Forest Protection IN
Guyana
--(29)Brazil and EU Collide Over Retread Imports
--(30)UNEP Report on Peru Sees Major Problems-and Reason for Hope
--(31)Brazil: Garbage Collectors Demand Recognition
--(32)Peru - Beggar on a Throne of Gold
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Agriculture
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3. Brazil and Botswana Link Up On Agricultural Research
AUG. 30, 2006 - Brazil and Botswana have agreed to cooperate in
agricultural research over the next five years. The move is the
latest in a series of scientific partnerships announced recently
between Brazil and African countries. The new agreement signed 18
August by representatives of the Brazilian Agricultural Research
Corporation (Embrapa) and Botswana's Ministry of Agriculture will
focus on agriculture in extremely dry areas. One aim is to
strengthen the capacity of scientific institutions and their staff
to develop new technologies. The partners will share scientific
knowledge and genetic material from local plants and animals. The
collaboration will include research to improve livestock and crop
production. It will involve work on plant and animal health, food
processing, and the sustainable use of soils and other natural
resources.
Source - SciDev
4. Uruguay Halts Production and Sale of GM Corn
AUG. 29, 2006 - The Uruguayan government has banned the production,
use and sale of genetically modified corn. The resolution, issued
on August 17, is the result of a complaint filed by NGO RAP-AL to
the Ministry of Environment, Territorial Ordinance, and Livelihood
(MVOTMA) in early 2006. The group claimed that GM corn was being
sold without the proper labels and not in compliance with the proper
procedures to trace the seeds. An inspection by the Ministry proved
the veracity of the accusation. According to the press report, the
MVOTMA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries have signed an
agreement establishing fines for such infractions.
Source - SciDev
5. NOTE from US Embassy Montevideo: Uruguay has only banned Bt11
corn for human consumption. It can still be grown and can be fed to
animals. And other GM corn can still be grown as previously. Also,
On September 1, several local producers filed suit to remove the
restriction. Among other points they argued that the GOU had
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violated government policy against taking action before the NCC
completed its policy review. Please refer to MONTEVIDEO 817.
6. Brazil State, Paraguay Sign Livestock Management Agreement
AUG. 22, 2006 - Brazil's No. 1 cattle state of Mato Grosso do Sul
and neighboring Paraguay signed an agreement to work together to
take concrete measures to improve the sanitary management of
livestock, 10 months after a confirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth
disease along the border, according to a report in local Agencia
Estado newswire. The plan calls for the mapping of properties and
registration of their herds, the identification of frontier cattle,
joint action to control animal transit, and a creation of a joint
data base. The deal also allows for the construction of Brazilian
meatpackers in Paraguay, which will permit Brazil to buy fresh beef
cuts from its neighbor, instead of buying live cattle as it does
now, said the report. Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said that it
would maintain a ban on three cities in Mato Grosso do Sul state due
to its latest lab results that showed the presence of foot-and-mouth
antigens on 55 properties, even though there were no new cases of
the contagious livestock disease.
Source - Cattle Network
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Health
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7. Peru: Fast-tracking Detection of a Tropical Killer
AUG. 25, 2006 - Researchers have developed a new way to rapidly
assess the risk of developing a severe disease called leptospirosis
from contact with water. The approach, which has been tested in
Peru, can gauge whether water contains the bacteria that cause the
disease and, if so, how many are present. The researchers used a
technique called polymerase chain reaction to rapidly amplify tiny
pieces of bacterial DNA. This allowed them to assess which types of
Leptospira were present in water from gutters, wells, puddles and
streams in rural and urban parts of Iquitos, in Peru's Amazon
region. The Peruvian study suggests that reducing sources of
standing water and clearing away waste in urban areas might reduce
the number of cases of severe leptospirosis.
Source - SciDev
8. Venezuela: Tobacco Banned in Green Zone
AUG. 19, 2006 - 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 Albarran. "In the areas where we see highest consumption
of cigarettes -- a habit of 22 percent of the 26 million Venezuelans
-- we are promoting agreements and ordinances to create ever more
spaces free of tobacco smoke," Rose Melkon, of the Health Ministry's
anti-tobacco program, told Tierramerica. The program already
includes the Parque del Oeste (West Park), also in Caracas, and the
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Parks Institute says it is studying an extension of the initiative
to all areas under its authority.
Source - Tierramerica
9. Chile: Warning for New Pulp Mill
AUG. 19, 2006 - 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. The association
of physicians believes that the waste discharge from the pulp plant
will be a strong and irreversible threat to the health of more than
45,000 people who use the water of the Itata River for their own
consumption, for fishing or for crop irrigation. The regional
president of the board, Carlos Rojas, told Tierramerica that the
substances produced in the bleaching process, such as resins and
organochlorides, can lead to cancer and genetic malformations. The
board also warns that dumping the waste into the ocean, as has been
announced, will not resolve the problem.
Source - Tierramerica
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Water Issues
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10. Brazil: Small Farmers to Protect Water Source
AUG. 26, 2006 - Fifteen farming families will each earn 100 to 260
dollars a month over the next three years for maintaining the
forests on the banks of the Cubatao River, which provides water for
the half-million residents of the city of Joinville in the southern
Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. The local agreement between the
Municipal Environment Foundation and the Rural Workers Union is a
pioneering effort in Brazil. This "environmental financial
compensation" will vary according to the size of the agricultural
properties, which range from 900 to 30,000 square meters, in the
Sierra Dona Francisca Environmental Protection Area, explained
municipal environmental chief Norival Silva. The aim is for the
small farmers to make a commitment to conserve the river and
forests, he told Tierramerica. The program began with 15 families
that live upriver from the water extraction point, but will be
expanded to include more families in the future, said Silva.
Source - Tierramerica
11. Argentina: 'Unusual' Dispute Between Bottled-Water Giant and
Mining Company
AUG. 2006 - Anti-mining campaigns have become more frequent in
Argentina as investment in mineral extraction in the region has
surged in recent years. But a mining dispute in Mendoza province
qualifies as unusual nonetheless. That's because the leading
opponent in this case is a foreign-owned company-the French
bottled-water giant Danone. Since 1999, Danone has owned a
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173,000-acre (70,000-hectare) tract of land in a region of
mountainous Mendoza province known as Villavicencio. In Argentina,
however, land ownership does not guarantee control of the subsoil,
as Danone is now well aware. A decade ago, Mendoza provincial
authorities granted an exploration concession to an Argentine
company called Minera del Oeste. The concession covers Paramillos,
part of the Danone-owned land that is 10,500 feet (3,200 meters)
above sea level and for centuries has been known as a source of lead
and zinc. The dispute has spotlighted the environmental value of
the Villavicencio region, which provides habitat for animals
including pumas, guanacos, condors and eagles. But Danone cites
more immediate reasons to oppose mining development in
Villavicencio. There, it produces bottled water of the same name,
one of the leading bottled-water brands in Argentina. Villavicencio
water relies on nature as a marketing tool, its label featuring a
rendering of the Mendoza landscape.
Source - EcoAmericas
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Forests
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12. Guyana: Verification System for Timber Products Being Crafted
SEPT. 16, 2006 - New Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud
[recently] launched the process for a legal verification of timber
products and said he hopes to meet with stakeholders in the sector
on how best to deal with persons who export "impurities" in forest
produce. This appears to be a reference to cocaine shipments made
in timber. The new system is a joint effort between the Guyana
Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Forest Products Marketing Council
of Guyana Inc. and is being done with the assistance of the United
States Agency for International Development - Guyana Trade and
Investment Support Project (USAID - GTIS), the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
The development of the process is being carried out by ProForest, a
natural resource management company from the United Kingdom. The
process will last though to the end of 2006.
Source - Stabroek
13. Brazil Announces 11 percentDrop In Amazon Deforestation
SEPT. 06, 2006 - The Brazilian Environment Ministry announced that
the rate of deforestation dropped in the Amazon region in the period
from August 2005 to July 2006 (10,943 square kilometers), in
comparison to the same period between 2004 and 2005 (12,318 square
kilometers), the second consecutive period of sustained reduction.
According to the Ministry, the positive result can be attributed to
increased enforcement by the Federal Police and the IBAMA
environmental agency, together with a drop in the expansion of
soybean crops into the Amazon region because of reduced
international commodity prices. In related news, federal statistics
bureau IBGE reports that the number of endangered species in Brazil
grew 46 percentsince 1989.
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Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia
14. Brazil Proposes Fund to Stem Rainforest Cutting
SEPT. 01, 2006 - Brazil proposed on Aug. 31 a fund to compensate
developing countries that slow the destruction of their rainforests,
a move that could help lower emissions of gases blamed for rising
world temperatures. The Brazilian initiative, presented at a
planning meeting for upcoming global climate talks in Rome, calls
for creating a fund that countries could tap into if they could
prove they had brought deforestation below rates of the 1990s.
Source - ENN
15. Brazil Announces New, Tamper-Free Forest Product Monitoring
System
AUG. 25, 2006 - Ibama (Brazilian Environmental Protection Agency)
officially published a normative instruction on August 23, creating
a new system of Forest Origin Documents (DOF) to track Brazilian
timber and timber derived products. The new system takes effect
September 1 and aims to combat illegal deforestation by enforcing
stricter control over the movement and storage of forest products.
DOFs will replace the highly contentious and notoriously corrupt
system of paper ATPFs (Forest Product Transport Authorizations) that
have been the backbone of at least 10 separate schemes to illegally
harvest and market illegal timber.
Source - BRASILIA 00001791
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Wildlife
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16. Galapagos 'Face Species Threat'
AUG. 24, 2006 - Officials in Ecuador say they are worried about the
discovery of foreign species on the Galapagos Islands. Despite
inspections of incoming ships and planes, local people recently
found an iguana and a turtle which probably came from mainland South
America. Invasive foreign species are one of the main threats to
the islands' wildlife. Officials are particularly worried about the
newly discovered iguana which is probably a type which breeds
rapidly and could compete with the indigenous varieties. It almost
certainly arrived in cargo and was missed by inspectors. Other
foreign animals in the Galapagos were introduced deliberately, only
for their disastrous impact to be appreciated too late. Naturalists
are working to eradicate thousands of feral goats which are a direct
threat to the habitat of the Galapagos' giant tortoises.
Source - BBC
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Fishing & Marine Conservation
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17. Chilean Salmon Farms Draw Official Scrutiny
AUG. 2006 - Scrutiny of Chile's lucrative but controversial
salmon-farming industry has been turned up a notch following
legislative hearings on the sector's increasingly controversial
environmental, sanitary and labor record. The lower house of the
Chilean Congress met last month in special session to consider
tighter oversight of salmon farming at the insistence of green
groups, worker organizations and small-scale fishermen. Meanwhile,
government agencies have stepped up policing of the sector, which
has become the second largest salmon producer in the world,
generates USD1.7 billion in annual exports and supplies about half
of all farmed salmon consumed in the United States. In late May, 13
Chilean salmon companies-including some of the nation's largest
exporters-were fined by the Lake District Regional Environmental
Commission (Corema) office for surpassing by 2 to 11 times the
annual production limits specified in their environmental permits.
Chilean health authorities, meanwhile, are preparing to sanction at
least 15 salmon companies in the country's Lake District for failing
to comply with government solid-waste disposal regulations.
Source - EcoAmericas
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Protected Areas
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18. Bolivia Revokes Oil-Drilling Concessions in National Parks
AUG. 29, 2006 - The Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the
revocation of oil concessions in twenty National Parks. Bolivian
authorities have not disclosed information on which companies will
be affected by the decision, but it is known that Petrobras
(Brazil), Repsol-YPF (Spain) and Total (France) had concessions to
explore for oil in those areas. Bolivia's Federal Attorney General
ordered the arrest of former executives from various oil companies,
including Petrobras and Repsol YPF, amidst an investigation on
alleged fraud.
Source - Public Affairs US Embassy Brasilia
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Science & Technology
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19. Argentina to Invest USD510 Million in Science by 2010
AUG. 21, 2006 - The Argentinean government has launched a USD510
million program to support research aimed at boosting the private
sector's productivity. According to Argentina's Minister of
Science, Technology, and Education, Daniel Filmus, this is the
largest investment made in S&T over the past few decades. Of this
investment, USD 280 million comes from an IDB loan - the largest
loan for S&T ever made in Latin America, according to the press
report.
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Source - SciDev
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Pollution & Waste Management
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20. Warning for Latin America: Used Cell Phones
AUG. 26, 2006 - Mobile phone use is expanding throughout Latin
America, but regulations and technology are insufficient to deal
with the obsolete units, which can contain metals and other
materials that are harmful to the environment and health. According
to a study published Aug. 21 by the LatinPanel consulting firm, 70
percent of the Latin American population uses cellular phones.
Among the countries where the penetration of this technology is
greatest are Colombia (90 percent), Venezuela (89 percent), Chile
(87 percent) and Bolivia (82 percent). The region does not have the
enormous dumps for electronic waste from industrialized countries --
as exist in nations like China and Pakistan -- but the explosive
increase in the number of cell phones is beginning to worry some
authorities.
Source - Tierramerica
21. Ecuador, Chevron Tangle over Pollution Trial
AUG. 2006 - The pollution trial pitting Ecuadorian Amazon Indians
against Chevron has touched off a legal battle between the oil
company and Ecuador's government. In 2004, Chevron and Texpet, its
Ecuadorian subsidiary, filed an arbitration claim in New York asking
that Petroecuador, Ecuador's state oil company, pay their legal
bills in the pollution case and cover any damage awards stemming
from the litigation. Ecuador recently fired back, filing papers in
New York federal court to block the arbitration. Ecuador argues in
part that Texpet-formerly a subsidiary of Texaco and now a
subsidiary of Chevron by virtue of Chevron's 2001 acquisition of
Texaco-committed fraud in connection with an
environmental-remediation program that lies at the heart of the
pollution litigation.
Source - EcoAmericas
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Energy
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22. Soya Promises to Be the New Energy Source For Argentina
SEPT. 08, 2006 -The production of soya, which has changed the face
and fortunes of Argentine agriculture, is poised to launch a
promising new energy industry. Dozens of small producers, eyeing a
lucrative export market and the prospect of burgeoning domestic
demand, are building factories to turn some of Argentina's abundant
soya oil into a cheap, renewable fuel for which there is increasing
overseas appetite. Driven by the introduction of genetically
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modified crops to Argentina a decade ago, soya production has
rocketed to a record 40m tons in the past season, and the country is
the world's biggest producer of soya oil - a prime raw material to
make biodiesel. The Spanish group Repsol-YPF, one of the biggest
oil energy companies in Argentina, plans to open a USD 30mi plant
next year with capacity of 100,000 tons in the first year. Aceitera
General Deheza, an edible oils producer, is eyeing a USD 40mi
investment to build a 200,000-ton plant, probably near the city of
Rosario, north of Buenos Aires, the center of Argentina's soya
processing industry and home to the world's highest concentration of
soyabean crushing plants.
Source - Financial Times. Article kindly shared by US Embassy
Buenos Aires
23. Chile's Debate on Nuclear Energy Intensifies
SEPT. 05, 2006 - President Michelle Bachelet will stand firm on her
pledge against the use of nuclear energy, [according to] government
spokesperson Ricardo Lagos Weber. Leaders within her own ruling
Concertacion coalition, however, are now forming a united front to
promote further research into the alternative energy source, citing
an estimated seven percent yearly increase in energy demand and
diminishing prospects for gas imports from Argentina and Bolivia.
On August 21, the presidents of the four Concertacion parties,
during a routine meeting to set the political agenda, demanded
explanations for Bachelet's steadfast opposition to nuclear energy.
Though a taboo subject for decades in Chile, nuclear energy is
gaining followers within Latin America, most notably Argentina,
Mexico, and Brazil, as well as around the world.
Source - Santiago Times
24. Brazil's Petrobras Finds New Way to Make Cleaner Diesel
AUG. 2006 - Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras, has pioneered a
refining process whereby cleaner, high-quality diesel fuel can be
made through the reaction of petroleum and vegetable oils. The new
diesel is made by using hydrogen to process a mixture of 10-18
percent soy oil and 82-90 percent petroleum in a catalytic cracker.
Brazil plans to tap its vast supply of soybeans to make the new
fuel, which is named H-Bio because hydrogen is used as a reagent, or
catalyst. The fuel differs from the B-2 biodiesel already being
produced and sold at the pumps. B-2 biodiesel consists of 98
percent conventional diesel fuel and 2 percent biofuel made from
vegetable oil and a sugarcane-based ethanol reagent. Petrobras says
it was offering B-2 at 500 service stations this month and plans to
make it available at 3,500 of its 7,000 stations by the end of the
year. By law, use of B-2 will be mandatory by 2008, when it is
scheduled to replace standard diesel. B-5 biodiesel, a mix of 5
percent biofuel and 95 percent diesel fuel, will be mandatory by
2013. The government says it won't require a higher percentage of
biofuel in diesel until production of the 100 percent biofuel used
in these blends rises sufficiently. That production is expected to
reach 210 million gallons (800 million liters) by 2008.
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Source - EcoAmericas
25. Argentina to Expand Nuclear Program
AUG. 23, 2006 - Argentina announced an ambitious plan to expand its
nuclear program to meet rising energy demands, including extending
the life of existing plants and possibly resuming uranium mining.
At a Government House news conference, Planning Minister Julio de
Vido said the plan calls for increasing the life span of the aging
Atucha I and Embalse nuclear power plants and completing
construction by 2010 on the longstalled Atucha II plant. Two
decades of delays have hampered completion of the Atucha II project,
located some 75 miles northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires. The
nearby Atucha I facility has been operating since the mid-1970s, in
conjunction with the Embalse plant in central Argentina. The
planning minister was flanked by President Nestor Kirchner, who did
not comment on the plan nor on a report by the leading newspaper
Clarin saying the nuclear program could cost the government USD3.5
billion over eight years.
Source - NY Times
26. Brazil's Alcohol Cars Hit 2 Million Mark
AUG. 18, 2006 - Brazil's new generation of cars and trucks adapted
to run on alcohol has just hit the two-million mark, motor industry
figures show. "Flex-fuel" vehicles, which run on any combination of
ethanol and gasoline, now make up 77 percent of the Brazilian
market. Brazil has pioneered the use of ethanol derived from
sugar-cane as motor fuel. Ethanol-driven cars have been on sale
there for 25 years, but they have been enjoying a revival since
flex-fuel models first appeared in March 2003. Just 48,200
flex-fuel cars were sold in Brazil in 2003, but the total had
reached 1.2 million by the end of last year and had since topped two
million, the Brazilian motor manufacturers' association Anfavea
said.
Source - BBC
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Climate Change
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27. L. America, Caribbean 'must act on climate change'
AUG. 29, 2006 - A coalition of major UK environmental and
development organizations has urged Latin American and Caribbean
countries to reduce their vulnerability to climate change. In a
report released 28 August, the group also calls on industrialized
nations to do more to help poorer nations face the threat. The
report links droughts in the Amazon, floods in Haiti and vanishing
glaciers in the Andes to human activities including local
deforestation and distant greenhouse gas emissions. It says the
region's governments should make priorities of energy efficiency and
renewable power and should assess the threat climate change poses to
agriculture, health and water supplies. The 20 organizations behind
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the report include the New Economics Foundtion, the International
Institute for Environmentand Development, ActionAid International,
Practial Action and the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).
Source - SciDev
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General
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28. US Organic Company to Partner CI in Forest Protection IN Guyana
SEPT. 08, 2006 - Conservation International Guyana (CI) has
announced a new partnership with Save Your World LLC, a US-based
organic bath and body products company, which will donate a portion
of its sales to the Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession (UECC).
The Government of Guyana and CI entered an agreement in 2005 to
lease 200,000 acres of rainforest located in the upper reaches of
Guyana's largest river, the Essequibo. And CI pays the Guyana
Forestry Commission (GFC) exactly what they would have received had
the area been given out under a logging contract. Instead of
cutting trees the area is protected and kept in its pristine state
as a conservation concession rather than a timber producing
concession. The partnership between CI and Save Your World intends
to take advantage of this innovative agreement with the government.
Source - Stabroek
29. Brazil and EU Collide Over Retread Imports
AUG. 2006 - In many ways, Brazil's clash with the European Union
(EU) over retreaded tires resembles a standard trade dispute.
European retread producers, upset about Brazilian efforts to block
imports of the reconditioned tires, have forced a showdown between
the EU and Brazil at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The
wrinkle, however, is that instead of revolving around trade issues
such as dumping and unfair competition, Brazil's defense focuses on
environmental degradation, malaria and dengue fever. At a WTO
hearing in Geneva last month, Brazilian officials argued importation
of EU retreads would add to the glut of illegally discarded tires
that is blighting the land and rivers and creating habitat for
disease-carrying mosquitoes. Experts believe that in the context of
WTO disputes, the Brazilian approach might be a first. The WTO is
due to hold a second round of hearings with Brazil and the EU in
September before issuing a final ruling in early 2007.
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete
article)
30. UNEP Report on Peru Sees Major Problems-and Reason for Hope
Aug. 2006 - Peru's capital is parched, polluted and choking on the
exhaust of a growing number of automobiles, according to a new
report by the UN Environment Program (UNEP). Nevertheless, there is
increasing environmental awareness on the part of Lima's eight
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million-plus residents, and the sprawling city would have a greener
future if steps were taken to address the problems. UNEP'S Global
Environment Outlook (GEO) for Lima and Callao, the two-city
metropolis where a third of Peru's people live, studies
environmental problems and recommends ways to address them. Of all
problems studied, water was "the most critical," says Renee
Lariviere, technical director of the study, done by UNEP and the
non-profit Grupo GEA in Lima. Says Larivihre: "Though air quality
is not good, action is being taken. On water, awareness must be
raised and investment is needed."
Source - EcoAmericas (please contact Larissa Stoner for complete
article)
31. Brazil: Garbage Collectors Demand Recognition
AUG. 19, 2006 - 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.
"We are fighting for recognition of the service we provide the
cities, producing environmental, economic and social benefits," Luis
Henrique da Silva, head of the festival promoter, the Belo Horizonte
Association of Collectors of Reusable Material, told Tierramerica.
One objective of the event is to connect Brazilian catadores with
their counterparts in the rest of Latin America, and their movement
with the government, experts and activists. Some 50,000 people are
expected to take part in the festival. Experiences of garbage
collectors in Brazil, Colombia, Egypt and India; solid waste
management; and people on the streets will be topics of debate.
Source - Tierramerica
32. Peru - Beggar on a Throne of Gold
AUG. 19, 2006 - Mining companies operating in Peru are seeing
increasing millions in profits as a result of the surge in
international prices for metals, but few are contributing what is
needed to alleviate the poverty of the people living in mining
areas. President Alan Garcia, who took office Jul. 28, promised
during his electoral campaign to renegotiate the contracts in the
mining industry. But now he appears willing to accept "voluntary
contributions" to social investment, with sums as yet undefined. In
the northwestern Peruvian region of Cajamarca is Latin America's
leading gold mine, run by the Yanacocha company in partnership with
the U.S.-based Newmont and Peru's Buenaventura. But the paradox is
that this booming mine is located in an area where 74.2 percent of
the population lives in poverty. The world's fifth producer of
gold, second in silver, third in copper and zinc, and fourth in
lead, "Peru is a beggar seated on a throne of gold," according to a
popular local saying. Peru is among the countries with greatest
poverty in the region. Nationwide, 51 percent of Peru's 27 million
people are poor, and 24 percent live in extreme poverty, according
to the national institute of statistics, INEI.
Source - Tierramerica
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