Tierramérica

Issue of October, 24, 2005



	Current Edition

	Report

	Accents

	Analysis

	Dialogues

	Notable Writings

	Eco-Briefs

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A Brazilian girl stands in a dry riverbed in Manaquiri, in Amazonas state
Credit: Ricardo Oliveira.

Report
Thirst in the World's Freshwater Paradise
By Mario Osava
The worst drought in the Amazon in 50 years has isolated entire villages, killed tons of fish and fuelled uncontrollable forest fires. The tragedy will be irreversible if deforestation continues, warn experts.

Accents
Flu on the Wing of Migratory Birds
By Francesca Colombo
Activists are calling on the European Union to ban the hunting of migratory birds, the main vector for the spread of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu from Asia.

Analysis
Agriculture, a Minefield for Trade Talks
By Elisa Marincola*
Farm exports from Mercosur -- Latin America's Southern Common Market -- to the European Union are growing at a snail's pace, but negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two blocs have been at a standstill for over a year, with no hope for progress in sight.

Eco-Briefs

BRAZIL: Humble Cassava Regains Prestige
Cassava, a traditional crop pushed aside in recent years by the advent of large-scale agro-industry export crops, is recovering some of its former prestige in Brazil, as reflected by the resurrection of the Brazilian Cassava Congress.

CUBA: Electricity from Sugarcane
A project to generate electricity using sugarcane biomass at a sugar mill near Havana will contribute 143 gigawatt hours annually to the national electric power grid and help curb the emission of harmful greenhouse gases created by burning fossil fuels.

VENEZUELA: Cleaning Up a Garbage Dump
The local authorities in Valencia, 80 km west of Caracas, have launched a program to clean up La Guásima garbage dump. The 2.5 million dollar project will include the construction of a solid waste treatment plant, waste classification pits and leaching ponds, reported Mayor Argenis Loreto.

CHILE: Video on Dead Swans Censored
Environmental watchdog group Oceana is using the Internet to disseminate a video on the death of hundreds of swans at the Rio Cruces nature sanctuary in southern Chile after its public screening was censored.

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