Tierramérica

Issue of March, 13, 2004



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	Report

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Sustainable consumption is essential for overcoming the water crisis.
Credit: Claudio Contreras

Report
Mega-Cities Squander Water Resources
By Mario Osava
If Latin America's major cities, like Sao Paulo and Mexico City, don't enact policies for conservation and efficient use of water, they will soon have to ration this vital liquid, warn experts.

Bees have an important ecological purpose: pollination.
Credit: Claudio Contreras

Accents
Alarm Sounds on Bee-Killing Pesticides
By Julio Godoy
France has authorized use until May 31 of inventories of chemicals suspected of killing off bee populations. There is great concern in other European countries about this insect essential for agriculture.

Accents
Small Rice Paddies Produce Big Results
By Patricia Grogg
Cuba dedicates more than 130,000 hectares to growing rice, though it is mostly small-scale production.

Connect Yourself
Methyl Bromide
By
A special session of the parties to the Montreal Protocol will be held in Canada on Mar. 24 and 25 to finalize negotiations on the exceptions to the use of methyl bromide requested by the United States. Used as an agricultural pesticide, methyl bromide is an ozone-depleting gas.

Eco-Briefs

ARGENTINA: Greenpeace Promotes Wind Energy
The Argentine affiliate of Greenpeace, the international environmental watchdog, is launching a campaign this month to promote the use of wind energy, with sights on the upcoming meeting of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition, set for June in Bonn.

PERU: No Money for Clean-Up
The U.S. company Doe Run Resources has asked the Peruvian government to allow it to postpone clean-up of the dangerous contamination caused by its mining activities in Junin and Oroya, in the central sierra, since 1997.

URUGUAY: Referendum on Right to Water
Uruguayan civil society groups will celebrate Mar. 22, World Water Day, with workshops, exhibits and cultural activities to raise awareness about the importance of this resource and to promote a constitutional reform that would prohibit the privatization of water and sanitation services.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Tribunal in Defense of Water
The Central American Water Tribunal is conducting its second session of hearings Mar. 15-19 in the Costa Rican capital to debate nine cases involving the countries of the region.

GUATEMALA: Fish as Alternative to Coffee
The Guatemalan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is promoting tilapia fish farming as a productive alternative for communities that have been hit hard by the coffee crisis, especially along the southern coast.

HONDURAS: Out of Firefighting Funds
The national government has left the forestry development agency COHDEFOR without funds for preventing and fighting forest fires, denounced the entity's director, Gustavo Morales.

COLOMBIA: Project to Protect Reservoir
Authorities in northern Colombia inaugurated the Guájaro Reservoir Community Project on Mar. 13 in this region on the Caribbean coast.

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