Tierramérica

Issue of June, 30, 2003



	Current Edition

	Report

	Accents

	Analysis

	Dialogues

	Notable Writings

	Eco-Briefs

	Gallery

	Video



	Contacts

	Permisos de uso

Members of the Huaorani indigenous group from the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Credit: Hoy newspaper, Ecuador.

Report
Isolated Indigenous Groups Face Extinction
By Diego Cevallos
Native South Americans shunning contact with “civilization” are facing cultural genocide, warns a top United Nations official.

Accents
Farmers Rescue Native Potato
By Abraham Lama
Seven farming communities in Peru are trying to revive cultivation of original varieties of potatoes, knowledge of which is in danger of being lost.

Accents
If the Jaguar Vanishes
By Pilar Franco
The rare sight of a jaguar moving stealthily through the jungle is a good indication that the forest is a healthy one, for without this frightening animal, the jungle’s ecosystem is not as it should be.

Connect Yourself
The Well
By
Natural wells are sacred to today’s Maya as they were to their ancestors. Tradition holds that the water in these wells were “virgin or pure” because they never came in contact with light.

Eco-Briefs

PERU: More Precise Weather Forecasts
The first regional weather forecasting system in Peru will begin operating in July, providing assistance to the Agriculture Ministry, the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service and the International Potato Center (CIP).

URUGUAY: The Environment Takes a Bus Ride
Buses in the Uruguayan capital are providing a moving theatre for an environmental message, spreading the word about the value of potable water, biodiversity, and promoting active participation in environmental affairs.

ARGENTINA: PCB Spills Alert
An increase in spills of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), a toxic liquid used to cool large transformers, has put the Argentine population on full alert.

HONDURAS: Endangered Species Rescued
At least 12 endangered species of snakes have been bred at a center to rescue wildlife in peril operating here in the Honduran capital.

NICARAGUA: Alarm Over Damages to Lake Cocibolca
Lake Cocibolca, also called Lake Nicaragua, the main source of potable water in the country, is being contaminated by chemicals and organic material coming from the southwestern city of Granada, said Salvador Montenegro, director of the Center for the Study of Aquatic Resources (CIRA).

GUATEMALA: What? Coffee Crisis? … Plant Cocoa!
Agronomy students here are looking to cocoa to provide a substitute for coffee now that that industry is in a downturn. The students from San Carlos University are promoting cocoa cultivation on 10,000 hectares, 2,000 of which used to be in coffee.

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