Tierramérica

Issue of December, 22, 2003



	Current Edition

	Report

	Accents

	Analysis

	Dialogues

	Notable Writings

	Eco-Briefs

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Report
A Mixed Decade for NAFTA Environment Accord
By Diego Cevallos
NAFTA's parallel "green" agreement, the only one of its kind, marks its tenth anniversary with the same limited budget it had when it was created and has processed 42 denunciations.

Accents
Biodiesel Trains on the Right Track
By Mario Osava
Some 580 trains in Brazil will be run on fuel that contains soybean oil, which is a renewable energy source and produces less pollution than fossil fuels.

Accents
The Threat of Not-So-Free Trade
By Jorge Alberto Grochembake
Few in Central America are celebrating the end of the ninth round of free trade treaty negotiations with the United States. Peasant farmers warn of the loss of thousands of rural jobs and an increase in poverty, which already affects more than half of the region's population.

Connect Yourself
Ten Years of NAFTA
By
Amidst both enthusiastic applause and loud condemnation, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reaches its 10th anniversary on Jan. 1, 2004. Relegated to the back seat, environment and labor rights have been only accessory issues in that trajectory.

Eco-Briefs

CUBA: Onions as Psoriasis Treatment
A salve based on onion extract, manufactured in the eastern Cuban province of Guantánamo, is proving an effective substitute for steroids in treating psoriasis, a non-contagious skin disease that causes inflammation and dryness

BRAZIL: The Battle Over Used Tires
Importers of used tires for retreading have won the latest battle in Brazil. A Supreme Court ruling on Dec. 12 authorized imports for the BS Colway firm, despite efforts by the Brazilian Environment Institute to ban the deal.

VENEZUELA: Hydroelectric Firm Helps Animals
The state-run electric company Edelca, which builds and operates several hydroelectic dams in southeast Venezuela, turned in 95 rattlesnakes (Crotalus terrificus) to laboratories of the Central University to produce a snakebite serum.

GUATEMALA: Noisy Power Plant Shut Down
The Environment Ministry of Guatemala ordered the closing of the U.S.-based Duke Energy plant due to noise pollution, which was affecting the residents of several communities along the country's southern coast.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Forestry Program Mission Accomplished
The Regional Forestry Program of Central America (PROCAFOR), ended its operations after setting up more than 100 production groups involving Indians and peasant farmers, who now sustainably manage the forests.

COSTA RICA: Promoting Sustainable Tourism
Twenty initiatives for rural and village tourism in the southeastern Costa Rican highland region of Talamanca, will become a pilot project in 2004 for Central America and will be prepared to obtain the Sustainable Tourism Certificate.

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