Eco-Briefs

	VENEZUELA
	Protecting Bush Dogs

CARACAS, (Tierramérica).- The western Venezuelan state of Zulia is home to three of the 129 'Speothos venaticus', or bush dogs, that exist in captivity in the world.

This wild animal species is at risk of extinction. The three captive bush dogs in Venezuela live under protection in 'Parque Sur', a park institution of the city of Maracaibo, capital of Zulia.

Known as 'perros de monte' in Venezuela, these unusual web-footed canids are about 75 cm long, 30 cm tall at the shoulder, and weigh five to seven kg. They can also be found in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and Paraguay, living along rivers and in savannahs.

	BRAZIL
	New Capital of Recycling

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Tierramérica).- The municipality of Pindamonhangaba, with its population of 126,000, has become the recycling capital of Brazil, reprocessing 82 percent of the aluminum containers produced in the country.

Located between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Pindamonhangaba stimulated industrialization by donating land and granting tax breaks, attracting recycling companies.

Municipal economic production grew 240 percent between 1994 and 2000, with investment of a billion dollars, 30 percent towards recycling.

	CHILE
	Connecting Environmental Journalists

SANTIAGO, (Tierramérica).- A network of Environmental Communications and Press was launched in Chile with the aim of uniting journalists interested in ecological issues.

The initiative, which began operations through an Internet site in mid-March, is the work of the Training Program of CODEFF (National Pro-Flora and Fauna Committee), Chile's oldest environmental organization.

The website (www.sociedadcivil.cl/prensaymedioambiente) is associated with the World Conservation Union and the Environmental Communication Network of Latin America and the Caribbean, says Myriam Pinto, coordinator of the Chilean network.

	CUBA
	Giant Squid Found

HAVANA, (Tierramérica).- The discovery of a squid measuring more than a meter and a half long and weighing 18 kg caused much excitement in Varadero, Cuba's leading international resort town, located 140 km from Havana.

A fisherman found the giant squid near death in mid-March off the coast, 72, who said he had never seen anything like it in his life.

The common squid of the northern Atlantic measure 30 to 45 cm, though in the last few years giant squid of five to seven meters were spotted in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

*Source: Inter Press Service.