Eco-Briefs

	BRAZIL
	Molecule That Converts Carbon Discovered

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 12 (Tierramérica).- A molecule that converts carbon into substances used in the chemical industry has been discovered at Paulista State University in Brazil. This scientific finding can contribute both to the economy and to the mitigation of global warming.

Named BDN, the molecule is a nitrogenated organic base that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) by way of molecular binding, forming carbamates, compounds that release the carbon selectively. This emission is controlled through the temperature to which the compound is subjected.

"As well as serving as a possible way to control the emission of CO2, one of the greenhouse gases, the carbamates can also be used in place of industrial methods that utilize toxic reagents to prepare organic compounds used as pesticides and pharmaceuticals," Eduardo Pérez González, one of the researchers, told Tierramérica.

"We knew that BDN could capture CO2 in the presence of water, but the chemical reaction without water expands its possible uses," he added.

	VENEZUELA
	Trees Versus Housing

CARACAS, Sep 12 (Tierramérica).- The construction of apartment buildings on vacant lots in the centre of Venezuelan cities like Caracas is having an impact on the trees that have surrounded these lots for many years.

"The trees are being transplanted, but that isn’t good enough if nobody is going to take care of them, and it strips the residents of our areas of their feeling of ownership. If areas that we thought of as green areas are turned over to another use, the voice of the communities should be listened to, and that isn’t happening," Carlos Rojas, a member of the neighborhood Citizens Assembly, told Tierramérica.

Mario Gabaldón, president of the Botanical Gardens of Caracas, told Tierramérica that "construction in these areas - which border on the central avenue of Paseo José María Vargas - will change the landscape, and in addition, transplanting trees is not an automatic task, it requires studies of the soils and other conditions, care and follow-up. You can’t just transplant them and say goodbye."

	HONDURAS
	Armed Forces Reforest 11,000 Hectares

TEGUCIGALPA, Sep 12 (Tierramérica).- The “green battalions” made up by more than 1,000 members of the Honduran Armed Forces have planted 11,404 hectares of forests in the last five years.

Their efforts are not limited to planting trees, but also include controlling illegal logging, fighting forest fires, and community projects, Defense Minister Marlon Pascua told Tierramérica.

The green battalions work primarily in the region of Olancho, in northeastern Honduras, and the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, declared a World Cultural Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

As part of their efforts to protect the forests, they evicted 14 families from inside the biosphere reserve earlier this month, and plan to reforest more than 12,000 hectares of land that had been cleared for use as pasture for livestock.

*Source: Inter Press Service.