Section » Enviromental Issues

Ecuador Defends Oil Drilling in Yasuni National Park

YASUNI PARK, Ecuador (Reuters REPORTED) – The manager of state oil company Petroamazonas defended Ecuador’s plans to expand exploitation of major oil reserves in one of the world’s most species-diverse rainforests, saying it will ensure minimum environmental impact and use appropriate technology.

The OPEC country is avidly seeking resources to revitalize an ailing economy, after a fall in oil prices and a major earthquake.

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Ecuador expects to raise revenues of about $2.4 billion annually as of 2022 when it completes the development of the Ishpingo, Tambococha, and Tiputini (ITT) fields and Block 31, located in the Yasuni National Park, a 9,820-square-kilometer (6,100-square-mile) swathe of rainforest on the equator.

“This is the second phase of oil exploration in Ecuador … that allows for cheap and economically profitable exploitation,” said state oil company manager Alex Galarraga. Read Article

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Ecuador: Report, conflict between Shuar tribe and govt. causing psychological damage

Signs of lasting trauma in people evicted to make way for giant mine in Ecuador theguardian.com / Kimberley Brown reported, battles with the government and army over land and mining rights has caused indigenous Shuar people long-term psychological damage, report says Months after they were evicted from their homes to make way for a mine, […]

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Machala, Ecuador: Famous Iguanas of Parque Plaza Colón slaughtered with rat poison (video)

MACHALA ECUADOR – EXTERMINATION OF THE GRACIOUS IGUANA FROM A PARK Everyone who has visited Guayaquil, Ecuador wants to see the ancient Iguanas which grace an old park in the middle of this hot and humid port city. Machala, Ecuador also on the hot and humid side has invested millions of dollars in the once […]

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Company in Ecuador breeds rare frogs, trying to stop illegal pet trade

Ecuador is home to over 500 frog species and many face risks from the illegal pet trade. One company thinks it knows how to stop it. These Beautiful Frogs Are in Trouble—Can Selling Them Help? nationalgeographic.com / By Sarah Gibbens Conservationists in Ecuador have taken a controversial approach to fighting the country’s illegal frog trade—they’ve […]

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World’s Largest Mining firm opens office in Ecuador – TARGET IS COPPER

David Stringer, Laura Millan Lombrana, and Stephan Kueffner BHP has opened office in Ecuador along with Newcrest, Hancock Value of nation’s mining sector could hit $7.9 billion by 2021BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, has opened an office and is seeking to add staff in Ecuador as it advances a search for copper in […]

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Ecuador: Study shows Green Constitution Didn’t Stop Expansion of Oil or Mining under Correa’s leadership

Correa ALSO OPENED ECUADOR UP TO MONSANTO FOR TRANSGENIC SEEDS AND CROPS mongabay.com / Daniela Aguilar – Although a landmark was marked as the rise of the Rights of Nature in the Magna Carta, experts agree that the Green Constitution did not prevent the expansion of the oil border and the establishment of megaminería in […]

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Ecuador producing, selling rare frogs to keep them from poachers

trtworld.com / Ecuador firms sell rare frogs to save them from poachers To curb the lucrative illegal trade of amphibians captured in the wild, Ecuador is promoting an “ethical” bio trade of rare, colorful frogs and toads for the global pet market. Poachers in Ecuador have long known the hefty prices their country’s rare frogs […]

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Ecuador receives certification for detecting nuclear tests, stations located on Galapagos Islands

mundo.sputniknews.com – Ecuador received certification for the worldwide use of the RN24 Radionuclide Monitoring Station for detection of nuclear tests and for the inauguration of the IS20 Infrasound Station, both located in the Galapagos Islands, as part of its commitment to The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. THINKING OF MOVING TO ECUADOR – THIS IS […]

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Ecuador: Oil drilling not only threat to Yasuni National Park, report on illegal loggers from Peru

rpp.pe reported… In the deepest part of the Ecuadorian Amazon, right on the border with Peru, indigenous communities have been denouncing an uncontrolled onslaught of illegal logging and hunting by traffickers, who claim they are Peruvians and penetrate into their territory along the Curaray River , Province of Pastaza in Ecuador. The problem is to […]

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Shushufindi, Sucumbíos Ecuador: Pipeline oil spill affects 170 families

Oil spill affects some 170 families in Shushufindi, Sucumbíos Ecuavisa.com (machine translated) Residents of the Kichwa Santa Elena community in Shushufindi canton are affected by the oil spill from one of the pipelines of an oil company. The fact was registered in a forest protected by the community and some 170 families have been harmed, […]

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Ecuador: One of last remaining dry forests faces threats

aljazeera.com / On the outskirts of Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil lies the Cerro Blanco reserve, one of the last remaining dry forests in the country. Dry forests are named as such due to the ability of the vegetation to survive long periods without rain, using natural water conservation methods. Cerro Blanco is threatened by […]

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Quito Ecuador: Contigency plans in place for upcoming fire season

ecuadortv.ec/Lautaro Andrade Castro (machine translated) / The Mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas , presented the afternoon of this Tuesday May 30 the plan of the Municipality to face the summer and drought season of this 2017. The city begins to enter the time of year when it does not rain and the heat And wind […]

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Amazon Forest under threat from soya crops

theguardian.com reported….Celso Carlos has made a modest living for 10 years growing manioc and coconuts and rearing poultry on a few hectares of lowland in Brazil’s northern Amazon. But three years ago, out of the blue, Carlos was told by an Amapá state judge that he had to move because his land had been bought […]

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Alpacas Being Used To Help Secure Water Supply for Quito Ecuador

(Thomson Reuters Foundation)DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – High on Ecuador’s Andean plains, the Comuna Espejo co-operative is counting on a recent delivery of 20 woolly alpacas to keep its moist grasslands in better shape than the sheep that normally graze there – and in turn help secure water supplies to the nearby capital city of Quito. “Little by […]

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Ecuador: monkeys, trees, chocolate and conservation

NPR.org/wutc.org reported Mika Peck, a conservation ecologist at England’s University of Sussex, was frustrated. He’d been researching and publishing papers for years on the near-extinction of the Ecuadoran brown-headed spider monkey, and not much was happening to change the primate’s extremely threatened status. Not much, that is, until he started connecting the monkeys to gourmet […]

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Wildfires cause catastrophe over swaths of central and southern parts of Chile

(CNN.com)A chain of wildfires has unleashed a catastrophe over wide swaths of central and southern Chile, killing at least 11 people, destroying thousands of homes and consuming an area about three times the size of New York City, authorities said. “We have never seen anything on this scale, never in the history of Chile,” President […]

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Tension in Morona Santiago Ecuador continues, two soldiers held by Shuar

expreso.ec / Two soldiers continue to be held by Shuar Indians in the Amazonian province of Morona Santiago (southeast), where there is a mining conflict of considerable proportions. The Ministry of Defense, which demands the “immediate release” of the soldiers, also reiterated its position of not negotiating within the framework of “violence and illegality of […]

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Cotapaxi Volcano Ecuador: Structures Recommended to Mitigate Mud Flows, damage, loss of life

Fabian Rodriguez Theofilos, Toulkeridis Washington Sandoval Oswaldo Padilla, Fernando Mato The Cotopaxi volcano in north-central Ecuador is one of the most dangerous volcanoes of the world due to its ability to generate far-reaching lahars, which are able to destroy infrastructure and endanger a high amount of population living close to the main fluvial drainages of […]

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Ecuador: environmental organization fights for survival

theguardian.com reported members of one of Latin America’s most well-known environmental organisations, Acción Ecológica, are fighting for their survival against a controversial attempt by Ecuador’s government to shut them down. The move by the government came six days after violence between soldiers, police and indigenous Shuar people opposed to a Chinese-run copper development, Panantza-San Carlos, […]

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Ecuador: Analysis of Artisanal, small-scale gold mining

ANALYSIS OF GOLD EXTRACTION PROCESSES OF ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING IN PORTOVELO ZARUMA, ECUADOR By ADRIANA DE OLIVEIRA GONÇALVES Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) play a significant role in local economies and communities of several developing countries. Worldwide, ASGM is one of the biggest sources of mercury pollution. Every year, artisanal miners release […]

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Ecuador: Native Primates Endangered

eltelegrafo.com.ec reported that of 22 species of primates in Ecuador, 11 of them are believed to be threatened of endangerment. The spider monkey and the capuchin monkey are critically endangered. The estimate is there may only be 100 spider monkeys existing in the wild. Hunting, the wildlife trade, disease and loss of habitat are the […]

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Ecuador: eight provinces impacted by forest fires in last week

Azuay and Loja have more hectares devastated. 90% of burned areas have been pasture. lahora.com.ec reported eight provinces of the country have been affected by the forest fires that have been registered since the previous week. According to the authorities, Azuay and Loja, in southern Ecuador, have more areas devastated due to the incidents that, […]

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Ecuador: Satellite image shows suspected pipeline in Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini block

news.mongabay.com/ Jeremy Hance reported Mongabay has obtained a new, high-resolution satellite image of Petroamazona’s suspected pipeline and drilling platforms in the famed Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) block. Obtained from Planet, the image was analyzed by the team at the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) just after Ecuador announced it had begun drilling in arguably the […]

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U.S to spend $1.5 million in Mexico, Central America for wildlife preservation

dailycaller.com reported the U.S. will spend around $1.5 million on wildlife preservation in Mexico and Central America next year as part of the Wildlife Without Borders program. The two grants will fund wildlife conservation efforts that look at the whole region, not just a single country. The “existing protected areas within Central America alone are […]

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Ecuador: Yasuni Begins to Pump Oil

amazonwatch.org reported from deep inside the most biodiverse part of Earth’s largest rainforest, there is terrible news: Oil extraction has begun in quite possibly the worst place imaginable. amazonwatch.org – Commercial oil production has begun at Tiputini C, the first of a slated 200-plus wells inside the ITT fields (Ishpingo, Tambococha,Tiputini) underneath Ecuador’s Yasuni National […]

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According to Geologist, Super Volcano if explodes could threaten most of Ecuador’s population

Scientist Theofilos Toulkeridis Greek origin, has shared the results of scientific research in the Journal of Sciences Security and Defence, same that have been published on the website of the University of the Armed Forces of Ecuador (ESPE). This is an investigation that discloses the potential damage that would mean a revival of Chalupas super […]

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Mexico: Storms Damage Monarch Butterfly Population

theguardian.com reported storms earlier this year blew down more than a hundred acres of forests where migrating monarch butterflies spend the winter in central Mexico, killing more than 7% of the monarchs, according to conservationists. Rain, cold and high winds from the storms caused the loss of 133 acres (54 hectares) of pine and fir […]

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Ecuador to increase conservation efforts in the Galapagos

telesurtv.net reported the Ecuadorean government signed a 25-year deal to boost scientific research and environmental conservation in the Galapagos Islands. A new 25-year cooperation deal has been signed between the Charles Darwin Foundation and Ecuadorian government that will strengthen crucial scientific research and conservation efforts in the Galapagos archipelago. The agreement, signed Thursday in Santa […]

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Galapagos Islands: Wind Turbines Helping Reduce Diesel Use on Islands

phys.org reported a global renewable energy project on the Galapagos Islands—one of Earth’s most fragile and important ecological treasures—has helped avoid many tanker loads worth of risky diesel fuel imports since 2007, reduced the archipelago’s greenhouse gas emissions and preserved critically endangered species. Now, after eight successful years, the project’s new operators are pursuing an […]

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Mexico City: POLLUTION ALERT

aljazeera.com reported a pollution alert has been issued for the Mexican capital after ozone levels reached more than 150 percent of the acceptable levels. A pollution alert is rare during the rainy season because the downpours would normally wash the pollution out of the atmosphere. However, this year the pollution has been particularly bad. In […]

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Peru: Illegal mining causes mercury pollution, emergency declared

phys.org reported Peru declared an environmental emergency on Monday in 11 Amazon jungle districts where mercury pollution blamed on unregulated gold mining is poisoning people and fish. Tests in the southeastern Madre de Dios region found “mercury pollution above the maximum permitted level, affecting river water, water species and local populations,” said a report announcing […]

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Ecuador drilling on edge of Yasuni

Theguardian.com reported Ecuador drills for oil on edge of pristine rainforest in Yasuni First of 200 wells drilled close to controversial block of forest known to have two of the last tribes living in isolation Ecuador has started drilling for oil on the edge of a controversial block of pristine rainforest inhabited by two of […]

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Tungurahua Volcano Ecuador still roaring, activity expected to last several weeks

TOURISM BANNED IN AREA antena3.com REPORTED…The Tungurahua volcano, one of the most active in Ecuador , continues to erupt a week later. The column of smoke and ash has reached 4,000 meters altitude and experts say that the activity will continue for several weeks. Although so far no evacuations have been ordered, the authorities have […]

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River in Peruvian Amazon will boil you alive

Don’t fall in! A legendary river that BOILS its victims alive is discovered deep in the heart of the Amazon – THIS IS ONE HOT STORY The river in Mayantuyacu was found by Andrés Ruzo after his granddad recalled a legendary tale Academic experts told him that it couldn’t exist because the Amazon basin is […]

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Latin American Govts need to adapt to extreme weather events such as El Niño

David Dudenhoefer Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 The global weather event known as El Niño has been blamed for droughts in Central America and northern South America and record-breaking floods in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. But some scientists warn that the worst could be yet to come. El Niño poses major challenges for Latin America’s governments, […]

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Ecuador: Fissures formed near Chimborazo Volcano emitting steam and glowing (Video)

Published on Jan 31, 2016 January 28-31, 2016 dutchsinse/ Fissures formed in the ground near an Ecuador volcano, which then began to glow and give off steam / smoke / foul odors. The underground fumarole burning steaming event is occurring 45 kilometers southwest of Chimborazo Volcano, which hasn’t erupted in over 1,500 years (550AD). Right […]

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Venezuela: Water Scarcity Contributing to Risk of Zika Virus

medicalexpress.com reported the scarcity of water is just one of a long list of headaches for the struggling South American oil giant, but it comes with a particularly nasty risk. As Venezuelans stockpile water in their homes, health officials warn, they risk fueling an expansion of the mosquito population, and with it the transmission of […]

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Brazil: El Niño to blame for record number of forest fires

latino.foxnews.com reported INPE meteorologists have attributed to El Niño both the fierce drought in the Amazon, the worst in years, and the extreme rainfall in the southern part of the country. The World Meteorological Organization recently warned that the current weather phenomena, caused by El Niño and heightened by climate change, will be felt at […]

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Water Supply in Mexico City

Theguardian.com reported….the Aztecs built a city of floating gardens here 700 years ago that became known as “the Venice of the New World”. The vast lakes that once filled the plain were, however, steadily drained by settlers. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadores rapidly accelerated the process, and modern engineers have almost finished the task, […]

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Ecuador Coast High Risk of Tsunamis, case study of San Vicente

SCIENCE OF TSUNAMI HAZARDS Journal of Tsunami Society InternationaL Fabian Rodriguez, Mario Cruz D ́Howitt, Theofilos Toulkeridis*, Rodolfo Salazar, Gioconda Elizabeth Ramos Romero, Veleria Alejandra Recalde Moya and Oswaldo Padilla THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF AN EARLY RELOCATION VERSUS COMPLETE DESTRUCTION BY A POTENTIAL TSUNAMI OF A COASTAL CITY IN ECUADOR GEODYNAMIC SETTING AND […]

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Antigua Caribbean: Coconut Palms Dying Off

White sand beaches fringed by lofty palm trees – it is the image of a tropical paradise that has lured holidaymakers to the Caribbean for decades. But in tourism-dependent Antigua, a deadly disease has wiped out almost half of the island’s majestic coconut palms – leaving unsightly headless trunks littering the landscape. Lethal yellowing, the […]

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Ecuador, El Niño: Expert states “prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

psmag.com reported in 1997, Ecuador’s climate forecasters achieved one of their greatest successes on record, and its government responded with a massive failure. We accurately predicted six months in advance that a strong El Niño phenomenon would hit Ecuador,” says Rodney Martinez, who was then head of the Marine Sciences Department at the Ecuadorian Navy’s […]

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Amazon Rainforest: Indigenous groups change ways to save forest

Gareno (Ecuador) (AFP) – The the indigenous peoples of the Amazon are far removed from the Paris conference rooms where politicians and technocrats in dark suits hashed out a historic deal on curbing climate change to close out the year. But they are taking bold action of a different kind to save the rich biodiversity […]

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Latin America generates 9% of global electronic waste

Latin America generates 9% global electronic waste elespectador.com reported 9% of e-waste produced in the region corresponds to 3,904 kilotonnes and that figure is expected to reach 4,800 by 2018. Latin America in 2014 generated 9% of electronic waste in the world, mostly in Brazil and Mexico, while Chile and Uruguay were the biggest per […]

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Ecuador: 17 forest fires raging, areas around Quito most impacted

ASKING NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES FOR ASSISTANCE THEMALAYSIANINSIDER.COM reported… Ecuador called on Latin American neighbours yesterday to help it battle forest fires that have forced families to flee some neighborhoods of the capital Quito and its outskirts. Correa said there were 17 major forest fires raging, and the area around Quito, the world’s highest capital city, had […]

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Ecuador: Government dispells rumors that Cotopaxi volcano danger level being manipulated

telesurtv.net reported an audio message has been circulating online that falsely claims the alert level has been raised from yellow to orange. A government spokesperson said Tuesday that the alert level at the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador remains at yellow and dispelled rumors circulating on social media that the danger level is being manipulated by […]

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Ecuador Declares State of Emergency because of volcano, suspends some constitutional rights

Bloomberg.com reported Ecuador’s government declared a nationwide state of emergency Saturday to prepare for a possible major eruption of a snow-capped volcano south of the nation’s capital, Quito. The decree, which includes suspending some constitutional rights and banning media from publishing unauthorized information, will allow the government to redirect budgeted funds for a possible emergency […]

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Ecuador: Beyond the Petrostate: Ecuador’s Left Dilemma (Opinion)

Thea Riofrancos wrote: Oil revenues have been the cornerstone of the Ecuadorian economy since the 1970s, and continue to account for over half of the country’s exports. Until the recent drop in oil prices, Correa benefited more from oil price increases than any prior administration since democratization. In Ecuador, the so-called “re-primarization” of the economy—a […]

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Quito Ecuador: Contingency plans being prepared for possible eruption of Cotopaxi volcano

elcomercio.com reported Emergency Operations Committee of Quito was formed to work on prevention against a possible eruption of Cotopaxi volcano. Overall, the techniques work tables, according to the operating risks, are divided according to eight themes, according to Juan Zapata, Security Secretary of the Municipality of the city. The seventh has to do with education, […]

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Pope Francis appeals to Ecuador for better care of Amazon forest and Indigenous people

csmonitor.com reported Pope Francis is appealing for better care of the Amazon rain forest and the indigenous people who live there, as he wraps up the Ecuador leg of his South America trip. “The tapping of natural resources, which are so abundant in Ecuador, must not be concerned with short-term benefits,” Pope Francis said Tuesday. […]

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Santiago Chile: Environmental Emergency Declared due to Smog

dw.com reported Chilean authorities have declared an environmental emergency in response to dangerously high pollution levels in the capital, Santiago. The city last resorted to such a measure 16 years ago. Santiago regional governor Claudio Orrego said the emergency measures, to come into force Monday, would require 3,000 factories and other businesses to shut down. […]

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Manta Ecuador: 200,000 shark fins seized, serious environmental crime

capitalfm.co.ke reported Ecuador seized around 200,000 shark fins and arrested three suspected traffickers at the country’s main fishing port, the government said Wednesday. Interior Minister Jose Serrano announced the seizure on Twitter, posting pictures of rows, piles and bags of the dark-colored shark fins. Shark fins are coveted in Asia for medicinal and cooking uses. […]

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Ecuador: Shrimp farming and the destruction of mangroves, social and enviromental conflict

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Costa Rica on list of most dangerous countries for environmental activists

ticotimes.net reported the deaths of Tico environmentalists Jairo Mora Sandoval and Diego Saborío González have earned Costa Rica a spot on the list of most dangerous countries for environmental activists. The list is compiled each year by U.K.-based non profit Global Witness, which keeps tabs on environmental conflicts worldwide. The group found a 20 percent […]

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Parasitic Fly on the Galapagos Islands probably from Mainland Ecuador

eurekalert.org…Philornis downsi is a parasitic muscid fly that is native to mainland South America. Decades ago, it was accidentally introduced to the Galápagos Islands, where it harms Darwin’s finches and other land birds. Females lay eggs inside active bird nests, and then the resulting larvae feed on the nestlings. The first-instar larvae feed inside the […]

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Colombia plans project to develop ecological corridor across northern South America

eyeonlatinamerica.wordpress.com reported Colombia proposes an ambitious plan that would establish the world’s largest ‘ecological corridor’, protecting vast swathes of Amazon rainforest stretching from the Andes to the Atlantic coast, with the help of Brazil and Venezuela. Colombia has announced plans to lead a project that would see the creation of the world’s largest ‘ecological corridor’ […]

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Brazil a huge market for banned pesticides

dailytimes.com.pk reported the farmers of Brazil have become the world’s top exporters of sugar, orange juice, coffee, beef, poultry and soybeans. They’ve also earned a more dubious distinction: In 2012, Brazil passed the United States as the largest buyer of pesticides. This rapid growth has made Brazil an enticing market for pesticides banned or phased […]

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Giron Ecuador Residents to vote on gold exploration

telesurtv.net reported… While affected communities are excited about employment prospects, they are also worried about the health and environmental impacts of gold exploration. A community in southern Ecuador will vote in a referendum over whether to continue gold exploration. Although residents of Giron in the Azuay Province are excited about the prospect of more employment, […]

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Ecuador: Discarded Plastic Bottles being used for thatch roofing

takepart.com – David McNair / Five years ago, strategic management professor David Saiia traveled with his students from New York’s Ithaca College to Ecuador for a project creating sustainable livelihoods in conservation regions disrupted by logging and poaching. But the team noticed another problem that was all around them: plastic bottles. “I would find them […]

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Ecuador bans German PM’s into country, claim delegates visit would create skewed image of country’s reality

DW.DE reported Ecuador’s government has banned a group of German MPs from entering the country. The official reason: miscommunication – but the government is also unhappy with the politicians’ plans to meet anti-government activists. Environment MPs’ Ecuador trip canceled over drilling row The Ecuador government has banned a group of German MPs from entering the […]

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Ecuador: Death of Indigenous leader may be linked to opposition of Chinese mine project

theguardian.com reported…. Ecuador indigenous leader found dead days before planned Lima protest Shuar leader José Isidro Tendetza Antún missing since 28 November Activists believe death linked to opposition to state-Chinese mine project The body of an indigenous leader who was opposed to a major mining project in Ecuador has been found bound and buried, days […]

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German Diplomats denied entry to Ecuador, wanted to discuss environment before meetings in Peru

sueddeutsche.de/news-round.com (Machine Translation from German to English) German deputies may not enter Ecuador. The Government of the Latin American country was disturbed on the itinerary of the group. Including climate protectors wanted to meet parliamentarians. Ecuador has approved oil drilling in the National Park Yasuní 2013. Ecuador’s Ambassador in Berlin, Jorge Jurado, should be appointed […]

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Ecuador: Environmental Activists on way to Peru stopped and vehicle seized

domocracynow.org reported A caravan of environmental activists traveling to the United Nations climate summit in Lima, Peru, has been stopped by authorities in Ecuador and had their bus seized. Activists with the group Yasunidos departed from Quito on Monday to denounce the extraction of oil from Yasuni National Park, an area of the Amazon renowned […]

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Peru: Dangerous and Deadly for Environmental Activists

theguardian.com reported…Two weeks before Peru hosts a key global climate conference, the country has come under fire for failing to protect activists who were murdered trying to defend the country’s rapidly diminishing rainforest and other ecosystems. The South American nation has become the fourth most dangerous state in the world for environmental and land defenders, […]

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Sao Paulo Brazil: Record dry season, punishing drought

bbc.com reported…In Brazil’s biggest city, a record dry season and ever-increasing demand for water has led to a punishing drought. It has actually been raining quite heavily over the last few days in and around Sao Paulo but it has barely made a drop of difference. The main reservoir system that feeds this immense city […]

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Ecuador: Correa defends oil drilling in Yasuni National Park

laht.com reported Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has defended his government’s plan to extract oil from the Yasuni National Park in the Amazon, and said that it will affect less than 200 hectares (494 acres) of the nearly 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of the natural reserve of high biodiversity. According to the latest calculations, […]

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Ecuador in process of constructing 8 hydroelectric dams

By securing sovereignty over its energy sources, Ecuador is looking to export and promote regional integration. As part of a larger policy of ensuring energy sovereignty and promoting regional integration, Ecuador is in the process of building 8 hydroelectric dams that are projected to be finished by 2016 with a US $5 billion investment. Currently, […]

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Brazil: Amazon rainforest losing ability to regulate weather systems

The Amazon rainforest has degraded to the point where it is losing its ability to benignly regulate weather systems, according to a stark new warning from one of Brazil’s leading scientists. In a new report, Antonio Nobre, researcher in the government’s space institute, Earth System Science Centre, says the logging and burning of the world’s […]

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Espanola Galapagos Islands: Giant Tortoises population stable, danger of extinction over

bbc.com reported where once there were 15, now more than 1,000 giant tortoises lumber around Espanola, one of the Galapagos Islands. After 40 years’ work reintroducing captive animals, a detailed study of the island’s ecosystem has confirmed it has a stable, breeding population. Numbers had dwindled drastically by the 1960s, but now the danger of […]

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Severe Drought Affecting more than half a million people in Honduras

bbc.com reported more than half a million people in Honduras have been affected by a severe drought, the Red Cross has said. It said the most vulnerable families were in danger of hunger because of the loss of crops, higher food prices and lower incomes for farmers. The Red Cross said some families were selling […]

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Taboga Island Panama: Coral Reefs, Liviliehoods threatened

IPSnews.net reported…The island of Taboga, just 12 square kilometres in area, lies in the Gulf of Panama and is the gateway to the Las Perlas archipelago, one of the most important nodes of coral islands in this Central American country of 3.8 million people. From the air, they appear as mounds emerging from the turquoise […]

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Analysis of Tungurahua Volcano evacuation of Banos Ecuador 1999

Disasters , 2002, 26(1): 28–48 © Overseas Development Institute, 2002. Published by Blackwell Publishers, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Community Resilience and Volcano Hazard: The Eruption of Tungurahua and Evacuation of the Faldas in Ecuador Graham A. Tobin Linda M. Whiteford Dept of Geography Dept of Anthropology University […]

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Amazon Brazil: Activists using GPS in battle against illegal loggers

Activists use GPS to track illegal loggers in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest theguardian.com reported…Hi-tech undercover operation used GPS tracking on timber trucks for the first time, as well as satellite and aerial images to reveal extent of illegal logging in Brazilian Amazon. Covert GPS surveillance of timber trucks by Amazon campaigners has revealed how loggers are […]

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Colombia: Farmers sue oil giant BP in the UK

theguardian.com reported more than 100 Colombian small farmers are taking on oil giant BP in the UK high court on Wednesday in one of the largest cases in environmental legal history. The farmers say the British company Equion Energia, formerly BP Exploration (Colombia) Ltd or BPXC, was negligent in the construction of the Ocensa oil […]

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Ecuador: History of Preventative Resistance and Violent Suppression, Intag Valley

By Ariel Smilowitz, Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations cuslar.org / On the heels of the “largest climate march in history,” where hundreds of thousands of activists, demonstrators, politicians, and environmentalists gathered together to protest in solidarity against climate change; NYC’s sixth annual Climate Week; and the United Nations Climate Summit, the issue of climate change […]

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Caribbean countries fishing sectors warned of ocean acidification

IPSnews.net reported Scientists here are warning Caribbean countries, where the fisheries sector is an important source of livelihoods and sustenance, that they should pay close attention to a new international report released Wednesday on ocean acidification. The report, published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), coincides with the 12th meeting of […]

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Cuenca Ecuador on alert for high water levels of Tomebamba River

eluniverso.com reported rain fall this Saturday night in basin caused the overflowing of the river Tomebamba, generating fear in residents of sectors such as gates of the Sun and Balzay, which looked at how the water covered the streets. The ECU 911 system on his Twitter account said: “rainy storm overflows the Tomebamba River at […]

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Ecuador’s Legal System Shakedown of Chevron

thefederalist.com/By Jason Stverak….When Latin America lost Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez last year, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa stepped in to fill the gap as socialism’s godfather. But Correa’s aspirations are coming at a huge price for Ecuador and its people. While Chavez lavishly doled funds from his petrodollar-stocked treasury to promote authoritarian socialism throughout the region, […]

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Latin America may face seriuos risk situation due to climate change by 2030

(IPS) reported – “We could be the last Latin American and Caribbean generation living together with hunger.” The assertion, made by Raúl Benítez, a regional officer for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), shows one side of the coin: only 4.6 percent of the region’s population is undernourished, according to the […]

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Ecuador aims to expand ethanol distribution to reduce gas emissions

(SeeNews) reported Ecuador’s government wants to expand local ethanol distribution throughout the country by 2017 so as to reduce gas emissions and fuel imports, president Rafael Correa said Saturday. The mix containing locally-produced sugarcane ethanol is expected to replace a type of petrol (gasoline), called “extra”, and to represent 45% of the national fuel market, […]

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Drugs are not the only item illegally trafficked from Ecuador

lahora.com.ec reported Elcomercio.com reported ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING Animals along with orchids and bromeliads are under continual risk of being trafficked illegally out of Ecuador. Reptiles account for 45% of the trafficking, while birds equal about 25% of illegal exports. Authorities reveal that most of the animals destinations are Europe, Japan, and China. So far in […]

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Mexico: Toxic Mine Spill may have contaminated water in U.S., Arizona

businessinsider.com reported US authorities are testing a river in Arizona for possible cross-border contamination from a toxic mine spill in northwestern Mexico, an official said Tuesday. The checks came after a massive acid leak in the Sonora River from the Buenavista copper mine, the worst environmental disaster on record in Mexico’s mining industry. The spill […]

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Brazil refuses to sign pact to end deforestation by 2030

bbc.com reported Brazil has refused to sign up to a pact setting a deadline for ending deforestation entirely by 2030. The US, Canada and European Union nations were among 30 states that agreed to halve forest loss by 2020 and work towards a 2030 goal. But Brazil, which owns the largest continuous rainforest on the […]

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Panama: Ngöbe, Buglé Indigenous continue protest against dam

telesurtv.net reported the reservoir created by the dam will likely start flooding fertile agricultural land and destroy the river’s fish and shrimp. Indigenous Panamanian groups remain alert on the banks of the river Tabasara, as part of a long standing protest against the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dams being built, threatening to flood their land. The […]

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Brazil: Giant Observation Tower being erected to monitor climate change in Amazon

theguardian.com reported Brazil building Amazon observation tower to monitor climate change impact 325-metre tower will gather data on heat, water, cloud formation, carbon absorption and weather patterns, newspaper reports. Brazil is building a giant observation tower in the heart of the Amazon to monitor climate change and its impact on the region’s sensitive ecosystem, a […]

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Colombia: Expert warns climate change may threaten coffee crops

lainformacion.com reported -pests and diseases as the bit, rust and the ojo de gallo could reappear with force as a result of the drastic changes in the climate, today warned a scientist in the 25th International Conference on coffee science ended Friday in the Colombian city of Armenia. pests and diseases as the bit, rust […]

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Ecuador: Several State Oil Firms to invest in 490,000 acre oil concession

wsj.com/Mercedes Alvaro reported Exploration in the 490,000-Acre Oil Concession to Start in January State-run oil companies from Ecuador, Chile and Belarus plan to invest about $400 million to explore and develop the 490,000-acre Block 28 oil concession in southeast Ecuador. Ecuador’s Petroamazonas will have a 51% stake in the project, while Sipetrol SA, a unit […]

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Ucayali Peru: Anti-logging Activist and other Ashaninka members murdered

amazonwatch.org/AP reported…An outspoken Peruvian opponent of illegal logging and three other native Ashaninka community leaders were slain in a remote region bordering Brazil, tribal authorities said Monday. The activist, Edwin Chota, had received frequent death threats from illegal loggers, who he had tried for years to expel from the lands for which his community was […]

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Brazil: Amazon Deforestation Jumps 29%

Amazon deforestation jumps 29% Theguardian.com reported satellite figures show surge in deforestation, as agriculture expands in states of Para and Mato Grosso The destruction of the world’s largest rainforest accelerated last year with a 29% spike in deforestation, according to final figures released by the Brazilian government on Wednesday that confirmed a reversal in gains […]

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Brazil: Ka’apor tribe takes law into their own hands, expell loggers working illegally

bbc.com reported a group of indigenous people in Brazil’s Amazon region have detained and expelled loggers working illegally in their ancestral lands. Leaders of the Ka’apor tribe accused the Brazilian authorities of failing to protect them. They tied up the loggers and set fire to their trucks and chainsaws, before forcing them out, reported the […]

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Ecuador: Ministry of Environment opens protected areas to national tour guides

Ecuadortimes.net reported the Ministry of Environment (MAE for its Spanish acronym) will allow the work of the national guides in 12 protected areas in the three regions of the country. These areas were identified because of their great success in tourism. These national guides, with academic qualifications in the fields of tourism and who possess […]

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Fracking gets green light in Colombia, to begin in 2015

Semana.com reported Orlando Cabrales, Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy said that this controversial practice will begin next year. The Government gave the green light to the technique of oil extraction fracking (hydraulic fracturing), the announcement was made ​​by the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Orlando Cabrales, the objective is intended to increase natural […]

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Massive Fish Kill in Western Mexico lake

bbc.com reported hundreds of thousands of fish have been washed up on the shores of Lake Cajititlan in the Mexican state of Jalisco over the past week. Almost 50 tonnes of dead popoche chub freshwater fish have been removed from the lake. The local authorities said it was part of a “natural cycle” but state […]

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Brazil dismantles large criminal organization targeting Amazon rainforest

bbc.com reported the authorities in Brazil say they have dismantled a criminal organisation they believe was the “biggest destroyer” of the Amazon rainforest. The gang is accused of invading, logging and burning large areas of public land and selling these illegally for farming and grazing. In a statement, Brazilian Federal Police said the group committed […]

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Mexico: illegal oil tapping contaminates San Juan River in Nueva Leon

bakken.com reported an illegal oil tap has been blamed for a spill that contaminated a 14-mile stretch of the San Juan River in the Nueva Leon state in northern Mexico. Mexico’s environmental protection agency Profepa puts the blame on criminal gangs attempting to steal the oil from a pipeline. According to Profepa, the rupture occurred […]

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Chile: Cuero River Hydroelectric Dam could threaten environment in Patagonia

IPS.net reported COYHAIQUE, Chile , Aug 26 2014 (IPS) – After its victory in a nearly decade-long struggle against HidroAysén, a project that would have built five large hydroelectric dams on wilderness rivers, Chile’s Patagonia region is gearing up for a new battle: blocking a quiet attempt to build a dam on the Cuervo River. […]

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Nicaragua: Many feel they will lose homes, receive unfair compensation in wake of new canal

Theguardian.com reported teams of assessors accompanied by soldiers and police have begun surveying properties along the route of Nicaragua’s planned trans-oceanic canal, taking quick steps towards the start of a vast project the country has dreamed of for more than a century. But the process is alarming many residents, who fear they’ll lose their homes […]

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Ecuador: Five Areas Of Potential Uranium Reserves

Hoy.com.ec reported from 24 to 28 November 2008, the Ecuador made public its project RLA3006. It was during the meeting called “Development of activities on uranium production cycle”, that was developed in Brazil, where the Ministry of electricity and renewable energy (MEER) and the Undersecretary of Control, research and nuclear applications (NAICS) explained plans for […]

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Brazil’s first female indigenous lawyer fights for land rights, against deforestation

(Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Raised in isolated villages in the Brazilian Amazon, Joenia Batista de Carvalho grew up loving nature and taking pride in her tribe’s customs, way of life and Indian identity. Carvalho is a Wapixana Indian, one of five tribes totalling around 20,000 people who have lived for generations in the Raposa-Serra do […]

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Cananea Mexico: Criminal Complaint Filed against copper mine for toxic spillage, schools closed

BBC.COM reported up to 5,000 pupils have not been able to start the school year in the northern Mexican state of Sonora after a toxic spillage from a copper mine. The authorities said 88 schools were not able to open this week for fear pupils could come into contact with water contaminated with acids. The […]

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