Few studies exist that document how high-elevation Andean ecosystems recover naturally after the cessation of human activities and this can limit the implementation of cost-effective restoration actions. We assessed Andean forest (Polylepis stands) and páramo grassland recovery along an elevation gradient (3,600–4,350 m.a.s.l.) in the Yanacocha Reserve (Ecuador) where natural …
The first place to become a World Heritage site, the Galapagos Islands, was recently declared under threat from "invasive species' by the UN. Experts say the 19-island archipalego and its surrounding ocean were threatened by increasing tourism and growing immigration. The islands, off Ecuador's coast, are home to unique plant …
>> In the latest plan to stem the flow of the mud volcano that erupted last year in East Java, Indonesia, a US $69 million-proposal has been chalked out. A concrete dam will be built to check the mud flow, which has already displaced around 15,000 people (see
The Ecuadorian government has decided not to tap a major oil field in the Amazonian rainforest, and asked the international community to compensate it for the sacrifice. The government's demand is in response to opposition by environmental and indigenous groups against oil development in the rainforest's Yasuni National Park. In …
As the first South American energy summit finished in the third week of April in the Caribbean island of Margarita, Venezuela, participant countries agreed to set up an energy council to follow up hemispheric energy-related agreements. The summit, attended by leaders from 10 out of 12 South American countries, also …
The European Union recently blocked a wto investigation into its banana import tariffs, with reference to an arbitration process started by Latin American countries against it. wto has repeatedly ruled against eu's banana import regime, forcing it to change its system that favours the African, Caribbean and Pacific (acp) countries. …
Ecuador's meat and dairy exports have been affected after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the country. The disease was first registered in a pig farm in the southern province of Azuay. According to the Cattle Farmers Association in Sierra and East Juan, the disease has greatly affected the country's …
At least four people were killed and thirty listed as missing after Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano erupted early on August 17. Tonnes of rocks and ash spewing from the volcano destroyed a dozen villages, affecting almost five thousand people, and blocked three rivers. Tungurahua, which means throat of fire in the …
At least 104 shrimp exporters from six countries (Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand, and Vietnam) reached an agreement with the us shrimp producers to bypass the country's annual tax review. The move came after Thailand, one of the world's largest shrimp exporters, failed to persuade the us to scrap a …
In a recent meeting in Quito, the Ecuadorean capital, the heads of the four Andean Community of Nations signed the Quito Declaration, which seeks the extension of trade preferences with the us for a year. The agreement comes against the backdrop of a left-oriented group of nations taking on the …
To protest against mining activity by the Canadian company Ascendant Copper Corporation, in Ecuador, dozens of residents recently burnt down a building owned by the company. "The company is outraged by this assault against company personnel and medical equipments that were dedicated to the assistance of the local community,' stated …
This publication takes a broad look at several dimensions of carbon trading. It analyses the problems arising from the emerging global carbon market pertaining to the environment, social justice and human rights, and investigates climate mitigation alternatives. It provides a short history of carbon trading and discusses a number of …
Following widespread violent protests, on August 25, 2005, energy companies signed a deal with Ecuador's poor communities, promising to invest more money for the latter's benefit. In return, the agitationists, who attacked oil wells and other industry establishments in a weeklong protest, agreed to end their interventions. Ecuador is South …
An acute crisis has hit farmers and fisherfolk in Ecuador's Manabi province, around the us military's Manta air force base. The latter got to use the area for 10 years in 1999 to control drug trafficking. But security measures Ecuador enforced to protect us soldiers are proving too expensive for …
October 21, 2003. High-level corporate lawyers from ChevronTexaco sit in the same packed muggy courtroom as bare-breasted Amazonian men and women at the start of what the media calls "The Trial of the Century.' In the ramshackle Amazonian town of Lago Agrio, the oil Titan stands accused of severely contaminating …
It may no longer be a losing battle. Amid much protests, a lawsuit filed by a group of Ecuadorians against the us-based oil major ChevronTexaco Corporation has been shifted to an Ecuadorian court from a us federal court. The lawsuit alleges that the company's drilling operations resulted in large-scale environmental …
oil is the lifeline of the world’s eco nomy. Dependence on oil has skewed incomes within nations and altered power relations among them. While oil provides multiple benefits to society, every stage of its lifecycle has harmful effects on health and environment. These are broad in scope and degree. The …
Protests are mounting in Germany over a pipeline being built in Ecuador. At a recent summit in Sassenberg, Germany, about 40 non-governmental organisations and a number of German politicians vowed to step up the campaign against the Ecuador Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (Oleoducto Crudos Pesados or ocp) pointing out its …
with sea temperatures increasing, the world's coral reefs are once again facing threat as shown by intensive bleaching. Data from a new information system, called ReefBase, shows that 2002 is the second worst year for coral bleaching after 1998, when a very strong episode of the El Ni
