Forests sustain and protect us in a myriad of ways. They absorb carbon dioxide and provide us with oxygen, they harbour more than three quarters of terrestrial biodiversity, and they support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. But the world has lost 420 million hectares of forest since 1990. …
BHP Billiton moved closer to an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine after winning environmental approvals on Monday for the project in the deserts of southern Australia. The approvals give BHP the green light to nearly quadruple the mine's copper output …
A TV show that claimed to show the “reality of life” of an Amazonian tribe has been slammed for faking scenes and mistranslating interviews to perpetuate stereotypes. Mark and Olly: Living with the Machigenga was shown on the Travel Channel and on the BBC last year. The show claimed to …
Pig raising is one of the main activities carried out by urban farmers in periurban areas of northern and southern Lima, due to a lack of water for irrigation in the desert climate. The RUAF FStT programme collaborated with the producer organisation AGROSILVES to improve the productivity and profitability of …
Peru’s government is to wring an extra $1.1bn of taxes from the country’s mining sector, making the Andean country the latest resource-rich nation to demand a greater share of the commodities boom. The decision, announced by prime minister Salomón Lerner in a speech to Congress on Thursday, brings to an …
In 1532, the Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro routed the Inca army at Cajamarca in the northern highlands of Peru, bringing to an end South America’s biggest empire. The Spanish conquistador marched to the Inca capital Cusco in regalia, but claimed the Spaniards were restrained in their show of …
Europe's fisheries chief called for an overhaul of the European Union's failing fisheries policies on Wednesday, and warned those EU countries that may seek to resist reform that business as usual is not an option. The European Commission has estimated 75 percent of EU stocks are currently overfished, and a …
Many factors such as poverty, ineffective institutions and environmental regulations may prevent developing countries from managing how natural resources are extracted to meet a strong market demand. Extraction for some resources has reached such proportions that evidence is measurable from space. We present recent evidence of the global demand for …
Repsol YPF, a Spanish-Argentine company, has a contract to explore for oil in a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon known as Lot 39. This region, in northern Peru, is home to at least two of the world’s last uncontacted tribes. Repsol currently claims there is not enough evidence to …
This paper prepared for the FAO Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food & Agriculture fourth Governing Body, Bali, 14-18 March 2011 reviews the treaty provisions on farmers Rights. Focuses on the implementation of farmers' rights particularly in Peru, India and China, and research findings on how to effectively implement …
The weather pattern known as La Nina, blamed for floods in Australia and drought in parts of Latin America, is expected to persist through the first quarter of 2011, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday. La Nina, which cools the Pacific Ocean, could possibly even continue into April or …
Annual revenue flow to developing countries for ecotourism (or nature-based tourism) could be as large as US$ 210×1012, providing an enormous financial incentive against habitat loss and exploitation. However, is ecotourism the most privately and/or socially valuable use of rainforest land? The question is rarely answered because the relevant data, …
US $1 TRILLION WORTH OF MINERALS Afghanistan is suddenly richThe Pentagon recently announced that Afghanistan is sitting on mineral wealth worth US $1 trillion—about 1,000 times the government’s annual revenue. The untapped mineral deposits, including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium, a key raw material for laptop, cell phone and …
Comprehensive, longitudinal field studies that monitor both disease and vector populations for dengue viruses are urgently needed as a pre-requisite for developing locally adaptable prevention programs or to appropriately test and license new vaccines. The authors report the results from such a study spanning 5 years in the Amazonian city …
The threats facing Ecuador's Yasuní National Park are emblematic of those confronting the greater western Amazon, one of the world's last high-biodiversity wilderness areas. Notably, the country's second largest untapped oil reserves—called “ITT”—lie beneath an intact, remote section of the park. The conservation significance of Yasuní may weigh heavily in …
With the threat of increased disasters from climate change, many countries are already taking steps to reduce their vulnerability to weather and climatic hazards, such as floods, cyclones, heatwaves and droughts. Adaptation to climate change is a relatively new concern, but it can call on a rich tradition spanning many …
This note reports on examples of recent experience in eight countries where national and local governments and civil society participants have worked to strengthen their disaster risk reduction and adaptation actions. These cases, along with similar experience in other countries, provide a number of useful insights and lessons for climate …
