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Loading ...Putting a Value on Belize’s Reefs and Mangroves
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008In a recent post I applauded efforts to estimate the true economic value of the mangroves along the coast of Mexico’s Baja California. Last month the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report that estimates the economic value of Belize’s coral reefs and mangroves that I similarly applaud — in […]
LAC Urban Renewal Projects that Fight Obesity and Chronic Disease
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008From the World Resources Institute (WRI): Latin American Cities Get Physical in Fight Against Obesity and Chronic Disease Mexico City, Mexico; Londrina, Brazil; and Tulancingo, Mexico won top awards in a contest here today for urban renewal projects designed to promote physical activity and cut down on local obesity rates and other diseases related to […]
The World’s Most Sustainable Bank?
Friday, July 11th, 2008When the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced the winners of their annual Sustainable Banking Awards, guess who won at the global level, beating out competitors such as Citi, HSBC and Standard Chartered? Brazil’s Banco Real.* Who won the award for the Emerging Markets segment? Brazil’s Banco Real. [They won this […]
Past as Prologue for Caribbean Reefs?
Friday, June 13th, 2008Earlier this year the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published a report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) assessing the state of the Caribbean’s coral reefs after their toughest year in recent history, 2005. The IOC is the lead international entity assessing and reporting […]
Protecting the Mesoamerican Reef
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007Another one from the backlog queue! A few hurried notes to myself from the beginning of December, then lost in the holiday shuffle. But the recent posts on the WWF-Coca-Cola freshwater partnership and WWF’s agreements with agricultural producers in Honduras reminded me of this one still lurking in the queue. Hopefully better late than never. […]
GEF Funds Project to Protect Caribbean Sea from Pesticides
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007Synopsis in English: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) will provide US$5 million to help three LAC nations — Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua — reduce the adverse impact on the marine environment of the Caribbean Sea of their agricultural sectors’ use of pesticides. The three participating governments will match the amount, making it a US$10 […]
Combatting Deforestation I: How Bad Is It in LAC?
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007In my “confession and foreword” to the series on deforestation in LAC, I promised to begin with a look at the current state of knowledge about the rate and magnitude of deforestation in in the region. Here is my stab at this topic, building on an entry I originally sketched out last November regarding the […]
Human Pressure on the Amazonian Rainforest
Tuesday, January 16th, 2007I’d like to recommend reading this month’s edition of National Geographic. It contains an interesting and well-done piece on human pressures on the Amazonian rainforest. An excerpt is available free online, but to read the entire article you have to buy the print edition. Also available online are some terrific photos, and a interactive version […]
“Up in Smoke” PostScript: Related Materials on Climate Change and LAC
Saturday, September 30th, 2006It’s been suggested to me to post some recommendations for follow-up reading and resources related to the review I did on the “Up in Smoke” report on probable impact of global climate change on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). I’m a bit hesitant to do so because I don’t consider myself to be an […]
Coral Reef Protection, Part II: The Current Situation
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006In the first part of my primer series on coral reefs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), I examined why it is important to protect coral reef systems, what sort of things threaten their survival. Here in Part II, I look at what coral reefs LAC has, what condition they are in currently, and a brief overview of what currently […]