QUITO - Aerial fumigation of coca plantations in southwestern Colombia is affecting the inhabitants and crops of Ecuador's northern sierra, say the authorities and peasant leaders.

Farmers from the Tulcán area, capital of Carchi province, have denounced that Ecuadorian areas along the Colombian border have been undergoing fumigations since August.

Meanwhile, residents of Tobar Donoso, a town in northwest Carchi, say that many people are suffering soreness of the eyes and headaches, likely caused by the glyphosate used in the spraying.

According to the complaints, the herbicide also carries serious consequences for the environment.

Glyphosate is a Category III Toxin, which requires caution in its use as its component chemicals can provoke gastro-intestinal and pulmonary problems.

MEXICO CITY - At least one of every five export shipments of flora or fauna inspected by Mexican Customs officials is illegal and, from 1995 to date, approximately 70,000 specimens of various species have been confiscated.

The shipments seized would be enough to fill several zoos with a high percentage of species at risk of extinction, according to the Federal Procurator's Office for Environmental Protection.

In Mexico, official records indicate there are 45 rare species of animals, 146 in danger of extinction and 82 with special protection status.

The non-governmental Pro Conservation of Nature Association maintains that in parrot smuggling to the United States alone, traffickers take in 15 million dollars a year.

BUENOS AIRES - Eight towns in Buenos Aires province last year fought over which would be the site of a new prison, which would provide employment for local residents, and now other Argentine municipalities are competing for a waste treatment plant.

The 10 million people who live in the Argentine capital's metropolitan area produce 16,000 tons of garbage each day, and the authorities say the waste dumps currently in use will be saturated in less than two years.

Towns more than 300 km away from Buenos Aires, such as Tlapalqué, with high unemployment and an economy in crisis, have offered to take the garbage, which would arrive in special sanitation trains or in trucks.

The proposed treatment plan would cost some 80 million dollars and would provide employment for 600 people.

HAVANA - The processes causing Varadero, Cuba's premier tourist resort, to lose the sand from its beautiful beaches have halted, say experts.

Specialists from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment confirmed that the beach, located 140 km from Havana, has grown wider.

In 1998, a million cubic meters of sand were added to the famous beach. The project, financed by the government, had a price tag of some five million dollars.

Experts calculated annual losses of 50,000 cubic meters of sand. Deterioration occurs due to natural phenomena, but is also the result of past extraction of sand from the area and to construction along the coastal dunes.

*Source: Inter Press Service.