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LIMA - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) has joined the war in Peru against a plague
of locusts that last year destroyed more than 20,000
hectares of forests and cropland.
The
locusts that are devastating Cajamarca province in
the northern sierra have survived the army's flamethrowers
and insecticides sprayed from helicopters. The government
initiative to buy the insects collected by peasant
farmers for use in livestock and bird feed has also
proven ineffective.
The
FAO's participation in eradication efforts is outlined
in a technical assistance project signed with the
Peruvian government in early February.
SAN JOSE - The 'lapa verde,'
an emblematic macaw of the tropics, is on the verge
of extinction in Costa Rica due to logging operations
that destroy the bird's natural habitat, reports the
government.
The Ministry of Environment announced Feb 12 that
just 30 to 35 mating pairs are left in Costa Rica,
despite their abundant population in the country's
forests in years past.
A minimum of 50 pairs of
'lapas verdes' are needed to ensure the survival of
the species, say experts.
This macaw, icon of Costa
Rica's biodiversity, reaches more than a meter in
length and boasts a soft plumage that covers the array
of blues and greens.
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Activists
Help Sea Turtles Thrive
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CARACAS
- The non-governmental group Provita helped secure the
survival of 600 baby sea turtles following last year's
egg-laying season on the coast of Venezuela.
In
the town of Higuerote, Provita manages the Procosta
project for the preservation of the five sea turtle
species that inhabit the Venezuelan coastline.
Hundreds
of female turtles arrive annually at the relatively
uninhabited beaches of Higuerote to lay their eggs.
Provita activists seek out the nests and relocate
the eggs to safe places, out of the sun and protected
from their natural predators and from humans.
RIO
DE JANEIRO - The amount of garbage on the streets of
downtown Macaé, in Brazil, dropped 60 percent thanks
to the Eco-Citizen project that uses theater as its
primary method for raising environmental awareness.
Since September 1997, a
team of eight actors and entertainers have worked
to win the public's collaboration in reducing pollution,
said Marielza Cunha Horta, the project's coordinator.
Since
Eco-Citizen began its efforts, litter has also dropped
40 percent along the beaches of Macaé, a city of 200,000
people located 190 km from Rio de Janeiro.
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