QUITO - The Chamber of Tourism in the Ecuadorian capital is to promote ecological tourism in areas of the country that are little known to foreign or even local travelers, such as the Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park, in the Amazon province of Napo.

Sumaco is an active volcano that rises 3,732 meters above sea level. Centuries ago, its slopes were the home to the Quijos, an indigenous community that fought both Incan armies and Spanish Conquistadors until they themselves were eliminated.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the national park a Biosphere Reserve.

With some 80,000 people living in the surrounding areas, it covers 930,000 hectares and provides habitat for animals that have become extinct elsewhere, such as the jaguar, the tapir, the giant armadillo and the masked anteater.

HAVANA - The Cuban government plans an international bidding process for the construction of a clean energy plant that is to use the biomass from sugarcane to produce approximately 40 megawatt hours of electricity daily.

Representatives of the island's government, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), signed the estimated 80-million-dollar initiative Feb 20.

''It is a pilot project that could have an impact for more than 30 sugar processing plants in Cuba and more than 400 around the world,'' said Rafael Asenjo, executive director of the New York-based UNDP/GEF office. Firms from France, Germany, Spain and Brazil have already expressed interest in the project.

BUENOS AIRES - The number of forested hectares in Argentina jumped by 30 percent last year compared to 1999, and multiplied eight-fold if the 2000 total is measured against that of 1992.

The expansion of forested lands can be explained by a new official policy to promote investment, for which the government created an annual fund of 42 million dollars.

Capital for the project comes from Chile, the United States and Europe, and there are also local entrepreneurs investing in this long-term project that creates many jobs for unskilled workers.

BOGOTA - More than 300 hectares of forests in Colombia have been hit by fires in recent weeks, blazes which are more likely to occur during this time of year because of higher average temperatures.

In the second week of February, the flames engulfed 120 hectares of arid tropical forest in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the north, with the reptile and bird populations suffering a severe blow, reported the environment ministry.

The recovery of the burned areas will cost nearly 1.3 million dollars, reflecting the loss of biodiversity, soil damage and the environmental services previously provided by the devastated vegetation.