LIMA - Those who make excessive noise in Peru could be slapped with fines, or obligated to perform social work or administrative tasks, once the Anti-Noise Pollution Act is approved by Congress.

Francisco Ramos, president of the Health Commission that is drafting the law, explained that it will mean the prevention, monitoring and sanctioning of noise pollution, which experts say is harmful to human health and the environment.

The bill under consideration is based on standards set by the World Health Organization, which recommends that noise should not surpass 65 decibels, because higher levels damage the human ear and can cause emotional disorders and stress.

SAN JOSE - A non-governmental organization in Costa Rica is working to promote housing construction using bamboo in order to take advantage of this economical and abundant raw material.

The Tropical Science Center (CCT), made up of biologists and biodiversity specialists, reports that bamboo, a plant with a tube-like stalk and that can reach heights of 20 meters, can also be used in manufacturing light-weight furniture, as is currently being done in Europe.

The CCT, working with support from the Japanese government, has chosen San Luis de Monteverde for its pilot construction project, a town 180 km northwest of San Jose, in one of Costa Rica's principal cloud forests.

SANTIAGO - Community, neighborhood, professional and union organizations are developing projects as part of a contest for recycling the garbage created in the Chilean capital. The winning initiatives will then be managed and executed by civil society groups.

Santiago, with five million residents, produces more than 50 percent of the garbage of this country of 14.5 million people. The volume increases 12 percent annually and currently just seven percent of it is recycled.

The contest for recycling projects will pay out more than 200,000 dollars over the next four years, with the financing coming from the Fund of the Americas, the Kolleg Foundation of Germany, and the Chilean government.

RIO DE JANEIRO - The campaign against the illegal trafficking of wild animals in Brazil will be a permanent mission of the federal police, the tax authorities, aviation officials and the Public Ministry, announced the Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBAMA).

Their actions will be guided by a map that indicates the points of capture and sales of the animals, and the roads, airports and border crossings most used by the smugglers. The authorities will also provide environmental education to the communities supplying the animals, offering them alternative and sustainable sources of income.

Trafficking of wild animals represents a 10-billion-dollar-a-year business worldwide and is only surpassed among illegal activities by arms and drugs smuggling. Ninety percent of the animals die during capture or transport.