MEXICO CITY - Experts from a number of countries of the Americas will meet in Mexico Mar. 25-26 to discuss the impact of trade on the environment and on the quality of life of indigenous communities.

Thirteen reports on the relationship between energy, agriculture and stockbreeding, and on the impact of invasive exotic species brought in as a result of trade flows, will be presented at the meeting. Sponsored by the North American Commission of Environmental Cooperation and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the gathering will also discuss the relationship between the environment and investors’ rights in the countries linked by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) -- Canada, Mexico and the United States.

BOGOTA.- A government initiative in Colombia that has the support of international institutions aims to set up a complete database of Colombian bird species that are held in ornithological collections around the world, in order to contribute to environmental controls and conservation programmes.

The Biomap project is being carried out by the Natural Sciences Institute of Colombia’s National University, the London Museum of Natural History, the Darwin Initiative in Britain, and several other institutions.

Visitors to the www.biomap.net web site can enjoy access (in Spanish) to the 40,000 pieces of data collected so far by three teams of researchers in Colombia, North America and Europe.

Colombia is the country with the greatest number of bird species in the world, with more than 1,800 known species. But virtually nothing is known about some of the species.

BUENOS AIRES.- Argentina has 33 million hectares of native forests, just one-third of the total registered less than a century ago, according to a study by the Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development.

The report indicates that in 1914 there were 106 million hectares of native forests. The expansion of farm and stockbreeding activities, deforestation and fires are destroying the country’s forests.

According to the study, which is based on satellite images, maps, aerial inspections and other sources of information, one of the best-preserved areas is the southern province of Patagonia, where there are abundant forests of native species like lenga, coihue-oak and pehuén (monkey puzzle tree).

LIMA – Municipal authorities in Lima are studying the possible closure and transfer of two U.S. companies located in the Villa Swamps, a protected area on the south side of the capital, after deciding this month to close down a Chilean pasta plant, Lucchetti.

Mayor Luis Castañeda, who took office on Jan. 1, received a copy of the report on the environmental situation in the Villa Swamps, drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which the previous administration had kept under wraps.

According to the study, removing Lucchetti from the area was a “top priority.” Among the other recommended measures was the transfer of a cellulose derivatives plant belonging to the Kimberly Clark company, a 3M warehouse, a gas station and two slaughterhouses.