PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - International soy prices fell 67 percent since the biotech giant Monsanto began commercial production of genetically modified seeds seven years ago, says Peter Rosset, co-director of the U.S.-based Food First and participant in the World Social Forum here last week.

Argentina, the leading Latin American producer of genetically modified soy, is the best example of "this ecological and economic disaster," Rosset told Tierramérica.

Transgenic soy erased the market's self-regulation mechanism. Soy growers, who before would cut back on planting in order to boost prices, now react by increasing output because of the ease of using this pesticide-specific variety.

They try to compensate for low prices by increasing the volume of their sales, and the prices keep falling, said Rosset.

HAVANA - Cuba hopes to achieve annual organic coffee yields of 800 tons within a few years in the eastern region of Guantánamo, the product of agro-chemical-free growing techniques and in high demand in Europe.

In Guantánamo, 970 km east of Havana, cacao is also produced using methods that preserve soil fertility by using biologically-based pesticides and fertilizers.

In 2002, Cuba exported more than 70 tons of the arabica variety of organic coffee to Europe, certified by the specialized German agency BCS Oko Garantie.

CARACAS - An environmental organization is blaming the strike leaders of the state-run Petróleos de Venezuela for the oil spills occurred since Dec 2, when the massive work stoppage began in protest against President Hugo Chávez.

"The managers on strike damaged the regulation systems for the petroleum storage tanks, destroyed or perforated the protective barriers, damaged the electrical systems, machinery rooms and two specialized boats for oil spill clean-up," Jorge Hinestroza, of the Zulia Environmentalist Federation, told Tierramérica.

But the strikers state that the accidents are the result of the inexperience of the new personnel hired by the government to replace them.

In the first 40 days of the strike, "more than 30 oil-related accidents occurred, including spills into Lake Maracaibo, which covered hundreds of meters, and in some cases stretched three km long," said Juan Fernández, of the Gente del Petróleo union.

SAN SALVADOR - The public will join activists, authorities and business leaders in celebrating at the Festival of Water, Mar 17-23, in El Salvador, where they will also have the chance to express their concerns about this vital resource.

Promoted by the Association for the Global Water Contract, the festival will take place in the capital, coinciding with the Third World Water Forum, to be held in Japan, and with World Water Day, Mar 22.

Organizers say that freshwater belongs to all living species and must not be treated as merchandise, a principles established in the Water Declaration of Porto Alegre, Brazil.

BARQUISIMETO - The "Garbage is not garbage" campaign for the collection and recycling of waste in exchange for food vouchers reaches the one-year mark this month, a success in this northwestern Venezuelan city.

The municipal government distributes coupons for basic food items in exchange for recyclable waste, like glass, paper and aluminum.

Ten local parishes serve as collection centers every Saturday, working with the city's sanitation agencies. "In the first ten months of the program, we collected more than 1,200 tons of recyclable waste," said Mayor Henry Falcón.

GUATEMALA CITY - The Guatemalan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources will enact a regulation requiring environmental impact studies prior to construction of factories or other productive installations.

The new rule, a project that has been held up since 1986, "is ready and all that is needed is the signature" of President Alfonso Portillo, ministry spokeswoman Patricia Ramírez told Tierramérica. Portillo is expected to sign the bill early this month.

Once in place, the rule will standardize the environmental impact research process, streamline granting of licenses to new businesses and applying sanctions.