SAN FRANCISCO - Ecologist groups say the environmental proposals of the governor-elect of the U.S. state of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, are vague -- and they are going to demand concrete answers.

Carl Zichella, regional director of the environmental group Sierra Club, noted that they have entered "uncharted territory" and that the only thing the actor-turned-politician has offered are promises.

Schwarzenegger, famous for his role as the "Terminator", was elected governor of the powerful state of California on Oct. 7 following a controversial campaign that the media came to describe as a circus.

He has said he will work towards implementing the state law for reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- counter to federal policies -- cut air pollution by at least 50 percent and ban further oil drilling in California.

HAVANA - An internationally backed project for the western Cuban province of Pinar del Río aims to protect the area's wetlands and waterfowl.

The plan, benefiting the municipality of Los Palacios, 176 km from Havana, is to raise the local population's awareness of the ecological and economic value of the coastal lagoons, marshes, swamps and other ecosystems.

Targeted for protection are the aquatic birds, primarily the 'yaguasa criolla', a tree duck (Dendrocygna arborea).

The initiative has financial support from two Britain-based non-governmental organizations, the Whitley Laing Foundation and Wetlands International.

RIO DE JANEIRO - Several groups of Brazilian Indians are beginning to use the Internet, thanks to the Peoples of the Forest Network, a project of the non-governmental Committee for the Democratization of Information Technologies (CDI).

Two villages of the indigenous Ashaninka and Yawanawa communities, in the Amazonian state of Acre, in the northwest, and one in Angra dos Reis, 150 km from Rio de Janeiro, last month received five computers each and fast Internet connection via satellite, with technology from the StarOne firm.

"It is a positive tool in favor of the indigenous peoples, facilitating access to information and communication with public agencies and among the villages," Gunter Francisco Loebens, coordinator of the Catholic Church's indigenous mission in the Amazon, told Tierramérica.

CDI has received international awards for its efforts to bring "connectivity" to indigenous peoples.

GUATEMALA CITY - The environmental investigative office in Guatemala will launch a campaign at the end of October to fight the illegal trafficking in 'pinabete' branches, which Guatemalans traditionally use as Christmas decorations.

The government's environmental prosecutor, Héctor Flores, said the battle to end trade in pinabete (Habeas guatemalense), "a tree native to the higher altitude regions of western Guatemala, because it is a species unique in the world, and is in danger of extinction."

Those found guilty of trafficking will be prosecuted, Flores told Tierramérica, as was the case of Eusebio Puj, sentenced two months ago to five years in prison and a fine of 1,250 dollars.

SAN JOSE - Central Americans will have access to information on the region's plants, as well as their uses, thanks to an agreement between the Network of Central American Herbalists, the Costa Rican National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and the Norwegian Agency for Development.

The initiative, to be developed over the next four years with a budget of 4.3 million dollars, will allow information on botany to be disseminated via Internet and through other communication channels.

"Central America has great natural wealth that could contribute to development, but the information is not organized or available to those who need it," Randall García, of INBio, the agency coordinating the project, told Tierramérica.

Some of the plant species emblematic of the region are the 'guayacán real' (Guaiacum sanctum), in danger of extinction due to the demand for its fine wood; 'hombre grande' (Quassia amara), used to treat stomach ailments; and the 'zapote' (Matisia cordata), whose fruit is used to make juice, candy and marmalades.

MANAGUA - Pro-Leña, a Honduran non-governmental organization, has launched a campaign in Nicaragua to increase sales of the so-called eco-ovens, which reduce the consumption of firewood and air pollution from fires.

With financing from the World Bank, Pro-Leña trained staff from four cement block factories to market the eco-oven, Marlen Buitrago, director of the organization, told Tierramérica.

Pro-Leña introduced the eco-ovens in Honduras in 1998, improving them the next year in Nicaragua, where 3,500 have already been sold, and another 400 are to be made this year, at prices of 35 to 120 dollars.

Sales are targeted at microenterprises that process and sell food, but also at women in rural areas, where consumption of firewood is highest.

According to Nicaragua's National Energy Commission, 74.2 percent of primary energy in the country comes from firewood.