Fragata. Credit: Claudio Contreras.

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's Ministry of Environment is distributing a guide to promote participation in the eighth conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Mar. 20-31 in the southern city of Curitiba.

Brazil -- which heads the Convention -- is pushing for an international agreement on access to genetic resources and distribution of their benefits, that protects mega-diverse countries, ministry advisor Tony Gross explained to Tierramérica.

The Convention, established in 1992, is intended to prevent the extinction of 5,200 animal and 34,000 endangered plant species.

The meeting in Curitiba, which is expected to draw 5,000 people from 187 countries, will see debate on international rules on biopiracy, a program to protect forests and a new initiative for oceanic islands, whose biodiversity is threatened by the rising sea levels of climate change, said Gross.

BOGOTA - The United Nations will send 11 people to observe the manual eradication of 4,600 hectares of coca fields in La Macarena nature reserve, located in the central Colombian department of Meta.

The objective "is to quantify the areas" where this illegal drug crop is eradicated, "and report on the development of the operation," explained Sandro Calvani, representative in Colombia of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

The government began this effort on Jan. 17 -- to last three months -- in reaction to environmentalists' complaints about aerial spraying of glyphosate herbicide in the nature parks.

Researcher Ricardo Vargas told Tierramérica that manual eradication of coca in La Macarena is an isolated measure and too short-term to respond to the complex problems in the area.

GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala's environmental officials have declared 2006 the Year of the Jaguar as part of a campaign to raise a million dollars to protect the big cat species from extinction.

"There are only about 250 left" of this species in Guatemala, Ana Noguera, executive secretary of the Council on Protected Areas, CONAP, told Tierramérica.

The funds collected this year will go towards research and protecting the jaguar, she said.

According to CONAP, the jaguar (Panthera onca) lives in the protected area of the Maya Biosphere in the northern department of Petén, though there are others in southern Mexico and Belize.

Noguera also noted that this mammal is endangered in large part due to illegal hunting, and trafficking of its meat, skin and even its claws.

MEXICO CITY - Mexican peasant farmers who oppose construction of La Parota dam in the southwestern state of Guerrero pledge to step up actions to halt the million-dollar project, following a court ruling in their favor.

A local agrarian court ruled on Jan. 18 that one of the 19 assemblies, in which a majority voted in favor of selling their lands, was illegal. The land is to be flooded by the reservoir of the 900 megawatt dam.

"The 'campesinos' feel much more encouraged and they are blocking the Federal Electricity Commission technicians' access to the area," Mario Patrón, attorney for the opposition groups, who maintain that the assemblies organized by the authorities involved bribes, said in a conversation with Tierramérica.

The government denies the accusations and announced that nothing will delay the call for bids on the megaproject, scheduled to take place in the next month.

Desierto en Sonora, México. Crédito: Claudio Contreras.

MEXICO CITY - Children from around the world have until Feb. 15 to send their paintings and drawings of deserts and desertification for a contest organized by the United Nations Environment Program, UNEP.

The winners for Latin America, Europe, Africa and other regions will be announced in Aprial, and in June the global winner will be announced, UNEP spokesman Rody Oñate, told Tierramérica.

The winners will receive a cash prize and a trip to attend the official celebrations of World Environment Day in a city yet to be determined. Other prizes include diplomas, plaques, t-shirts and art materials.

To learn more, connect yourself to: http://www.unep.org/tunza/paintcomp15/