BOGOTA - The zoo in the northern city of Barranquilla has launched a campaign to reverse the process of extinction of the tití monkey (Saguinus oedipus), or cotton-top tamarin, a species unique to the Colombian Caribbean region.

The tiny monkey that inhabits arid and tropical forests faces intense hunting and is sold as a pet, but also suffers the deterioration of its habitat.

The campaign includes educational programs about the important role and value of the species, and is sponsored by Colombian environmental groups and by the zoos in the U.S. cities of Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

BUENOS AIRES - The governmental Environment and Sustainable Development Secretariat of Argentina and the Federal Environment Council, made up of delegates from the provincial governments, are speaking out against congressional approval of an international contract that authorizes the import of nuclear waste.

Environment Secretary Carlos Merenson says the agreement between the local firm INVAP and the Australian government for the sale of an Argentine-made nuclear reactor includes a clause that offers Argentine territory as a destination for nuclear waste, which is "unconstitutional".

The deal, denounced by 60 environmental organizations, has the authorization of the president and was ratified by the Senate, though it still needs approval by the Chamber of Representatives.

MEXICO CITY - The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation is studying the denunciations against the construction of an international airport near the Mexican capital.

The Commission, created under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has the power to request the cancellation or modification of the project, which is already at the contract bidding stage.

Residents of Texcoco, the site chosen for the new airport, say the decibel levels that the airplanes will produce violate existing standards. The government of Vicente Fox has stated that the rules on noise pollution do not apply to aircraft. Fox hopes to inaugurate the largest project during his presidency, by 2006.

LIMA - The Potable Water and Sewage Service of the Peruvian capital installed tiny video cameras inside the pipeline network to detect ruptures and leaks, which present a danger that became evident during the cholera epidemic that erupted here in the 1990s.

Ruptures in the sewage and potable water systems, which generally follow parallel paths, allowed contaminated water to enter the clean water supply, turning it into a vector for propagating the disease.

The tiny cameras now in place can rotate 360 degrees, have halogen lamps to illuminate the interior of the pipes and operate with monitors that can reach 760 meters.