RIO DE JANEIRO - The farmers living in five municipalities near Rio de Janeiro die more often from stomach and esophagus cancer than the rest of the Brazilian population, and the most probable cause is exposure to agro-chemicals, states a recent report.

Agricultural workers also suffer more deaths from leukemia, cancer of the liver, larynx and testicles, according to the study of deaths among farmers ages 30 to 69 that occurred from 1979 to 1998, compared to the figures for the general population of the same districts and from the southern municipality of Porto Alegre, which reports the highest cancer rates in Brazil.

Excessive exposure to fertilizers and pesticides is the most likely cause of cancer deaths, says biologist Armando Meyer, who was in charge of the study.

Twenty-five million people are poisoned or intoxicated by agro-chemicals every year in developing countries, he added.

CARACAS - Experts at the Ecology Center of the Venezuelan Scientific Research Institute are studying the creation of hybrids of different coral types in order to apply the technique in environmental management and preservation of the species.

"This type of research is applicable in Venezuela because there is a great abundance of coral in the island region along the coast, particularly at Mochima and Morrocoy Parks," said Luis Miguel Márquez, expert in coral ecology and genetics, at a recent seminar.

Through controlled hybridization, it is possible to combine species or create new varieties, explained Márquez, who has proved in his research that the phenomenon occurs naturally among coral species.

The idea is to develop a genetic lineage of the population of these aquatic organisms in order to apply it towards coral conservation, he said.

HAVANA - The medicinal preparations based on bee honey could replace up to 70 percent of the conventional medicine in Cuba, where bee-keeping has been the target of development for 20 years.

Compounds with honey and other bee products, mixed with essential oils have long been used throughout this Caribbean island to treat such things as parasites, skin infections and respiratory illnesses.

"Cuban honey is high quality and is increasingly close to international requirements," said Belgian scientist Roch Domerago, vice-president of Apimondia, an international apiculture organization, which has already joined forces with the United Nations Development Program to implement bee product therapy in Cameroon and Burkina Faso.

According to Domerago, Cuba leads the way among Latin American countries in this alternative medicine, followed by Brazil and Argentina.

GUATEMALA CITY - The Guatemalan government declared the area surrounding Izabal Lake, the country's largest, a "public catastrophe zone" as a result of the massive spread of a strange plant that is affecting fishing and water navigation.

The plague, which the local Guatemalan communities have dubbed the "extraterrestrial plant", has extended throughout the lake, located 140 km northwest of Guatemala City, and is so far immune to all attempts to eradicate it.

The Hydrilla verticillata species, whose roots can grow to seven meters in fresh water, first appeared in April in Dulce River, which flows into Izabal Lake.

Scientists are attempting to prevent it from covering the entire lake surface -- 700 square km -- while local authorities are considering blocking off the area and restricting lake traffic.

The governor of Izabal department, María del Carmen Fajardo, said she "would not support" the use of chemicals to fight the plant plague because the substances would likely cause further biological imbalance.

PANAMA CITY - Fewer than 10 percent of the 120 snake species found in Panama are poisonous, reveals a new study by the Ministry of Health.

Research shows that the only venomous snakes in Panamanian territory are the eight varieties of coral snake and the members of the Vipedidae or Crotalidae family.

The preferred diet of coral snakes is frogs, lizards and, occasionally, smaller snakes, says the author of the study, Eric Ulloa, national director of services provision at the Ministry of Health.

Upon seeing a human being, the coral snake's first reaction is to move away. They only become aggressive when they feel trapped or are provoked, he said.

The poisonous effect of a snake bite occurs between 15 minutes and two hours after the attack, and can cause permanent damage or death if antivenin is not taken.

SAN JOSE - The government of Costa Rica will speak on behalf of the seven Central American countries at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to take place in Johannesburg Aug 26-Sep 4.

The Costa Rican delegation, which holds the rotating presidency of the inter-governmental Central American Environment and Development Commission, will be headed by President Abel Pacheco and Environment Minister Carlos Manuel Rodríguez.

Pacheco will call for international recognition of the environmental services provided to the entire planet by the forests covering 35 percent of Central American territory.

On behalf of the Central American Integration System, the delegation will request payment for these services to the region, which holds seven percent of the world's biological diversity and eight percent of all mangroves.