HAVANA - Cuba seeks to boost the use of renewable energy sources, hand in hand with its programs for industrial re-conversion to reduce reliance on petroleum-based electrical plants.

The government has set up an expert task force to evaluate current use of alternative energy sources, with the result to be disseminated in June.

State enterprises must include in their budget plans for 2004 the amount of resources earmarked for developing these more environmentally-friendly energy sources, which so far have mostly benefited smaller populations that are isolated from the country's electrical grid.

The alternatives most used in Cuba today are the burning of sugarcane pulp, which covers 30 percent of the island's electricity demand, hydroelectric generators and solar power.

CARACAS - More than 15,000 young turtles, of the 'arrau' or South American river turtle (Podocnemis expansa) species, were released Apr 26 along the banks of the middle Orinoco River in Venezuela as part of a preservation program of the governmental wildlife service Profauna.

Through the 14-year-old turtle program, 60 to 90 eggs produced by each of the 1,300 females counted annually are collected and incubated, and the offspring are reared in captivity for one year, until they are 10 to 12 cm long and less vulnerable to predators.

The worst enemies of the arrau turtle are humans, who have indiscriminately hunted this once abundant species along the Orinoco and its tributaries. In 1989 there were just 900 egg-producing females counted in Venezuela.

Over the years, Profauna has returned some 100,000 turtles to their natural habitat, but the species remains in danger of extinction.

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil remains the leader in recycling metal containers, reclaiming 87 percent of all beer and soft drink cans used in 2002, reports the Brazilian Aluminum Association. The recyclable waste collection sector provides income for 150,000 people.

In 2001, Brazil had already achieved 85 percent recycling, a big improvement over the 78 percent recorded in 2000. Brazil beat Japan by two percentage points.

More than environmental awareness, it is poverty and unemployment that drive this Brazilian phenomenon, say experts. The average income of waste collectors is the equivalent of two official monthly salaries (155 dollars), more than other unskilled workers make.

In 2002, more than 121,000 tons, or nine billion cans, were recycled, saving nearly 1,700 gigawatt hours of electricity and 600,000 tons of bauxite, the raw material for manufacturing aluminum.

SANTIAGO - A hundred primary and secondary schools in Chile are applying to obtain environmental certification through a government project launched Apr 22, in honor of Earth Day.

The National Environmental Certification System for Educational Establishments aims to improve the school community's relationship with its surroundings and to promote learning processes related to sustainable development, according to the National Environmental Commission.

The program was officially presented at a primary school in the municipality of Pudahuel, one of the poorest in the Santiago metropolitan region.

Another of the objectives is to strengthen the educational community through "development of autonomy, associative capacity and integrational vision of the role of the schools as an actor in local environmental management."