BOGOTA - The Colombian agricultural research agency CORPOICA last week released the first biological vaccine developed in this country to fight 'ranillas', a blood disease spread amongst cattle by flies and ticks.

The new product, Anabasán, immunizes cows against the parasites Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina and Anaplasma marginale, which cause losses of some five million dollars annually for Colombia's cattle industry, killing the animals or sharply reducing their productivity.

Luis Nieto, head of CORPOICA, told Tierramérica that just one dose of the vaccine provides lifetime immunity ''and is completely biological, meaning that it does not contaminate the environment, does not affect the quality of cow milk or beef, and poses no risk for the human consumer.''

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government faces an international lawsuit if it does not order the demolition of a large pier built ''illegally'' just 50 meters from a reef along what is known as the Mayan Riviera.

The ''Ultramar-Aquaworld'' pier, which began operating in July, violates several laws and is an attack on protected natural resources, Gustavo Alanís, president of the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, told Tierramérica.

If the 230-meter wharf -- located close to a delicate Caribbean reef system -- is not dismantled, the case will be brought before the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, said Alanís.

The Commission, made up of representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United States, will be presented with the illegalities and ''corruption'' that were behind the construction of the pier, he said.

Environmentalists have opposed the project since it was first announced in 2001, and demanded, without success, explanations and documentation from the authorities.

LIMA - Aboard a vessel anchored off the river port of Iquitos, capital of the Peruvian Amazon, representatives from 17 Latin American countries and Spain pledged on Sep. 3 to promote tourism activities that do not harm the environment.

The Amazon River Declaration, signed in the presence of officials from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Tourism Organization, includes 25 commitments, and the first is to promote tourism in the framework of sustainable development and a regional development strategy.

Other pledges include taking inventories of natural resources, creating more protected nature areas, promoting the environmental certification of tourism activities, and protecting oceans, lakes and rivers based on quality standards.

''Tourism can contribute to economic and social development, but if it doesn't follow appropriate norms, massive tourism can turn into a dangerous source of pollution,'' said UNEP delegate Diego Masera.

TEGUCIGALPA - The Olancho Environmentalist Movement (MAO), based in northeast Honduras and led by Roman Catholic priest Andrés Tamayo, is considering staging yet another ''march for life''.

After two months of intense meetings with the government, demanding official action to protect the nation's forests, ''they have failed to keep their promises and we see no political will,'' MAO activist Bertha Oliva told Tierramérica.

The government made 10 promises following the National March for Life, held in late June. Among them were the withdrawal of a forestry bill, efforts to protect flora and fauna, and the suspension of a forest management plan that the environmentalists said lacked regulatory measures. But ''nothing has been done,'' said Oliva.

''We are ready to head another pilgrimage to the capital if they keep putting off the forest issues. Illegal logging continues left and right, while the government invites us to sit down for coffee,'' she said.

GUATEMALA CITY - Locusts have inundated several communities in the Guatemalan department of Jutiapa, east of the capital; an unprecedented event for that region.

''The plague began destroying fields, and is estimated to have affected some eight square kilometers, but the value of the damage is not yet known,'' Marvin Valdez, an expert from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, told Tierramérica.

He explained that scientists will study the situation to determine the best way to fight the locusts, but that massive fumigation has already been ruled out because of the potential harm to food crops.

''This has never been seen here before. There have been invasions of other types of insects, but never so many,'' said René Bolaños, mayor of Santa Catarina Mita, in Jutiapa.

To mitigate the effects of the crop damage, the municipality and the national ministry will distribute food where corn and bean fields were hardest hit. These are the staples of the rural population's diet.