CARACAS - Groundbreaking for nursery that is to hold 5,000 species of trees and other plants, some in danger of extinction, took place in El Avila National Park, which encompasses the mountain that separates the Venezuelan capital from the Caribbean coast.

''The nursery was designed with eco-efficient principles in order to save water, energy and materials, including composting equipment for recycling organic waste and generating around 20 cubic meters of high quality soil each year,'' Diego Díaz, of the environmental group Vitalis, sponsor of the initiative, told Tierramérica.

Díaz explained that 60 percent of the new plants will help in reforestation efforts, and the rest will provide ''offspring'' or shoots of autochthonous species like the nearly extinct Caracas walnut (Juglans venezuelensis), palma bendita (Ceroxylon klopstockia), yagrumo (Cecropia peltata) and the araguaney (Tabebuia chrysantha) -- species threatened by fire, excess rainfall and even over-exploitation for religious uses.

SANTIAGO - A technical report leaked to the press has rekindled the debate between activists and the environmental authorities that authorized the reopening of a cellulose factory that has been blamed for the deaths of thousands of black-necked swans.

The regional environmental commission, COREMA, received the report Feb. 2 by chemical engineer Claudio Zaror, of the University of Concepción, and, without releasing the study, on Feb. 18 gave the green light for the Celco cellulose plant to open its doors again after being shut down for several weeks.

COREMA was ''irresponsible in hiding the research and in failing to take it into account when it authorized the reopening of the factory,'' Sandra Conejeros, coordinator of the Río Cruces Nature Sanctuary Defense, told Tierramérica.

Although Zaror's report does not pin responsibility on Celco for the die-off of the swans in the Rio Cruces wetlands, in southern Chile, it does say that in some areas high concentrations of toxic compounds were recorded.

TEGUCIGALPA - Tourism and pollution in the beautiful Bahía Islands threaten the coral reefs of the Honduran Caribbean, environmental attorney general Aldo Santos told Tierramérica.

The reefs, some of the biologically richest in the world, survived Hurricane Mitch in 1998, ''but will not be able to withstand the pressures of the hotel industry, tourism and contamination of the water,'' he said.

The reefs are a sort of skeletal formation in shallow waters, made up of colonies of coral, which depend on a broad range of algae for their survival.

This natural barrier protects coastal ecosystems and is the site of reproduction and nutrition for a diverse array of species, Alda Gamboa, of the Environment Secretariat's biodiversity unit, said in a Tierramérica interview.

According to Santos, regional actions are already being coordinated to confront the threats to the coral reefs.

HAVANA - The drought that has been thrashing Cuba's eastern provinces for almost two years is now hitting the central and western regions of this Caribbean country, report the authorities.

More than 1.8 million people are receiving water distributed by tanker trucks, around 100,000 of them in Havana, said Jorge Luis Aspiolea, president if the National Water Resources Institute.

''We have water every two or three days, and it lasts barely two hours. You have to hurry to collect as much as possible,'' said Estrella Jiménez, who lives in the capital's historic district.

The Meteorology Institute says January was very dry, and that 2004 ended with the lowest total precipitation since 1901. Water reservoirs are at just 35 percent capacity.

In some regions, the water reserves are not enough to last 120 days.

GUATEMALA CITY - The Guatemalan government will invest 29 million dollars to clean up Amatitlán Lake, 25 km south of the capital. The lake is full of algae and waste, which threatens to turn it into a swamp in just 10 years.

Presidential commissioner Luis Flores told Tierramérica that ''the lake should be rescued for the dignity of Guatemala.''

There are plans to build a sanitary landfill solid waste, a water treatment plant and a canal with filters for the Villalobos River, one of the focal points of contamination of the lake, which covers 14.9 square km.

A recent study shows that the Villalobos River brings in some 500,000 tons of sediment annually, causing the lake to lose 70 cm of depth each year.

The project will be topped off with a facility for injecting oxygen into the water, planting of more than 40,000 trees around the lake, renewal of the sky cable car service and recuperation of the public beach.

Until about 20 years ago, Lake Amatitlán was a favorite recreation site for thousands of residents of the capital, and an exclusive location for building luxury homes.