HAVANA, Jan 29 (Tierramérica) - Children from the Zapata marsh area, one of the Caribbean islands' most important wetlands, are part of a campaign to protect the manjuarí, a fish native to Cuba that is in danger of extinction.
On Jun. 5 the children will release in their natural habitat fish they have raised in their schools.

The manjuarí (Atractosteus tristoechus) lives in the Zapata peninsula and in other southern areas of Cuba's western provinces, and on the Island of Youth.

Students at five primary schools, and several families from the region, have joined the "Adopt a Manjuarí" movement. After raising the fish in captivity, they are releasing them, environmental education expert Julio Haedo explained to Tierramérica.

The population of this species fell dramatically, due to threats like illegal fishing, the introduction of exotic species, a rise in predators, and a decline in food.

CARACAS, Jan 29 (Tierramérica) - Venezuela will produce 4,000 tons fewer of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) annually, and 2,900 less in 2008, thanks to the closure of Produven, the leading local manufacturer of these refrigerants that deplete the Earth's atmospheric ozone layer.

The measure is part of the 2004-2008 framework program agreed by the company and the government's Industrial Reconversion Fund.

According to reports from the Fund, the company is receiving 16 million dollars in reparations and, as established by law, the workers who are laid off or who change jobs will also be compensated. The plant ceased operations Dec. 31.

"Actions like this should take place with greater frequency, and they have been achieved in part because of the supervision of the Venezuelan plant by the Multilateral Fund for the application of the Montreal Protocol" on ozone-depleting substances, Yazenia Frontado, spokeswoman for the environmental group Vitalis, told Tierramérica.

SANTIAGO, Jan 29 (Tierramérica) - The Transantiago Plan, which is to take effect Feb. 10 in the Chilean capital, is in the sights of ecologists, who are demanding a clear commitment from government officials to the initiative.

Transantiago's mission is to rationalize public transportation and reduce air pollution in this city of more than five million people, surrounded by mountains.

Environmentalist Paola Vasconi, of the non-governmental Terram Foundation, said one of the main criticisms of the former mayor of the metropolitan region, Víctor Barrueto, was his lack of commitment to Transantiago.

The new mayor, Adriana Delpiano, began her term in office with visits to the main centers of the new transportation plan, which includes, among other measures, an expansion of the metropolitan railway and the redesign of the city's bus service.

TEGUCIGALPA, Jan 29 (Tierramérica) - Representatives from the mining industry in Honduras are calling for a new legal framework to guarantee greater investment in the sector to prevent collapse. But despite social pressures, the industry recorded rising profits in 2006.

On Jan. 22, the mining reps addressed the National Congress, which has delayed approval of reform of the Law on Mining.

Santos Gabino Carvajal, president of the National Association of Miners, told Tierramérica that the lack of regulations has kept investment on hold, "because we lack clear rules for investment, and the accusations that we are environmental predators are not true."

In 2006, mining exports from Honduras generated 157 million dollars, 49 million more than 2005, "because the international prices were good, but the legal uncertainty could endanger expansion of the industry," he said.

MEXICO CITY, Jan 29 (Tierramérica) - An environmental norm that the Mexican government intends to approve for managing used battery waste has triggered the ire of environmental activists because the plan fails to include recycling.

"It is useless, and that's what we will tell the authorities explicitly," Marisa Jacott, coordinator of the anti-toxins campaign for the environmental watchdog Greenpeace-Mexico, told Tierramérica.

The details of the norm, which under law are open to public comment until March, are limited to requiring that battery manufacturers maintain high-quality products and fight contraband.

The proposed rules do not consider storage or recycling, because manufacturers argue that today's batteries have only minimal contaminants.

Greenpeace acknowledges that point, but stresses that half of the 600 million batteries used annually in Mexico are smuggled into the country, most from China, and that they contain toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment.

"As it stands, the new law is useless because it doesn't recognize reality, which is why we will fight it," said Jacott.