MEXICO CITY, Feb 5 (Tierramérica) - To promote construction of sustainable residential and commercial buildings -- a still-emerging sector in North America -- government officials, architects, engineers and other experts from Mexico, United States and Canada are meeting here this month.

Sustainable building refers to design and construction techniques that reduce environmental impacts. This includes rational use of energy, materials and water, lower building material costs, and reduced waste. It also encompasses the improved wellbeing of the residents themselves.

The aim is to determine a common route, and tighten the distance between Mexico and the U.S. and Canada, where sustainable construction is on the rise, with incentives like "green mortgages" and special certifications, David Morillón, an expert from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told Tierramérica.

The sponsor of the Feb. 20-21 meeting is the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 5 (Tierramérica) - Fourteen pumas (Felis concolor), being kept illegally, were rescued by the Natural Resources Directorate of the central Argentine province of La Pampa in operations on Jan. 26 and Jan. 31.

These native big cats were being kept in cages on private land, presumably to be sedated and then released as easy prey for foreigners visiting the area for sport hunting.

"We are concerned, and condemn the existence of illegal hunting preserves, which is a crime punishable under the Animal Protection Act and the National Wildlife Act," Silvana Stochetti, of the Argentine Foundation for Animal Welfare, told Tierramérica.

"The authorities have to intensify monitoring procedures to prevent the existence of establishments that, with the excuse that they are promoting tourism and sport, profit from the lives of wild animals in an aberrant way."

TEGUCIGALPA, Feb 5 (Tierramérica) - The Honduran government announced that in the next two months it will launch a reforestation effort in the northern mountains of Pico Bonito, a pilot project for selling carbon credits to national and foreign investors.

Environment Minister Mayra Mejía told Tierramérica that the most degraded areas of the mountains will be reforested, with an eye to entering the local and international markets for trading carbon emissions credits as established by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which allows industrialized countries to invest in greenhouse gas abatement projects in developing countries.

She said conversations are under way with the World Bank and Japan to conduct the corresponding studies, and foreign investors and environmental groups with experience in the area are being contacted. "The communities will receive a percentage of the income," added Mejía.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 5 (Tierramérica) - The shell of the Brazil nut (Bertholettia excelsa), normally thrown out as waste, is a better source of energy than the best plant-based charcoal used in Brazil's steel industry, says the National Institute of Amazonian Research.

"Annually, there are at least 60,000 tons of shells available, gone to waste until now," Paulo Roberto Moura, author of the study released Jan. 24, told Tierramérica.

Burning the shells generates the same heat as the eucalyptus lumber most used in Brazil (Eucalyptus grandis), but lasts twice as long, and produces less air pollution.

As a waste product from deep inside the Amazon region, it would be ideal to use it to generate electricity locally. The added value also favors industrialization to separate and process the nut and its shell, facilitating extraction and improving final products, says Moura.