A huge pulp mill that Uruguay has allowed a Finnish company to build despite angry protests from neighboring Argentina has begun operating. Argentina claims the US$1.1 billion Botnia mill will pollute the Uruguay River, which forms part of the two nations’ common border, and send foul air across the river to the Argentine province of Entre Ríos. The start-up of the plant, designed to produce one million tons of pulp annually, was preceded by diplomatic maneuvering aimed at defusing tension between Argentina and Uruguay over the facility. On Nov. 1, the Uruguayan government announced that the pulp complex, located in Fray Bentos, across the Uruguay River from the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú, would be granted final environmental authorization. But at the press conference...
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Both Brazil and the European Union (EU) are declaring victory following a Dec. 3 ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body on their dispute over Brazil’s ban on imports of retreaded tires. The dispute began in 2005 when the EU challenged Brazil’s 2000 ban on retread imports as an unfair trade restraint. Though the ban also covered used-tire imports, the EU focused its case on imported retreads. Brazil has claimed it must ban such importation because the retreads’ relatively short lifespan results in inordinate numbers of tires being discarded in landfills and illegal dumps, creating habitat for disease-carrying mosquitoes. (See “Brazil and EU collide over retread imports”—EcoAméricas, Aug. ’06). A WTO panel issued a ruling in the case on June...
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The recent U.S. release of “Sharkwater,” a documentary about plummeting shark populations worldwide, has rekindled a long-standing controversy in Costa Rica about the country’s role in the illegal shark trade. The film, narrated and directed by videographer Rob Stewart, spotlights Costa Rica as a country contributing to the decline of sharks, mainly for its inadequate efforts in controlling the lucrative though illegal practice of allowing shark-finning to take place in its territorial waters. (See “Sharks pay price as fin trade prospers”—EcoAméricas, Nov. ’03, and “Word ‘adhere’ a sticking point in shark law”—EcoAméricas, March ’06.) Randall Arauz, director of the Marine Turtle Restoration Program (Pretoma) and outspoken critic of Costa Rican fisheries policy, says Costa Rica continues to allow sharks to be...
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Nearly half the social conflicts registered by Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office in the past year have been related to environmental problems in communities where mines are operating or planned. In response, the non-governmental group CooperAcción and two other organizations—the Ecumenical Foundation for Development and Peace (Fedepaz) in Lima and the Education and Intervention for Sustainable Development Group (Grufides) in Cajamarca—have launched an “observatory of mining conflicts” to provide information about the conflicts and help formulate solutions. Because subsoil resources legally belong to the state, the Peruvian government grants concessions without local consultation. Companies now hold mining rights to 13.2 million hectares (32.6 million acres) of land in the country. That’s three times the 2002 figure and six times the 1991 figure. Foreign investment...
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