After mass protests by an unusual coalition of environmentalists, engineers and retailers, Canada’s Greystar Resources this month withdrew its request for an environmental license to build one of the world’s largest gold mines in the high-mountain plains of Colombia’s Santander department. The decision by the Vancouver mining company came after an initial US$140 million investment in the $1 billion Angostura mine and several years of exploration. Greystar had said that with estimated reserves of 10 million troy ounces of gold, the mine would turn the area into one of the world’s biggest gold producers and contribute significantly to the local economy. But after a series of protests, culminating in a march by 40,000 demonstrators late last month in Bucaramanga, Santander’s principal city, Greystar...
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Costa Rica this month created an immense buffer zone around Cocos Island National Park, a World Heritage Site, expanding the marine protected area by five times to one million hectares (3,900 sq. miles) in an effort to protect sharks and other endangered marine species from industrial fishing fleets. Located 480 kilometers (300 miles) off the Costa Rican mainland in the Pacific, Cocos features some of the world’s largest populations of the endangered scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) as well as significant numbers of the less threatened, but still vulnerable whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) and the 40-foot long whale shark (Rincodon typus). It also is home to large populations of whales, dolphins and sea turtles and, according to numerous studies, the greatest fish concentrations, or...
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The United States decision to reverse course and endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip) could bolster forest conservation in Latin America and other regions, experts say. The UN declaration recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to sovereignty, territory and respect for traditional knowledge. It also requires that they be consulted on plans for development projects on their lands. Because indigenous peoples demonstrate a high level of success in preserving wilderness areas, a track record attested to by a recent World Bank study, the U.S. endorsement could contribute to further such gains, experts say. The United States joined Australia, Canada and New Zealand in refusing to back the UN declaration when it was adopted by 143 nations in September 2007...
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Tourism businesses in southern Chile are joining a new government-financed initiative to engage in voluntary measurement and mitigation of travel-related climate-change impact. Among them is Secret Patagonia, a tour operator based in the Lake District town of Puerto Varas. The company, which groups travel businesses operating in Cochamo, a natural area 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Puerto Varas that is proposed for national park status, has made environmental protection a key element of its operations and marketing strategy. “We did a survey of the tour operators principally in Europe and they told us the environmental issue is key in the decision of travelers today,” says Fernando Ortuzar, director of the Lake District office of the National Tourism Ministry (Sernatur) and a...
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