Vaquita porpoise’s plight becomes even more dire

March 2019

Costa Rica

Costa Rica unveils long-awaited zero-carbon plan

On Feb. 24, performers dressed as frogs, jaguars and tropical birds filled the Museum of Costa Rican Art in the country’s capital of San José. ......

Mexico

Vaquita porpoise’s plight becomes even more dire

The battle to save Mexico’s vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise and most endangered cetacean, has become more desperate than ever. Experts announced in March that ......

Peru

Peru sends police, military to curb illegal mining

The Peruvian government has placed a swath of the southeastern Madre de Dios region under the control of the military and police in an effort ......

Bolivia

Critics say Morales’ rhetoric belied by his actions

In April of 2010, Bolivian President Evo Morales hosted the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, a meeting in ......

Brazil

First Climate Fund REDD+ payment goes to Brazil

The Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest financing mechanism for climate action, has chosen Brazil as the recipient of its first-ever payment under REDD+, the ......

Around the Region

Indigenous-rights leader murdered in Costa Rica

Sergio Rojas, a leader of the Bribrí people in southern Costa Rica’s Salitre indigenous territory, was under threat. He knew it, and the Costa Rican ......

Centerpiece (Free Read)

Mexican crocs in open due to habitat loss

Of all the wild creatures in Mexico, few stir such strong emotions as the crocodile. Those emotions, ranging from awe to dread, have been very ......

Q&A

Head of advisory panel views Doce River restoration as model

Environmental expert Yolanda Kakabadse of Ecuador chairs the Rio Doce Panel (RDP), a body formed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The ......

Vaquita porpoise’s plight becomes even more dire

Mexico

Vaquita-protection patrols are shifting strategy as porpoise numbers dwindle. (Petey Crawford, Sea Shepherd)

The battle to save Mexico’s vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise and most endangered cetacean, has become more desperate than ever. Experts announced in March that there may only be 10 vaquitas left, just as fishermen in the Upper Gulf of California began openly flouting a four-year-old ban on fishing in the beleaguered porpoise’s range. The International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (Cirva), a scientific team that advises the Mexican government, says sightings and acoustic monitoring indicate only 10 of the porpoises likely remained in 2018 compared to an estimated 30 in 2016. In a report published following a meeting of Cirva in February, the group said that accounting for margins of error, the vaquita population could be as low as six and as high as 22. With the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) moving ever-closer to extinction, the Mexican government and conservation groups are preparing to refocus... [Log in to read more]

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March 2019

Costa Rica

Costa Rica unveils long-awaited zero-carbon plan

On Feb. 24, performers dressed as frogs, jaguars and tropical birds filled the Museum of Costa Rican Art in the country’s capital of San José. ......

Mexico

Vaquita porpoise’s plight becomes even more dire

The battle to save Mexico’s vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise and most endangered cetacean, has become more desperate than ever. Experts announced in March that ......

Peru

Peru sends police, military to curb illegal mining

The Peruvian government has placed a swath of the southeastern Madre de Dios region under the control of the military and police in an effort ......

Bolivia

Critics say Morales’ rhetoric belied by his actions

In April of 2010, Bolivian President Evo Morales hosted the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, a meeting in ......

Brazil

First Climate Fund REDD+ payment goes to Brazil

The Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest financing mechanism for climate action, has chosen Brazil as the recipient of its first-ever payment under REDD+, the ......

Around the Region

Indigenous-rights leader murdered in Costa Rica

Sergio Rojas, a leader of the Bribrí people in southern Costa Rica’s Salitre indigenous territory, was under threat. He knew it, and the Costa Rican ......

Centerpiece (Free Read)

Mexican crocs in open due to habitat loss

Of all the wild creatures in Mexico, few stir such strong emotions as the crocodile. Those emotions, ranging from awe to dread, have been very ......

Q&A

Head of advisory panel views Doce River restoration as model

Environmental expert Yolanda Kakabadse of Ecuador chairs the Rio Doce Panel (RDP), a body formed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The ......