https://news.mongabay.com/list/latin-america/ Environmental science and conservation news Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:37:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/latin-america/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/french-banks-accused-of-money-laundering-linked-to-amazon-deforestation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/french-banks-accused-of-money-laundering-linked-to-amazon-deforestation/#respond 16 Nov 2023 19:04:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275545 - Between 2013 and 2021, the four French banks involved invested a total of nearly $70 million in bonds issued by leading meat companies in Brazil generating about $11.7 million in profits.
- This is the first time that French banks have received a criminal complaint for money laundering, receiving stolen goods related to funding deforestation and profiteering from it.
- An analysis of JBS and Marfrig slaughterhouses in Pará and Mato Grosso found that more than 50% and 40% of suppliers, respectively, showed evidence of irregularities, including deforestation and intrusion into Indigenous lands and protected forests.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/french-banks-accused-of-money-laundering-linked-to-amazon-deforestation/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/remediation-overdue-south-american-countries-fail-to-enforce-oil-cleanup-laws/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/remediation-overdue-south-american-countries-fail-to-enforce-oil-cleanup-laws/#respond 16 Nov 2023 11:43:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275494 - Bolivia is pressing ahead with its plans to expand activity of its hydrocarbon sector, while in Ecuador, there is an ongoing debate in international courts over an emblematic pollution case.
- In Peru, not a single environmental liability has yet been fully dealt with, while in Colombia a law has just been passed that will seek to catalog the damage caused by the oil industry.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/remediation-overdue-south-american-countries-fail-to-enforce-oil-cleanup-laws/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/why-has-deforestation-reached-record-levels-in-bolivia-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/why-has-deforestation-reached-record-levels-in-bolivia-commentary/#respond 15 Nov 2023 22:38:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275483 - Last year for example, Bolivia lost more primary forest than any previous year on record, almost double the amount during the Morales presidency.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/why-has-deforestation-reached-record-levels-in-bolivia-commentary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/as-colombias-coca-economy-crashes-new-opportunities-and-threats-arise/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/as-colombias-coca-economy-crashes-new-opportunities-and-threats-arise/#respond 15 Nov 2023 21:12:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275446 - While minor compared to the deforestation caused by clearing for pasture, coca cultivation still affects local communities through contamination of soil and water, violence and crime — yet remains a vital source of livelihood for more than 230,000 families.
- Over the past year, the rural economy in Tibú and other coca-producing regions of Colombia has collapsed due to an overproduction of the crop; coca paste, often used as a substitute for cash here, has seen its value drop by 40%, leaving locals struggling to make ends meet.
- Amid the crisis, there are calls for seizing the opportunity to transition farmers away from coca and toward more sustainable economies — though the reality is that many farmers are also turning to far more destructive activities, like illegal gold mining.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/as-colombias-coca-economy-crashes-new-opportunities-and-threats-arise/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-blockchain-clean-up-the-gold-industry-in-brazil-and-across-the-globe/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-blockchain-clean-up-the-gold-industry-in-brazil-and-across-the-globe/#respond 14 Nov 2023 17:03:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275333 Gold, whose value has spiked by more than 55% since the 2008 financial crisis, is notoriously difficult to trace. Once mined, it can follow a maze-like path to market, passing through intermediaries that mix and melt it with other sources, often erasing signatures of its origin in the process. The result? Illicit gold routinely slips […]]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-blockchain-clean-up-the-gold-industry-in-brazil-and-across-the-globe/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/how-the-u-s-financial-system-props-up-illegal-logging-and-mining/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/how-the-u-s-financial-system-props-up-illegal-logging-and-mining/#respond 14 Nov 2023 16:09:54 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275406 - The FACT Coalition, a group advocating for a fair tax system in the U.S., recently made the case that more attention needs to be paid to “financial secrecy” in conservation circles fighting climate change, deforestation and pollution.
- Weak regulation of shell companies, financial institutions and the real estate market make it too easy for environmental criminal activity to hide illicit funds in the U.S., the coalition said.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/how-the-u-s-financial-system-props-up-illegal-logging-and-mining/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/shell-affiliate-accused-of-violating-indigenous-rights-in-carbon-credit-contracts/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/shell-affiliate-accused-of-violating-indigenous-rights-in-carbon-credit-contracts/#respond 14 Nov 2023 14:42:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275364 - The company attempted to double its forest area with six projects on Indigenous lands to offset the emissions of large global polluters.
- At the Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous Territory in the state of Pará, Indigenous people allege that the carbon credit-generating company pressed communities to sign blank sheets of paper; Funai’s legal office received an offer of 50 million reais ($10.1 million) in advance for the signatures of Kayapó communities.
- Negotiations were led by a former Lava-Jato prosecutor who had also worked for Indigenous causes; after Indigenous rights violations were reported, Carbonext requested that the contracts be annulled; the Federal Prosecutor’s Office says the company may be investigated for possible damage and violations to the Indigenous communities involved.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/shell-affiliate-accused-of-violating-indigenous-rights-in-carbon-credit-contracts/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/what-does-oil-palm-require-to-reach-international-markets/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/what-does-oil-palm-require-to-reach-international-markets/#respond 14 Nov 2023 14:00:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275300 - Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023 and 2024.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/what-does-oil-palm-require-to-reach-international-markets/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palm-oil-cultivation-in-colombia-ecuador-peru-and-brazil/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palm-oil-cultivation-in-colombia-ecuador-peru-and-brazil/#respond 13 Nov 2023 16:53:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275306 - Mongabay has begun publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023 and 2024.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/palm-oil-cultivation-in-colombia-ecuador-peru-and-brazil/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-falls-22-in-2023/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-falls-22-in-2023/#respond 11 Nov 2023 00:21:47 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275286 - INPE’s analysis of satellite imagery found that forest clearing in the Brazilian Amazon totaled 9,001 square kilometers, an area approximately the size of Puerto Rico.
- INPE’s estimate is preliminary. Final data for the “deforestation year” is expected to come out in the second quarter of 2024.
- Nevertheless, the data is seen as a sign that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s efforts to curb deforestation is having an effect after a period of rising forest loss under Jair Bolsonaro.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-falls-22-in-2023/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/study-links-pesticides-to-child-cancer-deaths-in-brazilian-amazon-cerrado/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/study-links-pesticides-to-child-cancer-deaths-in-brazilian-amazon-cerrado/#respond 10 Nov 2023 17:30:06 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275270 - The researchers estimate that 123 childhood deaths during the 2008-19 period are associated with exposure to pesticides from the soy fields, amounting to half the deaths of children under 10 from lymphoblastic leukemia in the region.
- Experts say that the research is just the tip of the iceberg, and many other diseases and deaths may be associated with chemicals used in crops; further studies are needed.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/study-links-pesticides-to-child-cancer-deaths-in-brazilian-amazon-cerrado/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/we-just-want-to-be-left-in-peace-in-brazils-amazon-soy-ambitions-loom-over-indigenous-land/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/we-just-want-to-be-left-in-peace-in-brazils-amazon-soy-ambitions-loom-over-indigenous-land/#respond 09 Nov 2023 23:56:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275205 - The destruction is trickling into protected areas too, including Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory, home to Brazil’s most famous Indigenous leader.
- Indigenous advocates blame land speculation on the back of plans to pave a stretch of the MT-322 highway, which runs across the Capoto/Jarina and Xingu Indigenous Park.
- Indigenous people worry the road will ease access into their territories, opening them up to land-grabbers, wildcat miners and organized crime groups.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/we-just-want-to-be-left-in-peace-in-brazils-amazon-soy-ambitions-loom-over-indigenous-land/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/amazon-women-create-sweet-business-success-with-wild-vitamin-c-packed-fruit/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/amazon-women-create-sweet-business-success-with-wild-vitamin-c-packed-fruit/#respond 09 Nov 2023 16:12:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275215 - The business has been able to produce four to 14 tons of fruit pulp per year for sale around the country, while sustainably managing the plant species’ population.
- The women played a pioneering role in Colombia by showing that non-timber forest resources could be used to generate income in areas of protected rainforest.
- The sustainable use of such resources has become a successful conservation strategy that has received praise from scientific institutes and environmental authorities.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/amazon-women-create-sweet-business-success-with-wild-vitamin-c-packed-fruit/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/colombian-wind-farm-end-of-life-raises-circularity-and-indigenous-questions/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/colombian-wind-farm-end-of-life-raises-circularity-and-indigenous-questions/#respond 09 Nov 2023 14:10:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275165 - Across the world, first-generation wind projects are becoming obsolete, and disposing of the equipment, especially of the wind blades, is challenging circularity goals; currently, most blades are used in cement factories.
- Three Wayuu communities depend on the desalination plant created by the wind farm company for their clean water, but now the communities question the future of their water security.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/colombian-wind-farm-end-of-life-raises-circularity-and-indigenous-questions/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/oil-palm-in-the-pan-amazon/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/oil-palm-in-the-pan-amazon/#respond 09 Nov 2023 11:09:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275123 - Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023 and 2024.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/oil-palm-in-the-pan-amazon/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/agriculture-in-the-pan-amazon-swine-and-poultry-adding-value-to-farm-production/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/agriculture-in-the-pan-amazon-swine-and-poultry-adding-value-to-farm-production/#respond 08 Nov 2023 23:14:42 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275112 - Author Timothy J. Killeen is an academic and expert who, since the 1980s, has studied the rainforests of Brazil and Bolivia, where he lived for more than 35 years.
- Chronicling the efforts of nine Amazonian countries to curb deforestation, this edition provides an overview of the topics most relevant to the conservation of the region’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and Indigenous cultures, as well as a description of the conventional and sustainable development models that are vying for space within the regional economy.
- Click the “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon” link atop this page to see chapters 1-13 as they are published during 2023 and 2024.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/agriculture-in-the-pan-amazon-swine-and-poultry-adding-value-to-farm-production/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/lifted-sanctions-on-gold-oil-could-slow-conservation-efforts-in-venezuela/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/lifted-sanctions-on-gold-oil-could-slow-conservation-efforts-in-venezuela/#respond 08 Nov 2023 18:04:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275182 - Eased restrictions could allow neighboring countries with illegal mining, such as Suriname, Brazil, Guyana and Colombia, to launder gold through Venezuela’s new legal channels.
- Spills from oil and gas fields may continue as before given the government’s disregard for infrastructure maintenance, such as fixing pipes and replacing worn-down tanks.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/lifted-sanctions-on-gold-oil-could-slow-conservation-efforts-in-venezuela/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/ex-farc-members-aim-to-restore-1-million-native-trees-in-the-colombian-amazon/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/ex-farc-members-aim-to-restore-1-million-native-trees-in-the-colombian-amazon/#respond 07 Nov 2023 12:42:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275077 - Their goal, despite ongoing conflicts and danger, is to plant 1 million native trees to counteract deforestation from illegal mining, logging, ranching and coca cultivation.
- Those involved in the effort, many of whom were just children when they joined FARC, have already planted 125,000 trees; another 250,000 trees are ready in their cooperative nursery.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/ex-farc-members-aim-to-restore-1-million-native-trees-in-the-colombian-amazon/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/expansion-of-ecuador-mine-risks-imminent-collapse-of-waste-dam-experts-warn/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/expansion-of-ecuador-mine-risks-imminent-collapse-of-waste-dam-experts-warn/#respond 06 Nov 2023 14:00:44 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275000 Indigenous Shuar communities and local mayors in southern Ecuador have demanded immediate help in light of the “imminent” potential collapse of a massive dam holding mining waste, set in the high rainforest of the Cordillera del Cóndor, a key watershed of rivers in the western Amazon. The tailings dam is part of one of Ecuador’s […]]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/expansion-of-ecuador-mine-risks-imminent-collapse-of-waste-dam-experts-warn/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/abandoned-oil-mess-still-plagues-communities-in-the-ecuadorian-amazon/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/abandoned-oil-mess-still-plagues-communities-in-the-ecuadorian-amazon/#respond 06 Nov 2023 10:31:26 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275025 - To date, there are 1,107 recorded “environmental liabilities” and another 3,568 sites in the Ecuadorian Amazon labeled by the environment ministry as “sources of contamination.”
- Although Ecuador has been extracting oil since the 1970s, there is a lack of research, data and statistics on the health conditions of the local populations directly affected by these extractions, who are now calling for an urgent investigation.
- State-owned oil company Petroecuador EP has inherited the responsibility for the environmental waste sites caused by Texaco, now part of U.S. oil major Chevron.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/abandoned-oil-mess-still-plagues-communities-in-the-ecuadorian-amazon/feed/ 0