‘World must share responsibility for Amazon fires’

The number of fires in Brazil this year have jumped 83% over last year

Zika could cost Latin America, Caribbean countries $18 billion by 2018

In some countries, the total cost of Zika could exceed two per cent of their GDP

Zika virus panic spreads

Twenty countries affected, some propose radical measures

LATIN AMERICA

News snippets

First penguin deaths in sub-Antarctic region attributed to bird flu strain

The highly infectious avian influenza strain H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b has killed millions of birds and mammals across the globe

Drought in the Amazon: Understanding the causes and the need for an immediate action plan to save the biome

Only with coordinated and decisive action will we be able to mitigate the impacts of drought in the Amazon and protect this unique ecosystem that …

Climate change was partly responsible for May floods, landslides in Brazil

7-day average rainfall had 1-in-500 chance, finds study; Current climate warmer by 1.2°C

Venezuela: starved and stifled

As people hunt animals from zoos to feed themselves, the President, accused of extrajudicial executions, is busy blaming the US and the …

Sloth bear, dhole, tiger most affected among apex predators globally due to road development: Study

More roads will be built in the years to come and can wreak havoc on top predators worldwide, study warns

Arid Americas: Are Pantanal, Colorado in a ‘post-drought’ stage

The Pantanal wetland in South America and the Colorado river basin in North America have experienced extreme drought in the last few years, which …

Look how oil spill affects health, environment in Brazil

Oil spill has spread across 2,500 kilometres since September, and has reached 92 municipalities and 14 conservation units in nine states

'Amazon region under threat from oil drilling, mining'

Sacred Headwaters of the Amazon, considered to be the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystem on Earth, is witnessing expansion of new fossil fuel …

Nasa satellite imagery finds tremendous changes in Amazon in last 40 years

The scale of losses in forests land, increase in pasture land, shift in land use policy driven by economic forces are seen nowhere else in the world

US far from achieving first SDG to end poverty

The country, which is likely to miss 12 of 17 goals under the 2030 agenda, may take another 40 years to eradicate poverty going by its current pace

How six proposed dams on Amazon River could threaten regional food security

These dams can have major impacts on hydrology, geomorphology, biodiversity and productivity of the river system  

The Olympics won’t spread Zika around the world

The chance that someone at the Rio games will import the virus to their home country is low

Time, whose side are you on?

As Texaco-Chevron drags its feet over remedial measures in Ecuador's once-pristine Amazon forest, those affected endure a difficult …

Caribbeans fight to protect market share

A GATT ruling that the proposed EC import regime for bananas is unfair to Latin America, has the poorer Caribbean producers up in arms.

Francisco de Orellana would be stunned and stupefied by the low water levels in the Amazon: Buddy Levy

Down To Earth speaks to Idaho-based author of 2011 book on the first voyage to navigate the Amazon river in 1542

El Niño-triggered floods claim 72 lives in Peru

More floods to be expected, says the national weather service

The new breadbasket

Why fires that scorched the Amazon are a planetary emergency

From the Arctic to the Amazon, fires are raging at an unprecedented scale, stoking an unfathomable fear: is the planet staring at an irreversible …

3 reasons Hurricane Ian poses a major flooding hazard for Florida — a meteorologist explains

Residents across Florida need to prepare for the risk of heavy rain, flash flooding, storm surge, isolated tornadoes, strong winds

Increasing Costa Rica’s riparian forests can improve its water quality, carbon storage

Reforesting 20 hotspots can provide large increases in water quality for 50,679 people dependent on rivers