Venezuela Recognized for Protecting the Amazon

Venezuela is the nation with the 10th-largest amount of biodiversity in the world. Efforts to protect that biodiversity are highlighted in a new study by RAISG, or La Red Amazónica de Información Socioambiental Georreferenciada.

According to the study, Venezuela has the second-highest proportion of its Amazon region protected. The Amazonian basin covers an astounding 3 million square miles in South America, overlapping several different countries and encompassing a population of perhaps 33 million. Venezuela has already protected 71.5% of its share — second only to Ecuador’s 79.7%, and far ahead of Colombia, Brazil, and Peru.

RAISG measured Indigenous territory and other protected lands, which are generally the best conserved. Venezuela has 43 national parks. A respect for nature is enshrined in the constitution of Venezuela under a chapter that guarantees all citizens the right to a safe and healthy environment.

Since the Amazon Rainforest is often called the “lungs” of South America, we can breathe a little easier thanks to Venezuela.

Read Full Post »

Venezuela Participates in NY Indigenous Film Fest

David Hernández-Palmar, a young Venezuelan man from the Wayuu Indigenous community, will be in New York City this Saturday to help present a documentary at the 30th Annual Native American Film and Video Festival.

“Owners of the Water: Conflict and Collaboration over Rivers” was created by Hernández-Palmar together with Caimi Waiassé (a Brazilian Xavante man) and U.S. Anthropologist Laura R. Graham. It chronicles an international campaign to protect Rio das Mortes River Basin in Brazil, a vital resource for the Xavante community that was threatened by soya production and related deforestation. The Xavante blocked a national highway to demand the protection of the basin.

To help tell the story of the Xavante’s struggle, Venezuela’s David Hernández-Palmar lent his talents as an up-and-coming documentarian. For more information about this and other films at the Native American Film and Video Festival, click here.

Read Full Post »

In Caracas, Revolutionary Metrocable Moves Forward

The “Metrocable” that is set to revolutionize transportation in crowded Caracas will open next month. It will reportedly travel 1.8 kilometers through the following neighborhoods: Parque Central, Hornos de Cal, La Ceiba, El Manguito y San Agustín.

What’s so cool about the Metrocable, you ask? For one, it whisks travelers overland through the clouds to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. It also helps reduce travel time to work for low-income residents in the city’s peripheral areas.

A Reuters article yesterday suggested that this project is well-liked in San Agustín. It prompted one resident to call Hugo Chavez “the only president who has really worked for the poor.” This sentiment is reflected in the statistics: a recent UN study shows poverty has dropped by 16.5% in the last five years.

And while the Venezuelan leader has been known to tout those numbers, he stressed earlier this year that the newest government-funded transportation project was designed for the good of all citizens:

None of the projects promoted by the Venezuelan government does [have political colors]; they will benefit all Venezuelans.

The technology and materials used to build the Metrocable were purchased from Austria and Brazil. The project may have been inspired by an existing aerial transportation system in Medellin, Colombia. Investments total $149 million, and it should create 200 direct jobs and 250 more indirect ones. It will carry 1,500 people an hour for a total of 15,000 commuters every day. See more pictures of the construction phase here.

Read Full Post »

Venezuela to Help Bolivia Build Recycled ‘Petrocasas’

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales announced today that Bolivia will soon begin building recycled “petrocasas” with the help of Venezuela. These low-cost plastic dwellings are built with waste generated by oil refining, and are providing a solution to economic and environmental pressures. Tens of thousands have already been erected in Venezuela as well as Cuba and Peru. It was in Peru where Morales first saw the petrocasas and the role they played in the country’s recovery after a 2007 earthquake.

With an investment of $80 million, Bolivia will open a factory to produce petrocasas in Oruro. The first recipients will reportedly be the relatives of the victims of Bolivia’s “gas wars” of 2003. The eco-friendly houses will go up in low income areas, including El Alto and Trinidad. The project was announced at an event commemorating the 228th anniversary of the first uprising against the Spanish colonists.

See our last post on petrocasas here. For coverage in Spanish, see Reuters.

Read Full Post »

Wake Up, World! WSF Participants are Coming Home

The World Social Forum (WSF) concluded yesterday in Belém, Brazil. Over 130,000 grassroots activists and members of civil society groups from all over the globe gather each year to present alternatives to the concurrent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The WSF, which is based in a concept of social justice, hosted discussions on topics ranging from the global economic crisis to environmental preservation to Indigenous issues and even vegetarianism. Socially conscious people met to “coordinate strategies and build partnerships,” share in cultural events, and make their voices heard by the many leaders in attendance.

One participant said:

We’re pointing out things that the developed nations don’t want to see. This is a scream of hope from the bottom, to say that we’re here and we want to change things.

-Luiz Miguel Fernandez Vega, 28, León, Mexico

Several resolutions were adopted  to remedy current crises and advance the cause of social justice. These include:

– Nationalization of banks
– No reduction of salaries at enterprises hit by the economic crisis
– Energy and food sovereignty for the poor
– Withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and Afghanistan
– Sovereignty and autonomy for Indigenous peoples
– The right to land, decent work, education, and health for all
– Democratization of media and knowledge

The ambitious aims of the WSF seem to be coming into sharper focus as the world changes and old political and economic paradigms are shifting. Many participants came away from the Forum with a renewed sense of hope that “another world is possible,” and that they can help make it happen.

To read more, check out these articles from AFP, IPS, and the Washington Post

Read Full Post »

Latin Leaders Propose Alternatives at Social Forum

The World Social Forum began yesterday in Belém, Brazil, a city located at the edge of the Amazon Rainforest. The Presidents of Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Paraguay (pictured above from left to right) are attending this massive ninth annual event, which brings leaders and citizens together under the slogan “Another World is Possible.”

The summit coincides with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. With economies across the globe in crisis, the alternative view provided by the Social Forum is particularly important this year. Here is what people are saying about the forum:

We are raising our voices as a wake-up call to the world, especially the rich countries that are hastening its destruction… [for] we are the ones who were born and raised in the middle of the forest, and who lead a lifestyle that contrasts with the ambition of capitalism, which does not bring benefits to all.

— Edmundo Omoré of Brazil’s Xavante Indigenous community

We are launching an SOS to the world. The planet is in danger and is heading for destruction. That’s why we’re here asking for solidarity. …The big multinationals are going into our territories, sometimes with the help of paramilitaries, sometimes with the assent of the government, pushing out our own communities. And those who resist are persecuted.

— Miguel Palacin, Andean Coordination of Indigenous Organizations

Indigenous and environmental issues top the agenda this year. See coverage from the BBC, AFP, and IPS. A good video can be found at Euronews.

Read Full Post »

The Climbing Catfish of Venezuela

Hey science fans! Did you know that Venezuela is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world? You can find animals there that live nowhere else.

Ichthyologists Francisco Provenzano from Universidad Central de Venezuela and Scott Schaefer of the American Museum of Natural History have found a previously unknown species of climbing catfish. Lithogenes wahari appears to be an evolutionary marvel.

One fish was discovered in a remote region of Venezuela’s Amazonas state nearly 20 years ago, but good and plentiful specimens weren’t found until recently. The catfish was eventually found in large numbers in the Cuao River, a tributary of the Orinoco.

The fish are bony and armored, have a “specialized pelvic fin” and a “grasping mouth” that allow them to climb onto rocks in a locomotion similar to that of an inchworm. Lithogenes wahari evolved to adapt to rapidly changing water levels in the Venezuelan Amazon.

Check out these links from Live Science to learn more.

Read Full Post »

Winds of Change Bring Renewable Energy to Venezuela

Venezuela may be known as an oil country, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taking steps to explore the renewable energy sources of the future.

News came today that the state oil company PDVSA is beginning to invest in wind power. A Spanish company called Gamesa has been contracted to install and maintain machinery that will deliver 100 megawatts of wind power to Venezuela.

The country’s first wind farm will be located in the state of Falcon, an area of the country which juts out into the Caribbean with its arid Coro peninsula. This land mass is so desert-like, it has sand dunes that are protected as part of the Medanos de Coro National Park (pictured here).

According to Reuters, 76 wind turbines will be installed. The pricetag: almost $150 million.

Read Full Post »

Caracas Cable Car Eases Commutes

The city of Caracas is in a valley surrounded by hills and mountains. Many people live in the hills and work in the valley, which can mean a long walk to the bus stop. That’s all about to change for residents of San Augustin, Petare, and other high-altitude Caracas neighborhoods thanks to The Bolivarian Cable Car. Soon, they’ll be able to glide down the side of the hill each morning and back up in the evening.

Work on the Metro Cable Car system began in April 2007, and the first line from San Augustin to Parque Central is slated to open in late 2008. Petare’s line will open in 2011. The Cable Car of San Augustin will benefit more than 40,000 people a day. The Petare line will serve over 100,000.

When the work is finished, overall travel time will be shorter, since there is no traffic up there. Commuters can relax and enjoy a panoramic view of Caracas rather than brake lights on the highways. It is also easier on the environment.

Click here for an article in English about the growth of Venezuela’s public transportation systems.

Click here for great photos and information in Spanish from Radio Nacional de Venezuela.

Click here for links to the Urban Think Tank, an architectural firm that designed the Metro Cable system.

Read Full Post »

Venezuelan Scientist Aids in Census of Marine Life

The world’s first Census of Marine Life is making a splash, and it is doing so with some help from Venezuela.

The census is an enormous effort to take stock of the past, present, and future of marine life with the participation of seventy nations over the course of ten years. The fourth progress report on its findings was given yesterday in Valencia, Spain.

Patricia Miloslavich, Professor of Marine Biology at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, is co-Senior Scientist and coordinator for the areas of the Caribbean and Coastal South America.

Professor Miloslavich is also the curator of the mollusk collection at the Museo de Ciencias Naturales of the Universidad Simón Bolívar.

Miloslavich is quoted in a BBC article on the Census of Marine Life. She points out that the study could help contribute to knowledge about the effects of global warming: “Over the past few years, there has been huge public interest in biodiversity because there is a legitimate concern about the changes being caused by humans.”

Read Full Post »

Venezuela on the Road to Clean Energy

The Associated Press announced recently that “Chavez will swap gas-guzzlers for clean cars.”

The news may seem surprising coming from an oil producing country that claims what may be the largest reserves of crude in the world. Gas prices are subsidized by the state in Venezuela, and — as in the US — cars are a big part of local culture.

Things are now beginning to change. The state oil company PDVSA has opened a conversion center to turn regular, gas-burning cars into cleaner vehicles that run on natural gas. Bloomberg reported that nearly 1,000 cars will be converted by the end of the year, and automakers will be required to have 30% running on natural gas by April 2009.

The issue of environmental sustainability has caught on in Venezuela in recent years. Part of the constitution is dedicated to the environmental rights and responsibilities of citizens. The law states: “It is a fundamental duty of the State, with the active participation of society, to ensure that the populace develops in a pollution-free environment…”

Looks like things are moving the right direction.

Read Full Post »

Finding Venezuela’s “Lost World” in Canaima

If you can’t go see the wonders of Venezuela’s “lost world” in Canaima National Park yourself, do the next best thing: watch this video from Public Television’s “Wild Chronicles.”

The five-minute documentary follows a group of Venezuelan biologists and researchers to one of the most delicate and diverse parts of the world to collect specimens. Along the way, they discover a new species of catfish, climb up into the forest canopy to check out plants, and delve into the dark world of bats.

All of this is part of a multi-disciplinary attempt to measure local biodiversity and use that knowledge to create policies for environmental preservation. Venezuela’s wild spaces are home to a vast amount of flora and fauna, a natural patrimony that is definitely worth saving.

Read Full Post »