South America

Plastic pollution in the water

Plastic-choked rivers in Ecuador are being cleared with conveyor belts

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Created by the tech start-up Ichthion, the Azure system’s simple design has the capacity to stop and collect around 80 tonnes of plastic per day. The Azure system is a boom device that stretches across the river to stop objects floating on the surface. It extends two feet down into the water, allowing fish and other organisms to move freely below and is placed at an angle allowing the natural water flow to direct all debris into one corner of the riverbank.

Rainforest scene

Brazil’s President Lula creates two new Indigenous territories, bringing total to 10

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The Cacique Fontoura reserve will be in Mato Grosso state and the Aldeia Velha territory will be in Bahia state. They will cover a combined total area of almost 132 square miles. Speaking at a ceremony in Brasilia, Lula said Indigenous peoples should be patient as he seeks to fulfill his pledge of creating 14 new territories. Last year, he demarcated six territories in April and two more in September.

Aerial view of river and mangroves

Brazil boosts protection of Amazon mangroves with new reserves in Pará state

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Brazil’s Pará state has now protected almost all of its Amazonian coastline after establishing two new conservation units that make up the world’s largest and most conserved belt of mangroves. The environmental victory came after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the decree for the two reserves on March 21, placing an additional 184,600 acres of mangrove ecosystems under federal protection.

Bolivian rainforest

Bolivian town Sena protects 1 million acres of Amazon rainforest

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Called the Gran Manupare Integrated Management Natural Area, the law was overseen by, and passed for the benefit of, “peasants and indigenous communities,” per a statement from the mayor’s office. Located in the Pando Department in the far northern corner of Bolivia, the new protected area represents almost 8% of its forests and has significantly increased the region’s conservation coverage to 26%. In the past 25 years, Bolivian towns like Sena have protected 10 million contiguous 25 million acres of Bolivia’s Amazon—an area nearly the size of Iceland.

Squirrel monkey

New fund supports Indigenous-led land management in biodiverse area of Bolivia

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The Wildlife Conservation Society launched the new funding mechanism, in collaboration with Bolivia’s Foundation for the Development of the National System of Protected Areas. The new mechanism will channel conservation funds to Indigenous organizations in the Madidi Landscape, one of the most biodiverse terrestrial protected areas in the world. The new fund has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund.

River dolphin

11 countries sign global pact to protect endangered river dolphins

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Since the 1980s, the combined populations of river dolphin species have plummeted by 73%. With the Global Declaration for River Dolphins, 14 countries are expected to join forces to protect six surviving species. So far, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, and Venezuela have signed the declaration.

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