MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 2nd 2026 - 18:42 UTC

Environment

  • Sunday, May 3rd 2026 - 09:54 UTC

    Another Antarctica season of over 100.000 visitors, according to IAATO

    The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat says annual tourism has risen to more than 100,000 visitors with most visitors reaching by ship via the Antarctic Peninsula (Pkc IAATO)

    The latest official report from IAATO, (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators), put total 2024-25 visitation at 118,491, after 122,072 in 2023-24, meaning traffic remains well above the 100,000 mark even after a modest pullback.

  • Sunday, May 3rd 2026 - 09:15 UTC

    Falklands, public consultation on Nature Reserves closes 5 May

    At Hadassa Bay nearly 5,000 plants in a single day is a real achievement, and a wonderful reminder of what the community and local environment work together .

    The Falkland Islands Environment Department would like to remind members of the public that the consultation on its proposal to designate and expand National Nature Reserves will close on Tuesday 5 May 2026.

  • Monday, April 27th 2026 - 15:00 UTC

    Brazilian platform to track commodity chains ahead of EU deforestation rules

    The EUDR is expected to have a greater impact in the coming years, given the growing trade ties between Mercosur and the European Union.

    A new Brazilian digital platform began operating on Monday to cross-check social and environmental data and support the tracing of commodity chains linked to deforestation, land conflicts and other rural violations.

  • Friday, April 24th 2026 - 19:39 UTC

    FAO and WMO warn extreme heat pushes global agriculture 'to the limit,' threatening one billion people

    The effects on production systems are pervasive. Livestock suffer digestive and cardiovascular failures, with a significant reduction in milk output and protein content

    The escalation of extreme heat episodes is pushing agriculture “to the limit” worldwide and threatening the health and livelihoods of more than one billion people, according to a joint report published on Wednesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The document, titled “Extreme Heat and Agriculture,” warns that the phenomenon causes the annual loss of 500 billion working hours in the sector.

  • Wednesday, April 22nd 2026 - 11:16 UTC

    Earth Day turns 55 with climate challenges still unresolved

    The institutional starting point was the UN Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, which produced the first multilateral framework for environmental protection

    This April 22 marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, a date formally designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009 but rooted in 1970, when the environmental movement began to gain political traction in the United States and Europe. Half a century on, the global climate agenda has accumulated significant institutional advances, though commitments made continue to be debated in terms of their scope and implementation.

  • Saturday, April 18th 2026 - 02:53 UTC

    Uruguayan court rejects injunction against offshore seismic prospection, allowing exploration to continue

    The court dismissed the case on procedural grounds without fully examining the environmental merits

    A Montevideo civil court dismissed an injunction filed by social organizations and fishing industry unions against seismic prospection activities for hydrocarbon exploration in Uruguay's exclusive economic zone, allowing operations by the company Viridien (CGG Services) to continue on an offshore block assigned to oil major Chevron.

  • Wednesday, April 15th 2026 - 23:55 UTC

    Paraguay expects over US$1 billion in Singapore carbon credit investments

    De Barros said President Santiago Peña received the delegation and expressed confidence that if ”all processes of interest with Singapore are completed

    Paraguay's government expects investments from Singapore in carbon credit projects to exceed $1 billion, Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Rolando De Barros said on Wednesday, as a delegation from the Asian nation visited Asunción led by Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu Hai Yen, accompanied by 20 business executives.

  • Saturday, April 11th 2026 - 06:34 UTC

    Falklands Government denies MV Bandero access over “questionable actions” at sea

    The MV Bandero, a Captain Paul Watson Foundation vessel

    The Falkland Islands government has banned the MV Bandero, a Captain Paul Watson Foundation vessel, from entering its territorial waters following the ship's collision with a Norwegian industrial krill trawler in Antarctic waters on March 31. The order, signed on April 9 by the Acting Governor, took effect immediately.

  • Saturday, April 11th 2026 - 04:49 UTC

    Argentine court orders environmental studies over HIF plant in Uruguay

    HIF Global's project envisions the production of approximately 880,000 metric tons per year of synthetic fuels from green hydrogen about three kilometers from the Argentine shore at Colón

    A federal court in the Argentine city of Concepción del Uruguay on Friday ordered a series of environmental studies and requested information from Uruguayan agencies after accepting a lawsuit against the Uruguayan state and multinational HIF Global over a green hydrogen plant project in Paysandú, in a new source of bilateral tension that echoes the Botnia pulp mill conflict of the early 2000s.

  • Thursday, April 9th 2026 - 23:57 UTC

    Argentina approves glacier law reform, opens previously protected areas to mining

    The new law amends Law 26,639, in force since 2010, and introduces a fundamental shift: only glaciers that serve a “proven hydrological function” will retain full protection

    Argentina's Chamber of Deputies passed a reform of the National Glacier Law in the early hours of Thursday, an initiative pushed by President Javier Milei's government that reduces the scope of environmental protections in the Andean cordillera and opens previously restricted areas to mining. The vote was 137 in favor, 111 against and 3 abstentions, after more than eleven hours of debate in a special session. The bill had already been approved by the Senate.