Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora will personally oversee firefighting and relief efforts in the department of Beni, where eight of the 19 municipalities are affected by the dense smoke caused by the environmental crisis. Arce will arrive Saturday in the city of Trinidad, the capital of the department where the presence of a Venezuelan team of 61 firefighters and other types of humanitarian aid are also expected.
A G20 team conferring in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the November Summit bringing together the 20 largest economies in the world, agreed Wednesday on ten principles regarding bioeconomy developments globally, Agencia Brasil reported. The G20 Bioeconomy Initiative (GIB) reached a historic consensus.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora Wednesday announced the arrival in the next few hours of firefighting teams from Venezuela, Uruguay, and Peru to combat the current crisis. On behalf of the Bolivian people, we appreciate these important gestures of solidarity from friendly countries, Arce wrote on social media.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Tuesday that he intended to create a National Climate Authority, Agencia Brasil reported. The new agency's mission would be to deal with extreme natural phenomena. Lula made these remarks in Manaus before dozens of environmental experts, as 61 of the 62 municipalities in the State of Amazonas face an emergency due to the drought.
Paraguayan education authorities decided on Monday to cancel on-site classes in areas affected by heavy smoke and switch to virtual schooling in areas hit by forest fires such as Alto Paraguay and Boquerón.
A large cloud of smoke stemming from wildfires in Bolivia threatens to cover the skies of 15 Argentine provinces and even reach the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) between Monday and Tuesday, due to which “phenomena that may represent inconveniences or difficulties in the normal development in social life are expected,” according to the National Meteorological Service (SMN).
Argentina has launched a research cruise on Patagonian tooth fish (Dissostichus eleginoides) to collect more information on the reproduction physiology of the species. The fishing factory vessel San Arawa II left Ushuaia with a team of scientists from INIDEP, the Mar del Plata based Fisheries Research and Development Institute, and the cruise is expected to last some three weeks.
Trade sailing through the Paraná Waterway collapsed for 12 hours Saturday between San Nicolás and Ramallo when the Croatian-flagged bulk carrier AP Revelin ran aground, thus hindering traffic both ways as low water levels keep affecting business. In this scenario, several barges were advised not to set sail.
Chile switched to the summer sunlight-saving time, starting at zero hours last Saturday in most parts of the country, including the Santiago Metropolitan Region, where the electricity supply has gone through severe problems lately.
Chilean authorities are leading the region's transition towards environmentally friendly public transport networks by planning to replace some 214 diesel buses serving the Santiago Metropolitan area with electricity-powered ones in the short run, it was announced.