Year: 2008

Published on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by Inter Press Service
Colombian Indigenous Groups in Danger of Disappearing
by Constanza Vieira

BOGOTA – The Permanent People’s Tribunal warned in its final statement on Colombia of “the imminent danger of physical and cultural extinction faced by 28 indigenous groups,” adding that 18 of the communities have less than 10 members, “and are suspended between life and death.”

The 28 groups in question are the Nukak, Shiripu, Wipibi, Amorúa, Guayabero, Taiwano, Macaguaje, Pisamira, Muinane, Judpa, Yauna, Bara, Ocaina, Dujos, Piaroa, Carabayo, Nonuya, Matapí, Cacua, Kawiyarí, Tutuyo, Tariano, Yagua, Carapaná, Chiricoa, Achagua, Carijona and Masiguare, who live in different parts of this civil war-torn country.

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Climate change could hit Lebanon’s dwindling cedars
Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:53am EDT By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BAROUK, Lebanon (Reuters) – Sturdy cedars perched high in the mountains stand for many Lebanese as symbols of their fractured land’s survival. But some environmentalists worry that the trees face a new threat from global warming.

“The biggest challenge now for the cedars of Lebanon is climate change,” said Nizar Hani, scientific coordinator of the Barouk Cedar Nature Reserve in the Shouf mountains. Only murmuring insects and breezes rustling through cedar branches disturb the stillness of the sanctuary, about 90 minutes’ drive from the frenzied bustle of Beirut.

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