By Tamara Pearson – Venezuelanalysis.com, Sep 19th 2012
Smack in the middle of tourist season, in little, tranquil, and stunningly beautiful Merida, with the giant green Andes hugging it on all sides, artisans in the plaza, beard trees in the parks, and tourists from Caracas standing in the doorways of pastel coloured posadas with their cameras –the opposition mayor decided to just stop collecting rubbish.
By Heidi Chow - World Development Movement, Aug 2nd 2012
Over the last 12 years, the socialist government of Hugo Chavez has been attempting to rebuild Venezuela’s agricultural sector and has included the radical concept of food sovereignty into the country's new constitution. Food sovereignty is a concept that originates in the global south and presents a positive alternative to our broken global food system which is dominated by the multinational food companies who grow food in a way that is unsustainable, leads to hunger and damages the environment.
By Tamara Pearson – Venezuelanalysis.com, May 18th 2012
Rather than Disneyland tourism, rather than humiliating “third word” selling itself to the rest tourism, in stunning Venezuela, tourism is taking a new turn towards community and state run exploration of history, culture, and biodiversity.
Over April and May each year, during the flowering season in Venezuela, a range of public authorities, community organisations and schools take part in National Seed Gathering Days, collecting thousands of kilograms of seeds for planting new forest as part of the government’s Mission Arbol (the Tree Mission).
Venezuelan citizens took to the streets of Caracas yesterday as part of the government’s “Caracas Free Wheeling” campaign, a plan aimed at reducing the unnecessary use of cars and promoting a healthier lifestyle for residents of the nation’s capital.
Environmentalists seem to realize that they have some stake in a fight such as the Ecuador-Chevron lawsuit...But what about fights between multinational oil giants and the governments of oil-producing states over control of resources?
In this collection of photographs, California-born agroecologist Mason London provides us with a glimpse of life in the paramos of the Venezuelan state of Merida. The paramos, a unique ecosystem found in the Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (+/- 3,000 to 4,500 meters in altitude), are some of the most historically-utilized agricultural lands in all of Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government has banned trade and possession of wildlife species in some states, and is also implementing a special turtle preservation program.
The Venezuelan government has invested an average of $600 million per year since 1999 to improve access to potable water and water treatment systems, according to Rodolfo Roa, director of the Environment Ministry.
