Brazil is trying to accelerate its food production without causing damage to the Amazon. A small town in the country’s northern region has become a prototype to follow. The town uses Asian farming techniques applied over a century ago. Maria Valls reports.

Not so in Latin America. For years, it has been one of the world’s deadliest regions for environmental activists. Colombia usually tops this tragic list. Mexico is not far behind, with 18 activists assassinated in 2020. This year, Mexico is on track to surpass that grim record. Americas Now corr...

Mexico is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, with arid deserts and steamy jungles, raging coastlines and soaring mountain peaks. And in the Yucatan peninsula, a region home to the Mayan culture for millennia, local environmental activists are working to protect their unique subaquatic ...

Florida brands itself as “The Fishing Capital of The World.” But in some areas, the “Sunshine State” is starting to see a depletion of its fish. John Zarrella went to the famous Florida Keys to find out why catching fish is harder now.

Wildfire season in the U.S. normally runs from June to November. But this year began with frightening numbers and some very destructive activity early on. Mike Kirsch deployed to what has become ground zero for wildfires. The state of California.   

An alliance of indigenous forest dwellers around the world has committed to curbing carbon emissions. Harris Whitbeck went to Panama to meet with some guardians of the rainforests fighting against climate change.  

The Parana River in South America is the second-longest river. It runs almost 5 thousand kilometers through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. But the Parana is at its lowest levels since the 1940s. Joel Richards reports on the economic and social impacts. 

Protecting endangered species is a constant battle in Latin America, especially because of animal trafficking. According to the World Wildlife Fund, animal population sizes have dropped 94% in the last 50 years, the largest fall in any part of the planet. The most trafficked animals are birds. Th...

Mexico´s Lake Bacalar, on the border with Belize, attracts tourists from across the world. The lake is famous for its stunning colors. This geographical wonder is also a scientific gem concealing a unique organism. But as tourists come to see its crystal-clear waters, Alasdair Baverstock reports ...

In November 2020, brutal back-to-back hurricanes smashed into Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, knocking down homes and trees and washing away beaches. The ferocity of the storms, and their frequency, scientists say, are signs of climate change. If this is the new normal, then Central America is set t...

Thought-provoking artist Eduardo Srur aims at taking people out of their comfort zones to make them question their reality. He feels optimistic about his work and the power it has to transform future generations. Correspondent Maria Vals has his story.

According to the United Nations, one of the top 5 most profitable illicit businesses on the planet is illegal wildlife trafficking. It ranks 4th after narcotics, weapons, and human trafficking.  One Colombian community in the Amazon is making a difference by rehabilitating orphaned monkeys that h...

During the last few years, it’s been a challenge for residents of Honduras to identify the “rainy season.” Rainfall in the country has become so unpredictable. It’s a concern because it’s affecting agriculture and food supply too.

The rainforest and mountains in southern Colombia are home to stunning scenery and unique species. But for decades tourists weren't able to go there because of the armed conflict. Now former FARC guerrillas have become tour guides and are teaching others about the land that used to be their refug...

According to some scientists, the severe drought conditions observed across most of the U.S. and northern Mexico in 2021 are forecasted to get worse in the years ahead. A combination of high temperatures and long periods without rain caused what climate experts describe as "near catastrophic farm...

In the Caribbean and Latin America, 1 out of every 5 people are living in slums. These slums are also often referred to as "informal settlements" within cities. For a poverty-stricken population, the low cost of living in these neighborhoods and the chance to make a home, outweigh the dangers and...

Brazilian entrepreneur, Marcelo Guimaraes, has invented what he claims is the fastest tree-planting machine on earth. Fast enough, he says, to realistically address climate change.  His third-generation version of the planting machine, called Forest Bot, can plant multiple species of trees at a s...

Northern Mexico and the west coast of the United States are suffering from an historic drought. The lack of rain is drying up reservoirs and rivers. Crops are suffering too, and there's one water source, farmers and scientists are really worried about- the Colorado River. Correspondent Xu Dezhi h...

In mid-January, 2022, an oil spill covered Peru’s coast just north of the capital Lima. Peru has called it “The worst environmental disaster in recent history.”
It happened when an oil tanker was discharging oil into the La Pampilla refinery controlled by the Spanish energy giant Repsol. 
Peru’s ...

Bees have been around for literally thousands of years, producing sweet honey but, more importantly, helping keep our planet sustainable. 
In Guatemala, one particular species of the honey bee harks back to the time of the ancient Mayan civilization, more than three thousand years ago. 
Efforts a...

Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest nation, and one of the world’s leaders in renewable energy. Nearly 12% of the planet’s freshwater flows in Brazil, so hydropower generates 61% of the country’s electricity.  So, when climate phenomena like La Nina -a warming of the Pacific Ocean- are associated...

Peru has one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. A bountiful supply of Peruvian anchovy, known as anchoveta, makes it the world’s number one producer of fishmeal and fish oil. But in Chimbote, the city at the heart of the fishing industry, people say the industry pollutes the a...

A small fishing village in southern Honduras has become what many say is the epicenter of global warming in Latin America. The sea is eating away at the land, forcing hundreds of families to find new homes inland. The deforestation of mangrove trees has left shorelines exposed and prone to erosi...

A century ago, the Panama Canal was an unparalleled feat of human engineering. Today, Panamanian authorities are facing new challenges posed by human-made climate change and the deforestation in the surrounding areas. Because of changing weather patterns and extreme precipitations and droughts, t...