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In April 2001 Earth Report features stories on: Biodiversity under threat from invasive species; The industrialisation of Amazonia and its link with carbon emissions trading; How ill-informed use of pesticides is poisoning Cambodian farmers.'Earth Report' is broadcast weekly on BBC World at the following times GMT: Monday at 03:30 & 21:30, Tuesday at 08:30, 11:30 & 14:30, Wednesday at 01:30 & 05:30, Saturday at 18:30, Sunday at 07:30.

For April 2001 Earth Report features stories on:

~ Biodiversity under threat from invasive species;

~ The construction of the Tucurui dam in Amazonia and its impact on
local people and ecology;

~ The industrialisation of Amazonia and its link with carbon emissions
trading;

~ How ill-informed use of pesticides is poisoning Cambodian farmers.

'Earth Report' is broadcast weekly on BBC World at the following times
GMT: Monday at 03:30 & 21:30, Tuesday at 08:30, 11:30 & 14:30, Wednesday
at 01:30 & 05:30, Saturday at 18:30, Sunday at 07:30
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April 2 - 8: Aliens from Planet Earth

Invasive species are now one of the greatest threats to the biodiversity
of the planet. Throughout history rats, cats, and other non-native
species have been spread by humans - often with disastrous consequences
for indigenous wildlife. But the globalisation of commerce and travel
has accelerated the process. The trees in New York's Central Park are
threatened by the Asian Long-Horned beetle, and in Scotland's Orkney
islands, the usually innocuous hedgehog, is playing havoc with the
ground-nesting bird populations. But as more becomes known about the
complexities of invasive species, scientists are rising to the
challenge. After hundreds of years of occupation, rats are now being
systematically eradicated from the finely balanced island ecosystem of
the Seychelles.

April 9 - 15: Fate of the Dammed

One of the largest hydro-electric projects in the world, the Tucurui Dam
on Brazil's River Tocantins, was built to power the industrial
development of the Amazon. Sixteen years on from its completion, Earth
Report investigates the effects it has had on the region. A recent
assessment by the World Commission on Dams was critical: most of the
40,000 people displaced by the dam were not properly compensated; the
decaying vegetation in the reservoir has contributed roughly one sixth
of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions; and the fish catch downstream of
the dam was reduced by as much as 90 percent. But today local people are
learning to adapt. They have established a successful fishery on islands
in the reservoir - and with the creation of two reserves, their
livelihoods finally look a little more secure.

April 16 - 22: A Ransom for the Forest

Every year, the burning of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest puts 200 -
300 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere - roughly half the
amount the Climate Convention has pledged to reduce worldwide emissions
by. Replanting trees in the deforested areas could absorb vast amounts
of carbon out of the atmosphere, but schemes such as this - offsetting
rather than reducing greenhouse gas pollution - are controversial
because they could discourage polluters from actively reducing carbon
emissions. Earth Report visits the Amazon to find out more about the
issue which stalled the international climate negotiations in the Hague.

April 23 - 29: Toxic Trail - Part 1

The pesticide industry is big business, with annual sales of over 30
billion US dollars. The industry claims that it works hard to encourage
responsible usage, but there are an estimated 25 million cases of
pesticide poisoning each year, and nearly all the victims are in the
developing countries. Earth Report picks up the toxic trail in South
East Asia, at the point of manufacture in Thailand, where legal
loopholes allow banned pesticides to continue to be produced. From here
we cross the border into Cambodia to find that farmers are avidly
applying pesticides without understanding the dangers or the need to
take safety precautions. Amongst farmers the symtoms of poisoning are
all too common and toxic residues on food are dangerously high. Now
rural development workers are spreading the message that pesticides need
to be handled with extreme caution.

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'Earth Report' is produced by TVE with support from the United Nations
Environment Programme, WWF, the Toyota Motor Corporation, the Global
Environment Facility, the European Commission, the UK's Department for
International Development, Intermediate Technology and the UK National
Lotteries Charity Board.