HAVANA - The Sibarimar Program, led by the Cuban non-governmental group Pronaturaleza, aims to eliminate dumping of wastewater along Guanabo Beach, the most visited beach in the east of the Cuban capital.

''Guanabo was not urbanized under a unified plan, so it doesn't have an integrated sewage network. Today we have three critical points of discharge into the sea,'' program coordinator Mario González told Tierramérica.

The mission is to create a single sewage system for the zone, as well as treatment plants and lagoons away from the beach, as part of a management plan for the bay where Guanabo is located.

After a process of nearly for years, the project has approval of the local government and should be initiated as soon as possible, said González.

The local population of Guanabo is 18,000, but along its 2.5 km of beach, as many as 100,000 or 120,000 people crowd on summer Sundays.

SANTIAGO - A month after the fire that destroyed 15,470 hectares of native forest in the Torres del Paine National Park, in the far south of Chile, efforts have begun to reforest the area with 'ñirres' (Nothofagus antarctica), 'lengas' (Nothofagus pumilio) and other native tree species.

The national forestry agency, CONAF, reported on Mar. 21 that the initial work will be concentrated in the 800-hectare area hardest hit of the 2,400 hectares affected by the blaze.

The fire was started Feb. 17 by a Czech tourist who accidentally tipped over his camp stove in an unauthorized area. A controversial court ruling ordered that he pay a fine equivalent to just 213 dollars.

Sara Larraín, head of the environmental group Sustainable Chile, told Tierramérica the losses caused by the forest fire reach an estimated 3.4 million dollars.

CARACAS - The Venezuelan Environment Ministry and the non-governmental organization Vitalis have set up a technical forum to improve water management in the country's poor communities.

The creation of the forum coincided with the celebration of World Water Day, Mar. 22.

''The group's mission will be to support sustainable management of hydric resources, disseminating basic principles for attending to the population's needs, and supporting local, national and regional actions,'' Vitalis president Diego Diaz told Tierramérica.

The initiative has the backing of the Global Water Partnership, an international network founded in 1996 to promote sustainable water management.

The Venezuelan forum will serve as an arena for exchanging information between communities with potable water access problems, and to improve the conditions of those where this basic service is irregular.

TEGUCIGALPA - The National Association of Honduran Communication Media joined a campaign for education and prevention in response to the severe shortage of water in the two reservoirs that supply most of the water to the capital, where rationing is now in place.

Oscar Ramírez, association representative, told Tierramérica that educational messages will be disseminated, ''oriented to conserving water and preventing illegal logging of forests.''

The campaign, promoted by UNICEF, is to last three months and seeks the voluntary participation of more than 7,000 young people to provide environmental education in the capital's main districts and in the outskirts.

Los Laureles reservoir has a capacity for 10.6 million cubic meters of water, but currently holds just six million, and La Concepcion can hold 33 million but now has just 10 million cubic meters.