The Green Planet Monitor - Edition # 9

Ha Noi – the capital of Vietnam. One tour book describes it as a “blend of Parisian grace and Asian pace.” This thousand year-old Southeast Asian city will charm you off your feet as you wander through its Old Quarter, a maze of narrow streets packed with tiny shops and sidewalk eateries. Your initial amazement at the thick river of motorbikes – filling the air with fumes and a deafening roar – may well turn to exhaustion and horror. GPM producer Dave Kattenburg spent a couple of weeks in Ha Noi, and loved it. He sends us this conversation with a Dutchman named Paul Schuttenbelt, an urban planner who calls Ha Noi his home.

Each night, in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, 15,000 people wander the streets ripping open and sorting through garbage bags left on the curb. They're called “cartoneros,” after the large carts they tug behind them.  Many cartoneros lost their real jobs in the 2002 economic crisis.  Since then, they've gone from marginalized scavengers to an organized service sector, coordinating with residents to recycle solid waste; earning a living, while diverting a quarter of Buenos Aires’ garbage from the landfill. Anil Mundra is in Buenos Aires and sends us this report.

And the full name of Ecuador’s third city is a mouthful: Santa Ana of the Rivers of Cuenca. Cuenca’s four rivers are a huge source of pride for her half million residents. Managing and protecting these rivers – and the high altitude wetlands that feed them, the páramo – is a central pillar of urban planning. So is social responsibility. Cuenca has a protection plan for children and adolescents. Still, this bustling Ecuadorian city faces many challenges – not the least of which are central government plans to develop mining in those wetlands that nourish Cuenca’s four rivers. GPM correspondent Jen Moore sends us this report.