This is the full version of "A Message from Pandora", a special feature produced by James Cameron about the battle to stop the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon River.

We urge you to watch this short video and support the efforts of these people to keep their way of life and habitat by signing the petition @:

http://amazonwatch.org/take-action/stop-the-belo-monte-monster-dam

The Bahamas on Tuesday approved a law banning shark fishing in its waters, along with selling, importing and exporting shark products. This makes the Bahamas the fourth country to ban shark fishing, joining the Maldives, Honduras, and Palau. The 630,000 sq km of water around the Bahamas has now become an official shark sanctuary.

The ban is welcomed by many, including environmentalists. The President of the Bahamas National Trust, Neil McKinney, spoke about the issue saying, "They desperately need protection if we're not going to drive them to extinction." Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette also commented on the ban: "This is in keeping with the government's commitment to pursue conservation policies and strategies in order to safeguard the marine and terrestrial environment."

Brasilia, Brazil;  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has marked the country's preparations for next year's landmark Rio +20 conference on sustainable development by repeating that there will be  no amnesty granted to those that had carried out deforestation.

"There will be no negotiation or prevarication on the issue of deforestation," Rousseff said, without making any specific reference to the divisive debate on a proposed radical cut to forest protection measures that have cleared Brazil's National Assembly.

Anticipation of the changes - which still have to pass the Brazilian Senate and receive presidential assent - has been linked to a dramatic upsurge in deforestation rates in the Amazon and elsewhere in recent months.

As politicians consider rolling-back longtime legal protections for Brazil’s forests, new data shows a massive increase in deforestation in part of the country.

Data published by the National Institute for Space Studies (Inpe) on Wednesday shows a 540% increase in deforestation in the month of April in the state of Mato Grosso, as compared to March.

Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira expressed concern over the figures, saying: “This is a very serious fact, atypical and contradictory. In a single month there has been more deforestation in Mato Grosso than occurred in the whole of last year,” she said.

The solar-powered airplane, Solar Impulse, touched down at the Brussels National Airport late Friday night, after completing a 13-hour flight from its home base in Payerne, Switzerland. It was the first international flight by a fully solar-powered aircraft.

The experimental aircraft was piloted by André Borschberg, co-founder and chief engineer for the Solar Impulse project, which hopes to circumnavigate the globe using only the sun's energy in 2013. "Our goal is to create a revolution in the minds of people...to promote solar energies -- not necessarily a revolution in aviation," Bertrand Piccard, the group's other co-founder, said in an interview after the flight.

A tiger farmer suspected of being a major figure in Vietnam’s illegal tiger trade has been arrested and sentenced to three years in prison, dealing a blow to the global tiger parts commerce that is pushing the species to the brink of extinction.

The arrest comes as experts and policymakers from the tiger range countries meet for a status check on ongoing efforts to save the iconic species.

According to Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), Huynh Van Hai, the owner of the Thanh Canh Tourism Park in Binh Duong Province, was arrested by local police for selling tigers out of the back door of his park. Fourteen others, including Hai’s son, were also arrested and sentenced this month, with Hai and two associates also receiving a fine of US $70,000, ENV said on their website.

Athens, Greece: The Greek parliament yesterday took the bold step of voting in the country's first national biodiversity law – setting aside a preoccupation with the current unprecedented economic crisis to put in place safeguards for the future.

WWF, noting that the economic crisis is putting Greece's natural environment under increasing pressure, praised the courage and foresight of Greek Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Tina Birbili, the goverment and parlimentarians who stood by the legislation during a grueling debate over several weeks.

Scientists working for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported Thursday that the collapse of honey bee colonies is becoming a world wide phenomenon and will continue unless humans work to restore habitats for bees. The insects are necessary for pollinating crops and the report calls for profound changes in how humans manage the planet.

The decline in managed bee colonies, first noticed in Europe and the U.S., is now seen in China and Japan, and there are signs of colony collapses in Egypt. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, honey-producing colonies in the U.S. have declined from 5.5 million colonies in 1950 to 2.5 million in 2007. A co-author of the report, Peter Neumann, said changes in rural areas during the past 50 years have contributed to decline of wild bees and other pollinators. Additional factors include the declines in flowering plants, the use of harmful chemicals and insecticides, the increase in air pollution and a worldwide trade system that spreads bee pathogens and pests.

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