Daily Archives: March 1, 2017

ROSEAU, Dominica, Mar 1 2017 (IPS) - When Tropical Storm Erika hit the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica on Aug. 27, 2015, it killed more than two dozen people, left nearly 600 homeless and wreaked damages totaling more than a billion dollars.

The storm dumped 15 inches of rain on the mountainous island, caused floods and mudslides and set the country back 20 years, according Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. The island was inadequately prepared for a storm such as Erika. Many roads and bridges were simply not robust enough to withstand such high volumes of water.

In a national address shortly following the storm, Skerrit said that hundreds of homes, bridges and roads had been destroyed and millions of dollars in financial aid were needed to help the country bounce back.

In order to get back to where we were before Tropical Storm Erika struck, we have to source at least 88.2 million dollars for the productive sector, 334.55 million for infrastructure and 60.09 million for the social sectors, Skerrit said.

Dominicas neighbours in the Caribbean were the first to deliver aid in the form of medical assistance, telecommunications engineers, and financial aid, and were followed by essential supplies and manpower from Venezuela and doctors and nurses from Cuba.

Now, 18 months later, Skerrit said the island is still in the initial recovery stages of the devastation wrought by the storm, and he is pleading for swift action from international funding agencies for his country and its Caribbean neighbours which have been impacted by severe storms in recent years.

Of particular importance to us is the Green Climate Fund (GCF) which has been established to assist in adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change, Skerrit told IPS.

It is critical that there must be relatively quick access to this Fund by those it is intended to assist. As laudable as it is, it will be of minimal impact if disbursement is as sluggish as has been the experience with other institutions and agencies.

The increasing intensity and frequency of these climatic events force us to face the reality of climate change. Hardly any of us in the region has been untouched in some form by the effects of the phenomenon and this emphasizes the need for the implementation of the measures contained in the Paris Agreement, Skerrit added.

The GCF was established with a mission to advance the goal of keeping earths temperature increase below 2 degrees C.

The Fund is a unique global initiative to respond to climate change by investing in low emissions and climate-resilient development.

The GCF was established by 194 governments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, and to help adapt vulnerable societies to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Given the urgency and seriousness of the challenge, the Fund is mandated to make an ambitious contribution to the united global response to climate change.

The Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) was accredited as a regional implementing entity by the Board of the GCF in 2015.

CCCCC Executive Director Dr. Kenrick Leslie said it speaks to the high caliber of work being done in the region and the strength of the centres internal systems.

We will now move forward with a set of ambitious and bankable projects that we have been developing under a directive from CARICOM Heads, he said.

As the first regionally accredited organization, the CCCCC is now the interface and conduit for GCF funding to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean.

Skerrit, who wrapped up his tenure as chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in February, said he visited Haiti and The Bahamas during his chairmanship of the 15-member regional grouping to see first-hand the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Last year, Hurricane Matthew rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to hurricane status as it moved over the Caribbean Sea. Matthew continued to intensify to a Category 5 storm and into one of the strongest in Atlantic basin history, which made landfall and devastated portions of The Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, and the eastern United States.

In both countries, the extent of the damage was severe, said Skerrit, who was accompanied by the CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and the Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Ronald Jackson.

He noted that the Government of Haiti reported more than 500 deaths along with 1.5 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including 120,000 families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

The worst of the devastation occurred in the agricultural belt, which affected the food supply of the country.

Agriculture and fishing were also badly affected in The Bahamas along with homes and infrastructure on the three islands which were hardest hit, Skerrit described.

The damage was estimated at more than 500 million dollars. It is my hope that the recovery process is well underway to reconstructing the lives and livelihoods of all those affected.

Prime Minister of The Bahamas Perry Christie described how his country also faced a 600-million-dollar assessed impact from a Category 4 hurricane (Joaquin) in 2015 and encroachment by the sea with Hurricane Matthew a year later.

The Bahamian leader said special consideration needs to be given by the international financial institutions to the unique circumstances of the country.

Our people are spread over a hundred thousand square miles of ocean [and] as we modernize we began to feel the effects of having rich people in our countries drive our economy and the measure of our economy on the basis of per capita income. And we were being graduated to the point where we are not qualified for concessionary loans, he explained.

There is this paradigm that lumps the country together and does not take into consideration the unequal development that exists in our country. The people who live on the island of New Providence are entirely different to those on the remote islands.

We are judged harshly. When there is a 600-million-dollar assessed impact from a hurricane, and an encroachment by the sea as happened with Hurricane Matthew, the country has to withstand the impacts and then you are downgraded because they say there is no assurance you are going to be able to have the revenue. These are the challenges that the countries in our region face, Christie added.

See the rest here:

Caribbean Leaders Want Swifter Action on Climate Funding - Reliefweb

March 1, 2017 An image of a Caribbean reef shark in the Bahama. Credit: Neil Hammerschlag

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that up to 90 percent of predatory fish are gone from Caribbean coral reefs, straining the ocean ecosystem and coastal economy. The good news? They identified reefs, known as supersites, which can support large numbers of predator fishes that if reintroduced, can help restore the environmental and economic setback inflicted by overfishing.

The work, led by former UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student Abel Valdivia working with John Bruno, a marine biologist at UNC College of Arts & Sciences, suggests that these supersites - reefs with many nooks and crannies on its surface that act as hiding places for prey (and attract predators) - should be prioritized for protection and could serve as regional models showcasing the value of biodiversity for tourism and other uses. Other features that make a supersite are amount of available food, size of reef and proximity to mangroves.

"On land, a supersite would be a national park like Yellowstone, which naturally supports an abundance of varied wildlife and has been protected by the federal government," said Bruno, whose work appears in the March 1 issue of Science Advances.

The team surveyed 39 reefs across the Bahamas, Cuba, Florida, Mexico and Belize, both inside and outside marine reserves, to determine how much fish had been lost by comparing fish biomass on pristine sites to fish biomass on a typical reef. They estimated the biomass in each location and found that 90 percent of predatory fish were gone due to overfishing.

What they didn't expect to find was a ray of hopea small number of reef locations that if protected could substantially contribute to the recovery of predatory fish populations and help restore depleted species.

"Some features have a surprisingly large effect on how many predators a reef can support," said Courtney Ellen Cox, a coauthor and former UNC-Chapel Hill doctoral student now at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. For example, researchers believe that the Columbia Reef within the fisheries closures of Cozumel, Mexico, could support an average 10 times the current level of predatory fish if protected.

Not long ago, large fishes were plentiful on coral reefs, but are now largely absent due to targeted fishing. Today, predators are larger and more abundant within the marine reserves than on unprotected, overfished reefs. But even some of the marine reserves have seen striking declines, largely due to lack of enforcement of fishing regulations.

The bottom line is protection of predatory fish is a win-win from both an environmental and an economical perspective, explained Bruno.

"A live shark is worth over a million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifespan because sharks live for decades and thousands of people will travel and dive just to see them up close," said Valdivia, now at the Center for Biological Diversity in Oakland, Calif. "There is a massive economic incentive to restore and protect sharks and other top predators on coral reefs."

Explore further: Isolated coral reefs far from human activity are not healthier

More information: "Predatory fish depletion and recovery potential on Caribbean reefs" Science Advances, advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/3/e1601303

For the world's coral reefs, the picture keeps getting gloomier. Although it's widely assumed that both local and global factors are contributing to their decline, new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel ...

Fishing is fundamentally altering the food chain in coral reefs and putting extra pressure on top-level predator fish, according to new research.

If there was a top-rated restaurant in a dangerous part of the city, chances are some brave souls would be willing to risk it all for a delicious meal.

New research shows that fishing is having a significant impact on the make-up of fish populations of the Great Barrier Reef.

Coral reefs wouldn't be the same without their beautiful fish.

About 200 countries worldwide committed to protecting 10% of national marine areas by signing the Convention on Biological Diversity. But more ambitious marine reserve coverage policies that target unprotected fishing grounds ...

The combination of prolonged hot spells with poor air quality greatly compounds the negative effects of each and can pose a major risk to human health, according to new research from the University of California, Irvine.

Human industry and ingenuity has done more to diversify and distribute minerals on Earth than any development since the rise of oxygen over 2.2 billion years ago, experts say in a paper published today.

Iron particles generated by cities and industry are being dissolved by man-made air pollution and washed into the sea - potentially increasing the amount of greenhouse gases that the world's oceans can absorb, a new study ...

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that up to 90 percent of predatory fish are gone from Caribbean coral reefs, straining the ocean ecosystem and coastal economy. The good news? They ...

The World Meteorological Organization announced today new verified record high- temperatures in Antarctica, an area once described as "the last place on Earth." The temperatures range from the high 60s (in Fahrenheit) to ...

Since the 1920s, excessive pumping of groundwater at thousands of wells in California's San Joaquin Valley has caused land in sections of the valley to subside, or sink, by as much as 28 feet (8.5 meters). This subsidence ...

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Ninety percent of predatory fish gone from Caribbean coral reefs ... - Phys.Org

After a super crappy fourth movie in a franchise, it takes a lot to win back an audienceand Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is doing its best. Its bringing back some old favorites, has a solid new cast, and now, two more tempting words: ghost sharks.

As in sharks who are dead, but still have a presence. Because they are ghosts. Heres the full image of the ghost shark concept art from AMC:

I mean, how cool is that? Ghost sharks! I just want to keep saying it. I just hope the ghost sharks have at least one action scene in the movie and arent just an expensive piece of CG set dressing.

So far, weve only had a teaser trailer and the Super Bowl spot but, odds are, a new trailer will be coming along with Beauty and the Beast. That should give us a better idea of whats in store for Johnny Depps Jack Sparrow this time around, and maybe even a glimpse of the return of Orlando Blooms Will Turner.

Directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rnning, Dead Men Tell No Tales also stars Javier Bardem, Kaya Scodelario, Brenton Thwaites, and Geoffrey Rush. Its out May 27.

[AMC Theaters via SHH]

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The Fifth Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Has Ghost Sharks In It - Gizmodo

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In this Feb. 25, 2017 photo, revelers dressed as devils sing and dance down a hillside to the rhythm of drums to mark the start of Carnival celebrations in the remote Andean town of Uquia, Argentina. During the 9 days that the festivity lasts, Carnival devils are not supposed to take their costume off or reveal their identity. (AP Photo/Alvaro Medina)

Performers from the Uniao da Ilha samba school parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Competitors work for months to ready for Brazil's world famous Carnival parades of samba dancing, costumes and magnificent floats. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A youth sells foam cans to revelers during the "Get out Temer" carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Merrymakers took to the streets to protest Brazil's President Michel Temer. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

In this Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 photo, revelers take part in the "Guanabara Pearl" carnival street party on Paqueta Island in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Merry makers ferried across Guanabara Bay to Paqueta Island for the parade. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A reveler sleeps on the sidewalk during the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Performers wait during a pause along the Carnival parade route in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Haiti's three-day Carnival festivities have brought rum-fueled parties, imaginative costumes and high-energy dance music to a southern city that's still recovering from last year's punishing Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Cymbalists perform in the traditional "Diablada" or Dance of the Devils, during Carnival in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Carnival is a religious festival dating back more than 200 years in an ongoing pagan-Catholic blend of religious practice in the region, and is one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A performer from the Academicos do Grande Rio samba school parades during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

Costumed patients from the Nise da Silveira Mental Health Institute wait for the start of their Carnival parade, coined in Portuguese: "Loucura Suburbana," or Suburban Madness, in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. Patients, their relatives and institute workers held their parade one day before the official start of Carnival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Revelers wearing costumes depicting "The Simpsons" comic characters pose for the photo during the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A couple dressed as a bride and groom participate in the last day of Carnival celebrations in Panama City, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Carnival is celebrated throughout the country every year for four days before Ash Wednesday. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Men toast with beer while wading in mud during the "Bloco da Lama" or Mud Street Carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Legend has it the "bloco" was born in 1986 after local teens hiking in a nearby mangrove forest smeared themselves with mud to discourage mosquitoes and then wandered through Paraty. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A performer from the Uniao da Ilha samba school dances on a float during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Dancers perform in a Carnival parade in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Tuesday's celebrations were the last major party day of Haiti's Carnival, a mixture of Catholic pre-Lenten festivities and African, Spanish and native cultures found throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A reveler reacts to the camera as he performs during the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A performer waits during a pause on the Carnival parade route in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Haiti's three-day Carnival festivities have brought rum-fueled parties, imaginative costumes and high-energy dance music to a southern city that's still recovering from last year's punishing Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A clown-faced reveler smiles wide as he takes part in the "Galo da Madrugada" or the Morning Rooster carnival parade, in downtown Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. The "Galo da Madrugada" took to the streets for the first time in 1975 with the aim of rescuing the traditional carnival of Recife. It is now considered one of the largest carnival parades. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Dancers perform the traditional "Diablada" or Dance of the Devils during Carnival in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. The carnival is a religious festival dating back more than 200 years in an ongoing pagan-Catholic blend of religious practice in the region, and is one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

"Mike" dressed in a boxer costume, takes part in the "Blocao" dog carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Carnival goes to the dogs as pet owners take to the streets for their own party, with their four-legged friends in ornate costumes. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A masked guest attends a Carnival ball at the Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. In stark contrast to the hundreds of hard-charging street parties across Rio that are open to anyone, the "Baile do Copa" bills itself as a fairytale event where the country's elite can see and be seen in a hotel known for both opulence and a lengthy tradition of welcoming world leaders and stars. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A reveler wearing a unicorn mask attends the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Revelers wearing costumes pack a bus during carnival festivities in the Cidade de Deus, or "City of God" slum, before going to another party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Performers from the Salgueiro samba school dance during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A masked performer waits for his friends before a Carnival parade in Les Cayes, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Tuesday's celebrations were the last major party day of Haiti's Carnival, a mixture of Catholic pre-Lenten festivities and African, Spanish and native cultures found throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Feb. 25, 2017 photo, revelers dressed as devils sing and dance down a hillside to the rhythm of drums to mark the start of Carnival celebrations in the remote Andean town of Uquia, Argentina. During the 9 days that the festivity lasts, Carnival devils are not supposed to take their costume off or reveal their identity. (AP Photo/Alvaro Medina)

Performers from the Uniao da Ilha samba school parade during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Competitors work for months to ready for Brazil's world famous Carnival parades of samba dancing, costumes and magnificent floats. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A youth sells foam cans to revelers during the "Get out Temer" carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Merrymakers took to the streets to protest Brazil's President Michel Temer. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

In this Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 photo, revelers take part in the "Guanabara Pearl" carnival street party on Paqueta Island in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Merry makers ferried across Guanabara Bay to Paqueta Island for the parade. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A reveler sleeps on the sidewalk during the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Performers wait during a pause along the Carnival parade route in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Haiti's three-day Carnival festivities have brought rum-fueled parties, imaginative costumes and high-energy dance music to a southern city that's still recovering from last year's punishing Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Cymbalists perform in the traditional "Diablada" or Dance of the Devils, during Carnival in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Carnival is a religious festival dating back more than 200 years in an ongoing pagan-Catholic blend of religious practice in the region, and is one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A performer from the Academicos do Grande Rio samba school parades during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

Costumed patients from the Nise da Silveira Mental Health Institute wait for the start of their Carnival parade, coined in Portuguese: "Loucura Suburbana," or Suburban Madness, in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. Patients, their relatives and institute workers held their parade one day before the official start of Carnival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Revelers wearing costumes depicting "The Simpsons" comic characters pose for the photo during the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A couple dressed as a bride and groom participate in the last day of Carnival celebrations in Panama City, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Carnival is celebrated throughout the country every year for four days before Ash Wednesday. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Men toast with beer while wading in mud during the "Bloco da Lama" or Mud Street Carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Legend has it the "bloco" was born in 1986 after local teens hiking in a nearby mangrove forest smeared themselves with mud to discourage mosquitoes and then wandered through Paraty. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A performer from the Uniao da Ilha samba school dances on a float during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Dancers perform in a Carnival parade in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Tuesday's celebrations were the last major party day of Haiti's Carnival, a mixture of Catholic pre-Lenten festivities and African, Spanish and native cultures found throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A reveler reacts to the camera as he performs during the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A performer waits during a pause on the Carnival parade route in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Haiti's three-day Carnival festivities have brought rum-fueled parties, imaginative costumes and high-energy dance music to a southern city that's still recovering from last year's punishing Hurricane Matthew. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A clown-faced reveler smiles wide as he takes part in the "Galo da Madrugada" or the Morning Rooster carnival parade, in downtown Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. The "Galo da Madrugada" took to the streets for the first time in 1975 with the aim of rescuing the traditional carnival of Recife. It is now considered one of the largest carnival parades. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Dancers perform the traditional "Diablada" or Dance of the Devils during Carnival in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. The carnival is a religious festival dating back more than 200 years in an ongoing pagan-Catholic blend of religious practice in the region, and is one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

"Mike" dressed in a boxer costume, takes part in the "Blocao" dog carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Carnival goes to the dogs as pet owners take to the streets for their own party, with their four-legged friends in ornate costumes. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A masked guest attends a Carnival ball at the Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. In stark contrast to the hundreds of hard-charging street parties across Rio that are open to anyone, the "Baile do Copa" bills itself as a fairytale event where the country's elite can see and be seen in a hotel known for both opulence and a lengthy tradition of welcoming world leaders and stars. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A reveler wearing a unicorn mask attends the "Ceu na Terra" or Heaven on Earth street party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties during Rio's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Revelers wearing costumes pack a bus during carnival festivities in the Cidade de Deus, or "City of God" slum, before going to another party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Performers from the Salgueiro samba school dance during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

A masked performer waits for his friends before a Carnival parade in Les Cayes, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Tuesday's celebrations were the last major party day of Haiti's Carnival, a mixture of Catholic pre-Lenten festivities and African, Spanish and native cultures found throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

This gallery is a selection of some of the best moments captured during Carnival celebrations by Associated Press photographers across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The highlight of the year for many in Brazil is Rio de Janeiro's over-the-top party and competition at the famed Sambadrome. This year featured sensual red devils, the classic high-heeled women in barely covering outfits of feathers, singing performers with instruments, and people in large dresses spinning across the floor to impress the judges.

There was plenty of action outside the famed stadium, too. While the city's elite held a private bash in tuxedos and cocktail dresses resembling the "Great Gatsby" era, outside in the street a scrawny young boy sold cans of spray foam to partiers at an anti-government Carnival protest and costumed patients from a mental hospital sat dazed on the sidewalk.

Men in blue beards partied in the streets as did a half-man, half-unicorn and "Mike" the boxing dog. People in costumes from "The Simpsons" and "Wonder Woman" brought color to the subway, and one man squeezed in a power nap along the parade route.

In other parts of Brazil, muddy men bonded over beer and celebrants in rural areas honored traditions dating back to the country's sugar plantation days.

A clown-faced reveler smiles wide as he takes part in the "Galo da Madrugada" or the Morning Rooster carnival parade, in downtown Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. The "Galo da Madrugada" took to the streets for the first time in 1975 with the aim of rescuing the traditional carnival of Recife. It is now considered one of the largest carnival parades. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Outside Brazil, rum-fueled parties and high-energy dance music gave life to a city in southern Haiti still recovering from last fall's punishing Hurricane Matthew. An elderly couple in Panama showed up in bride and groom costumes. In Oruro, Bolivia, local people in colorful horned costumes performed the "Dance of the Devils," a celebration that has developed over more than 200 years to blend pagan and Roman Catholic religious practices.

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PHOTOS: Best of Carnival in Latin America, Caribbean - Press of Atlantic City

Royal Caribbean Blog (blog)

Royal Caribbean to re-categorize all staterooms fleet wide Royal Caribbean Blog (blog) Royal Caribbean has been using its current categories since the 1990s, and with the changes to the fleet over the years, there have been "band-aids" to keep things consistent. This new re-categorization will be concise, logical, named clearly and, best ...

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Royal Caribbean to re-categorize all staterooms fleet wide - Royal Caribbean Blog (blog)