Mr Dysart said the mussels living in the river were of "international importance" and had been wiped out despite the contractors being "well-aware" of the environmentalsensitivity of the site.
Michael Porter, a Harvard professor who has become the region's economic guru, peddles the comforting notion that Central America may be able to by-pass the sweatshop stage of development and leap quickly from poverty to northern standards of productivity, social protection and environmentalsensitivity.