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In this paper, we analyze the role of engineering and research in the environmental licensing process in the light of institutional changes made in Chile since 2010: the creation of the Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Assessment Service. To do this, we will show the challenges posed by these new institutions, the opportunities identified and the work undertaken to address those changes. Finally, the results will be presented taking the Punta Alcalde project as a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colombian amazon has a wide biologic diversity, with silvester and cultured species which use potential and abundance identified them as an important bioactive compounds source. That represents a wide opportunity to innovate and develop processes and technologies in different engineering fields (chemical, mechanical and food engineering). This paper presents experiences when the problem of sustainable use of biodiversity is tackled from engineering in the Colombian amazonic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the main aspects of the historical development and the current issues at stake in the South American Internet access market: the interconnection schemes for the exchange of local and regional traffic in the South American region, the incentives Internet access providers have for keeping or modifying the nature of the agreements, and the cost recovery methods at the traffic exchange points. Some threats to the stability of the scheme for domestic traffic exchange adopted throughout the region are also identified and subsequently illustrated with country-cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Páramos are vulnerable zonal ecosystems located in the tropical mountains of Central and South America, approximately between 3000 and 4500 meters above the sea level. Their special characteristics generate particular floral, ecological, edaphological, geomorphological and climatic typologies. Páramos have great ecologic, genetic and scientific importance due to their endemic flora and landscapes, as well as their socio-economical functions, represented by their fundamental roll in water regulation for water supply in some cities downstream. Some efforts have been done to quantify the water balance in these special hydrosystems. This paper presents an approximation to the hydrologic modeling of these hydrosystems, based on the integration of the AvSWAT model, a horizontal precipitation model, and a geographic information system. As a case study, the upper Blanco river basin was analyzed. This basin is one of the principal areas of the Chingaza páramo, the main Bogotá City water supply source. Protection of these ecosystems is stressed in order to preserve flow regimes, mainly those associated with dry conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents and analyzes some critical issues aspects at stake in the South American Internet access market. We present the prevalent interconnection schemes for the exchange of local and regional traffic in the South American region, trying to identify the main incentives large Internet Service Providers or ISPs have for improving the financial conditions under which interconnection agreements occur, usually at the expense of smaller ISPs. In fact, the model of cooperative agreement for the exchange of domestic (national) traffic has been adopted all through the region and the Internet access market has benefited from the cost reduction and the improvement in the quality of service that the operation of a traffic exchange point has brought in each country. Our work has focused on the impact of new forms of interconnection agreements such as secondary peering arrangements and multi-homing on the stability of Internet growth in the region. We use a model of bargaining to identify the threats which the current agreements are currently facing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]