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The paper identifies the links between transnational municipal networks and international agreements in the environmental arena. It is taken for granted that transnational municipal networks support global environmental action and the process of sustainable development, in particular giving access to resources, with technical support and knowledge, but to what extent international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, or the Convention on Biological Diversity guide the action of these networks? The research resorts to content analysis to examine the goals, mission, and published documents of two networks in particular, ICLEI and Mercosur, in the search for clear connections with the intergovernmental level. The paper contributes to the understanding of the role of transnational municipal networks in environmental governance, identifying through abductive reasoning the diffusion of norm from the international to the local level and underlining the importance of the role of international, national and local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistently high rate of failure in development projects involving local communities in the Peruvian Amazon over recent decades has not prevented the recurrence of these same mistakes year after year, resulting in significant social, environmental, and economic impacts, despite claims of 'sustainability' and 'inclusivity' by many. This paper analyses the factors contributing to this failure, with a particular focus on the lack of understanding of the Amazonian reality and the absence of environmental and cultural relevance in development models imported from other regions. As an alternative approach, we propose the promotion of bio-entrepreneurship initiatives led by families and community interest groups in the Amazonian communities. These initiatives should preferably involve non-timber forest resources, in alignment with the 'forest-oriented' profile of traditional Amazonian societies. Additionally, the application of culturally pertinent technologies and other solutions is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The orchard is the place where a colossal diversity of food, medicinal plants, condiment, flowers, and wood are cultivated. Based on the orographic conditions, climates, and cultural dynamics of each region, related, farming knowledge is objectified. This paper analyzes the orchard territorial scale in Figueroa, Cauca, social scenario in which agricultural praxis is carried out, which articulates conservation and resistance practices, carried out day-to-day. The method of research is ethnographic, based on the role of ethnographer as assistant-companion in the orchard, and the use of techniques such as participant observation, direct interviews, and ethnographic interviews. Based on the field work, the orchard is identified as a biodiverse place, where there is a complex network of actions and thoughts, whose core axis is the defense of nature and territory, that is, life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural activity increases productivity and profitability while increasing environmental costs. However, if the sustainability of ecosystems is altered, they will become degraded systems and will eventually stop providing services. This insufficiency will generate a reduction in the inherent capacity of ecosystems to sustain not only economic activity but also other human activities. The aim of this paper is to assess the incidence of agriculturization on the provision of ecosystem services in the Environmental Units of Tandil, for the periods 1989-2004 and 2004-2019. Sustainability indicators adapted from the AgroEcoIndex Software were used to determine which are the landscape areas where the application of criteria related to environmental management is crucial. In particular, the state of provision of biodiversity conservation services and the quality of soil and water is assessed. The indicators used show a worsening in the provision of these services by 29% and 11.48% accordingly in the period under study. It is essential to determine priority conservation areas, to incorporate good agricultural practices and to diversify control techniques beyond exclusively chemical control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On January 15, 2022, an oil spill occurred at the multi-buoy terminal 2 of La Pampilla refinery, Ventanilla (Lima -- Peru), during the Mare Doricum tanker crude oil unloading operation. This research is based on documentary analysis, its empirical, exploratory, explanatory orientation, linked to real and predictive phenomena. The evaluation period runs from January 15 to March 30, 2022. The affected area includes 1 840 490m2 of land and 7 139 571m2 of marine habitats along public use beaches. The crude oil impact extends from Ventanilla to Chancay, including the Ancon Reserved Zone and a portion of the Guano Islands, Islets, and Mainland Point System National Reserve. Biodiversity made up of algae, marine and fish invertebrates, birds, and mammals have been affected at different intensity levels. The number of affected species would range between 300 and 500 species. This paper aims to analyze the impact of the oil spill on the biological diversity of coastal habitats from Ventanilla to Chancay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the normative design, which regulates research in Colombia and the practices of researchers from an ethical approach, by addressing critical issues in the health sciences, social sciences, and environmental disciplines, to conclude that it is necessary to strengthen state control in these issues, the updating of the regulations and greater training of researchers and members of Ethics Committees in research, especially in the protection of participants, animal care, conflicts of interest, the management of communities, and vulnerable groups, community protocols, informed consent, prior consultation, biodiversity care, and access to genetic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to introduce students to tree-thinking through a ludic activity. Phylogenetic trees are the appropriate way to explain biodiversity under the theoretical framework of current evolutionary hypothesis and they should take a central place in public understanding of evolution. Misinterpretation of phylogenies plus the unavailability of didactic material in Spanish for teachers ends up in the reproduction of misunderstandings on the evolutionary theory. The combination of these errors with epistemological problems of evolutionary theories learning generates even more confusion in these subjects. The ludic activity as a learning process provides powerful tools when it comes to acquiring concepts that require abstraction in contents. Educational natural science games, both classical and modern approaches as Game-based learning theory, provide a sense of achievement to players/apprentices and they improve knowledge acquisition. In this context, the activity proposed here invites students to think under the scientific method and it allows them to assimilate abstract concepts by the resolution of evolutionary riddles. This activity gives the concepts to introduce scholars to the study of evolutionary processes, and the diversity of life on Earth under the current educational paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the New Rurality approach as conceptual framework, this paper analized the participative and deliberative process of developing a Proyecto Educativo Institucional (PEI) (Institutional Educative Plan) in a rural school in Tranapuente, Southern Chile. This research uses a qualitative design to study the relation between the school of Tranapuente and the rural communities where the school is located, describing the products of the process: Mission and vision of the school, main curricular areas (diversity, intercultural, relation school community and participative management of the schools). Finally, this paper analyzes how these products are conditions to rebuild the purpose and meanings of the school with the final purpose of improve curriculum and intercultural learning of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although being one of the most elusive reptiles in Mexico, Beaded Lizards are also one of the most famous, due to some biological peculiarities as the presence of venom glands and its colorful aspect. In this paper we gathered scientific literature about one of the mythic species inhabiting our country to favor its protection through scientific knowledge divulgation. î‚Še literature show a significant amount of knowledge about this species, but also the need to investigate key aspects in order to ensure the conservation of beaded lizards; for example, habitat disturbances sensitivity and habitat requirements, beaded lizard-human interaction dynamics, medical applications and genetic variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present the Pucciniales found in paramos of Antioquia on the Cyperaceae family. Collections were made of parasitized plants by Pucciniales in páramos of Antioquia Department with altitudes from 2800 to 4050 masl.; of the 136 collected materials, a total of 18 belonged to the Cyperaceae family. The spore states were observed under the stereomicroscope to have information about sori and from there micropreparations were made in lactoglycerin through free-hand sections and scrapings, 40 measurements were made of each of the structures found under the microscope and images were taken with a digital camera coupled. Results obtained include the description of the new species Puccinia sonsonensis; the first registration for Colombia of Puccinia caricina, Puccinia dioicae and Puccinia cephalotes, and first time record of species of the genus Carex parasitized by rust in Colombia. The results provide a additional argument the urgency of preservation and continuous study for such areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main conclusion of this paper is that the Resolution 970 from March 10, 2010 of the Colombian Institute for Agriculture obeys a model of development that threatens the biodiversity conservation, particularly the seed diversity. In reaching this conclusion, this paper describes the situation of agrobiodiversity in Colombia and analyses the norms of that Resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the treatment of the concept of ecosystem services in textbooks of middle and high schools from Spain. We reviewed scientific publications from a "community of experts" in order to define their conceptual frameworks, which act as epistemological referents along the didactic transposition. The majority of 50 analyzed textbooks mentioned some particular goods or ecosystem service examples, but only 10% of these defined their concept (especially earth and environmental science textbooks). These findings are related to the lack of conceptualization in the official curriculum. Direct services from ecosystems were treated more frequently than indirect ones. In addition, rainforests were found to be almost the sole providers of ecosystem goods, as there being an under-representation of the social, cultural and religious values of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the northwestern corner of Sonora, México, there exists an arid region covered by a volcanic shield that is close to both a singular sea of sand dunes and the Sea of Cortez. Temperature in this place may reach 56.7°C in the summer and -8.3°C during winter. In addition, with only 52 millime- ters of annual rain, one could assume that this is an uninhabited landscape. However, the Desert of Altar and the volcanic shield of El Pinacate has characterized since the Pleistocene Era because of the existence of a singular biodiversity of which many specimens of fauna and flora transcend the current times. For these characteristics of this area, the Mexican government declared it, in 1993, a protected natural area with the name of Biosphere Reserve El Pinacate and the Great Desert of Altar. Moreover, this region has been historically relevant not only because of its physiographic and environmental singularities, but also because of the long presence of man. This place was inhabited by human beings since the Paleoindian and the Late Prehistoric periods, and has repeatedly been explored since the 17th Century to present by missioners, colonizers, gold seekers, hunters, and on the top of all scientists. Among the most important visitors to this land should be mentioned Fray Eusebio Francisco Kino, Carl Lumholtz, William Hornaday and Julian Hayden. This paper presents these two histories, the natural and the cultural, and discusses geological, morphological and physiographic aspects of this reserve, as well as those about biodiversity, early presence of man and ulterior explorations. This paper is the result of a wider project financed by the National Commission for the Protected Natural Areas (CONANP). The purpose of this research was to elaborate a museum exhibition in the Visitors Center of that place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Salta, the puna vegetation studies are specific, sporadic, and often lack a complete picture of the floristic diversity. The objectives of this paper are to present the floristic diversity in Tocomar and Campo Amarillo, compare the biodiversity of the area of study with what is documented for Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, and analyze the indexes of similarities between the floristic vegas studied and those of other similar environments. The Non-wetlands include the grass steppes, shrub steppes and shrub hillside, and the wetlands include vegas. 30 families, 72 genera, 116 species, 19 infraspecific taxa and nine endemic species were recorded. The main families are Poaceae (26 species), Asteraceae (18) and Cyperaceae (9). 18 new records for the province of Salta are incorporated, of which four are Argentine endemisms. The floristic biodiversity of families, genera and species is higher than that documented for other floristically related sites, are concentrated in the analyzed vegas. The vegas had higher floristic similarity to the vegas of Northern Chile and Jujuy, while the lower affinity was recorded with the vegas of Catamarca, San Juan, Mendoza and Bolivia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colombia is the most diverse Neotropical country of Gesneriaceae. Nevertheless, there are gaps in knowledge of the distribution patterns and ecology of this family because of their taxonomic complexity. A list of the Gesneriaceae of the Quindío department with data for habitat and altitudinal distribution is presented in this paper. The herbarium collections of the Herbario Nacional Colombiano (COL) and the Herbario de la Universidad del Quindío (HUQ) were reviewed and fieldwork was carried out between 2009 and 2014 in 70 localities of Quindío. Forty three species and 11 genera were found, with a larger representation of Columnea, Besleria and Kohleria genera; nine species were new records for the Quindío; three were endemic and five species are new to science. The greatest richness was found in the montane forest between 1800 and 2400 masl, mainly in forested areas and streams. The results of this work constitute a baseline to conduct research in ecology, conservation and ornamental potential of Gesneriaceae occurring in Quindío. [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 a list of the aquatic insects collected from Urugua-i Provincial Park. This study aims to Improve the knowledge of this protected area located in Misiones Province. One hundred and thirty-six species of aquatic insects in 75 genera, 26 families and seven orders were recorded. New records for the province and for Argentina are listed, and the records of new species are mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to understand more accurately the contradictions, agreements and challenges of the conservation models of maize biodiversity through the analysis of the technological paradigm applied in the Programa Maiz Solidario in Los Altos de Chiapas. Using concepts from the Actor-Network-Theory, we used a focus group with the stakeholders involved in the Program's implementation whose speeches were grouped in seven controversies. The main conclusions value the notion of sociotechnical network for this kind of analysis and the need to establish epistemological agreements into the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an update to the knowledge on the diversity of this department's herpetofauna and an analysis of the distribution of species richness according to Holdridge's ecological life zone system, altitudinal ranges and ecoregions. To meet this aims, records were taken by researchers from the available literature, biological collections, observations and field recordings. Based on the obtained data, analyzes of eta richness and diversity were performed. There were a total of 333 species recorded (187 amphibians and 146 reptiles). We found that the greatest species richness of herpetofauna is concentrated in the Pacific region. Species richness of both reptiles and amphibians decreased with increasing altitude range. Furthermore, the life zone with the highest species richness was the Premontane rain forest with warm transition. The areas that presented the highest species richness have features that enable a high diversity of species; however, it must also be taken into account that these areas are the ones with the biggest land extension within Valle del Cauca (Colombia), and that they are where most studies have been focused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research was carried out in October, 2011 and March, 2012. Follow image satellite analyses 41 sites were selected in Ana Maria gulf, south region of Cuba. At these sites an inventory of the corals, gorgonians and sponges were carried out. Health status was analysed for corals. Inventories were carried out in mangrove, seagrass and coral reefs (patch reefs and sand-rocky bottom biotopes) ecosystems. Species richness for corals was 41, 23 for gorgonians and 41 for sponges. More abundant corals species were Porites astreoides, Millepora alcicornis, Siderastrea siderea, Siderastrea radians, Agaricia agaricites and higher diversity was detected in patch reefs (41 species). More abundant gorgonians were Gorgonia ventalina, Erythropodium caribaeorum, Briareum asbestinum and the sponges were Mycale laevis, Cliona aprica, Iotrochota birotulata. Main affectation to coral health was bleaching (21 species experienced bleaching in some degree and only in 51% of sites). In Rabihorcado key and Algodón Grande key, were detected higher recruit abundance. Higher corals species richness was observed in: Algodón Grande key, Manuel Gómez key, Bergantines and Palomo keys. Having these results as base, this paper proposes research corals priorities relate to growth of colonies, connectivity among populations and health status of such populations in Ana Maria gulf-Jardines de la Reina ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico and in other parts of Latin America, a large overlap can be observed between indigenous territories and regions of high biological value. In this paper, we ask if the same overlap can be observed in the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico. To answer this question, we start with a succinct analysis of the two main indigenous regions in rural Jalisco: the Huichol Sierra in the northern part of the state and the Sierra of Manantlán, in the southern part. Then, we extend our analysis to the state in its entirety in order to measure the overlap between indigenous territories that have been "desindianized" and regions of high biological value. This is done by comparing the municipalities that contain agrarian centers designated as "indigenous communities" and the municipalities that areas officially recognized for their ecological importance. A high correlation between these two variables is observed, leading to the question "why". A series of hypotheses is developed and these are contrasted with empirical evidence through a case study of the ejido of Ayotitlán, in the Sierra of Manantlán. Although different forms of environmental degradation can be observed in Ayotitlán, it continues to be one of the best conserved territories in the state of Jalisco, with high levels of biodiversity. This is due, not only to its isolation, but also to the way in which the indigenous inhabitants have interacted with the environment and because of their activism in defense of their territory and natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bolivia is regarded as the probable place of origin of the domesticated peanut, and an important world center of unique peanut diversity. As the first published study of its kind on peanut, this paper documents the infraspecific diversity of the crop in its country of origin and center of diverstity. 62 distinct landraces of Bolivian peanut were identified and systematically described. 42 landraces belong to Arachis hypogaea L. ssp. hypogaea var. hypogaea; 17 to A. hypogaea ssp. fastigiata var. fastigiata; one to A. hypogaea ssp. fastigiata var. vulgaris; and two to A. hypogaea ssp. fastigiata var. peruviana. With very few exceptions, the landraces encountered in Bolivia are almost entirely endemic to that country. The most typical peanuts from Bolivia pertain to the landraces "Crema", "Colorado San Simón", "Bayo americano", "Overo", and "Overo carenado", which are widely cultivated throughout the country. A few regions of unusually high peanut diversity can be identified. In the Yungas region of La Paz, 11 landraces were collected, of which three are endemic. In the mountainous regions of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, 18 landraces were collected, of which six are endemic. The Department of Tarija yielded 14 landraces, of which two are endemic. All of the aforementioned landraces pertain to the botanical variety hypogaea. In contrast, the subspecies fastigiata has a remarkable center or diversity in the watershed of the Rio Beni, where 10 landraces were collected in a fairly small area, nine of which are endemic to that region. This monograph is intended to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of peanut diversity, and facilitate the conservation and use of peanut landraces by scientistis, plant breeders, and farmers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]