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Environmental modifications generate interface environments in which Leptospira spp. transmission may be affected. In order to identify and analyze eco-environmental variables associated with potential reservoirs of Leptospira spp. in the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (RECS) (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and adjacent urbanized areas, a stratified and proportionate transect line convenience sampling was carried out. A total of 170 mammals of 11 species were captured and analyzed for the presence of Leptospira spp. by serology, culture and PCR. In conserved areas, Didelphis albiventris and Deltamys kempi were mostly recorded, while Oligoryzomys flavescens was also found in degraded areas, and Rattus norvegicus was only found in degraded areas. Leptospira spp. were not detected in wild mammals. One dog without a responsible keeper tested positive by serology. The environmental conditions of the RECS suggest a poor ecosystem for Rattus, demonstrating the importance of the conservation of natural areas in urban environments. [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]

In the last 40 years, all around the plant, a veritable explosion of formally established protected natural areas has occurred. During the 1960s, there were a few more than 1,000 officially protected areas; by 2006, the number reached more than 108,000. In terms of protected surface area, one of the objectives promoted by the World Parks Commission has been surpassed; it had established the need to protect at least 10% of the planet's surface, more than 30 million square kilometers (Dowie, 2006). Protected areas or natural parks have existed in Uruguay since the mid-twentieth century, but their incorporation into a National System of Protected Areas (SNAP-NSPA), managed from the central State, is a novelty dating from beginnings of the twenty-first century. Understood as part of a sustainable development strategy, natural protected areas imply a development model option. This option is valid when the declaration for a protected area is adopted by the environmental authorities, by the communities that live in the territory or around it or even in the definition of the academic or nongovernmental actors applied to the conservation of natural resources. Nevertheless, such an option is not always explicit or obvious to the same degree for all the actors involved. Natural protected areas have social implications; among others, the creation of notions regarding environment and nature, in places where that particular interest has not necessarily existed as such until very recently. On the other hand, social participation, recommended, claimed and assumed, is often seen as an end in itself, as a necessary stage in implementing the protected areas, without questioning the processes, criteria or objectives. The expansion of protected areas in recent years can be understood as part of the globalization process; the environmental question is one of the first necessary, non-local concerns of society, the states and international institutionalism, which has had as a counterpart the identification of biodiversity as one of the first objects of global concern about nature. This advance communication about an on-going research project analyzes the relation between State and the social actors involved in the process of implementing an environmental policy, the creation of a National System of Protected Areas. Focus is on the changes that this process generates in the discourse, representations and practices of the actors regarding a specific territory, the protected area of the Farrapos Estuaries and the Islands of the Uruguay River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]