Few studies exist that document how high-elevation Andean ecosystems recover naturally after the cessation of human activities and this can limit the implementation of cost-effective restoration actions. We assessed Andean forest (Polylepis stands) and páramo grassland recovery along an elevation gradient (3,600–4,350 m.a.s.l.) in the Yanacocha Reserve (Ecuador) where natural …
Few studies exist that document how high-elevation Andean ecosystems recover naturally after the cessation of human activities and this can limit the implementation of cost-effective restoration actions. We assessed Andean forest (Polylepis stands) and páramo grassland recovery along an elevation gradient (3,600–4,350 m.a.s.l.) in the Yanacocha Reserve (Ecuador) where natural …
To finance their progress, developing countries must inevitably find ways to overcome challenges. One major issue that these countries face is that investors often perceive developing countries as carrying a high financial risk, which limits their ability to access to international capital markets. In the natural resource boom that started …
The Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) 23rd Board Meeting today announced more than US$84.9 million towards United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported adaptation and mitigation efforts in Bhutan, Timor-Leste, the Marshall Islands and Ecuador. The announcement makes Ecuador the second country to receive financial resources from the GCF for having successfully …
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the city of Santa Elena on the coast of Ecuador on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake struck at a depth of 18.5 km, the USGS said.
This report is intended to provide an overview of the activities implemented by the project GCP/GLO/534/ITA “International Alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture” - funded by the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea of Italy and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - which supported the creation …
International development finance institutions (DFIs) invested heavily in large-scale infrastructure projects that triggered significant deforestation in the Andes Amazon especially within the nations of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia between 2000 and 2015, according to recent research published by Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. Using satellite data, the study analyzed …
Women, Business and the Law (WBL) measures gender inequality in the law. The dataset identifies barriers to women's economic participation and encourages the reform of discriminatory laws.
The ocean around the Galápagos Islands has been warming since the 1970s, according to a new analysis of the natural temperature archives stored in coral reefs. The finding surprised the University of Arizona-led research team, because the sparse instrumental records for sea surface temperature for that part of the eastern …
Tropical forests all over the world are at risk from climate change and deforestation for arable land. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Thünen-Institute compared losses due to deforestation with those that would result in extreme climate change scenarios in Ecuador. Although global warming is likely …
What happened on October 8 and 9 in Ecuador’s Río Blanco area was not entirely unexpected. On August 12, a group of inhabitants decided to take “de facto” measures — such as setting up a tent at the entrance of Junefield mining company’s camp — with the goal of stopping …
The document summarizes an extensive body of research conducted to assess the extent and quality of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services geographically and over the income distribution using a variety of techniques and data sources; the interaction between WASH outcomes and health, especially nutrition; and the institutional barriers …
Last weekend, a tribunal held by indigenous communities in Gualaquiza, in the Amazon headwaters region of Ecuador, accused the nation’s first large scale mining operation of major human and environmental abuses. The Mirador and Panantza-San Carlos open-pit copper mines are run by Ecuacorriente S.A. (ECSA) and owned by the Chinese …
SALCEDO, Ecuador – The southeastern wedge of Ecuador’s Cotopaxi province is filled with rich agricultural land. It sprawls in small divided plots of greens and ambers across the region’s hills, ravines, and mountainsides. But the indigenous farmers that call this area home are facing perennial water shortages that are crippling …
A highly contagious disease is spreading among farmed and wild tilapia, one of the world’s most important fish for human consumption, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday. The Rome-based UN agency said the outbreak should be treated with concern, and countries importing tilapias should take appropriate …
The epidemiological and nutrition transition of Latin American countries imposes a double challenge for nutrition and food security public policies. On the one hand, to continue the task of eradicating young child undernutrition and, on the other, to face the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. The international relevance of …
Five researchers have been named winners of the 2017 Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for their research in engineering, innovation and technology. The winning scholars from Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia and Sudan are being honored for their accomplishments in chemical engineering, energy and minerals …
In our recent perspective article, we noted that most (approximately 60 percent) terrestrial large carnivore and large herbivore species are now threatened with extinction, and we offered a 13-point declaration designed to promote and guide actions to save these iconic mammalian megafauna (Ripple et al. 2016). Some may worry that …
Ecuador began drilling for oil on Wednesday near an Amazon nature reserve known as Yasuni, a site that President Rafael Correa had previously sought to protect from development and pollution under a pioneering conservation plan. Correa in 2007 asked wealthy countries to donate $3.6 billion to offset revenue lost by …
Scientists say their research shows that two subspecies of songbirds found only on the Galápagos Islands should be elevated to full species status. There’s one big caveat, however: One of the two newly minted species may already be extinct. The researchers used molecular data from samples of museum specimens housed …
Most oil palm is grown in areas that were once species-rich and carbon-rich tropical forests, thanks to the fact that the crop’s natural range is limited to the humid tropics. So where are the active fronts of deforestation for oil palm? And where might they be in the future? Here’s …
