Despite decades of attention by conservationists, deforestation remains a critical problem in Latin America, particularly in agricultural frontiers like the Amazon and the lowlands of Central America. The limited impact of conservation initiatives in such regions stems partly from a poor…
BACKGROUND: South America is one of the most species diverse continents in the world. Within South America diversity is not distributed evenly at both local and continental scales and this has led to the recognition of various areas with unique species assemblages. Several schemes currently…
The introduction to this set of papers highlights four challenges to the large-scale analysis of population growth at protected area edges in Africa and Latin America undertaken by George Wittemyer and colleagues in their 2008 paper published in Science. First, it raises questions about their…
It is widely accepted that natural resources should only be sustainably exploited and utilized to effectively preserve our planet for future generations. To better manage the natural resources, and to better understand the closely linked Earth systems, the concept of Digital Earth has been…
Mediterranean ecosystems are global hotspots of biodiversity threaten by human disturbances. Growing evidence indicates that regeneration of Mediterranean forests can be halted under certain circumstances and that successional stages can become notoriously persistent. The Mediterranean…
Two species of flowering plant of Fuegian montane provenance have been discovered on Deception Island in the maritime Antarctic, 950 km south of South America. Four individuals of Nassauvia magellanica and one of Gamochaeta nivalis (both Asteraceae) are growing robustly and in close proximity of…
We used the process-oriented niche model CLIMEX to estimate the potential global distribution of serrated tussock under projected future climates. Serrated tussock is a drought-tolerant, wind- and human-dispersed grass of South American origin that has invaded pastures in Australia, Europe, New…
Los derechos de tenencia de la tierra y los derechos de carbono son temas fundamentales que deben ser tomados en cuenta para lograr una reducción de emisiones, asegurar una distribución transparente de beneficios y determinar las responsabilidades de la no permanencia (no cumplimiento) en el…
Las iniciativas para reducir las emisiones de la deforestación y la degradación forestal (REDD) dependerán fundamentalmente de la población rural para manejar los recursos forestales. Aunque el diseño de marcos, mecanismos y acuerdos para implementar los programas de REDD ha sido objeto de…
REDD+ es un mecanismo financiero con un potencial significativo para cambiar los incentivos conducentes a la deforestación y el cambio de uso de la tierra, con efectos en la conservación del bosque y la sostenibilidad. REDD+ no es en sí mismo una reforma de la gobernanza, pero afectará a la…
En los paisajes tropicales de América Latina están teniendo lugar importantes transformaciones con consecuencias sobre el desarrollo económico y el cambio climático. Los cambios en los territorios ocurren no solo debido a las políticas y mercados nacionales sino también a las dinámicas de…
