Financing environmental sustainability for small landowners in Guatemala: the potential of the carbon banking approach

Presented at the 2012 Lincoln University Postgraduate Conference, 28-29 August, 2012, Lincoln, New ZealandForest carbon is potentially an important income stream for small landowners in Guatemala that would help to cease deforestation pressures. However, the temporary nature of sequestered forest carbon, the risk of environmental disturbances releasing it, and the form of international carbon markets affect the ability of small forest owners to participate in carbon trading. To overcome these hurdles an annual carbon rental mechanism may be able to be established through the carbon banking approach. Thus, this study attempts to explore the potential of the carbon banking to include small forest owners into the carbon trading system by providing annual payments for retaining forest. This paper reports the results of an investigation into the stability of carbon pools formed by small forest owners in Guatemala and the effect this has on requirements for applying carbon banking approach. The study uses data on area burned annually in three eco-zones in Guatemala to estimate the risk of loss of forest carbon due to fire. This information is used in Monte Carlo simulation to model the risk-adjusted area of forest carbon available for leasing. The results show that only 96.35% of the forest carbon under contract from small owners in the wet zone is available for leasing to the carbon market when adjusted for fire risk. The same adjustment for the montane zone is 98.87% and for the dry zone is 97.13%. These percentages are used to calculate the minimum differential between prices paid to small owners and what is charged to carbon buyers

Memoria de las prácticas profesionales de traducción: Principles of Anatomy and Physiology

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Traducció Medicosanitària. Codi: SBA031. Curs: 2017/201

El aspecto bélico de Chaahk, el dios de la lluvia, en el Periodo Clásico maya

Chaahk, el dios de la lluvia y del rayo, fue uno de los dioses principales del Periodo Clásico maya (250-900 d.C). Dentro de los muchos aspectos que adquiere el dios se encuentra el relacionado con la guerra, que pudo verse impulsado por un dios guerrero de procedencia extranjera, Tlaloc. Desde finales del siglo VII, Chaahk es reconocido iconográficamente en contextos de enfrentamientos bélicos. Tal como se aprecia en estelas, dinteles, pintura mural y cerámica, los gobernantes mayas incorporaron en su atavío bélico diferentes tocados con el rostro de Chaahk. En otras ocasiones se representan personificando al dios ante sus cautivos o en complejas narrativas bélicas, como recogen los murales de Mulchic. El aspecto bélico de Chaahk permanece durante el Posclásico hasta la llegada de los españoles.The god of rain and thunder, Chaahk, was one of the more important deities of the Classic maya Period (250- 900 d.C). Among his many aspects is one related to war that was perhaps influenced by a foreign god, Tlaloc. From the end of the seven century, Chaahk can be recognized in iconographic contexts pertaining to warfare. Maya rulers depicted on stelas, lintels, ceramics, and in murals painting, incorporated Chaahk’s headdresses in their battle attire. On other occasions, as can be seen in the murals of Mulchic, personifications of the god are associated with captives or included in complex narratives related to war. These connections between Chaahk and armed conflict were maintained trough the Postclassic, and until the arrival of of the Spaniards

Animal behaviour: Shifting attention in order to disperse

New findings in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans identify neuromodulation of behavioural responses to pheromones as a mechanism for regulating dispersal and foraging strategies

Use of Indicators to Evaluate Sustainability of Animal Production Systems

SUMMARY – Few indicators for sustainability are used in studying animal production systems. Sustainability of these systems should be evaluated in a dynamic and multidisciplinary manner, and those indicators used should allow for detecting the systems' most relevant properties, as well as the tendency of those systems to change. Indicators proposed by FAO provide information regarding all attributes of sustainability, although in a manner which is overly focused on technical and economic indicators at the expense of social and environmental factors. In order to use these indicators to evaluate sustainability, it is necessary to: (i) integrate and reduce the number of indicators, balancing them for all sustainability attributes; (ii) generate indicators which show system sustainability in relation to the economic, environmental and social context; and (iii) design indicators which show system evolution and the influence of this process on that system’s sustainability.RESUME – "Utilisation d'indicateurs pour évaluer la durabilité des systèmes de production animale". Les indicateurs permettant de caractériser la durabilité des systèmes de production animale sont peu développés. L'évaluation de la durabilité de ces systèmes doit être dynamique et multidisciplinaire et les indicateurs utilisés doivent permettre de détecter les caractéristiques les plus importantes des systèmes et leur évolution. Les indicateurs proposés par la FAO servent à informer sur tous les attributs liés à la durabilité, mais d’une façon non équilibrée et trop centrée sur le système de production. Pour rendre possible l’utilisation des indicateurs FAO en tant qu'évaluateurs de la durabilité des systèmes, il conviendra de: (i) réduire le nombre d'indicateurs obtenus à partir des données de l’exploitation, en cherchant un équilibre entre le nombre d’indicateurs qui correspondent à chaque attribut de la durabilité ; (ii) générer des indicateurs représentatifs de la durabilité des systèmes liés à l'environnement, aussi bien physique, économique que social ; et (iii) créer des indicateurs qui renseignent sur l’évolution du système et de sa durabilité