Impact analysis of climate change on andean crops

This document will present an analysis of the impact that climate change will have during the 2020 and 2050 periods on five of the most important food security crops of the tropical Andean communities (from Venezuela to Bolivia ). Namely: bean, coffee, tomato, wheat and potato. It was concluded that the potential area impacted negatively across the region will be significantly larger than the area impacted positively. Most extreme cases, according to the A1B scenario for 2020, are observed in coffee, bean and wheat, crops whose climatic suitability will decrease by 79.7% (30 million hectares out of a total 37.7 million with climatic suitability), 76.3% (193 million hectares out of a total of 253.8 million) and 96.9% (24.5 million hectares out of 25.4 million), respectively. Projections estimate that this trend will continue until 2050, according to the same climatic scenario. Therefore, and in order to deal with such a disheartening panorama, it is necessary to take measures to reduce the levels of vulnerability of small-scale farmers. Some ideas on short- (risk management) and long-term strategies (adaptation), as well as mitigation, are presented towards the end of the document.A continuación se presenta un análisis del impacto que tendrá el cambio climático durante los periodos 2020 y 2050, sobre cinco de los cultivos más importantes para la seguridad alimentaria de las comunidades andinas que ocupan la región tropical (desde Venezuela hasta Bolivia). A saber; fríjol, café, tomate, trigo y papa. Se concluyó que el área potencial impactada negativamente en toda la región será significativamente mayor a la impactada positivamente. Los casos más extremos, según el escenario A1B para 2020, se observan en café, frijol y trigo, cultivos cuya disminución en aptitud climática es de 79.7% (30 millones de hectáreas, de un total de 37.7 millones con aptitud climática para crecer el cultivo), 76.3% (193 millones de hectáreas de un total de 253.8 millones) y 96.9% (24.5 millones de hectáreas de una de 25.4 millones), respectivamente. Las proyecciones estiman que dicha tendencia continuará hacia el año 2050, según el mismo escenario climático. Por lo tanto, y para hacer frente a tan desalentador panorama, será necesario tomar medidas que disminuyan los niveles de vulnerabilidad de los agricultores a pequeña escala. Algunas ideas sobre estrategias de corto (gestión del riesgo) y largo plazo (adaptación), así como de mitigación, son presentadas hacia el final del documento

GBIF: providing means for evaluating the impact of climate change on crop wild relatives

Poster presented at Climate Change, Global Risk, Challenges & Decisions, Copenhagen (Denmark), 10-12 March 200

GBIF: mobilising information for adapting agriculture to climate change

Poster presented at Climate Change, Global Risk, Challenges & Decisions, Copenhagen (Denmark), 10-12 March 200

Using crowdsourced imagery to assess cultural ecosystem services in data-scarce urban contexts : The case of the metropolitan area of Cali, Colombia

Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICUnidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MSustainable urban and metropolitan planning is increasingly benefiting from differentiated assessments of ecosystem services. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are particularly relevant for urban residents' mental and physical health, yet, quantification and mapping of CES are often challenging, especially so in the Global South. The use of social media data (SMD), which has recently gained importance for assessing CES at larger spatial and temporal scales, provides a promising entry point for mitigating this informational gap in land-use planning. However, its application is mainly limited to European and North American cases and rarely applied to data-scarce urban regions in the Global South, with South America as no exception. Addressing this geographical gap, this study assesses CES of urban green spaces in the city of Cali, Colombia, based on 1,686 crowdsourced and geolocated photographs, and compares those results with a metropolitan scale CES potential assessment based on expert opinions performed in a previous study. Despite some important limitations primarily related to Flickr as a data source, we demonstrate the utility of this approach, especially for understanding the fine-scale generation of CES by small green spaces located within the urban fabric that are overlooked in the metropolitan scale expert-based assessment. These green spaces are highly relevant as inner-city pockets for CES production, especially in the form of "existence value" and "aesthetic experiences", in contrast to green areas highlighted by experts at the metropolitan scale that serve primarily recreational purposes. Our results indicate the large potential of SMD-based CES assessment approaches for informing urban planning processes in the Global South

Identifying candidate sites for crop biofortification in Latin America: case studies in Colombia, Nicaragua and Bolivia

BACKGROUND: Agricultural science can address a population's vitamin, amino acid and mineral malnutrition through biofortification - agronomy, plant breeding and biotechnology to develop crops with high nutrient contents. Biofortified crop varieties should be grown in areas with populations at risk of nutrient deficiency and in areas where the same crop is already grown and consumed. Information on the population at risk of nutrient deficiency is rarely available for sub-national administrative units, such as provinces, districts, and municipalities. Nor is this type of information commonly analyzed with data on agricultural production. This project developed a method to identify populations at risk of nutrient deficiency in zones with high crop production, places where biofortification interventions could be targeted. RESULTS: Nutrient deficiency risk data were combined with crop production and socioeconomic data to assess the suitability of establishing an intervention. Our analysis developed maps of candidate sites for biofortification interventions for nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Results for Colombia, Nicaragua, and Bolivia are presented in this paper. Interventions in northern Colombia appear promising for all crops, while sites for bean biofortification are widely scattered throughout the country. The most promising sites in Nicaragua are found in the center-north region. Candidate sites for biofortification in Bolivia are found in the central part of the country, in the Andes Mountains. The availability and resolution of data limits the analysis. Some areas show opportunities for biofortification of several crops, taking advantage of their spatial coincidence. Results from this analysis should be confirmed by experts or through field visits. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a method for identifying candidate sites for biofortification interventions. The method evaluates populations at risk of nutrient deficiencies for sub-national administrative regions, and provides a reasonable alternative to more costly, information-intensive approaches

Un esquema conceptual para identificar localidades con poblaciones en riesgo de anemia y desnutrición crónica

Datos nacionales e incluso departamentales de anemia y desnutrición crónica se recolectan con periodicidad. Es raro encontrar datos a nivel municipal del estado nutricional de una población, información necesaria para focalizar intervenciones. Un esquema conceptual se desarrolló, aplicó y válido. Datos bioquímicos (prevalencia departamental de hemoglobina infantil < 11 g/dL), antropométricos (prevalencia departamental de talla/edad infantil < -2 Desviación Estándar) y socioeconómicos (a nivel municipal, índice de intensidad de pobreza ó población bajo la línea de pobreza extrema) se usaron para identificar localidades con riesgo de presentar anemia y desnutrición crónica, en 11 países latinoamericanos. En un sistema de información geográfica, se unificaron datos nutricionales y socioeconómicos a un mismo formato espacial, que representaba una localidad en un determinado departamento de un país. Se ubicaron aquellas localidades donde coincidían alta desnutrición (anemia o crónica) y pobreza. Para la desnutrición crónica, hubo una alta relación de localidades identificadas con el esquema, al compararlas con datos recolectados a nivel municipal (= 66%), mas no cuando se comparó con un método estadístico (0%). Este esquema articulado a un software de mapeo facilitó la identificación de localidades con poblaciones en riesgo a anemia y desnutrición crónica. Es importante validar el esquema con estudios de campo

Un esquema conceptual para identificar localidades com poblaciones em riesgo de anemia y desnutrición crónica

Datos nacionales e incluso departamentales de anemia y desnutrición crónica se recolectan con periodicidad. Es raro encontrar datos a nivel municipal del estado nutricional de una población, información necesaria para focalizar intervenciones. Un esquema conceptual se desarrolló, aplicó y válido. Datos bioquímicos (prevalencia departamental de hemoglobina infantil < 11 g/dL), antropométricos (prevalencia departamental de talla/edad infantil < -2 Desviación Estándar) y socioeconómicos (a nivel municipal, índice de intensidad de pobreza ó población bajo la línea de pobreza extrema) se usaron para identificar localidades con riesgo de presentar anemia y desnutrición crónica, en 11 países latinoamericanos. En un sistema de información geográfica, se unificaron datos nutricionales y socioeconómicos a un mismo formato espacial, que representaba una localidad en un determinado departamento de un país. Se ubicaron aquellas localidades donde coincidían alta desnutrición (anemia o crónica) y pobreza. Para La desnutrición crónica, hubo una alta relación de localidades identificadas con el esquema, al compararlas con datos recolectados a nivel municipal (8 66%), mas no cuando se comparó con un método estadístico (0%). Este esquema articulado a un software de mapeo facilitó la identificación de localidades con poblaciones en riesgo a anemia y desnutrición crónica. Es importante validar el esquema con estudios de campo

Epidemiology and pathogenesis of maternal-fetal transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi and a case for vaccine development against congenital Chagas disease

Trypanos o ma cruzi (T. cruzi or Tc) is the causative agent of Chagas disease (CD). It is common for patients to suffer from non-specific symptoms or be clinically asymptomatic with acute and chronic conditions acquired through various routes of transmission. The expecting women and their fetuses are vulnerable to congenital transmission of Tc. Pregnant women face formidable health challenges because the frontline antiparasitic drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox, are contraindicated during pregnancy. However, it is worthwhile to highlight that newborns can be cured if they are diagnosed and given treatment in a timely manner. In this review, we discuss the pathogenesis of maternal-fetal transmission of Tc and provide a justification for the investment in the development of vaccines against congenital CD.Fil: Rios, Lizette. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Campos, Emiliano Emanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Menon, Ramkumar. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Zago, María Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Garg, Nisha J.. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados Unido