AIR POLLUTION MANAGEMENT IN TWO COLOMBIAN CITIES: CASE STUDY

This document is a case study that focuses on the air pollution problems of Bogotá and Medellín. These are the largest; most populated and industrialized cities of Colombia. The document presents a brief description of the evolution of relevant institutional aspects. It describes the pollution problems of these cities, their sources, their effects on health and the measures to control and to prevent them. Following the framework of the WDR 2003 , this document analyzes how society becomes aware of air pollution problems and the mechanisms that have generated the decision to undertake air pollution control strategies. It also discusses the mechanisms which have been in place to balance legitimate, competing social interests, and the means by which the adopted solutions are executed. Finally, the document presents a series of lessons and recommendations.air pollution

The Allocation of Water Resources in the Bogotá Savanna Region: Case Study.

The Bogotá Savanna is a fertile Andean plateau located in the central region of Colombia. It is an important agricultural region, and the most industrialized and densely populated area of the country. In this region, human consumption demands most of the available water; the development of the agricultural, energy, and industry sectors is highly dependent on water availability. Water scarcity is prevalent in some rural areas of the region and becomes more severe during the months of January, February, July and August. Therefore, decisions related to water allocation are of the large economic importance. Since the sixties, a series of regulations and institutional arrangements were devised to allocate water among the different users in this region. However, the efficiency, transparency and equity of those institutional mechanisms and regulations leave much to be desired. This is case study illustrates this situation by applying the analytical framework of the World Development Report (WDR) 2003.water

THE POLICY FOR THE SOCIAL PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION: CASE STUDY

Colombia is one the world´s richest countries in biological resources. To protect them, Colombian Law created the National Parks in 1959. Further regulations for their creation and administration were approved during the seventies. However, they did not include mechanisms to balance conservation interests with other economic and social development priorities. Presently, the ample majority of the National Parks overlap with the traditional territories of indigenous, black and campesino communities. This affects their economies and imposes restrictions on the traditional uses of natural resources. In 2002 the national government approved the Policy for the Social Participation in Conservation which seeks to promote the implementation of conservation strategies with the participation of local stakeholders. To illustrate the effects of this Policy, and following the analytical framework of the WDR 2003 , the processes of declaration of two national parks are compared: Corales del Rosario National Park, and Alto Fagua Indiwasi National Park. Finally, the document presents a series of lessons and recommendations.Conservation

THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS OF THE BOGOTÁ RIVER: CASE STUDY

Since de early seventies a number of technical sanitation alternatives were proposed to clean the wastewaters of the Bogotá River. However, mainly for economic reasons, they were not implemented. It was only until the early nineties that the administration of the city of Bogotá decided to adopt a strategy for the sanitation of the River, and a concession contract for the construction and operation of a series of treatment plants was signed in 1994. However, the decision was not the result of judicious analysis and it ignored the results of previous technical studies and evaluations. The treatment plants began operations at the end of 2000. In 2003 the city´s administration decided, at a high cost for the city, to terminate that concession contract. This decision was justified based on the limited benefits and high costs of the sanitation project. This case study analyses how this project which was financially and technically indefensible was eventually be implemented. For this purpose the analytical framework of the WDR 2003 is used.Water pollution

NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE SIERRA NEVADA OF SANTA MARTA: CASESTUDY

The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta of Colombia is a region of immense cultural, historical, ecological and biological value. However, external interventions have caused serious cultural, social and environmental damage. This case study illustrates how the development of a constitutional, legal and policy framework, which recognized the cultural and territorial rights of the indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada, facilitated the building of coordination mechanisms for the design of conservation strategies. It also shows how there still are important challenges to secure the effectiveness and equity of these strategies. Following the analytical framework of the World Development Report (WDR) 2003 , this case study analyzes how society and institutions became aware of the values and problems of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, the mechanisms that have generated decisions to undertake action, the mechanisms which have been in place to balance legitimate and competing social interests, and the means by which the adopted solutions have been executed. Finally, this document presents some lessons and recommendations.Conservation

Valorización de aceite de ciclo ligero mediante la estrategia hidrotratamiento-hidrocraqueo en dos etapas. Estudio de las condiciones de operación en la segunda etapa

[ES] Las nuevas restricciones medioambientales han afectado muy directamente a la industria del petróleo, obligando a las refinerías a elaborar productos cada vez más respetuosos con el medioambiente. Esto ha repercutido directamente sobre las refinerías, quienes han visto necesaria la implantación de nuevos sistemas que aseguren estas características para sus productos finales. Además aparecen dentro del proceso, corrientes a las que es necesario buscar nuevas salidas debido a que su antigua función ha perdido utilidad o incluso ha quedado obsoleta

The Voltage Sensor of Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscle. Ion Dependence and Selectivity

Manifestations of excitation-contraction (EC) coupling of skeletal muscle were studied in the presence of metal ions of the alkaline and alkaline-earth groups in the extracellular medium. Single cut fibers of frog skeletal muscle were voltage clamped in a double Vaseline gap apparatus, and intramembrane charge movement and myoplasmic Ca2+ transients were simultaneously measured. In metal-free extracellular media both charge movement of the charge 1 type and Ca transients were suppressed. Under metal-free conditions the nonlinear charge distribution was the same in depolarized (holding potential of 0 mV) and normally polarized fibers (holding potentials between -80 and -90 mV). The manifestations of EC coupling recovered when ions of groups Ia and IIa of the periodic table were included in the extracellular solution; the extent of recovery depended on the ion species. These results are consistent with the idea that the voltage sensor of EC coupling has a binding site for metal cations--the priming site--that is essential for function. A state model of the voltage sensor in which metal ligands bind preferentially to the priming site when the sensor is in noninactivated states accounts for the results. This theory was used to derive the relative affinities of the various ions for the priming site from the magnitude of the EC coupling response. The selectivity sequence thus constructed is: Ca greater than Sr greater than Mg greater than Ba for group IIa cations and Li greater than Na greater than K greater than Rb greater than Cs for group Ia. Ca2+, the most effective of all ions tested, was 1,500-fold more effective than Na+. This selectivity sequence is qualitatively and quantitatively similar to that of the intrapore binding sites of the L-type cardiac Ca channel. This provides further evidence of molecular similarity between the voltage sensor and Ca channels

THE EVOLUTION OF COLOMBIAN ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTIONS: 1971 -2004

This document presents an analytical description of the processes by which Colombian environmental institutions and regulations evolved between 1971 and 2004. The methodology used was based on the analytical framework of the 2003 World Bank Development Report: "Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World: Transforming Institutions, Growth, and Quality of Life". For this analysis, the recent history of environmental management in Colombia is divided in four periods. The first period begins in 1971 and ends with the approval of the Constitution of 1991. The second period begins in 1991 and ends in 1993 with the approval of Law 99. The third period extents from 1994 to 2002; during this period the environmental institutions and regulations created by Law 99 of 1993 were developed. The last period begins in year 2002 when new reforms to the institutional environmental framework were proposed and implemented by the government. For each of those four periods the document analyzes the means by which society became aware of environmental problems; the mechanisms that generated social demand for their solution; and the mechanisms to balance legitimate, competing social interests and by which adopted solutions were executed. Finally, the document includes a list of conclusions.Environment