Some countries in Latin America have been implementing the creation of new protected areas as a strategy to safeguard ecosystems and their biodiversity. Costa Rica and Panama, for instance, count more than 30% of their territory under the administration of the National Systems of Protected Areas, demonstrating, at least on paper, the importance of biodiversity for national … [Read more...] about Ecotourism: An instrument for valorization and distribution of biodiversity’s benefits
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Water for life: The urgent need to protect steep tropical environments
Hectare for hectare, steep and mountainous areas in the tropics are arguably the most environmentally important real estate on the planet. Why? For starters, it’s estimated that a third of the world’s biodiversity lives in mountainous areas, with much of that in the tropics. Mountains—especially tropical mountains—are notoriously rich in locally endemic species that occur … [Read more...] about Water for life: The urgent need to protect steep tropical environments
Living Shorelines: The Space Where Engineering Meets Science
To create a shoreline that reduces erosion while providing habitat for everything from shorebirds to horseshoe crabs, sometimes nature could use a helping hand. Enter engineers and conservationists. During a raging spring downpour, scientists from the Conservancy, ecologists and engineers from CH2M, and wildlife refuge managers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) … [Read more...] about Living Shorelines: The Space Where Engineering Meets Science
Big Data Bridging the Environmental Information Gap
Availability of quality data is essential to solving environmental problems and monitoring impacts. Furthermore, ecosystem service analysis, which is used more and more to address environmental management challenges, is often data intensive, requiring information from multiple sectors, at different scales, and with spatial and temporal qualities. Unfortunately, collecting … [Read more...] about Big Data Bridging the Environmental Information Gap
Colombia, Urbanized and Biodiverse
Urban expansion has changed the earth's surface and, at the same time, its biodiversity. Within just 40 years the world’s urban population will double. By 2050, 70% of the population will live in cities and an additional area the size of South Africa will have been developed. Much of this urbanization will be carried out in the most biodiverse areas on the planet. Between … [Read more...] about Colombia, Urbanized and Biodiverse