The threat of road expansion in the Peruvian Amazon

Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey R. Gallice ◽  
Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos ◽  
Ian Vázquez-Rowe

AbstractThe construction of roads and other large-scale infrastructure projects, and the secondary impacts they precipitate, are among the key drivers of change in tropical forests. The proposed expansion of a road in the buffer zones of Peru's Manu National Park and Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, in the country's Amazon region, threatens biodiversity and indigenous communities in one of the world's most species-rich and environmentally sensitive rainforest areas. In particular, road expansion is likely to result in uncontrolled colonization, deforestation, and the illicit extraction of timber and other natural resources, as well as an increase in social conflict between resource extractors and indigenous communities. Furthermore, the development of infrastructure in the Manu region puts at risk Peru's international commitments regarding climate change by promoting, rather than avoiding, forest loss. A number of viable alternatives to further road expansion are available to achieve economic development and improved mobility in Manu, including agricultural intensification, improved land-use planning, and a less invasive transportation infrastructure. Given the growth in the global road network expected in the coming decades, as well as the common factors underlying the expansion of such infrastructure across tropical, developing countries, the issues surrounding road expansion in Manu and the compromise solutions that we propose are broadly applicable to efforts to achieve sustainable development in other remote, tropical regions.

NASPA Journal ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Clark ◽  
Joan Hirt

The creation of small communities has been proposed as a way of enhancing the educational experience of students at large institutions. Using data from a survey of students living in large and small residences at a public research university, this study does not support the common assumption that small-scale social environments are more conducive to positive community life than large-scale social environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Nilsson-Kerr ◽  
Pallavi Anand ◽  
Philip B. Holden ◽  
Steven C. Clemens ◽  
Melanie J. Leng

AbstractMost of Earth’s rain falls in the tropics, often in highly seasonal monsoon rains, which are thought to be coupled to the inter-hemispheric migrations of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone in response to the seasonal cycle of insolation. Yet characterization of tropical rainfall behaviour in the geologic past is poor. Here we combine new and existing hydroclimate records from six large-scale tropical regions with fully independent model-based rainfall reconstructions across the last interval of sustained warmth and ensuing climate cooling between 130 to 70 thousand years ago (Marine Isotope Stage 5). Our data-model approach reveals large-scale heterogeneous rainfall patterns in response to changes in climate. We note pervasive dipole-like tropical precipitation patterns, as well as different loci of precipitation throughout Marine Isotope Stage 5 than recorded in the Holocene. These rainfall patterns cannot be solely attributed to meridional shifts in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone.


2013 ◽  
Vol 838-841 ◽  
pp. 2963-2968
Author(s):  
Xian Hu

The ecological planning method of land use in the urban overall planning is discussed here. Based on the brief analysis of the common thoughts on ecology in today’s front planning ideas, this paper analyzes the ecological effects of clear space frame and scientific function mixture in the land use planning as well as the urban environmental contradictions which can be solved by the ecological planning method. In addition, a planning method of ecological land-use which is deep, detailed and practical in overall planning will be discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522110181
Author(s):  
Andreas Vogt ◽  
Samantha L. Eicher ◽  
Tracey D. Myers ◽  
Stacy L. Hrizo ◽  
Laura L. Vollmer ◽  
...  

Triose phosphate isomerase deficiency (TPI Df) is an untreatable, childhood-onset glycolytic enzymopathy. Patients typically present with frequent infections, anemia, and muscle weakness that quickly progresses with severe neuromusclar dysfunction requiring aided mobility and often respiratory support. Life expectancy after diagnosis is typically ~5 years. There are several described pathogenic mutations that encode functional proteins; however, these proteins, which include the protein resulting from the “common” TPIE105D mutation, are unstable due to active degradation by protein quality control (PQC) pathways. Previous work has shown that elevating mutant TPI levels by genetic or pharmacological intervention can ameliorate symptoms of TPI Df in fruit flies. To identify compounds that increase levels of mutant TPI, we have developed a human embryonic kidney (HEK) stable knock-in model expressing the common TPI Df protein fused with green fluorescent protein (HEK TPIE105D-GFP). To directly address the need for lead TPI Df therapeutics, these cells were developed into an optical drug discovery platform that was implemented for high-throughput screening (HTS) and validated in 3-day variability tests, meeting HTS standards. We initially used this assay to screen the 446-member National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Collection and validated two of the hits in dose–response, by limited structure–activity relationship studies with a small number of analogs, and in an orthogonal, non-optical assay in patient fibroblasts. The data form the basis for a large-scale phenotypic screening effort to discover compounds that stabilize TPI as treatments for this devastating childhood disease.


2006 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 639-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELEAZAR ESKIN ◽  
RODED SHARAN ◽  
ERAN HALPERIN

The common approaches for haplotype inference from genotype data are targeted toward phasing short genomic regions. Longer regions are often tackled in a heuristic manner, due to the high computational cost. Here, we describe a novel approach for phasing genotypes over long regions, which is based on combining information from local predictions on short, overlapping regions. The phasing is done in a way, which maximizes a natural maximum likelihood criterion. Among other things, this criterion takes into account the physical length between neighboring single nucleotide polymorphisms. The approach is very efficient and is applied to several large scale datasets and is shown to be successful in two recent benchmarking studies (Zaitlen et al., in press; Marchini et al., in preparation). Our method is publicly available via a webserver at .


Author(s):  
Ed Plant ◽  
Sue Capper

There are few standards or regulations to help stakeholders consider land use and development in the vicinity of existing pipeline systems. Land use planning that considers the existence of pipeline systems can support the planning for and provision of emergency services and pipeline integrity. This approach can also promote public safety and awareness through consistent and collaborative stakeholder engagement early in the land use planning process. In 2016, a CSA workshop was held with a variety of stakeholders impacted by land use planning around pipeline systems. The workshop identified that there was a need for consistency across the jurisdictions in the form of a national standard. The main goal of the new CSA Z663 standard is to provide guidance and best practices for land use planning and development. It also addresses roles, responsibilities and engagement of all stakeholders to help establish a consistent approach to land use planning. A review of CSA Z663 will illustrate how this document provides information, guidance and tools that are inclusive to all stakeholders. This paper will also highlight the history and key drivers behind the new CSA Z663 standard and provide an overview of the current scope and content. Finally, the paper will describe future considerations and additions to the standard.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1793-1814
Author(s):  
F. Ninove ◽  
P. Y. Le Traon ◽  
E. Remy ◽  
S. Guinehut

Abstract. Argo observations from 2005 to 2013 are used to characterize spatial scales temperature and salinity variations from the surface down to 1500 m. Simulations are first performed to analyze the sensitivity of results to Argo sampling; they show that several years of Argo observations are required to estimate the spatial scales of ocean variability over 20° × 20° boxes. Spatial scales are then computed over several large scale areas. Zonal and meridional spatial scales (Lx and Ly which are also zero crossing of covariance functions) vary as expected with latitudes. Scales are of about 100 km at high latitudes and more of 700 km in the Indian and Pacific equatorial/tropical regions. Zonal and meridional scales are similar: except in these tropical/equatorial regions where zonal scales are much larger (by a factor of 2 to 3) than meridional scales. Spatial scales are the largest close to the surface and have a general tendency for temperature to increase in deeper layers. There are significant differences between temperature and salinity scales, in particular, in the deep ocean. Results are consistent with previous studies based on sparse in-situ observations or satellite altimetry. They provide, however, for the first time a global description of temperature and salinity scales of variability and a characterization of their variations according to depths.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (31) ◽  
pp. eabe2998
Author(s):  
Nigel C.A. Pitman ◽  
Corine F. Vriesendorp ◽  
Diana Alvira Reyes ◽  
Debra K. Moskovits ◽  
Nicholas Kotlinski ◽  
...  

Meeting international commitments to protect 17% of terrestrial ecosystems worldwide will require >3 million square kilometers of new protected areas and strategies to create those areas in a way that respects local communities and land use. In 2000–2016, biological and social scientists worked to increase the protected proportion of Peru’s largest department via 14 interdisciplinary inventories covering >9 million hectares of this megadiverse corner of the Amazon basin. In each landscape, the strategy was the same: convene diverse partners, identify biological and sociocultural assets, document residents’ use of natural resources, and tailor the findings to the needs of decision-makers. Nine of the 14 landscapes have since been protected (5.7 million hectares of new protected areas), contributing to a quadrupling of conservation coverage in Loreto (from 6 to 23%). We outline the methods and enabling conditions most crucial for successfully applying similar campaigns elsewhere on Earth.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
András Schlett ◽  
Judit Beke

Large-scale farming that utilizes industrial methods to intensify production is becoming more significant worldwide. This study explores this phenomenon and sheds light on its consequences. Contingency factors serve as key drivers when determining the advantages and disadvantages of both large-scale and small-scale farming. Significant shifts in agro-production methods have fundamentally altered ownership and production structures in agriculture and had a disastrous impact on the livelihoods of people living in rural areas.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document