Proposal of Rural Housing and Habitat Improvement of the Town El Encanto, in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico

In the state of Chiapas, Mexico, there are numerous rural communities located in isolated territories and away from important population centers. Families, in essence, have indigenous roots and low economic incomes and, because of this condition, their homes are precarious, unsafe and unhealthy, with many limitations to access basic water and sanitation services, as well as basic health services, recreation, education, communication, etc. This study analyzed the housing and habitat problem of the El Encanto community, located on the coast of Tapachula, Chiapas. As a result, structurally safe, economical and healthy housing proposals were developed, with water and sanitation services, functional spaces with sociocultural characteristics, typology and appropriate to environmental conditions, with the use of ecotechnologies and building materials of the place for the conservation of the environment and biodiversity, in addition, proposals for community equipment for habitat improvement were developed.

Wildlife gardening: an urban nexus of social and ecological relationships

Biodiversity in urban environments continues to decline, alongside diminution of human connections with nature and community. An integrated ethic and practice of caring for one’s human and ecological community could help address these issues. Here, we describe how wildlife gardening can be such a pathway. We snapshot related social dynamics and human wellbeing benefits, highlighting a case study that reveals an array of connections and wellbeing facets from wildlife gardening, and their relationship with number of activities and time spent in the garden. We outline how positive biodiversity outcomes can be attained through habitat improvement in gardens. We describe how integration of nature and human community stewardship can work across physical and political boundaries when government and communities work collaboratively. We argue that wildlife gardening carried out in this manner can involve urban residents in crafting and enacting an intertwined ethic and practice of caring for nature and humanity.

Should We Engineer Species in Order to Save Them?

There are two strategies for engineering species for conservation purposes, de-extinction and gene drives. Engineering species for conservation purposes is not in principle wrong, and on common criteria for assessing conservation interventions there may well be cases in which de-extinction and gene drives are evaluated positively in comparison to other possible strategies. De-extinction is not as transformative a conservation technique as it initially appears. It is largely dependent, as a conservation activity, upon traditional conservation practices, such as captive breeding programs, species reintroductions, and habitat improvement and protection. In contrast, gene drives have the potential to significantly restructure how conservation problems are framed and approached. Gene drives are therefore a much more disruptive technology for conservation philosophy and practice.