Payments for Environmental Services in Watersheds: Insights From a Comparative Study of three Cases in Central America

We have compared three cases of payments for water-related environmental services (PES) in Central America, in terms of socioeconomic background, opportunity costs of forest conservation and stakeholders’ perceptions on the conditions of water resources and other issues. We found that, in general, the foregone benefits from land uses alternative to forest cover are larger than the amount paid, which apparently contradicts the economic foundation of PES schemes. A number of possible explanations are explored. The results also suggest that trade-offs between different environmental and social goals are likely to emerge in PES schemes, posing some doubts on their ability to be multipurpose instruments for environmental improvement and rural development. We also found that PES schemes may work as a conflictresolution instrument, facilitating downstream -upstream problem solving, though at the same time they might introduce changes in social perceptions of property rights.environmental services, watershed management, rural development, property rights, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua.

Social Equity Matters in Payments for Ecosystem Services

Although conservation efforts have sometimes succeeded in meeting environmental goals at the expense of equity considerations, the changing context of conservation and a growing body of evidence increasingly suggest that equity considerations should be integrated into conservation planning and implementation. However, this approach is often perceived to be at odds with the prevailing focus on economic efficiency that characterizes many payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. Drawing from examples across the literature, we show how the equity impacts of PES can create positive and negative feedbacks that influence ecological outcomes. We caution against equity-blind PES, which overlooks these relationships as a result of a primary and narrow focus on economic efficiency. We call for further analysis and better engagement between the social and ecological science communities to understand the relationships and trade-offs among efficiency, equity, and ecological outcomes

Stability of antioxidants vitamins in bee pollen samples

This study evaluated the stability of vitamins C, E and &#946;-carotene in six samples of bee pollen after their process, and in a one-year period of storage. After the pollen's process, there was a 67.1% increase for vitamin C (p <0.05), an 18.7% loss for vitamin E and 15.6% for &#946;-carotene. Storage in freezer was the most efficient condition for the vitamins conservation; the loss in storage at room temperature (exposed or protected from light) was similar. Vitamin E appears to be better preserved during storage when compared to vitamin C and &#946;-carotene.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Embodied pollution in trade: Estimating the "environmental load displacement" of the industrial countries

The present paper sets out to aid in the development of "environmental load displacement" indicators. Developing the notion of the "environmental memory" of physical flows, we estimated embodied pollution in trade of 18 industrialized countries with a) the rest of the world and b) developing countries, from 1976 to 1994. We found that in the last years of analysis, total imports of Japan, USA and Western Europe have entailed, in general, larger air pollutant emissions than local exports. The balance of embodied emissions in trade (BEET) seems follow an inverted-U shape across time in Japan and Western Europe, and an N-shape in the US. In the period of analysis, Japanese and European environmental terms of trade with developing countries have "improved", whereas American environmental terms of trade with developing countries tended to "deteriorate" over time. Although there is no statistical trend between income and embodied emissions in imports in a cross-section analysis, there does seem to be a positive relationship between both variables at a national level. The results suggest that, despite many shortcomings, this type of assessment of embodied environmental pressures in inter-country physical flows may shed useful insights on the international aspects of sustainable development. Particularly, on the distribution of the environmental costs of trade and the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation

A diagnosis of the microbiological quality of dehydrated bee-pollen produced in Brazil

Bee-pollen is an apicultural product with potential for medical and nutritional applications; therefore, its microbiology quality should be monitored. In this context, the objective of this study was to diagnose the microbiological quality of 45 dehydrated bee-pollen samples collected from November 2011 to December 2013 in nine Brazilian States. All the samples were negative for sulphite-reducing Clostridium spores, Salmonella, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli, which are micro-organisms of public health concern. Total aerobic mesophilic micro-organism counts ranged from < 10 to 1·10 × 10 4 CFU g -1 , with psychrotroph counts ranging from < 10 to 1·12 × 10 3 CFU g -1 and total coliforms from < 10 to 2·80 × 10 3 CFU g -1 , while the values for yeasts and moulds were between < 10 to 7·67 × 10 3 CFU g -1 . According to the literature, the microbiota observed in this study were typical; however, it is important to consider that these micro-organisms may cause spoilage and diminish shelf life, reason by which quality control programs should be implemented. Significance and Impact of the Study: Contamination of bee-pollen can occur during production, collection and processing, but there are few studies of the microbiological quality of this product. Brazil is an important producer of dehydrated bee-pollen, therefore, a diagnosis of the microbiological status is important to ensure the safety of many consumers. Salmonella sp., genus Clostridium, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli and even some yeast species are micro-organisms of public health concern and their presence must be monitored. Furthermore, the determination of spoilage micro-organisms indicates whether the production and the processing practices carried out by beekeepers and warehouses were adequate. Significance and Impact of the Study: Contamination of bee-pollen can occur during production, collection and processing, but there are few studies of the microbiological quality of this product. Brazil is an important producer of dehydrated bee-pollen, therefore, a diagnosis of the microbiological status is important to ensure the safety of many consumers. Salmonella sp., genus Clostridium, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli and even some yeast species are micro-organisms of public health concern and their presence must be monitored. Furthermore, the determination of spoilage micro-organisms indicates whether the production and the processing practices carried out by beekeepers and warehouses were adequate.The authors are grateful to State of S~ao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for financial support (FAPESP process 2011/51741-5) and scholarship granted to Adriane Alexandre Machado de Melo (FAPESP process 2013/ 23179-6).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Validation of hplc methods for analysis of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and niacin naturally present in cereal flours

Complex B vitamins are present in some cereal foods and the ingestion of enriched products contributes to the recommended dietary intake of these micronutrients. To adapt the label of some products, it is necessary to develop and validate the analytical methods. These methods must be reliable and with enough sensitivity to analyze complex B vitamins naturally present in food at low concentration. The purpose of this work is to evaluate, with validated methods, the content of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and niacin in five cereal flours used in food industry (oat, rice, barley, corn and wheat)

Way of Life as a System of Social Action: an Attempt at Conceptualization

У статті здійснено концептуалізацію способу життя, наведено авторське визначення, виокремлено структуру способу життя як системи соціальної дії та внутрішні характеристики способу життя як соціального феномену. The article carried a conceptualization of way of life, the author gives the definition, highlights the structure of way of life as a system of social action and the internal characteristics of way of life as a social phenomenon