Monitoring sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean: needs and a proposal

Includes bibliography

Sustainable weed management on ornamental beds

The weed presence on ornamental beds is a main aspect that interferes with the garden maintenance, especially in tropical countries, as it causes an unpleasant effect and competes with the ornamentals. The use of herbicides is not always economically viable, besides, it causes phytotoxic effects on the ornamental plants, so the alternative to minimize this problem is the use of mulch; however, there is little information on the literature about it. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of rice straw mulching on the weed management of Salvia splendens beds. There were four treatments (0, 4, 6 and 8 t ha-1 of rice straw) and five replications. Brachiaria decumbens (200 plants m-2) and Amaranthus viridis (50 plants m-2) were sown in each plot in order to ensure the weed presence. The evaluation of the weed community was performed 60 days after sowing. The weeds on the plots of 0.48 m2 were identified and removed by hand and then dried in a chamber of forced air ventilation (under 703C) for the dry matter determination which later helped to calculate the phytosociological indexes like the Relative Density, Relative Frequency, Relative Dominance and the Importance Value Index. Nineteen species of weeds were identified. Among them, B. decumbens and A. viridis presented the highest Relative Importance level and the use of 8 t ha-1 of rice straw mulching helped to minimize the Relative Importance of these plants; however, the weed management with the use of rice straw was not effective.

Desarrollo sostenible, pobreza y género en América Latina y el Caribe: medidas hacia el año 2000 = Sustainable development, poverty and gender in Latin America and the Caribbean: working towards the year 2000

Incluye Bibliografía

Activities at the Caribbean subregional level in relation to the World Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States

Includes bibliography

Recent developments in relation to the proposal for securing the international recognition of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development

Includes bibliography

Sustainable production of biologically active molecules of marine based origin

The marine environment offers both economic and scientific potential which are relatively untapped from a biotechnological point of view. These environments whilst harsh are ironically fragile and dependent on a harmonious life form balance. Exploitation of natural resources by exhaustive wild harvesting has obvious negative environmental consequences. From a European industry perspective marine organisms are a largely underutilised resource. This is not due to lack of interest but due to a lack of choice the industry faces for cost competitive, sustainable and environmentally conscientious product alternatives. Knowledge of the biotechnological potential of marine organisms together with the development of sustainable systems for their cultivation, processing and utilisation are essential. In 2010, the European Commission recognised this need and funded a collaborative RTD/SME project under the Framework 7-Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) Theme 2 Programme 'Sustainable culture of marine microorganisms, algae and/or invertebrates for high value added products'. The scope of that project entitled 'Sustainable Production of Biologically Active Molecules of Marine Based Origin' (BAMMBO) is outlined. Although the Union is a global leader in many technologies, it faces increasing competition from traditional rivals and emerging economies alike and must therefore improve its innovation performance. For this reason innovation is placed at the heart of a European Horizon 2020 Strategy wherein the challenge is to connect economic performance to eco performance. This article provides a synopsis of the research activities of the BAMMBO project as they fit within the wider scope of sustainable environmentally conscientious marine resource exploitation for high-value biomolecules. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Informe de la Reunión Técnica de Expertos Gubernamentales Hacia un Desarrollo Ambientalmente Sustentable" = Report of the Technical Meeting of Government Experts: "Towards an Environmentally Sustainable Development""

Incluye Bibliografía