La Roya del café en Costa Rica: Epidemias, innovación y medio ambiente, 1950-1995

Resumen La historia de los cultivos tropicales en la segunda mitad del siglo XX, es en gran parte, una historia de innovación. Un análisis de esa historia de innovación nos permite vislumbrar la historia ambiental de esos cultivos. Mucha de la innovación de esa época, se hizo para controlar una ola de enfermedades y plagas vegetales sin precedentes. Recuperar la historia de esas enfermedades, nos permitirá, al mismo tiempo, comprender el aumento de la fragilidad ecológica de los principales cultivos en América Central. Este artículo analiza justamente esa problemática a partir del enfoque particular de la historia de la roya del cafeto -Hemileia vastatrix- en América Central, con énfasis en Costa Rica. Abstract The history of tropical crops in the second half of the twentieth century is, in large part, a history of innovation. An analysis of this history of innovation allows us to glimpse the environmental history of these crops. Much of the innovation in this period was done to counter an unprecedented wave of crop diseases and pests. Recovering the history of these diseases, in turn, allows us to understand the increasingly fragile ecology of the main crops in Central America. This article analyzes these themes through a history of the coffee rust - Hemileia vastatrix- in Central America, with particular emphasis on Costa Rica.

Algunos avances y proyecciones en el campo de la pedagogía rural

This article explores how Rural Pedagogy has been developed within the “División de Educación Rural (DER)” of the “Centro de Investigación y Docencia en Educación (CIDE)” at the “Universidad Nacional”. In order to emphasize recent advancements, pedagogical activities are organized in two different moments, taking into account its characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. Even though, the way rural pedagogy has been done at Division’s history is described in detail, the main interest is to accentuate how this allows a quantum shift towards new horizons in rural pedagogy inside the DER. The article concludes providing some thoughts concerning the factors that will probably decide the destiny of Rural Pedagogy nationally and in Central America.

Educational Inclusion in the Regular Classroom: an Asperger Syndrome Case

The following paper resulted from the final research project conducted for my Master’s Degree in Teacher Training for Teachers of Primary Education (1st – 6th grade of the Basic General Education). This research project was conducted under the supervision of the Rural Education Division of the Center for Research and Teaching in Education (CIDE-UNA, Spanish acronym), in coordination with the Central America Educational and Cultural Coordination (CECC). The research is qualitative with an interpretative approach. Our main objective was to analyze the process of inclusive education in the regular classroom for a person with Asperger’s Syndrome, defined as a type of social impairment. The case study method was used in this research, as it allows a deeper study. A girl was chosen from a public school in an urban area of San José, Costa Rica. Three techniques were used to obtain information: interviews, questionnaires and documentation (personal file, behavior record, and psychological assessment) related to the girl with Asperger. The triangulation of sources was used as a method of analysis. The conclusion of the project was that regular schools may have children miss-diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, and that our schools are still far from achieving inclusive education, but efforts are being made to achieve it. For a more opportune intervention, some recommendations based on this study were provided to the family and the school of the girl with Asperger.

EL CAMBIO SOCIOECONÓMICO Y LA SOSTENIBILIDAD DE LA AGRICULTURA ITINERANTE EN LA RESERVA DEL HOMBRE Y LA BIOSFERA RÍO PLÁTANO, HONDURAS

Este artículo examina el proceso en que la agricultura itinerante está siendo marginada en la biosfera Río Plátano de la Mosquitia hondureña. Mientras la región se vincula cada vez más con la sociedad nacional de Honduras, varios procesos socioeconómicos están transformando las comunidadesde la reserva. Esta investigación se enfoca en tres comunidades ubicadas a lo largo del límite oriental de la biosfera. Pocas casas todavía están orientadas totalmente en la subsistencia. La mayoría combina la subsistencia con varias otras actividades que rinden el dinero. Este estudio demuestra que la sostenibilidad de la agricultura itinerante no es una cuestión solamente de sus límites ambientales, sino su valor en comparación a otras actividades económicas que existen ahora en la Mosquitia hondureña, así como en otras regiones fronteras de la América Central.Palabras claves: Mosquitia hondureña, río Plátano, sostenibilidad, agricultura itinerante, cambio socioeconómico.AbstractThis article examines the process in which shifting cultivation is becoming marginalized in the Río Plátano Biosphere of the Honduran Mosquitia. As the region becomes increasingly tied to the national society of Honduras, various socioeconomic processes are transforming communities in the reserve.This investigation focuses on three communities located along the eastern boundary of the biosphere.Few houses are still oriented solely on subsistence. The majority combine subsistence with various other money-making activities. This research demonstrates that the sustainability of shifting cultivation is not solely a question of its environmental limits, but also its value in comparison to other economic activities that are now present in the Honduran Mosquitia, as well as in other frontier regions of Central America.Keywords: Honduran Mosquitia, Río Plátano, sustainability, shifting cultivation, socioeconomic change

REGÍMENES AMBIENTALES: UNA RESPUESTA A LA PROBLEMÁTICA DE LAS CUENCAS INTERNACIONALES CENTROAMERICANAS

Esta investigación pretende explicar cuál es el rol que los regímenes internacionales tienen en la prevención de problemas ambientales y los conflictos sociales existeifies O potenciales en las cuencas internacionales centroamericanas. De forma más especffica. se pretende identificar cuáles son las condiciones paniculares que hacen más efectivo un régimen ambiental y qué tan sostenibles, permanentes, adaptables. vulnerables y justos son estos regímenes. Finalmente, tales hallazgos contribuyen a identificar cuáles han sido las principales líneas de acción y cuáles las que podrían implementar los regímenes para aprovechar las fortalezas y oportunidades con que cuentan y enfrentar de forma más positiva los desafíos ylas amenazas que los aquejan. con el fin de que su gestión mejore, scan más eficaces y cumplan satisfactoriamente los objetivos con que fueron creados.Abstract: The research pretend to explain which is dic role that international rcgimcs havc in tite prevention ofenvimnmenial problems asid social conflicts existern or potent ial in Central America international basins. More speciftc, it pretends lo identify which are dic particular conditions dtat made more effective an environmental regime and how much sustainable, pernianent, adaptable. vulnerable and equal are ihese regimes. Finally. this findings support to idenuty which have been dic principal lines of action and which will be that could be irnpkmented by dic regimes to prof.t ihe advantages and opportunities that they have asid cnfaced in a more positive way dic challenges and disadvantages, with dic objective to improvement it management, tobe more cfficient to reach tIte objectives that they were created.

USO DEL SUELO Y FRONTERA AGRICOLA EN EL SUDESTE DE NICARAGUA. EJEMPLO DE INTEGRACIÓN DE LOS SISTEMAS DE POSICIONAMIENTO GLOBAL, LOS SISTEMAS DE INFORMACION GEOGRAFICA Y LA TELEDETECCIÓN

Este articulo tal como reza en su titulo, reúne la aplicación de tres tecnologías diferentes en la geografía actual: Sistemas de Posicionamiento Global (SPG), Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) y Teledetección, lo cual es importante para los investigadores de estos temas y para el lector común científico o no. Pero la principal finalidad del trabajo es que sus contenidos rigurosos, metodológica y teóricamente tratan de análisis histórico del uso de los recursos naturales y la evolución ecológica en uno de los países mas devastados por todo tipo de calamidad: los desastres naturales, los desastres sociales-guerra- y las enfermedades. Lo anterior lo califica como uno de los países más pobres de Centroamérica y del mundo. El sudeste de Nicaragua es la <<muestra>> de nuestros países expoliados, exportadores de materia prima, endeudados con los entes financieros y con todo tipo de debilidad interna: desempleo, bajos salarios, desigualdad en la repartición de la tierra, dominio empresarial de una <<oligarquía>>, agricultura de subsistencia, factores ambientales negativos. Como se señalará más adelante, <<a los habitantes les gusta decir que llueve trece meses al año>>. Este último factor, constituye una dificultad metodológica porque la cantidad de nubosidad impide realizar trabajos <<óptimos>>. No obstante, el trabajo deja ver las consecuencias de la deforestación para el pastoreo y algunos cultivos (monocultivos y productos para el mercado externo). En conclusión, el estudio lleva a la consecución de la distribución del uso del suelo, la delimitación de la frontera agrícola y la elaboración del mapa respectivo para 1992, elementos que permiten comparar el gran avance de la frontera agrícola observando un mapa del instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER) de 1983.  ABSTRACT This article focuses on the application of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and Remote Sensing to the study of the agricultural frontier of Southeastern Nicaragua in the elaboration of a land use map of this area. The methodology of map elaboration, bases on LANDSAT satellite imagines, is explained. A report on deforestation processes and the agrarian frontier in Nicaragua within the context of Central America is also included.

The genetic diversity of the American oil palm, Elaeis oleifera (Kunth), Cortes revealed by nuclear RFLP markers.

The genetic diversity of E. oleifera is strongly structured by geographical origin, with four groups clearly distinguished: Brazil, Surinam/French Guyana, north of /Colombia/Central America and Peru. Within the Amazon basin, thereis a moderate structure that corresponds to the major tributaries of the Amazon river. From the 37 polymorphic RFLP probe/enzyme combinatios used, 19 probes (51%) presented simple restriction profiles, with one (1) or two bands/plant, suggesting a single locus with different alleles, allowing allelic co-dominant coding for them.

Regulating industrial forest concessions in Central Africa and South America

Tropical countries face special specific problems in implementing sustainable forest management (SFM). In many countries, questions are raised on whether tropical forests should be publicly, commonly or privately owned and managed in order to enhance sustainability. Other debates also focus on whether small-scale enterprises are better positioned than large-scale industrial concessions to reduce poverty and attain sustainable management. In countries where large tracts of forest are state-owned, concessions are viewed as a means of delivering services of public and collective interest through an association of private investment and public regulation. However, the success of an industrial concession model in countries with large forest resource endowment to achieve multiple goals such as sustainable forest management and local/regional development depends on two critical assumptions. First, forest functions and services should be managed and maintained as public goods. In many cases, additional uses - and corresponding rights - can take place alongside logging activities. Industrial concessions can be more efficient than other tenure models (such as community-based forest management and small-scale enterprises) in achieving SFM, add value to raw material and comply with growing environmental norms. This is especially the case in market-remote areas with low population density and poor infrastructure. Secondly, to achieve these different outcomes, any concession system needs to be monitored and regulated, especially in contexts dominated by asymmetrical information between regulating authorities and concessionaires. New institutional responses have recently been put forward in several countries, providing valuable materials to design a renewed policy mix which associates public and private incentives. This paper provides a survey of the experience of forest concessions in several Central African and South American countries. The concession system is examined in order to clarify the issues involved, the problems encountered, and what can be learned from the shared experience of these countries in the last decade. This paper argues that despite a sometimes patchy record, concessions can help promote SFM so long as they are packaged with a certain number of specific measures. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Description of the Oocysts of Three New Species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Iguanid Lizards (Sauria: Iguanidae) of Central and South America

Three new species of Eimeria are described from iguanid lizards of Central and South America. The oocysts of each species have no micropyles or residua and the sporocysts lack Stieda bodies, but all have a sporocyst residuum. Eimeria sanctaluciae n.sp. was found in the St. Lucia tree lizard, Anolis luciae, collected from the Maria Islands, Lesser Antilles. The oocysts are spherical to subspherical, averaging 17.3 x 16.5 µm, with a single layered colourless wall; about 60% contain polar granules. The sporocysts are ellipsoidal and average 7.7 x 5.5 µm. Eimeria liolaemi n.sp. was recovered from the blue-gold swift, Liolaemus taenius, from Chile. The oocysts are spherical to subspherical, measuring 21 x 20.1 µm with a single-layered colourless wall. The sporocysts are subspherical and average 7.4 x 6.8 µm. Eimeria caesicia n.sp. is described from the Brazilian collared iguanid, Tropidurus torquatus. The oocysts measure 27.4 x 23.7 µm, are spherical to subspherical, with a bilayered wall, the outer surface of which appears pale blue in colour, the thin, inner wall appearing brown, when viewed by direct light under the optical microscope. The sporocysts are subspherical and average 9.4 x 7.2 µm. Unnamed polysporocystid oocysts with dizoic sporocysts are reported from the faeces of the lesser St. Vincent tree lizard, Anolis trinitatis and the possibility of spurious parasitism briefly discussed. In addition, oocysts of an unnamed Isospora sp. with a smooth oocyst wall which closely resembles I. reui were recovered from A. trinitatis.

Characterization of Trypanosoma rangeli Strains Isolated in Central and South America: an Overview

Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagelate parasite that infects domestic and sylvatic animals, as well as man, in Central and South America. T. rangeli has an overlapping distribution with T. cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, sharing several animal reservoirs and triatomine vectors. We have isolated T. rangeli strains in the State of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, which dramatically increased the distribution area of this parasite. This brief review summarizes several studies comparing T. rangeli strains isolated in Santa Catarina with others isolated in Colombia, Honduras and Venezuela. The different methods used include indirect immunofluorescence and western blot assays, lectin agglutination, isoenzyme electrophoresis and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis, triatomine susceptibility, in vitro cell infection assays, and mini-exon gene analysis.

Paleomagnetism of the Santa Fe Group, central Brazil: Implications for the late Paleozoic apparent polar wander path for South America

Paleomagnetic and rockmagnetic data are reported for the Floresta Formation (Santa Fe Group) of the Sanfranciscana Basin, central Brazil. This formation represents the Permo-Carboniferous glacial record of the basin and comprises the Brocoto (diamictites and flow diamictites), Brejo do Arroz (red sandstones and shales with dropstones and invertebrate trails), and Lavado (red sandstones) members, which crop out near the cities of Santa Fe de Minas and Canabrava, Minas Gerais State. Both Brejo do Arroz and Lavado members were sampled in the vicinities of the two localities. Alternating field and thermal demagnetizations of 268 samples from 76 sites revealed reversed components of magnetization in all samples in accordance with the Permo-Carboniferous Reversed Superchron. The magnetic carriers are magnetite and hematite with both minerals exhibiting the same magnetization component, suggesting a primary origin for the remanence. We use the high-quality paleomagnetic pole for the Santa Fe Group (330.9 degrees E 65.7 degrees S; N = 60; alpha(95) = 4.1 degrees; k = 21) in a revised late Carboniferous to early Triassic apparent polar wander path for South America. On the basis of this result it is shown that an early Permian Pangea A-type fit is possible if better determined paleomagnetic poles become available.

East-West cranial differentiation in pre-Columbian populations from Central and North America

In a recent study we found that crania from South Amerindian populations on each side of the Andes differ significantly in terms of craniofacial shape. Western populations formed one morphological group, distributed continuously over 14,000 km from the Fuegian archipelago (southern Chile) to the Zulia region (northwestern Venezuela). Easterners formed another group, distributed from the Atlantic Coast up to the eastern foothills of the Andes. This differentiation is further supported by several genetic studies, and indirectly by ecological and archaeological studies. Some authors suggest that this dual biological pattern is consistent with differential rates of gene flow and genetic drift operating on both sides of the Cordillera due to historical reasons. Here we show that such East-West patterning is also observable in North America. We suggest that the ""ecological zones model"" proposed by Dixon, explaining the spread of the early Americans along a Pacific dispersal corridor, combined with the evolution of different population dynamics in both regions, is the most parsimonious mechanism to explain the observed patterns of within- and between-group craniofacial variability. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Macroeconomic modelling in central banks in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Proyeccion de la poblacion economicamente activa de los paises de America Central

Incluye Bibliografía

America Central: estimaciones de la mortalidad infantil y juvenil. Aplicacion de la tecnica de Brass y las variantes de Sullivan y Trussell, 1970

Incluye Bibliografía