16 research outputs found
The effectiveness of Payments for Ecosystem Services at delivering improvements in water quality: lessons for experiments at the landscape scale
No full textBackground: Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) are used in impact evaluation in a range of fields. However, despite calls for their greater use in environmental management, their use to evaluate landscape scale interventions remains rare. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) incentivise land users to manage land to provide environmental benefits. We present the first RCT evaluation of a PES program aiming to improve water quality. Watershared is a program which incentivises landowners to avoid deforestation and exclude cattle from riparian forests. Using this unusual landscape-scale experiment we explore the efficacy of Watershared at improving water quality, and draw lessons for future RCT evaluations of landscape-scale environmental management interventions.Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine communities in the Bolivian Andes were randomly allocated to treatment (offered Watershared agreements) or control (not offered agreements) following baseline data collection (including Escherichia coli contamination in most communities) in 2010. We collected end-line data in 2015. Using our end-line data, we explored the extent to which variables associated with the intervention (e.g. cattle exclusion, absence of faeces) predict water quality locally. We then investigated the efficacy of the intervention at improving water quality at the landscape scale using the RCT. This analysis was done in two ways; for the subset of communities for which we have both baseline and end-line data from identical locations we used difference-in-differences (matching on baseline water quality), for all sites we compared control and treatment at end-line controlling for selected predictors of water quality.Results: The presence of cattle faeces in water adversely affected water quality suggesting excluding cattle has a positive impact on water quality locally. However, both the matched difference-in-differences analysis and the comparison between treatment and control communities at end-line suggested Watershared was not effective at reducing E. coli contamination at the landscape scale. Uptake of Watershared agreements was very low and the most important land from a water quality perspective (land around water intakes) was seldom enrolled.Discussion: Although excluding cattle may have a positive local impact on water quality, higher uptake and better targeting would be required to achieve a significant impact on the quality of water consumed in the communities. Although RCTs potentially have an important role to play in building the evidence base for approaches such as PES, they are far from straightforward to implement. In this case, the randomised trial was not central to concluding that Watershared had not produced a landscape scale impact. We suggest that this RCT provides valuable lessons for future use of randomised experiments to evaluate landscape-scale environmental management interventions
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
No full textThe PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity
A global model of the response of tropical and sub-tropical forest biodiversity to anthropogenic pressures
No full text05.03.15 Kb. OK to add published version to spiral, OA pape
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
No full textThe PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
No full textThe PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing
Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a
large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity
from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to
land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical
models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and
make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2
million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000
species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in
ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most
geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of
biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and
international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of
biodiversi
Política de ciencia, tecnología e innovación y producción científica regional en Colombia: un marco metodológico para abordar asimetrías en países en desarrollo
No full textThis study investigates the territorial impact of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy on regional scientific productivity in Colombia, focusing on key indicators,
such as research output, research group and researcher density, GDP contribution, per capita income, innovation index, and labor productivity. The analysis reveals
significant disparities: Bogotá-Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, and Santander concentrate 60.5% of research groups and 63.5% of researchers, while the remaining
28 departments hold only 39.5 and 36.5%, respectively. These imbalances reflect structural inequities in funding allocation, institutional development, and knowledge
production capacity. In response, the study proposes a five-stage methodological framework comprising resource diagnostics, strategic planning, institutional capacity
building, implementation of sustainable innovations, and monitoring through tailored Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This framework offers a replicable, data-driven tool
for reducing regional asymmetries, strengthening research ecosystems, and promoting inclusive, innovation-based development in structurally constrained regions. By adopting this model, policymakers can design targeted interventions that align scientific output with broader goals of equity, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability.
Keywords: STI policy, Scientific productivity, Regional asymmetry, Innovation systems, Knowledge governance, GDP per capita, Methodological frameworkNúmero de agostoMipymes, Innovación, Desarrollo y Competitivida
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
No full textK
Efectos de la antropización sobre poblaciones de Anolis bartschi, en el Parque Nacional Viñales. Cuba
No full textHabitat modification is the main cause of the declines of many groups of animals, among them reptiles, which do not have a movement capacity that allows them to move away from these disturbances. In Cuba, 95.3% of the anole lizards are endemic, however, only a few have been placed in any of the threat categories according to the IUCN. Anolis bartschi is a Pinar del Río endemic lizard restricted to karstic hills of Sierra de los Órganos, and its populations are threatened because rapid growth of human settlements and tourism in the areas it occupies, especially in Viñales National Park. The objective of this research is to identify the human interference and its consequences on Anolis bartschi population in this protected area. Were visited two areas in the Viñales National Park and were counted all individual by visual encounter survey, and were taken other ecological data. The abundance of this lizard was inversely proportional with human visitors in both areas. However, despite the fact that the species has a certain degree of anthropic assimilation, it is necessary to monitor population fluctuations, to detect possible changes in their populations and apply management actions for their conservation.La modificación de los hábitats es la causa principal de los declives de muchos grupos de animales, entre ellos los reptiles, los cuales no tienen una capacidad de movimiento que les permita moverse lejos de estas perturbaciones. En Cuba el 95.3% de los lagartos anolinos son endémicos, sin embargo, solo unos pocos han sido ubicados en alguna de las categorías de amenaza según la UICN. Anolis bartschi es una especie de lagarto endémico de Pinar del Río, restringido a las elevaciones cársicas de la Sierra de los Órganos y se encuentra amenazado por el crecimiento poblacional y el auge del turismo en los ecosistemas donde habitan en el Área Protegida Parque Nacional Viñales. El objetivo del presente trabajo es identificar interferencia antrópica y sus consecuencias en poblaciones de esta especie en las áreas muestreadas. Se establecieron dos áreas de estudio dentro del Parque Nacional Viñales (PNV), Mogote del Lele en el Capón y Sierra San Vicente, se contabilizaron mediante la observación directa del ejemplar y se tomaron datos ecológicos. Se observó una relación inversamente proporcional entre la cantidad de visitantes y la abundancia de Anolis bartschi en cada área muestreada. Sin embargo, a pesar de que la especie posee cierto grado de asimilación antrópica, es necesario el seguimiento a la fluctuación poblacional, para detectar posibles cambios en sus poblaciones y aplicar acciones de manejo para su conservación
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
No full textThe PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity
