Browsing by Subject "Ecuador"
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Item Open Access An Agent Based Model to Assess Malaria Transmission Drivers in the Ecuadorian Amazon(2020-04-24) Velasco Delgado, MariaThrough intensive malaria control initiatives, Ecuador almost eradicated malaria. Recent data shows that between 2015 and 2018 malaria cases quadrupled in indigenous communities in the Amazon region bordering the Peruvian Amazon, with trends similar to the increased incidence in Peruvian indigenous communities. Studies show that malaria transmission is spatial, and infections occur in high transmission areas where hosts and vectors move through geographical barriers. A series of agent-based models were developed to assess the drivers of malaria transmission in six Achuar indigenous communities. The models are then used to test the effectiveness of a malaria control intervention using bed nets. To understand movement behavior this study surveyed 48 Achuar households in 2019 and compared it to data from 63 households from 2016. As expected, the agent-based simulations show that malaria incidence is influenced by local-scale human movement and bed net interventions have an effect in decreasing malaria risk.Item Open Access Application of Global Value Chains to Seafood Sustainability: Lessons from the mahi mahi industries of Ecuador and Peru(2014-04-25) Nanninga, Roxanne; Anhalzer, GabrielaFish products have become the most traded food commodities worldwide but wild fish stocks face ever-increasing pressure from rising demand (Smith et al., 2010). Over 75% of the world’s fisheries are currently either fully or over exploited (FAO, 2014). Developing sustainable fisheries is critical if seafood is to remain available for future generations. Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis frames these challenges holistically by linking global and local scales in order to elucidate operations and relationships throughout the international supply chain. In this study we employ the GVC framework to analyze the production of mahi mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) from Ecuador and Peru that is exported to the United States. Information was collected from stakeholder interviews and analyzed in conjunction with trade and production data. This information was then used to construct product flow patterns, characterize governance structures, and provide insights for potential economic and environmental improvements. The importance of mahi mahi as an export commodity to small-scale fishers in developing countries combined with its highly migratory life history typify many of the challenges facing modern global fisheries. Peru and Ecuador together produce the highest volumes of mahi mahi globally. Nearly 60% of all mahi mahi imported into the United States comes from these two countries. In this analysis, we examine global trends in production and trade and track the two main product forms of mahi mahi—fresh and frozen—through the supply chain. This study also examines the transactions between actors in the supply chain and the private and public institutions acting upon them. Government regulations for fisheries, human health and safety, as well as international standards exert control at each level of the supply chain. Recently sustainability has become an additional criterion guiding the sourcing and sale of seafood. The US, one of the largest seafood buyers in the world, imports over 80% of its seafood. Private, market-based initiatives have emerged as a means of improving seafood sustainability in areas outside US fisheries management. The most prominent of these programs is the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which aims to create demand-driven premiums or preferences for certified products. Motivated by their substantial shares in the US market, Ecuador and Peru are undergoing Fishery Improvement Projects for their mahi mahi fisheries, ultimately aimed at attaining MSC certification. Through an analysis of the governance structures our study examines the influence of various actors within the value chain. We thereby determine which actors hold the greatest leverage to affect changes regarding the decision-making and enforcement of sustainability. Adoption of initiatives that engage in more sustainable seafood sourcing by retailers in the United States creates pressure downstream to implement sustainability standards. Large companies and supply chain segments that are highly integrated can exert more power through the products they buy and sell on downstream supply chain actors. The Peruvian and Ecuadorian mahi mahi fleets are largely comprised of informal networks of artisanal fishers with relatively low technological capabilities. This scenario poses challenges to the effective implementation of private standards and fishery regulations. By contrast, processing plants exert a high degree of control over the supply and production of fish, better positioning them to implement or enforce sustainability measures. Our study recommends improvements for the industry’s environmental and economic outcomes. We do so by evaluating the position of both Ecuador and Peru in the global market and their progress on pre-existing sustainability programs. These include discussion on the importance of sustainable and innovative financing tools for market-based initiatives as well as the need for increased transparency and coordination. Our recommendations, informed by a comprehensive understanding of the value chain, may prove useful to industry leaders and environmental organizations interested in improving sustainability practices.Item Open Access Evaluating Contributions of Small-Scale Fisheries on Food Security via Fisheries Indicators, Economic Inequalities, and Gender(2023-04-28) Huff, Arianna; McFarland, Tyler; Martinez, Laura; Laspada, ChristianThe contributions of small-scale fisheries (SSF) to food security are underappreciated globally. This issue is further exacerbated in the Galapagos Archipelago, where the majority of food sources are imported from mainland Ecuador. In collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), our report underscores the contributions of SSF in the Galapagos through the lens of food security, economic inequalities, and gender. Using the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) four pillars of food security – availability, use, access, and stability – we identified catch, price of fish, access based on income, consumption patterns, and nutrition to be the most significant indicators of SSF contributions in the Galapagos. Furthermore, our report includes a toolkit that measures the contributions of SSF, geospatial figures, and policy recommendations to CDF. Our recommendations seek to promote the health of permanent residents through direct access to fresh seafood and to promote sustainable fisheries practices through legislation.Item Open Access Historical Influences in Contemporary Discourse(2010-04) Johns, DanielleThis thesis is a comparative analysis and discussion on affirmative action for blacks in Ecuador and Brazil. I use history to understand the different approaches to and the different arguments for and against affirmative action in these two Latin American countries. While Ecuador and Brazil have some commonalities, being Latin American countries, current racial policies differ because of past social, political and economic differences. Differences in racial politics seen here can hopefully engender an appreciation for different racial policies seen elsewhere.Item Open Access Límites y Linderos: Una interpretación decolonial de los conflictos territoriales en la Región Norte de Esmeraldas durante los finales del siglo XIX.(2013-05-10) Leon, Evan MichaelThis thesis examines the interactions between Anglo-American mining companies and Afro Ecuadorian communities in the northern region of Esmeraldas province, Ecuador during the late nineteenth century. Specifically in these interactions, the thesis analyzes the territorial conflicts that emerged between the mining companies and communities based on their opposing conceptualizations of land and their different definitions of land use and ownership. In analyzing the conflicts, the thesis aims to provide a decolonial interpretation, meaning it gives value to both Afro Ecuadorian and Anglo-American legal frameworks, philosophies in order to depict the tensions and conflicts between the two groups in a more equitable fashion. Based on primary research at government archives in Ecuador and private document collections in the United States, the thesis recreates a historical narrative in which a mining company’s corporate documents and letters to shareholders are juxtaposed with interviews of community members and oral histories passed down from generation to generation in the community. The thesis also incorporates government maps, public notary entries, land sale contracts and diplomatic correspondence from several major government archives in Ecuador: The Archive of the Ecuadorian Central Bank in Esmeraldas, The National Archive of Ecuador in Quito, The Archival Library at the National Assembly of Ecuador in Quito and the Library of the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Quito. In addition to the government archives, community interviews and recordings of community members’ oral traditions were obtained from the Afro-Andean Document Collection at the Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar in Quito. In addition to research at document collections and government archives, personal correspondence between company executives and original preliminarysurvey maps of the region were obtained from the private family collection of the granddaughter of the vice president of the Anglo-American mining company.Item Open Access Mangroves in Ecuador: An application and comparison of ecosystem service models(2015-04-21) Burgess, Paul; Li, Xiangyi; Qin, SiyuMangroves provide an abundant supply of ecosystem services such as coastal protection, fish nursery, recreation, and carbon sequestration. After a severe loss of mangroves predominately due to shrimp farming from 1969 to 2000, Ecuador realized the importance of mangroves and their related ecosystem services. In response, the government’s interest grew to understand ecosystem services valuation (ESV) models that provide robust valuation for the ecosystem services(ES). Working with the Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF), this report identified and evaluated applicable ESV models, valued and mapped the ecosystem services values of Ecuadorian mangrove with ESV models. This report aims to calculate the value of ecosystem services of mangroves with the existing modeling tools. The following models were initially considered: InVEST, AIRES, MIMES, Co$ting Nature, EcoServ, LUCI, and SolVES. Each model is different, and therefore likely to generate a different valuation of ecosystem services for the same area. In addition, the report compared the variance within models for four different scenarios: status-quo, lose-all, reforestation, full-recovery. Results include both numerical information and highlight the usefulness of each different modeling tool. Based on results and analyses, suggestions are made on suitable ESV models for mangrove ecosystems, and decision support information are provided to Socio Manglar program of Ministry of Environment of Ecuador.Item Open Access Spatiotemporal Behavior & Interactions of Neotropical Felids(2023-04-28) Pepke, ChloeThe intraguild dynamics of apex and meso-carnivores contribute to the structure and resiliency of ecosystems, but temperature change and habitat loss threaten carnivores globally. This study explores the spatial and temporal behavior of four felid species (Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus wiedii, and Leopardus tigrinus) in the Santa Lucia Cloud Forest Reserve (SL), near Quito, Ecuador. I used camera trap data from 2016 through 2022 to identify felid species and compare temporal trends in activity, distribution, and occupancy in relation to environmental factors. I then used the species-specific models to predict species occupancy in the unmonitored regions of the reserve. These results inform future monitoring efforts and provide insight into the extent of potential interactions among these four felids.Item Open Access Volume and Geographical Distribution of Ecological Research in the Andes and the Amazon, 1995-2008(2011) Pitman, NCA; Widmer, J; Jenkins, CN; Stocks, G; Seales, L; Paniagua, F; Bruna, EMThe Andes range and the Amazon basin represent the most diverse biological community on earth and the largest tropical forest on earth, respectively, but they are historically understudied by biologists. In this paper we provide the first quantitative description of the volume and geographical distribution of ecological research in these regions. We compiled a dataset of all articles based on the Andes and Amazon regions published in two prominent international tropical ecology journals between 1995 and 2008. During this period, the number of scientific articles based on research in the Amazon was half that based on research in Central America, while the Andes scored among the least-studied of all tropical regions. Brazil was the leading base for Amazonian studies and Ecuador the primary location for Andean studies, but Ecuador led both categories and Brazil came last when research effort was standardized by area. Most Amazonian research took place in three regions—Manaus, southeastern Peru, and eastern Ecuador—with ~31 percent of all papers coming from four field stations in those regions. Andean research focused overwhelmingly on the northern Andes. Research in the Andes range and the Amazon basin remains scattered, patchy, and far below its potential. We propose steps that funding agencies can take to increase research output and reduce geographical bias in the study of South America's richest ecosystems.