Wildlife and wildlife-origin products are illegally traded across Peru, with negative consequences for animal welfare, conservation, human health and livelihoods. We surveyed residents of Iquitos who regularly shop at Belén Market, the largest open-air market selling wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon. We wished to assess what proportion of the local population purchases wildlife for personal use, to determine the involvement of the local population in the wider national trade of Peruvian wildlife, and to assess whether information campaigns could reduce demand for these products among local consumers. We derived 265 responses. The principal purchases were meat from domesticated animals, and fish: 89.4% of respondents bought these on every or most visits. By comparison 75.1% purchased bushmeat, but only 3.0% did so frequently, and 58.1% purchased chelonian eggs, with < 1% doing so frequently. Percentages purchasing wildlife pets, and wildlife-origin artefacts and remedies were low (all under 14.7% of respondents). There was no evidence that respondents were selling wildlife or wildlife-origin products into the national wildlife trade. Over 90% of respondents held negative views of both animal welfare and conservation impacts of the capture of wildlife for sale, with lower proportions expressing negative views of issues surrounding zoonotic disease risks and illegality. When shown statements detailing these impacts, 51.3% of respondents stated they would be less likely to buy wildlife-origin products in the future. When asked to state which aspects of the Belén Market they would change, however, only six respondents referenced the sale of wildlife, with the vast majority (>95%) referencing levels of orderliness, hygiene or personal security at the market. Despite widespread consumption of bushmeat – albeit relatively infrequently - among respondents in Iquitos, many respondents to our questionnaire disliked the associated negative impacts, sufficient that making such impacts salient through repeated demand-reduction messaging might be expected to lower the likelihood of such purchases in the future. Such interventions should, however, be accompanied by action to address structural issues within the market.

AbstractObjectiveFish populations targeted by recreational and artisanal fisheries remain largely unassessed in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This generally results in a lack of regulatory action from government agencies, thus aggravating the risk of overfishing. In this context, sources of historical information, such as local ecological knowledge (LEK), are key to providing insight on the status of fish populations and informing management. Systematized elicitation processes have increasingly shown an ability to produce quantitative indicators while reducing biases and caveats inherent to expert knowledge. In this study, we assessed changes in composition of the catch, species abundance, and geographical distribution of the catch for 10 data‐poor coastal groundfish species of Peru using LEK.MethodsWe designed and conducted a structured elicitation process to gather LEK on these species from 40 recreational and commercial spearfishers in Peru. We then used the obtained data to develop a set of indices and analyzed them statistically to identify trends and the magnitude of changes over time, if any, between the years 1960 and 2019.ResultOur results show a significant decline in the relative participation (a species' catch proportion relative to the total catch) and abundance of seven assessed species in the catch as well as a major reduction in their geographical distribution. For some species, decreases in relative participation within the catch and decreases in average daily catch, a measure that may indicate changes in abundance, were statistically significant across the time span of the study. Average daily catch was between 1% and 15% of their historical high values. Some species have experienced a reduction of 60–100% in the geographical distribution of their catch.ConclusionResults suggests a scenario of overfishing and sequential depletion of the Galapagos Sheephead Wrasse Semicossyphus darwini, Pacific Goliath Grouper Epinephelus quinquefasciatus, Harlequin Wrasse Bodianus eclancheri, Grape‐eye Seabass Hemilutjanus macrophthalmos, Chino Medialuna ancietae, Pacific Beakfish Oplegnathus insignis, and Broomtail Grouper Mycteroperca xenarcha. We highlight how the application of expert elicitation methods can help to build LEK‐based fishery indicators that are useful for assessing data‐poor fisheries and providing critical information to prompt management discussions.

SummaryThe wetlands of the jalca ecoregion in the Andes of northern Peru form peat and play a major role in the hydrological ecosystem services of the ecoregion. Although peat is globally valued for carbon sequestration and storage, peatlands have not yet been mapped in the jalca. In this region, the Gocta waterfall, one of the 20 highest waterfalls in the world, depends on the jalca’s wetlands ecosystem. The local population depends on tourism to the waterfall and is concerned about preserving its drainage area. To inform conservation planning, in this study we delimited the drainage area of the Gocta waterfall and identified land tenure by applying Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing and participatory mapping techniques. Then, by classifying optical, radar and digital elevation models data, we mapped peatland in the jalca of the Gocta drainage area with an overall accuracy of 97.1%. Our results will inform conservation strategy in this complex area of communal, private and informal land tenure systems. At a regional level, this appears to be the first attempt at mapping peatlands using remote sensing imagery in the jalca ecoregion, and it represents a milestone for future efforts to map and conserve peatlands in other tropical mountain areas of the world.

Emergent complex climate risks challenge conventional approaches for climate adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). This situation demands new ways of addressing climate risks with integrated solutions. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are promising CCA and DRR given their cost-effectiveness, multifunctionality and low-regret condition in addressing a wide range of risks exacerbated by climate change. However, little attention has been paid to exploring methodological approaches for combining NbS to reduce climate risks. Still, selecting the appropriate and effective combination of NbS is a challenging task. This research applies a geospatial multi-criteria approach for developing intervention packages of NbS for CCA and DRR and applies this innovative methodology to a case study area in the Puna region in Peru. The study started with an in-depth literature analysis coupled with a participatory process with local experts to identify and select locally valid NbS for CCA and DRR. Building upon that, the overall multi-criteria approach was developed, which consists of a matrix-based procedure to evaluate the applicability of relevant measures and their feasibility of being combined in intervention packages. Then, the multi-criteria analysis was integrated into a Geographic Information System using a spatial analysis model to map suitable intervention areas. Next to the methodological innovation, the multi-criteria approach was applied to a case study area to generate a place-based intervention package for addressing the risk of reduced water provision considering climate change conditions, with its respective potential intervention sites differentiated by the appropriate measures. This methodological approach is a novel and pragmatic support tool that helps practitioners design more robust and effective interventions for building resilience to climate change. Furthermore, this methodological approach involves shifting the perspective from activities focused on “one-size-fits-all-solution” to "multi-solution" strategic interventions that address climate risks more comprehensively, recognizing the dynamics and complexities of the social-ecological systems. The authors encourage researchers and practitioners to transfer the methodological approach to other contexts and, with that, accelerate the efficient and targeted implementation of NbS for building resilience to climate change.

AbstractAimClimate change is transforming mountain summit plant communities worldwide, but we know little about such changes in the High Andes. Understanding large‐scale patterns of vegetation changes across the Andes, and the factors driving these changes, is fundamental to predicting the effects of global warming. We assessed trends in vegetation cover, species richness (SR) and community‐level thermal niches (CTN) and tested whether they are explained by summits' climatic conditions and soil temperature trends.LocationHigh Andes.Time periodBetween 2011/2012 and 2017/2019.Major taxa studiedVascular plants.MethodsUsing permanent vegetation plots placed on 45 mountain summits and soil temperature loggers situated along a ~6800 km N‐S gradient, we measured species and their relative percentage cover and estimated CTN in two surveys (intervals between 5 and 8 years). We then estimated the annual rate of changes for the three variables and used generalized linear models to assess their relationship with annual precipitation, the minimum air temperatures of each summit and rates of change in the locally recorded soil temperatures.ResultsOver time, there was an average loss of vegetation cover (mean = −0.26%/yr), and a gain in SR across summits (mean = 0.38 species m2/yr), but most summits had significant increases in SR and vegetation cover. Changes in SR were positively related to minimum air temperature and soil temperature rate of change. Most plant communities experienced shifts in their composition by including greater abundances of species with broader thermal niches and higher optima. However, the measured changes in soil temperature did not explain the observed changes in CTN.Main conclusionsHigh Andean vegetation is changing in cover and SR and is shifting towards species with wider thermal niche breadths. The weak relationship with soil temperature trends could have resulted from the short study period that only marginally captures changes in vegetation through time.

Case studies based on 4 different organisms to determine the best modality for ABS. We recommend that the Parties reaffirm the nature of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol (NP) as framework agreements. Decisions made at the COP can be revisited and reversed. The adoption of an alternative modality to bilateralism could even include a return to the “Common Heritage of Mankind” (Modality 5), which is just as much an expression of sovereignty as is the bilateral approach. Policy implications must be rendered into recommendations and the recommendations, into legislation. Appendix VI is a “Legal Elements for the ‘Global Multilateral Benefit-sharing Mechanism’ as contemplated in the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization”

Abstract While there is increasing progress made at the global scale on understanding climate change impacts and implementing adaptation solutions, there is still a major gap in documenting and assessing the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation (M&amp;E) systems for climate change (CC) adaptation. This is particularly challenging if we consider the diversity of local perceptions and interpretations of what CC adaptation concretely means and how to measure it. This is even more complex in developing countries, where CC adaptation and socioeconomic development go hand in hand. This paper offers a brief literature review of the approaches on M&amp;E to CC adaptation that have been designed at the global scale. Based on this contextual analysis, we evaluate to what extent these global approaches are being localized in monitoring the effectiveness of public policies and territorial strategies for CC adaptation in the Andes. The analysis draws on four national and local case studies in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The analysis is based on a review of the status of national programs for M&amp;E of CC adaptation and the implementation in those countries of the project “Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts in Water Resources in the Andes” (AICCA). The M&amp;E systems in the four case studies differed widely in the way in which global M&amp;E approaches are localized, reflecting the diversity of conceptions, goals, strategies and contexts in which adaptation is being implemented. Despite the diversity of implementation contexts and the complexity of monitoring the responses of socio-ecological systems, the M&amp;E proposals analyzed share a focus on biophysical indicators over sociopolitical and institutional indicators. In addition, this study emphasizes the need to further implement participatory M&amp;E systems from the community, to improve the territorial articulation of M&amp;E proposals in the Andean region.

La Arena and Alizar are porphyry-type Cu-Au-(Mo) deposits with associated Calaorco and Vanessa high-sulfidation epithermal mineralizations, respectively. In this study, we conducted multiple conventional geochronologic analyses on samples from La Arena district, with the objective to obtain precise a temporal relationship among porphyry emplacement, hydrothermal alterations, cooling, exhumation history and preservation, together with published age data for the district. A precursor quartz–diorite pluton and a late–mineral andesite porphyry bracketed the mineralization in the La Arena and Alizar porphyry deposits. Zircon U-Pb dating of these intrusive rocks display markedly concordant ages, with emplacement beginning and ending at 26.50 ± 0.23 to 25.36 ± 0.07 Ma at La Arena, and at 26.47 ± 0.08 to 25.30 ± 0.07 Ma at Alizar. 40Ar/39Ar chronologic data for hydrothermal biotite from the potassic zone ranges from 25.97 ± 0.16 to 25.73 ± 0.16 Ma in the Alizar, and hypogene alunite from the advanced argillic alteration yield an age of 25.66 ± 0.15 Ma in the Vanessa. The weighted mean apatite (U–Th)/He ages of the porphyry intrusions of the La Arena and Alizar range from 24.26 ± 0.56 to 23.42 ± 0.37 Ma. These geochronologic data reveal that the porphyry systems were emplaced intermittently for at least 1.2 m.y. during the late Oligocene (26.5 – 25.3 Ma). The porphyry intrusions would have been uplifted from its depth of formation at ∼ 2 km suggested by telescoped and a short time period (0.07 m.y.; 40Ar/39Ar ages) between porphyries and associated high-sulfidation epithermal events. The cooling history from zircon crystallization at 800 °C to thermal collapse at 75 °C (apatite helium close temperature) lasted ∼ 2.5 m.y. in the ore-systems. The thermal collapse occurred coeval with the Inca IV orogeny (∼24 Ma), period of rapid uplift and exhumation in northern Peru (0.24 km/m.y.; (U-Th)/He age-elevation spectrum). If exhumation continued at the rate of 0.24 km/m.y. unroof of the ore-deposits lasted 5 m.y. (24–19 Ma). Since their exposure at ∼ 19 Ma, these ore deposits were subjected to weathering and oxidation during 2.12 m.y. It is thus estimated that approximately 500-m thickness of materials have been removed from the Alizar and La Arena during uplift and erosion, including a large volume of ore. Subsequent volcanic activity occurred during the Quechua I orogeny (∼17 Ma) at ca. 16.88 Ma, leading to burial and partially preservation of these ore deposits.

Chile is amidst an unprecedented legal and institutional change since the restoration of democracy at the end of the 80’s, which is expected to affect fisheries governance. A global lead in marine resource landings, Chile implemented significant fisheries management reforms in the past decade. Yet, Chilean fisheries still face sustainability challenges. In this paper we reflect on the results of a survey carried out in 2019-2020 with key informants aimed to identify fisheries policy reform priorities in country. Addressing Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; Developing a priority national research agenda to improve fisheries management in Chile; Addressing the lack of legitimacy of the fisheries law; Developing a new national fisheries policy; and Update the Artisanal Fisheries Registry were identified as priority topics by respondents.

Case studies based on 4 different organisms to determine the best modality for ABS. We recommend that the Parties reaffirm the nature of the CBD and Nagoya Protocol (NP) as framework agreements. Decisions made at the COP can be revisited and reversed. The adoption of an alternative modality to bilateralism could even include a return to the “Common Heritage of Mankind” (Modality 5), which is just as much an expression of sovereignty as is the bilateral approach. Policy implications must be rendered into recommendations and the recommendations, into legislation. Appendix VI is a “Legal Elements for the ‘Global Multilateral Benefit-sharing Mechanism’ as contemplated in the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization”.