SOUTH AMERICA ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND HEALTH NEWSLETTER

204 t h issue, August 14, 2012 PERU: DEBATE ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS By Adriana Quevedo

The Naval Medical Research Unit 6 (NAMRU-6), North Carolina State University, and Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru organized the seminar: “Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture and Health: an Ethical and Social Debate”, on July 18, 2012, at the Catolica campus in Lima. In Peru, a debate started in April 2011 when Supreme Decree 003-2011-AG was approved, allowing the import of genetically modified seeds. Various Peruvians became alarmed about possible effects of an uncontrolled transfer of genetically modified genes to native organic cultures. As a result of the discussion among different public and private stakeholders, in December 2011, the government issued Law 29811, which included a 10-year moratorium to prevent the import of GMO’s to be released into the environment for cultivation or breeding, including in aquaculture. This law was intended to strengthen infrastructure capacities and baselines in relation to native biodiversity for proper assessment of activities related to releasing GMO’s into the environment. Pursuant to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, this law did not include GMO’s for research purposes -used within a confined space-, such as pharmaceutical and veterinarian products and imported GMO-derived products for direct human and animal consumption or for food manufacture. These types of products should be labeled according to the law. The seminar was opened by a representative from the Ministry of Environment, and then followed by speeches by Dr. Fred Gould from North Carolina State University, and a videoconference by Economics Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman from Princeton University. Various Peruvian researchers and specialists presented their points of view, opening the opportunity for discussion on GMO’s applications in Peru. Dr. Manuel Ruiz of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law talked about the challenges that Peru has to face to develop biotechnology research, specially in the fields of pharmaceutics, bioremediation, food industry, agriculture, and cosmetics. This requires a huge investment in training, infrastructure, equipment, and planning. Dr. Ruiz mentioned that Peru needs to generate policies and regulations to promote research, including laws on biosafety; to develop an institutional framework to control, monitor, and assess GMO impacts; to articulate biotechnology development with the productive and industrial sectors and to respond to the needs of vulnerable groups. Also, he said that it necessary to create more first level research centers, such as the Centro Internacional de la Papa and the National Institute for Agrarian Research. Some ethical concerns were raised by Dr. Rossana Rivas and Dr. Augusto Castro of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. Dr. Rivas, specialist in genetic research, focused on medical research for vaccine and drugs development, disease diagnosis, and gene therapies. For Dr. Rivas, the State should promote a respectful and informed dialog among the different sectors of the society. On the other hand, philosopher Augusto Castro reflected about who should be responsible for assuring that the purposes of what is being used, or under investigation, are good. During the final discussion, participants suggested designing a roadmap to describe the terms under which GMOs can be introduced into Peru. They suggested that current regulations must better define the responsibilities of stakeholders. In addition, they recommended further training and capacity building in working with GMOs. They also commented that debate about the risks as well as rewards of GMOs continues in developed countries just as in Peru. Dr. Luis De Stefano shared with us his presentation “Genetic Engineering in Agriculture: A New Way to Do What is Being Done Since 8,000 b.C.” Please visit: http://reosouthamerica.com/

The information contained herein was gathered from news sources from across the region, and the views expressed below do not necessarily reflect those of the Regional Environmental HUB Office or of our constituent posts.

Addressees interested in sharing any ESTH-related events of USG interest are welcome to do so.

For questions or comments, please contact us at quevedoa@state.gov.

* Free translation prepared by REO staff.

Peru: Debate on GMO’s.

Argentina: Tecnopolis Mega-

Exhibition Opens with U.S. Participation.

Climate Change: Center for

American Progress and Why Climate Change and Migration Matter to U.S. Security.

Science: Three Waves of

Native American Immigration.

Energy: UCLA Researchers

Create a Transparent Solar Cell for Windows.

NASA: Earth Art Collection.

October 15, 2012

Global Handwashing Day

October 31-November3, 2012,

Maryland-U.S. Summit on the Science of

Eliminating Health Disparities, U.S.A. http://bit.ly/KWIuT0

October, 2012

COBER

November 12-15, 2012, Israel

Fourth International Conference on Drylands, Deserts and Desertification: Implementing Rio+20 for Drylands and

Desertification http://www.desertification.bgu.ac.il/

November 12-16, 2012,

Switzerland Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP 24) http://ozone.unep.org/new_site/en/historical_meetings.php?in...

November 19-21, 2012, Bogota-

Colombia Summit: Cities and Climate Change http://www.ciudadesycambioclimatico.org/

Next events:

In this issue:

Photo by Minouto (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.

CLIMATE CHANGE: World Bank Unveils 10-Year Environmental Strategy By Lisa Friedman

Tecnopolis, the Government of Argentina’s mega exhibition of science, technology, industry and art, opened its doors to the public for a second consecutive year on July 14. The fair covers more more than 50 hectares (123 acres) of land and showcases Argentine energy, agriculture and education. For the first time this year, it also features an exhibit by the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Originally opened in July 2011 as a temporary exhibit to celebrate Argentina’s bicentenary, Tecnopolis proved so successful that it was extended by several months and is now an annual event. In 2011, the science park had more than 4.5 million visitors, including 500,000 students, making it the largest science exposition in Latin America. It is expected that the 2012 exposition will attract as many as 9 million peo-ple from across South America. Admission into Tecnopolis, and public transportation to and from the fair, are completely free of charge.

Tecnopolis is organized and funded by the Government of Argentina. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner presided over the official opening, where she presented an Argentine student with the second millionth free netbook provided by government education program Conectar Igualdad. She described Tecnopolis as “a call to discover and to learn” as well as “an invitation to the future”. Science Advisor to Secretary of State Clinton, Dr. William Colglazier, attended the opening on behalf of the USG. Local media reported that a total of about 100,000 people visited Tecnopolis over the July 14-15 opening weekend.

In the wake of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s visit to Argentina in October 2011, the Argentine Ministry of Science and Technology in-vited the U.S. to host an exhibit based on its contribution to space technology, science, and exploration. The U.S. Embassy, in collaboration with NASA and the Smithsonian, designed a space-themed exhibit that highlights the beauty and innovation of satellite imagery. It also show-cases a model space suit and space shuttle on loan from NASA and the joint U.S.-Argentine SAC-D/Aquarius satellite program.

In addition to highlighting U.S.-Argentine technical cooperation, the Tecnopolis exhibit provides Argentine youth with the opportunity to learn about the U.S. The exhibit provides public affairs messages on educational opportunities in the U.S., English-language learning opportunities through Bi-National Centers and other avenues, and Tourist and Student Visa information. Students age 10-18 are encouraged to participate in a NASA-sponsored youth art competition.

The semi-permanent exposition is scheduled to run for four months, July 12 to October 14, 2012.

In early 2012, the Center for American Progress (CAP) released Climate Change, Migration, and Conflict: Addressing Complex Crisis Scenar-ios in the 21st Century. Although generally in line with climate-migration pieces before it (“It is difficult to fully understand the detailed causes of migration and economic and political instability, but the growing evidence of links between climate change, migration, and con-flict raise plenty of reasons for concern”), the report strays from the usual by focusing on U.S. national security interests and four particular sub-regions of concern, being the Andes one of them.

The Andes of South America, also suffers from a slightly myopic security lens. Here, it’s all about melting glaciers and snowcaps. Retreating glaciers would spell disaster for countries which rely heavily on seasonal melt for agriculture and hydroelectric power. Most vulnerable are those with weak governance systems and infrastructure like Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia. For reference, hydropower supplies a whop-ping 80 percent of Peru’s electricity. However, there are more subtle impacts that could portend bigger trouble for the region. Regional security experts concede that higher temperatures are already affecting crop production in rural Colombia, harming the ability to consolidate the security gains made by Plan Colombia over the last decade, for example. And a recent report from EUROCLIMA, the European Union’s program on climate change in Latin America, paints an even bleaker picture for agricultural production in the face of desertification and drought:

Natural ecosystems, agriculture, water resources, and human health in Latin America have been impacted by unusual extreme weather events reported in the past years. For example, droughts related to El Niño impacts on the flows of the Colombia Andean region basins (particularly in the Cauca river basin), are causing a 30 percent reduction in the mean flow, with a maximum of 80 percent loss in some tributaries. Consequently, soil moisture, and vegetation activity are strongly reduced.

Perhaps more worrying is the impact on the biodiversity in the region. Considering that Latin America represents 16 percent of the world’s surface but 40 percent of its biodiversity this could have serious impli-cations for the biomedical field and others. In a recent Nature study, scientists discovered that in situations where glacial coverage is reduced to the point where it only covers 30 to 50 percent of the drainage basin, several species begin to disappear. They calculated that the entire melting of the glaciers in these areas would result in a huge loss of biodiversity, where between 11 and 38 percent of animal and plant species could go extinct, including many of endemic species that can be found only in these areas. Read full article at: http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2012/07/center-for-american-progress-takes-on.html

CLIMATE CHANGE: Center for American Progress Takes on Climate Change, Migration, and Why They Matter to U.S. National Security By Kayly Ober

ARGENTINA: Tecnopolis Mega-Exhibition Opens with U.S. Participation By Paul Shortell

Hydrometeorological instrumentation. Photo courtesy of the USDA.

Photo by Jorge Gobbi. Under Creative Commons License.

SCIENCE: Three Waves of Native American Immigration By Dan Vergano

Native Americans migrated into the New World in three waves between Ice Ages, starting more than 15,000 years ago, a gene study released Wednesday suggests. Today, they show a broad mix of genes and languages descended from these migration peri-ods. North and South America were totally empty of people until the first arrivals from Siberia crossed a land bridge into Alaska, spread-ing in a few thousand years to the tip of South America. The genetic study may help settle a debate between a long-held view that the populating of the continents came as one event instead of the more recently supported notion, backed by this study in the journal Nature, that the migration happened in three distinct waves. "Our study makes clear that mixing of these three ancient popula-tions is the story of Native American arrival," says geneticist David Reich of Harvard Medical School, lead author of the study. It finds a "First American" wave starting more than 15,000 years ago that first moved into North and then South America from Asia. Migration halted by Ice Age glaciers resumed after that time from Siberia, with two surges: one that we know today as the Eskimo-Aleut population and the other a group that today represents the Na-Dené language speakers in Canada, Reich says." The study looked at genetic data from 52 Native American and 17 Siberian groups collected over the last 30 years and screened against popu-lations from elsewhere. DNA cannot tell exactly when the migrations occurred. ("Genes don't come with time stamps," Reich says). However, it's safe to say it happened more than 15,000 years ago, when geologists established that an Ice Age land bridge from Siberia to Alaska was opened. Some scholars have proposed the first wave arriving earlier than 30,000 years ago, on an earlier Ice Age land bridge that was blocked until the era of the two later migrations. "This is an outstanding piece of research documenting deeply and widely the human genetic record and what it reflects about the first peopling," says anthropologist Tom Dillehay of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, who was not part of the study. A mixture of archaeology, genetics and language studies already underway will likely fur-ther resolve the exact timing and direction of each migration event, he adds. "There is still a key missing component here," Dillehay adds. Once genes from ancient burials in Asia and the New World are compared by geneticists with the modern genes used in the new study, he says, an even more accurate picture of Native American origins will likely emerge. Reich, who has participated in studies looking at gene maps of ancient Neanderthals, agrees but points to evidence of ancient movements of Native Americans from South America to Costa Rica, as information already available from studies of modern genes. Notably, the data suggest that Aleut and Na-Dené speakers typically trace about half their genetic ancestry to "First Wave" mi-grants into the New World. A pattern of ancient people mixing, rather than completely running each other off their land, "is becoming more clear," Reich says. That's seen in studies of European, Asian and African people, and now in North and South America. Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/story/2012-07-11/native-american-origins/56148248/1

UCLA researchers have developed a new transparent solar cell that is an advance toward giving windows in homes and other build-ings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their study appears in the journal ACS Nano. The UCLA team describes a new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells nearly 70% transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current. "These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications," said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, who also is director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSystems Insti-tute (CNSI). Read more: http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/yournews/50347

Image courtesy of Nature Magazine, PLoS One, American Journal of Human Biology.

ENERGY: UCLA Researchers Create Highly Transparent Solar Cells for Windows that Generate Electricity By Jennifer Marcus

The Top Five Best Images from NASA Earth Art Collection*

Here we present some of the photographs taken by the Landsat Program!

The satellite image on the right, has been nicknamed the "Van Gogh from Space" in honor of its resemblance to "The Starry Night," one of artist Vincent van Gogh's best known paintings.

At the State Department, satellite data from programs like Landsat help us fulfill our mission to build sustainable com-munities worldwide!

Learn more about how we use earth observations by reading this blog post: http://goo.gl/BLZqJ

Van Gogh from the Space” taken by Landsat 7 on July 13, 2005. Phytoplankton in dark greenish water is shown surrounding Swedish Gotland Island in the Baltic Sea.

Eyre Lake, photo taken by Satellite Landsat 5, August 5, 2006. It looks like a scary face but it is a set of swallow spots of Eyre Lake, in a desert in Australia.

Yukon Delta. Photograph by Landsat 7 taken on September 22, 2002. Uncountable lakes and fonts are spread along this scene of the Yukon Delta in Alaska.

This photograph was taken over Argelia by Landsat 5 on August 04, 1985. What seems pale yellow paint strokes are changing dunes moving from Argelia to Mauritania.

Mississippi. Photo taken by Landsat 7 on August 05, 2003. Small shapes, fields and prairies close to the Mississippi River, the largest river system in North America.