Ecological world

Ecological Systems of Latin America and the Caribbean Overview This ecological classification of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was developed using a standard framework of classification for terrestrial and wetland ecosystems to provide the LAC region’s component of an International Ecological Classification Standard. Its report introduces and outlines the conceptual basis of the classification and summarizes the nearly 800 ecological systems that currently are classified and described for LAC, emphasizing the natural portion of the landscape. We document applications of these ecological systems for conservation assessment, ecological inventory, mapping, and land management. Value While scientists have made considerable progress classifying fine-grained species and communities on the one hand and coarse-grained ecoregions on the other, conservation practitioners have identified a critical need for practical, mid-scale ecological units to inform conservation a...

Latin America Faces the Global Ecological Crisis                                                  Because of Latin America’s natural wealth, the region is a great supplier of commodities, food and energy to industrialized economies; and, at the same time, the wealthier countries try to transfer the environmental costs of the dirtiest industries to it Ignacio Sabbatella is a frequent contributor to  Marxismo Ecologico . This article was first published in  Voces en el Fenix . Translation by Laura Mattas. In this article, we will try to outline briefly some of the challenges facing Latin America in relation to the environment. To this end, we will begin by analysing the structural factors underlying the global ecological crisis. We will continue by exposing what we have called environmental inequalities, the forms they assume and the...