Revista Española de Desarrollo y Cooperación

From the Brundtland Commission to COP16 in Cali, keys to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development

Mario Fanjul Benítez — 2025-06-25

From the Brundtland Commission to COP16 in Cali, passing through the Paris Declaration and the 2030 Agenda, a global consensus has emerged on the relationship between sustainable development, the environment, and biodiversity. Multilateral declarations, global regulatory frameworks, and regional and local initiatives have shown that integrating biodiversity protection into development policies generates social, economic, and environmental benefits. However, it is still necessary to strengthen global governance, expand climate finance mechanisms, and integrate gender and ecosystem-based approaches to address global challenges. In the face of advancing environmental denialism, coordinated global climate action based on evidence is key to rethinking a more ambitious and inclusive post-2030 agenda.

Environmental governance in biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in the Biosphere Reserve “Parque Atlántico Mar Chiquito”, 2012-2022

Aira González — 2025-06-25

This paper examines the key factors that promote the potential for constructive interaction between biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in the Parque Atlántico Mar Chiquito (PAMCH) Biosphere Reserve, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The methodological strategy was to triangulate quantitative and qualitative methods. The main findings suggest that PAMCH is experiencing both a trend towards socio-ecological valorisation of the wetland and a process of degradation driven by anthropogenic activities, multiple uses and management deficiencies.

The “community” as a subject for development and cooperation projects. Critical reflection from the case of a project promoting community forestry management in Santiago del Estero (Argentina)

Camille Laurent — 2025-06-25

Over the last 50 years, the community has emerged as a protagonist in natural resource management projects promoted by international cooperation and development agencies. However, the definition of community proposed in these projects is often normative and based on predetermined social, territorial and cultural criteria that do not consider the dynamic and relational dimension of community uses and practices. This article illustrates this tension through a study of the implementation of community forest management plans by the Native Forests and Community project, funded by the World Bank between 2015 and 2022, in northern Argentina. It highlights the importance of these projects in integrating the multiple ways in which communities exist, and their everyday and non-formal expressions, to formulate appropriate proposals for action and governance, and to avoid conflicts of use.

The challenge of matching biodiversity conservation and community’s livelihoods: historical trends and participatory interventions in the Kafa biosphere reserve, Ethiopia

Megersa Debele Tiki — 2025-06-25

The aim of this paper is to explore the interactions between biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods, and the challenges they pose, in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve. The analysis was conducted by tracing the perspectives, interests and actions of governance regimes (or institutions) from customary institutions to participatory interventions. A qualitative historical analysis method was used to collect and interpret data, alongside an analytical framework called the Policy Arrangement Approach. In general, Kafa biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods have been shaped by competing and conflicting structures, discourses and interests over different periods of governance, all of which have more or less lacked effective 'hands and feet on the ground'.

The lucrative business of organised crime: illegal wildlife trafficking

María Isabel Merino Díaz — 2025-06-25

This paper aims to raise awareness of the threat that illegal wildlife trade poses to the environment, ecosystems, and public health. The motivation and modus operandi of organised crime, the main perpetrators of this criminal phenomenon, will be examined. After a brief outline of international and European legislation on the subject and an examination of the protection of biodiversity as part of the human right to the environment, a brief legal approach to the crime of illegal trade in protected wildlife species under Art. 334(1)(b) of the Spanish Criminal Code from an ecocentric and ecological justice perspective.

Challenges and opportunities for conserving biodiversity through volunteer initiatives and international cooperation projects

María Dolores Jiménez Escobar — 2025-06-25

The main objective of this study is to present two examples of development cooperation projects for the conservation of biodiversity carried out in Arequipa (Peru) by students of the Biology Department of the UCM, within the framework of the International Volunteer Programme of the Public Universities of Madrid and in collaboration with the UNSA University. The objective of the first example is to protect the Tara tree (Caesalpinia spinosa), the only tree species associated with the tropical ecosystem of the "cloud forest" or "Lomas" in Atiquipa. The second objective was to create a biodiversity database for the Arequipa region. Both projects are currently in progress.

Implications of the University and School Spheres in Educational and Institutional Strengthening in Environmental, Hygiene-Sanitary, and Biodiversity Studies in Equatorial Guinea: A Decade of Cooperation

José F. Gómez — 2025-06-25

The Complutense Cooperation Programme with Equatorial Guinea has created a citizen's environmental monitoring system in schools. Through updated technology and training, it has addressed urban environmental issues and empowered children as agents of change in the city of Malabo. Based on the 2030 Agenda, it has also strengthened UNGE with laboratory equipment and technical-scientific training through specialised courses and the promotion of two-way academic exchanges for students and faculty from UCM and UNGE. Its impact has been key to the development of education, health, and sustainability in the country.

Risk perception and popular knowledge about crocodilians (Caiman crocodilus and Crocodylus acutus) in river communities in the provinces of Veraguas and Chiriquí, Panamá, Central America

Miryam Venegas-Anaya — 2025-06-25

This empirical qualitative social research study examines human-crocodile coexistence to support the design of the National Crocodile Management Plan in Panama. The study analysed the risk perception and knowledge of communities living with crocodilians through surveys conducted in sixteen localities in Veraguas and Chiriquí. Overall, 82% of respondents showed a good knowledge of crocodilians, although only half had completed primary school. Men were more familiar with crocodiles due to their involvement in fishing and agriculture. Despite the fear of crocodiles, 74% of respondents supported their conservation, highlighting the need for educational programmes to promote sustainable crocodilian management.

Transformation of single-use plastic waste into plastic wood: a circular economy approach in La Pampa, Argentina

Anabel Saran — 2025-06-25

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a complex challenge because its inappropriate disposal, especially in open dumps, has negative impacts on health, biodiversity and the environment. Plastic waste, which can take up to 500 years to degrade, is a major contributor to this problem. This work proposes a solution to this problem based on a territorial and sustainable approach, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and circular economy principles. Through the UNLPambiental outreach project, which focuses on environmental education and community participation, more than 72 tonnes of plastic were collected from 45 localities in the province of La Pampa, Argentina, over a period of 20 months. The collected plastics were processed by thermofusion and converted into plastic wood. The final product was analysed by SEM, µXRF and FTIR to determine its elemental and polymeric composition and to identify additives specific to the recycled plastics used. Titanium (Ti), a photodegradation additive, was detected in 4 of the 5 wood plastic samples obtained, while hazardous chemical additives such as chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were not detected in any sample. However, the polymer composition of the samples was not homogeneous due to the heterogeneity of the post-consumer material available at the time of production. This work not only significantly reduced the environmental impact of burying the 72 tonnes of plastic waste and transforming it into a new product, but also trained more than 10,000 agents of change, fostering a culture of sustainability that can have a long-term positive impact on public health, the natural environment and future generations.

Bioprospecting of plant species in abandoned mines and their phytoremediation potential

Lucía Fernández — 2025-06-25

Like many other economic activities, metal mining changes the geography and physiography of the natural landscape. The waste from this activity is characterised by, among other things, a high content of heavy metals and synthetic chemicals, which represent a serious socio-environmental problem. A closure plan for the mine is expected to include treatment measures involving environmental restoration, which is possible through the application of phytoremediation technologies. To search for new non-exotic phytoremediation species, a bioprospecting and bibliographic evaluation of the remediation potential of aromatic plant species present in two abandoned mining sites in Mendoza, Argentina, was conducted. The physicochemical and textural characteristics of the soil where vegetation grew, as well as the total concentration of heavy metals, were analysed using atomic emission spectrometry with electrothermal atomisation. As a result, 16 different plant species were identified, mainly from the Asteraceae and Poaceae families, all of which had medium to high remedial potential according to the literature consulted. The soil was sandy, with a low organic matter content, and in general the total metal content did not exceed the maximum permissible limits for agricultural soils, except for lead, whose concentration is above 50 mg/kg. In conclusion, the plant species have remediation potential, but this will have to be confirmed experimentally in future laboratory and field tests.

Tourism activity in Puerto Vallarta through the perspective of Wallerstein's World System theory

Rosario Cota Yañez — 2025-06-25

Immanel Wallerstein's theoretical framework is used as an analytical tool to understand the social, economic and environmental problems of the city. Through a bibliographical review, we seek to problematise the effects of the tourist real estate industry in Puerto Vallarta, paying attention to two key elements of the theory: the influx and the investment generated to satisfy foreign demand in the consolidated zones of the city. The analysis seeks a better understanding of the phenomenon and its relationship with issues of inequality. The main findings show that the demand for real estate for tourists is reflected in coastal areas with better infrastructure linked to transnational capital.

Cooperation project targeting child malnutrition in Lagonoy, Philippines

Ana Martín Costa — 2025-06-25

Child malnutrition in the Philippines is alarming. The NGO Phileos is starting a project in collaboration with SEGHNP. Patients aged between 6 months and 5 years are identified with a Waterlow index for weight < -2SD. Anthropometric measurements are taken monthly, and blood and stool parasite tests are carried out every three months. Patients are fed monthly. 89 children have been treated and, despite the difficulties, significant improvements in nutritional status and general health have been observed. The project not only addresses child malnutrition but also contributes to a healthier future for these children, demonstrating the positive impact of international cooperation.

Social programs, microcredits, and rural development post-political violence in Apurímac, Peru

Guido Chati — 2025-06-25

This article examines the sustainability of social programmes aimed at improving living conditions in rural areas affected by political violence, using CAC Los Andes as a case study. This cooperative, which emerged from social programmes implemented between 1995 and 2000, has successfully expanded and established itself as a key actor in rural development in Apurímac, Peru. Its approach combines a solidarity-based economy with social programmes implemented in partnership with Non-Governmental Organisations, prioritising the well-being of the community and seeking to reconcile public policies with cooperative dynamics in contexts of social exclusion.

Presentación del monográfico “Horizontes comunes: Estrategias de Cooperación para la Biodiversidad y el Desarrollo Sostenible”

Cristina Herrero-Jauregui — 2025-06-25