SCIENCE – Cecilia Fernández Castañón

How an eccentric climate change denier who went viral on social media could become Argentina’s next president

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on octubre 8, 2023octubre 17, 2023Leave a Comment

Argentina is in the midst of its presidential election process, and the recent primaries on 13 August saw economist Javier Milei emerge as the leading candidate.

Milei transitioned into the political arena a few years ago, gaining recognition through his harsh critiques of the political establishment, which garnered significant attention in both traditional media and on social platforms.

Currently, he serves as a member of parliament and is the founder of his own political party, La Libertad Avanza, which secured nearly 30 per cent of the vote despite lacking a comprehensive organisational structure and representation in many regions across the country.

Milei’s rhetoric during his numerous media appearances and campaign events has stirred considerable controversy. Among other statements, he has advocated for unrestricted civilian access to firearms, the sale of organs for transplant purposes and the abolition of public education and health care. In a staunch defence of the free market, he has gone as far as to claim that should he come to power, companies will be permitted to pollute a river without restrictions.

According to him, climate change is “a lie of socialism.”

In the weeks leading up to the general elections, set for 22 October, where Argentina’s next president, who will succeed the current Peronist government’s candidate Sergio Massa, is yet to be determined, there looms a cloud of uncertainty surrounding the direction of environmental policy in this vast and ecologically diverse Latin American nation.

Scientists, environmentalists and activists in the country are currently evaluating the most effective ways to navigate a potential Milei presidency.

“CARING FOR NATURE IS NOT JUST FOR HIPPIES AND ACADEMICS”
A recent study conducted by more than 80 scientists from around the world highlights the significance of considering nature’s diverse values. The study outlines aspects that have often been overlooked in decision-making models, including the perspectives of local communities and the importance of biodiversity.

One of the paper’s lead authors is Christopher Anderson, an Argentine researcher and member of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

“The results of this study show that it is essential to integrate different ways of valuing nature into political and economic decision-making,” Anderson told FairPlanet. “This is important conceptually, practically, effectively and ethically. We need to address all these dimensions in order to achieve, for example, the Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the UN or the target of 30 per cent protected areas by 2030.”

He added, “None of this will be possible without the participation of communities and indigenous peoples, the recognition of their rights and their involvement in the construction of these goals.”

Environmental protection and conservation policies in Argentina seem to align with the traditional patterns highlighted in this study, Anderson argued. These policies often prioritise economic or environmental values, potentially overlooking the interests and concerns of local communities.

“For the ecologist,” he added, “there have been some positive regulatory innovations in the country in recent years, such as the approval of a law that establishes comprehensive environmental training for people working in the public sector, with a sustainable development perspective and special emphasis on climate change.”

He further emphasised the National Constitution guarantees Argentine citizens the right to a healthy environment and the existence of a federal system that establishes that rights over nature belong to the provinces.

“Caring for nature is not just for hippies or academics,” he added. “There are reports from the World Economic Forum that show that if we don’t take environmental issues into account, there can be significant losses. On the other hand, nature-positive business models can generate billions of dollars and jobs.”

Embracing what the World Economic Forum terms “nature-positive business models” has the potential to generate substantial economic benefits and job opportunities on a global scale, Anderson said. A tangible illustration of this approach, he added, can be observed through the support for initiatives like Biodiver Ciudades, currently being implemented across several cities in Latin America. This initiative prioritises investments in nature-based solutions, including the enhancement of public spaces and the expansion of green areas within urban environments.

In these cities, he pointed out, the perspective on nature has shifted from being perceived as a hindrance to development to an integral and indispensable component of urban design.

Anderson expressed a sense of sorrow and concern when reflecting on the electoral support garnered by the far-right candidate during Argentina’s primaries. He drew parallels with situations in other countries, such as Brazil with the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro and the United States with Donald Trump, where similar political dynamics have unfolded and had what he considers to be detrimental consequences.

“What all these cases have in common is that not only do they undermine democracy with a far-right authoritarian populism, but they profess freedom [while] in reality [they] drive a process in which the subject does not assume the consequences of its own actions and only favours a traditional white elite that reduces nature to an asset in a controlled market controlled by the same elite.”

The institution where Anderson works is located in Patagonia and is part of CONICET, Argentina’s largest science and technology organisation, which is internationally recognised for its high quality work. On several occasions, candidate Milei has expressed his intention to shut down or privatise this institution, questioning its effectiveness.

WHAT ARE YOUNG PEOPLE VOTING FOR?
Libertad Avanza, being a newly established political party, currently lacks representation in any of Argentina’s 23 provinces. This means that the party does not have governors or provincial legislators in any province, limiting its ability to establish a party structure outside of Buenos Aires, the capital city. Even within Buenos Aires, the party has a relatively modest presence, with only three deputies holding seats in the provincial legislature.

Libertad Avanza’s limited presence in the provinces is reflected in its relatively small number of supporters who organise events in public squares. Critics of Milei have pointed out that he has not extensively traveled to the provinces during his campaign, primarily focusing on Buenos Aires, a fact they claim might limit his understanding of the country.

In the absence of a widespread party structure in a vast country spanning almost 3 million square kilometers, social networks have played a pivotal role in solidifying Milei’s image as a potential presidential candidate. Over the past few years, footage of his provocative appearances on television and live streams have gone viral, garnering millions of followers.

Although Javier Milei’s voter base in the last elections was believed to span various age groups and social strata, his appeal is particularly strong among individuals under the age of 30. Paradoxically, this demographic is also one of the most active and mobilised segments in environmental activism and the battle against climate change.

According to Magdalena Eulsmesekian, a member of Jóvenes por el Clima, the local branch of Fridays for Future, “The environmental agenda was hardly present in any of the manifestos of the three parties that won the most votes in the primaries.

From this space, she added, they developed an environmental electoral platform that proposes “to build a system that works for both the environment and the people.” The document will be promoted through the organisation’s official channels, with the aim of being taken into account by the candidate who becomes president.

But this will not be an easy task if the winner of this month’s elections is Milei, as he repeatedly expressed his disbelief in scientific evidence ascribing climate change to anthropogenic factors.

“In environmental matters, denial is due to lack of knowledge,” Eulsmesekian told FairPlanet. “Milei and his team of advisers have shown themselves to be uninformed on this issue. He and his vice-presidential candidate, Victoria Villarruel, [have even] voted against the creation of three national parks in Congress.”

Martina Gómez, another activist from Jóvenes por el Clima, told FairPlanet that these actions do not only hinder the creation of tools to tackle the climate and the ecological crisis, but also hamper the generation of revenue through tourism or the creation of new jobs, said

According to Eulsmesekian, there are multiple reasons why a large number of young Argentines find Milei appealing. “These are not people who don’t believe that climate change is real, but who simply consider the issue secondary,” she said. “For Milei’s supporters, the environmental issue is a soft agenda that is not important because we live in a country with foreign debt, economic crisis, inflation and almost 50 per cent poverty.”

She added, “But it is a mistake to think that these issues are unrelated to climate change, because the consequences of the crisis will hit the poorest and most vulnerable sectors the hardest.”

Regardless of the election results, the next few years will be challenging for environmental activists in the country, Gómez remarked. “What remains for us is to continue to work on explaining the consequences of not taking action to stop climate change. We have to avoid getting angry with those who voted there, and try to explain why their position is completely wrong.

“To do this,” she concluded, “we plan to give strong support to scientists working on these issues and develop joint working strategies, because we all have the same goal.”

Article published in Fair Planet: https://www.fairplanet.org/story/argentina-elections-javier-milei-climate-change-young-voters/

The tue cost of Argentina’s lithium rush

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on octubre 31, 2022noviembre 18, 2022Leave a Comment

Lithium, a key mineral in the manufacturing of batteries powering electric vehicles, is found in abundance in northern Argentina, and companies from across the world are eager to exploit it. As provincial governments get their hopes up, indigenous communities and activists warn of the risks.

Along with Bolivia and Chile, Argentina has one of the world’s largest lithium reserves.

The mineral has been garnering rising attention in recent decades as it is one of the main components in the manufacturing of batteries, primarily ones used to store power in electric vehicles – a central pillar in the energy transition away from hydrocarbons.

Since the 1990s, foreign companies have been setting up operations in the country’s northwestern region to extract lithium, generating extraordinary profits that are not reflected in the local communities. All the while, the environmental implications of these extractive activities remain unknown, as the impact studies available are insufficient and outdated.

In Salta and Jujuy, two of the provinces where the salars from which lithium is extracted are located, indigenous communities are mobilising and demanding their right to determine what type of activities take place on their own territories. Some agree with the exploitation of lithium, while others reject it outright, claiming it threatens their way of life, traditions and ecosystems.

HIGH-ANDEAN WETLANDS

Unlike other places in the world where lithium is extracted from rocks, in the South American salars the mineral is easily accessible. It is obtained through a brine decanting process which despite involving some complexities is significantly cheaper.

However, the method has a high hydrogeological impact, as large volumes of water are used. The environments in which these salars are found are high-Andean wetlands, which are oases in the arid desert of the altiplano, and reservoirs of carbon that serve to regulate climate on both a regional and global scale.

In recent years, there have been unsuccessful attempts in Argentina to mount legislative protections for the country’s great diversity of wetlands. The latest setback came last month, when the governors of the Norte Grande succeeded in stopping a bill from advancing in the Lower House of Parliament.

The group, made up of representatives from ten provinces, including those with lithium reserves, issued a statement explaining why they believe that the current bill, which has been widely debated and analysed, should not go forward.

Meanwhile, around two thousand scientists and academics issued a public petition in which they refute each of the provincial leaders’ arguments.

ENTHUSIASM RISES AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

While the price of lithium continues to rise and reach historic records around the world, internal debates in Argentina on the issue persist. With several nuances, different national and provincial governments in recent years have considered lithium as an opportunity, but there is no social consensus on what are the best ways to mine it.

The Constitution of the Argentine Republic establishes that natural resources belong to the provinces. This is the main tool that governors have to consider: That they have decision-making autonomy and establish their own agreements with companies. One of them, Gerardo Morales of Jujuy, went so far as to offer Elon Musk – the owner of Tesla – the lithium reserves of his province via Twitter.

Argentina’s mining laws date back to the 1990s and have not been updated since. They establish very low royalty margins, which means that companies that set up operations in the country make extraordinary profits with little oversight by the state.

For the time being, lithium has not been declared a strategic mineral in Argentina, which would allow for greater regulation of its exploitation. One of the more salient state actions in recent years has been the state-owned company Y-TEC‘s construction of a factory for the design and manufacture of lithium cells and batteries. This, however, is a long-term project.

EXTRACTIVISM AND GEOPOLITICS

“The lithium issue seems to be replicating in a new way patterns of Argentina’s insertion in international trade that we have historically seen in other primary products,” Ariel Slipak, coordinator of the research area of the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), told FairPlanet.

“These are the same asymmetrical patterns where the economic benefits go to a few and the country is left with the socio-environmental problems linked to their exploitation.”

For a decade, the economist has been involved with groups that study the geopolitics of lithium in South America, and claims that this is an opportunity for a very limited group of actors.

“Only large transnationals and some very small local groups are benefiting,” he said. “The contributions that communities receive are very marginal, with mechanisms that are limited to a very small donation, such as a health centre or a community club, which appear in towns with the corporate branding.” He added, “This shows that power is very asymmetrical and that the social and economic relations that are established reproduce paternalistic patterns.”

According to Slipak, in order to reverse these models, it is necessary to increase the mechanisms for participation, consultation and information for communities and civil society.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE UNDER PRESSURE

The Salinas Grandes, located in Salta and Jujuy, is the fourth largest salar in the world, and is home to 33 communities of indigenous peoples who are demanding their right to decide on their territories. Their petition has reached the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).

While waiting for a response on the case, they are trying to go on living with a semblance of normalcy. “The communities are facing enormous pressure, both from the companies that come daily to their territories to hand over folders with promises and requests for exploitation, as well as from the governments,” said Alicia Chalabe, a lawyer who specialises in human rights and represents the communities in their claim.

“There is an overwhelming urgency to implement projects to exploit lithium that conflict with the way of life of these peoples.”

These emergencies represent a gap for indigenous communities. “These are groups that continue to work salt in ancestral ways. They are mining cooperatives dedicated to the production and extraction of salt with a very particular harvesting method. They are also involved in tourism, which is very intense in the area” Slipak said.

“They are communities that stand out because they carry out permanent territorial management and oppose these projects because they believe that the arrival of the companies will produce changes in their culture, in their modes of production and in their way of inhabiting the territory.”

Published on Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/story/the-true-cost-of-argentinas-lithium-rush/

Saving America’s largest dry forest

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on agosto 9, 2022septiembre 23, 2022Leave a Comment

Argentina’s Gran Chaco has one of the highest deforestation rates in the continent. Now, local and international networks are working to prevent an irreparable environmental loss.

After the Amazon, the Gran Chaco is the largest and most biodiverse ecoregion in the Americas. It is also the most threatened due to the conversion of natural environments into productive fields for the cultivation of commodities for export, such as soy and beef.

More than half of this enormous ecoregion, which covers more than one million square kilometres, is located in Argentina, where a law on native forests was passed 15 years ago, establishing a regulation that has been unevenly implemented.

Deforestation did not stop even during the COVID-19 pandemic, and NGOs such as Greenpeace have denounced the expansion of the agro-livestock frontier in the region.

According to a report by Argentina’s Ministry of Environment, a total of 6.5 million hectares of native forests were lost in the country between 1998 and 2018. Nearly 90 percent of this area is located in the Chaco region, which includes the provinces of Santiago del Estero, Salta, Chaco and Formosa.

The Gran Chaco continues to be a neglected and impoverished region, but its natural wealth is gaining relevance on local and international agendas due to the significance of its environmental services.

Several projects are now bringing together public and private actors interested in halting the devastation of these ecosystems and improving the living conditions of its inhabitants, including indigenous communities.

A LOCAL NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Twenty years ago, representatives of various institutions concerned about rural development in the region created the Chaco Argentina Agroforestry Network (Red Agroforestal Chaco Argentina – REDAF). Currently, consists of 15 organisations that work in the region, as well as people who, based on their experience in technical, political and academic fields, contribute to the cause.

Together, they help foster a better quality of life for rural and indigenous communities in harmony with the region’s natural resources. They also created a Land, Natural Resources and Environment Observatory, which seeks to monitor and spotlight instances of conflict over land tenure, deforestation and other environmental problems.

A recent paper published by members of REDAF warns that the major illegal deforestation campaign in the dry Chaco region is closely associated with the power of landowner-producers and provincial government agencies in charge of enforcing the Forestry Law. The latter, the paper indicates, authorise re-categorisations that enable the advance into areas that were previously prohibited.

The authors of the study highlight the need to develop policies that integrate economic, agricultural and environmental sectors in order to halt deforestation on the agricultural frontiers.

“Land tenure reform can facilitate forest protection, while incentives for land-use diversification and criminal punishment of illegal deforestation are key to changing producer behaviour towards more balanced forms of production and conservation,” the study reads.

HOW TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES

“More than half of the remaining native forests in the dry Chaco region are located in indigenous territories,” said Micaela Camino, a young biologist who left Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and settled in the Chaco region in order to develop scientific projects with a strong social agenda.

“It is necessary to create the conditions so that the communities can stay there and lead dignified lives because they are fundamental for the conservation of the environment.”

This is why she founded Proyecto Quimilero, a campaign to spread awareness of the importance of conserving an endemic species of peccary (Catagonus wagneri) that lives in the Chaco and is threatened by the loss of its habitat. This year, her work received one of the Whitley Awards, a distinction given by a UK conservation foundation to promote the protection of endangered environments around the world.

With the funding, Camino plans to strengthen her work with local communities, empower them to continue to inhabit their lands and stop large corporations from eliminating the forests that are home to this peccary and other threatened species.

“The wisdom of indigenous peoples is key to knowing and caring for the fauna and environment of the Chaco,” the researcher told FairPlanet.

DEFORESTATION-FREE COMMODITIES

To curb deforestation in the Chaco, the involvement of both governments and corporations will be crucial. New international regulations that will require traceability of products entering markets could force companies to adapt their production processes and adopt environmentally responsible practices.

These actions would not only serve to halt the advance of productive fields over native forests, but also help restore damaged environments.

To coordinate these processes by replicating models already applied in other parts of the world, the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) – a multi-stakeholder partnership platform initiated to support the implementation of private-sector commitments to remove deforestation from supply chains – recently created a programme specifically tailored to the Gran Chaco, with hubs in Argentina and Paraguay.

“The goal is to achieve zero deforestation in the value chains of commodities produced in the region, mainly soy and beef, from a productive and conservationist perspective,” Daniel Kazimierski, Gran Chaco Special Advisor and Argentina Coordinator at TFA, told FairPlanet.

“THE WISDOM OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IS KEY TO KNOWING AND CARING FOR THE FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE CHACO.”

The proposal, which is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and supported by countries such as the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, consists of promoting collective actions that engage the productive sector and local governments.

The plan, which began in 2021 and will run for three years, aims to position the Chaco in different global forums to make its need for protection visible, as well as to create public-private coalitions to fuse production with conservation and obtain funding for these actions, granting incentives to producers who adapt their practices or restore environments.

The attention being drawn to the Chaco at the global level could be a positive step towards halting the tragic disappearance of its environments, wildlife and communities.

It will now be necessary to closely follow-up on the fulfillment of the commitments made.

Published in Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/story/saving-americas-largest-dry-forest/

The desired Argentine red shrimp and the uncertainty of its sustainability

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on junio 1, 2022septiembre 22, 2022Leave a Comment

The red shrimp, Argentina’s most valuable fishery produce, generates record-breaking foreign exchange earnings from exports and genuine employment. But as the pandemic progressed, a controversy arose between the government, industry and scientists concerning what are the best measures to protect the species.

Because of its exceptional size and characteristic flavours, the Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) is highly valued in different parts of the world. Recently, catches of this species have grown substantially in the South Atlantic, generating enormous economic income for the country through exports and genuine employment due to the growth of the fishing industry.

However, there is a concern in some sectors about the possible overexploitation of the resource and the consequences that these record-high levels of fishing could bear on the future of a species that is, in many aspects, still unknown. Despite the strict protection measures imposed by the Federal Fisheries Council, there are few instances of enforcement.

While the demand for shrimp is satisfied in different markets with those obtained in artificial hatcheries of the Litopenaeus vannamei species, Argentinians have a particular wild taste and reach sizes of up to 22 centimeters, which make them extremely attractive for markets of in Europe and the United States. Between 2018 and 2019, exports of this crustacean have generated revenues of $1.3 billion and $1 billion, respectively. The figure dropped to $830 million in 2020 due to restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but but recovered in 2021, with nearly $1.2 billion in exports at a record price of over $7,200 per tonne.

A MULTI MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS

Argentina’s fishing industry is increasingly turning to shrimp, which is thus consolidating itself as a multi million-dollar business that generates a significant foreign currency income for the country through exports and around 18,000 high-paying registered jobs – a very attractive fact in a country with high rates of informal work and low incomes. However, uncertainty about how long the country can sustain high catch levels of shrimp without affecting the resource worries business people, researchers and officials alike.

“Maintaining the resource depends on us and that is why we are working hard for. The restrictive fishing measures applied recently allowed us to have these current high levels of catches,” said Adrián Awstin, former secretary of fishing in Chubut – one of the main shrimp catching areas – and current representative of the province before the Federal Fisheries Council. “The objective is to take care of the resource and prevent what happened with other species, such as hake, which was overfished in the 1990s; it was then necessary to establish a total closure, which seriously affected the entire work chain.” Awstin claims that the ban on fishing in the San Jorge Gulf, an area between the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz that has been identified as a shrimp breeding area, was a key to the increasing number of shrimp being caught in Argentina.

Although catch zones are respected, some fishing practices could be putting the species at risk. Scientists in charge of the Prawn Fishing Programme of the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) warned both in an official report and in press statements that the fishing effort increased this season because there was a greater number of boats and trips operating in the same place.

This practice often results in boats catching more shrimp than they can process on board, and they end up discarding them back into the sea, depredating the resource and harming the marine ecosystem. They do so despite the fact that this practice is prohibited by law.

In this regard, the Association of Argentine Federal Shrimp Shipowners (ALFA) denied that the practices of the outrigger trawlers are putting the conservation of the species at risk and pointed out that they were warned only about the need to implement improvements in the handling of the products to maintain quality standards. “The fleet has matured and no one would think of fishing during the shrimp breeding season, but we are constantly working on training for our teams,” said Mariano Retrivi, partner of the Buena Proa company and current President of ALFA. “Techniques are improving and evolving, not only fishing techniques but also handling, conditioning and conservation.”

But news of Argentinian shrimp going to waste is not new. In 2020, due to a protest by maritime workers, around 200 tonnes of shrimp were not processed in time and ended up in a rubbish dump in Puerto Madryn, in Chubut.

Added to this problem is the incidental catch, or bycatch, that occurs when fishing for shrimp. The technique used to fish them is called trawling, by which the seabed is “swept” with a net. This process removes not only the shrimp from the sea but also other fish that swim alongside them, such as hake (Merluccius hubbsi), a species that has not yet recovered from the effects of overfishing in recent decades.

SPECIES STILL HARDLY KNOWN TO SCIENCE

Although there are several studies on the population and reproductive dynamics of this crustacean, the genetic aspects of the species are still unknown. A young researcher from the National University of Southern Patagonia, Estefanía Gesto, is studying the genome of the Argentine shrimp.

“The research is about the genetic variability of the entire distribution of the species, from the state of Espírito Santo in Brazil to the province of Santa Cruz in Argentina,” she explained. “While there are some studies on mitochondrial and nuclear genes, none came to a satisfactory conclusion about the population structure, an essential issue for the management and conservation of the species.”

Gesto’s studies could help explain why the catch levels and size of shrimp caught in Argentina are much higher than those caught in Uruguay or Brazil, where the species is also found.

“So far, management strategies have been defined on the assumption that it is a widely distributed species and that it is a single stock, but our preliminary results indicate that the population in Argentina differs genetically from that of Brazil and that, in turn, at the Uruguayan level we find a secondary contact between the two populations,” Gesto said. “These aspects must be taken into account when defining conservation measures so that the genetic diversity of the species and its ability to adapt are not lost.”

Published in Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/dossier/fishery-latin-america/the-desired-argentine-red-shrimp-and-the-uncertainty-of-its-sustainability/

Can fish farming be both profitable and sustainable?

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on enero 28, 2022enero 28, 2022Leave a Comment

The Argentinean province of Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia became the first place in the world to prohibit open salmon hatcheries due to its high level of environmental damage. But local governments and companies encourage other rearing systems for native sea and river fish species. Is it possible to combine sustainability and profitability in the fish farming?

This article is part of an upcoming FairPlanet dossier about fishery in Latin America.

Read the full article in Fair Planet: https://www.fairplanet.org/story/can-fish-farming-be-both-profitable-and-sustainable/

DNA mutations of howler monkeys could have saved them from yellow fever

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on septiembre 25, 2020abril 13, 2021Leave a Comment

In 2007-2009, an outbreak of yellow fever decimated the local howler monkey populations of the province of Misiones. The Alouatta guariba clamitans and Alouatta caraya, which had been followed and analyzed in the site, appeared dead. But in 2014, there were new records of this species in one of the scientific campaigns carried out in the ‘Piñalito Provincial Park.’

To study the possible causes that allowed some monkeys to resist the virus that causes the disease, a team of researchers from CONICET and universities in the United States analyzed the genetic profile of the survivors and detected mutations in their DNA. The results were recently published in an article in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Enhancing the knowledge about resistance to viruses that migrate from animals to humans (and vice versa) is vital in these times in which the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic forced us to rethink human behaviour. Although the results of this study are preliminar and will demand extensive tests to confirm the hypothesis, they represent an important contribution to knowledge.

“The Alouatta caraya is the most endangered species in Argentina and is included among those with the highest risk of extinction in the world. For this reason, this study seeks to improve our knowledge so as to preserve the few species that resist in the jungle of Misiones,” says Ilaria Agostini, CONICET researcher at the Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS, CONICET – UNaM) and one of the authors of the paper.

During the outbreak, the scientists found that the Alouatta caraya were the most affected, so they wondered if the Alouatta guariba clamitans might have a genetic difference that helps them to survive. In order to determine this, they analyzed two genes of the immune system, called TLR7 and TLR8, which recognize and destroy invading viruses in both humans and non-human primates.

Although no genetic variants were found between the surviving monkeys and those that died in the outbreak, comparing the two species of howler showed three mutations in the DNA sequence of Alouatta guariba clamitans individuals. The scientists explain that two of these mutations cause changes in a protein that is involved in detecting the virus. This could affect the immune response to yellow fever and explain why more Alouatta guariba clamitans resisted.

One of the possible hypotheses is that this subspecies of monkeys would have been exposed in the past to a virus that positively selected these genetic mutations. To prove this, it will be necessary to undertake studies with larger samples and in different regions.

Despite the exploratory nature of this study, the authors stress its relevance in a context in which the interaction of humans and wild animals is increasing. Besides, they highlight the usefulness of this information for new management and recovery strategies for monkeys that is being designed in Argentina such as the Primate Conservation Plan, which began in 2019 with the participation of CONICET researchers.

“In the particular case of the Caraya, we must consider that they play a vital role in the caring for the public health of the communities, since they act as epidemiological sentinels of yellow fever. The death of the monkeys in the jungle gives us a first alarm signal, shows us that the virus is circulating and allows us to alert those responsible for health strategies to reinforce vaccination campaigns in the population. Without monkeys and without jungle, the virus will reach humans much more easily,” concludes Agostini.

References: “Positively selected variants in functionally important regions of TLR7 in Alouatta guariba clamitans with yellow fever virus exposure in Northern Argentina” https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24086

Published in https://www.conicet.gov.ar/dna-mutations-of-local-howler-monkeys-alouatta-could-have-saved-them-from-yellow-fever/?lan=en

Argentinean scientists work from the United States to develop a rapid test of COVID-19

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on abril 28, 2020abril 13, 2021Leave a Comment

In order to advance the development of a rapid test to detect the virus that causes COVID-19, CONICET researchers are working from laboratories in the city of San Francisco, United States. Their task is part of a project of the starup CASPR Biotech, a technology-based company created under the regulations of the Council, which aims at using CRISPR technology to create a portable diagnosis kit to identify the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2.

Last week, three women scientists who conduct their studies at institutes in the provinces of Misiones and Santa Fe joined the research team that has worked in the USA since March. The objective is to enhance the necessary techniques so as to have the test ready in two months and to be evaluated and authorized by the control agencies in our country and the United States.

Adriana Rinflerch is a CONICET assistant researcher at the Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS, CONICET – UnaM) and travelled some days ago to San Francisco. “I’m going to be working in the laboratory for a month. Mi task is linked to the amplification of the sample. Our aim is to optimize a molecular diagnosis technique so that the entire process occurs under similar conditions,” the geneticist explains. She has joined the team along with Antonela Palacios and María Eugenia Llases, postdoctoral fellows of the Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET – UNR).

The technique used by Rinflerch is the loop-measured isothermal amplification(LAMP), which is similar to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but performed at the same temperature for which does not need a thermocycler.

Other teams are in charge of different tasks, such as sample processing, protein identification, or detection of the final product.

The ease of access to supplies is the main reason why part of the kit design is developed by Argentine scientists in the United States. Besides, the leaders of the project explain that, as the kit is developed in laboratories in that country, it will be easy to access the circuit of evaluations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, later, of the “National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology” (ANMAT) of Argentina.

To go to San Francisco and join the team that seeks to have this key resource to contain the pandemic, the scientists were transferred in one of the special flights arranged by the National Government to repatriate Argentines stranded abroad due to the closure of borders. “We managed authorizations of the Ministries of Science and Technology, of Transport and Public Health. That allowed us to travel by land to Ezeiza and from there travel to Miami in one plane that came only with the crew. There we had a connection to our final destination, on a flight that also had very few people,” Rinflerch says. She also states that they are maintaining strict distance measures and personal care to guarantee the safety of the research team.

Diana Ibáñez is also a member of the team. She is an IBS doctoral fellow who traveled to the Unites States in March with a special authorization. From there, she has worked in coordination with her director Federico Pereyra-Bonnet, a CONICET researcher at the “Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal” (INPA, CONICET-UBA) and member of the CASPR Biotech, who is Buenos Aires.

Both Rinflerch and Ibáñez belong to the Grupo de Investigación en Genética Aplicada (GIGA) of Nodo Posadas of IBS. They knew the scientists who participated in CASPR Biotech in 2019, when they carried out tests for dengue rapid diagnosis kits in the cities of Posadas. “Although now the focus is on optimizing this system of COVID-19, the enhancement of the techniques and the new knowledge will be useful for other viruses, even for genetic diseases and even certain types of cancer,” the researcher explains. She works in the creation of an in vitro testing platform for the implementation of precision medicine in skin cancer.

“There are projects from other countries that use CRISPR for diagnosis. If we manage to obtain the results we want, it will be possible to offer a more accessible, quicker and lower cost system, in a format similar to that of the marketed massively pregnancy tests,” the scientist concludes.

Published in https://www.conicet.gov.ar/a-group-of-conicet-scientists-work-from-the-united-states-to-develop-a-rapid-test-of-covid-19/?lan=en

Scientists identify genetic cluster of illegally trafficked primates

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on marzo 26, 2020abril 22, 2020Leave a Comment

A new study identified the genetic assignment of the population of primates of the species Alouatta caraya and determined from which of them the specimens that were rescued from illegal trafficking come from. The results will allow experts to infer the critical point of capture and guide the future efforts of the reintroduction in the correct place of origin.

The study, which was published some days ago in Scientific Reports, established that in Argentina there are three clusters genetically differentiable. Most of the animals confiscated belong to an area that comprises the provinces of Formosa, Chaco, Corrientes. Other scientists who participated in the study work at the Instituto de Biología Subtropical de Misiones (IBS, CONICET – UNaM); Servicio de Huellas Digitales Genéticas y del Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología of the Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA).

In the last decades, the populations of Alouatta caraya that exist in the country have been threatened by habitat loss and capture for illegal trafficking. For this reason, they are closely studied by biologists and experts in conservation. “From samples that have been taken since 2005 in different localities of Argentina, we managed to obtain a reference database analyzing the genetic characteristics of fifteen populations of these primates in the northeast region. We compared this information with the data of twenty-two individuals that were taken from the illegal trade and managed to know the place of origin of twenty-one of them,” explains one of the authors of the study, CONICET associate researcher at the IBS, Luciana Oklander.

The research work comprised the rescued monkeys of illegal trafficking that were located at the center Güirá-Oga of Puerto Iguazú, in Misiones, and in the “Zoo Station La Esmeralda” in Santa Fe; and the three individuals that were found dead in other cities. The results allowed the experts to identify three genetically identifiable clusters: one of them groups the populations of the province of Misiones and Río Uruguay; the other includes the region of Corrientes, Formosa, and Chaco; whereas the third comprises the area of Río Paraná, where the environment is better preserved.

During the studies, the researchers determined that most of the individuals confiscated belonged to the second genetic group. This indicates that the trafficking of howling monkeys originated mainly in the area of the provinces of Formosa, Chaco and Corrientes.

To conduct this study of identification of geographic origin, the researchers used a method that marked the repetitions in simple tandems (STR, also known as “microsatellites”). There are antecedents of the use of this methodology to multiple approaches with several species such as lynx, turtles, elephants, bears, salmon, and macaw, among others.

“This new approach from the study of genetic data allows scientists to direct future reintroductions of the species to that they could be done in the places of origin and to minimize the possible negative effects linked to the introduction of genes and foreign pathogens to a population,” Oklander explains.

The species Alouatta caraya is globally classified as “Almost Threatened” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature), but it is considered “Vulnerable” in the red list of Argentina due to the reduction of the population, the decrease of the area of occupation or the quality of the habitat, the increase in the exploitation due to hunting or illegal trafficking and the effects of the pathogens and parasites.

Published originally in CONICET

An Argentinean primate is among the 25 world’s most endangered species

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on octubre 23, 2019marzo 19, 2020Leave a Comment

It is estimated that there are only 50 specimens of Alouatta guariba or red howler monkey, a species affected by yellow fever and habitat loss.

The red howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) is an endemic species of the Atlantic Forest which covers part of Brazil and Argentina. It was included between the 25 primates most threatened of the world, in a list published every two years by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Primatology Society (IPS). The recurrent outbreaks of yellow fever and habitat loss have caused this alarming population decline. It is estimated that there are only 50 individuals.

This is the first time a primate that inhabits in Argentina appears in the list called Endangered Primates, which is made in order to call the attention of government agencies to take measures on the imminent extinction of those species. This categorization will be specially taken into account for the implementation of the National Plan for Primate Conservation, in which CONICET researchers are working together with other governmental and social actors.

The list of the world’s 25 most threatened species was defined in the 2018 International Primatology Congress in Nairobi, in which CONICET associate researcher Luciana Oklander –a specialist who works at the Instituto de Biología de Misiones (IBS, CONICET – UNaM) – participated in the deliberations. She was part of a group of primatologists of the regions who were in charge of substantiating why the situation of the red howler monkey was critical and can disappear if no concrete actions are taken.

“Apart from its habitat loss, a factor that affects several animals globally, the red howler monkey faces another concrete threat: yellow fever. Its last breakout, which started at the end of 2016 affected a great part of the South East of Brazil and fortunately did not reach Argentina, caused the death of thousands of monkeys and devastated populations of Alouatta guariba as well as Alouatta caraya”, the biologist indicates.

The red howler monkey lives east of the province of Misiones and according to estimates made by the researchers, in Argentina, there are only 50 individuals of Alouatta guariba clamitans, one of the two subspecies recognized. Most of them are in protected areas, such as the Provincial Parks of Moconá and Piñalito, although there are also individuals outside those areas and could be protected by enabling new corridors.

Nevertheless, the Argentine population of Alouatta guariba has reduced considerably and that forces specialists to analyze other strategies. “An alternative that we are evaluating is the possible introduction of monkeys of this species from Brazil so as to reinforce the remaining populations,” Oklander explains.

The province of Misiones has large areas of pristine environment that could serve as a home for the red howler monkey that are rescued in the neighboring country. “There are specimens that are run over, electrocuted or attacked by dogs and are sent to rehabilitation centers but then, they have no place to be released. A good option would be to bring them to Argentina because if we do not protect the remaining populations and stimulate their reproduction in some way, the red howler monkey is not likely to survive another yellow fever outbreak,” Oklander explains.

This can be one of the measures implemented as part of the National Plan for Primate Conservation, which is being developed in Argentina following the guidelines of the IUCN and with the participation of researchers from CONICET and organisms from national and provincial states. “The information included in the plan already considered Alouatta guariba as the most threatened species of Argentina, but now that there is an international agreement we are provided with more tools to manage protection actions,” Martín Kowalewski explains. He is a CONICET independent researcher at the Estación Biológica Corrientes and is one of the leaders of the project.

This article was published originally in CONICET