Resumen Introducción: La compensación ambiental es un instrumento técnico-jurídico de gestión ambiental utilizado para compensar el daño ambiental debido a los impactos irreversibles e inevitables de proyectos de desarrollo. Por lo general, las regulaciones de compensación se incluyen en la legislación ambiental nacional. Este artículo resume la legislación de compensación ambiental en Costa Rica, un país con una reconocida tradición de conservación y conciencia ambiental. Nuestro objetivo es describir cómo se formula la compensación en ese país e identificar posibles vacíos regulatorios. Métodos: Realizamos una revisión sistemática de la legislación ambiental a través del Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/avanzada_pgr.aspx), considerando tanto normativa como pronunciamientos sobre medidas de compensación y mitigación. Resultados: La Constitución Política de Costa Rica reconoce el medio ambiente sano como un derecho fundamental de todos los ciudadanos. Actualmente se encuentran en vigencia al menos siete leyes que tratan de temas ambientales y sus respectivos reglamentos. Esta voluminosa legislación tiene como objetivo proteger los recursos naturales regulando su uso y creando un conjunto de áreas silvestres protegidas. Sin embargo, la legislación es algo repetitiva y abierta a interpretación, lo que facilita la confusión. Las acciones que requieren compensación están reguladas de manera general, lo que dificulta establecer cuándo y cómo aplicarlas. Además, la compensación se considera en función de cuándo se identifica el daño y no debido a su nivel de impacto ambiental. Asimismo, la normativa no hace explícitos los principios y objetivos que sustentan las medidas compensatorias ni cómo deben llevarse a cabo, mencionando brevemente algunas acciones que no aseguran que la pérdida ambiental neta sea cero. Conclusiones: Esta revisión revela la necesidad de estandarizar los mecanismos para determinar las medidas compensatorias a nivel regulatorio, analizando además las estrategias que se seguirán para asegurar la proporcionalidad y la equivalencia ecológica. La legislación debe enfatizar la importancia de la compensación como práctica positiva, la cual debe ser incorporada dentro de los lineamientos del Estudio de Impacto Ambiental.

Abstract Introduction: Environmental compensation is a technical-legal instrument of environmental management used to offset damage due to non-reversible and unavoidable impacts. Usually, offset regulations are included in national environmental legislations. This paper summarizes environmental compensation legislation in Costa Rica, a country with a recognized conservation tradition and environmental awareness. Our goal is to describe how compensation is formulated in that country and identify possible regulations gaps. Methods: We carried out a systematic review of environmental legislation through the Costa Rican Legal Information System (http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/avanzada_pgr.aspx), considering both regulations and pronouncements on compensation measures and mitigation. Results: The Political Constitution of Costa Rica recognizes a healthy environment as a fundamental right for all citizens. At least seven laws dealing with environmental issues and their respective regulations are currently enforced. This bulky legislation aims to protect natural resources by regulating their use and creating an assemblage of protected wild areas. However, the legislation is somewhat repetitive and open to interpretation, facilitating confusion. Actions requiring compensation are regulated in a general way, making it difficult to establish when and how to apply them. In addition, compensation is considered based on when the damage is identified and not on its level of environmental impact. Furthermore, the regulations do not make explicit the principles and goals that support the compensatory measures or how they should be carried out, briefly mentioning some actions that do not ensure that the net environmental loss is zero. Conclusions: This review reveals the need to standardize the mechanisms to determine compensatory measures at the regulatory level, also analyzing the strategies that will be followed to ensure proportionality and ecological equivalence. The legislation must emphasize the importance of compensation as a positive practice, which must be incorporated within the guidelines of the Environmental Impact Study.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe students protected by laws and exposed to soft drinks sales and assess whether forbidding laws are associated with lower availability of these beverages. METHODS We identified laws forbidding non-government administered cafeterias or sales of soft drinks in schools in the 27 Brazilian state capitals. Data on soft drinks sales were obtained from Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar 2015 (PeNSE – National Survey of School Health 2015), for a representative sample of 9th graders from public and private schools. Students were attributed with the status of their school regarding the law and sale of soft drinks. Co-variables were school status (public or private), school size, geographic regions, mother’s educational level, score of goods and services. We performed multivariate analyses using Poisson regression. RESULTS The total of 23 laws forbidding sales of soft drinks covered 63.0% of capitals, comprising 56.9% of students. Law coverage was higher among students from more developed regions (67.6%) and in public schools (60.6%), compared with those from less developed regions (38.0%) and private schools (45.8%). Soft drinks were available for 33.9% of students. Students attending public schools in less developed regions had the lowest availability of soft drinks, regardless of law coverage (14.8%; 12.0%); while students attending private schools in these regions had a high availability, regardless of law coverage (82.1%; 73.4%). Restrictive laws were associated with lower sales of soft drinks in more developed regions, and restrictions had a greater association with the availability of soft drinks in public schools (PR = 0.25; 95%CI = 0.15-0.41), compared with private schools (PR = 0.48; 95%CI = 0.35-0.66). CONCLUSION Laws restricting soft drinks in schools were associated with fewer sales in more developed regions. Private schools were less compliant with the law than public schools. A broadly enforced national law could reduce the availability of soft drinks in schools.

The objective of this study is to identify the institutional flexibility from the incoherence between the plan used and the effective uses in the protected area (UC) National Forest (FLONA) of Bom Futuro, in Porto Velho, Rondonia, Amazon, Brazil. The methodology was based on the survey of regulatory instruments (Laws and Ordinances) that rules the UC and acquires images from Landsat-05 and Landsat-08 of years 1988, 1997, 2006 and 2014. The institutional flexibility identified in the FLONA of Bom Futuro was motivated by factors related to illegal occupation, deforestation and reduction of limits as anthropization problem result, demonstrating the absence of management and the area commitment from the use of new taxes.

O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar as flexibilidades institucionais a partir da incoerência entre o uso planejado e o uso efetivo na unidade de conservação (UC) da Floresta Nacional (FLONA) do Bom Futuro, localizada no município de Porto Velho, Rondônia, Amazônia, Brasil. A metodologia adotada consistiu no levantamento dos instrumentos normativos (Leis e Decretos) que regem a UC, bem como aquisição de imagens de satélite Landsat-05 e Landsat-08 dos anos 1988, 1997, 2006 e 2014. A flexibilidade institucional identificada na FLONA do Bom Futuro foi motivada por fatores relacionados com as ocupações irregulares, desmatamento e redução dos limites como resultado do problema de antropização, demonstrando ausência de gestão e comprometimento da área a partir dos novos usos impostos.

Biodiversity loss caused by population growth, the demand of resources and productive activities is inconsistent with the recognition of its importance. In terrestrial ecosystems, the National State System of Protected Areas (SNASPE) contains about 19 % of continental Chile. Although it does not represent all the ecosystems with endangered species, it can be supplemented by implementing new public and private protected areas (PA and PPP, respectively). The development of Marine Protected Areas (AMP) is emerging, and some strategies share conservation responsibility with local stakeholders. In Chile, a set of regulations, laws and international treaties promote different conservation opportunities in land and marine coastal ecosystems. Some of the derived challenges involve standardizing the classification of species in conservation categories according to an international Protocol and optimizing the methodologies for selecting priority conservation areas; both criteria are essential for decision-making in biodiversity conservation. Another challenge is integrating the intrinsic value of biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided for promoting a participatory culture. This would improve the effectiveness of different strategies for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, involving education and citizen participation from a bio-cultural perspective. Education promotes nature conservation, as people become aware of their environment. Since participation involves citizens as actors in decision-making, it promotes the effective implementation of strategies for the conservation of biodiversity.

La pérdida de la biodiversidad producida por el crecimiento demográfico, la demanda por recursos y la actividad productiva es contradictoria con el reconocimiento de su importancia. En ecosistemas terrestres, el Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas del Estado (SNASPE) contiene cerca del 19 % del territorio de Chile continental; aunque no representa todos los ecosistemas con especies amenazadas, puede ser complementado implementando nuevas áreas protegidas públicas (AP) y privadas (APP). El desarrollo de áreas marinas protegidas (AMP) es incipiente, y algunas iniciativas comparten la responsabilidad de conservación con los usuarios locales. En Chile, un conjunto de reglamentos, normas legales y tratados internacionales promueven distintas oportunidades de conservación en ecosistemas terrestres y marinos costeros, de las cuales emergen nuevos desafíos. Entre estos destacan, estandarizar la clasificación de especies según categorías de conservación en un protocolo internacional y optimizar las metodologías para seleccionar áreas prioritarias, ambos criterios indispensables para decidir qué y dónde conservar. Otro desafío es integrar el valor intrínseco de la biodiversidad con los servicios ecosistémicos que presta para instaurar una cultura participativa. Esto mejoraría la efectividad de las distintas estrategias de protección y uso sustentable de la biodiversidad al incorporar la educación y la participación ciudadana desde una perspectiva biocultural. La educación fomenta la conservación de la naturaleza al hacernos conscientes de nuestro entorno; mientras que la participación involucra a los ciudadanos como un actor más en la toma de decisiones, procurando la aplicación efectiva de las estrategias de conservación de la biodiversidad.

We provide an overview of the current status of vertebrate invasive species throughout Chile, updating information on terrestrial exotics and reporting for the first time the situation of exotic freshwater fishes. In addition, we document the legislation and programs that the Chilean government has implemented to limit the entry of exotics to the country or minimize their impact on native wild flora and fauna and on natural ecosystems. We document what is known about the introduction of 26 exotic fish species to continental waters of the country, discussing the distribution and putative effects of those 11 species that may be considered invasive. From a previous list of 24 terrestrial vertebrate invaders, we withdraw the Argentine tortoise (Chelonoidis chilensis), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and mouflon (Ovis ammon) because there are no data on their subsistence in the wild. On the other hand, we add three new species: red-eared freshwater turtle (Trachemys scripta), monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), and red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata), thus keeping the total number of terrestrial invaders unchanged at 24 species. The chief agency in charge of existing laws and regulations regarding the import of exotic freshwater species is the National Fisheries Service (SERNAPESCA, in Spanish), a dependency of the Ministry of Economy. The main agency in charge of enforcing existing laws and regulations regarding the import of exotic terrestrial species to Chile is the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG, in Spanish), a dependency of the Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, SAG is not only controlling major border passes, seaports and airports, but also is funding studies to monitor and control already existing invaders. In addition, the Chilean Forest Service (CONAF, in Spanish) is also concerned about invasive species, but only if they enter national parks and reserves within the National System of Protected Wildlife Areas (SNASPE, in Spanish)

Entregamos una revisión del estado actual de las especies de vertebrados invasores en Chile, actualizando información sobre las especies exóticas terrestres y documentando la situación de las especies exóticas de peces dulceacuícolas. Además, revisamos la legislación pertinente y los programas que el gobierno chileno ha implementado para limitar la entrada de especies exóticas al país o para minimizar su impacto sobre la flora y fauna nativas y los ecosistemas naturales. Documentamos lo que se conoce sobre la introducción de 26 especies exóticas de peces a las aguas continentales de Chile, discutiendo la distribución y efectos putativos de 11 especies que pueden considerarse invasivas. De la lista previa de 24 especies invasoras de vertebrados terrestres, nosotros retiramos la tortuga argentina (Chelonoidis chilensis), el reno (Rangifer tarandus) y el muflón (Ovis ammon), porque no hay evidencias de que hayan logrado asilvestrarse. Por otra parte, agregamos la tortuga dulceacuícola de orejas rojas (Trachemys scripta), la cotorra argentina (Myiopsitta monachus) y el cardenal de cresta roja (Paraoria coronata), manteniéndose así el total de invasoras constante en 24 especies. La principal agencia a cargo de implementar las leyes y regulaciones existentes con respecto a la importación de especies exóticas de peces es el Servicio Nacional de Pesca (SERNAPESCA), una dependencia del Ministerio de Economía. La principal agencia a cargo de aplicar las leyes y regulaciones vigentes sobre la importación de especies exóticas terrestres a Chile es el Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG), una dependencia del Ministerio de Agricultura. Actualmente, el SAG no solo controla los pasos fronterizos, puertos y aeropuertos de Chile, sino también financia estudios para monitorear y controlar los invasores ya presentes en el país. Además, la Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) también se involucra con especies invasoras, pero solo si ellas entran al Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado (SNASPE)