Federación de Aseguradores Colombianos

Introduction: In Colombia, the fish farming industry has recently achieved a more stable position in international markets, generating greater productivity at the local level in terms of business size and considering aspects such as the strengthening of the production chain, the adoption of technology, and compliance with health, safety, and quality standards. Under these assumptions, quality certifications are essential for gaining access to new international markets. Methodology: The objective of the study was to identify the trout production environment in relation to the implementation of certification and its implications for the market. To carry out this work, a literature search was conducted on kosher certification in food products from the fish farming sector, and organizations responsible for granting certification were then contacted. Results: Kosher quality certification, which is of religious origin, has become important for different types of consumers who want to eat nutritious and healthy foods due to market factors. In addition, an overview was established of the administrative requirements that a company in the country must meet in order to obtain this validation. Conclusions: Finally, some aspects of the market that must be considered for certification to be economically viable are analyzed.

Habitat loss and climate change are major drivers of biodiversity loss, but their synergistic effects and functional perspectives have to be better understood. We employed species distribution models under future contrasting socioeconomic scenarios to assess the impacts of climate change and human footprint on avian frugivore and nectarivore functional groups in the Magdalena Valley, a highly transformed and biodiverse region in Colombia. We constructed the functional groups based on a dissimilarity matrix with 16 anatomical and ecological traits. Two types of future climatic refugia (type 1: areas that will maintain the current climatic conditions and type 2: regions outside the current distribution area that will have the current climatic conditions) were identified to guide conservation efforts for these groups and associated ecosystem services. Of the 27 functional groups identified, 19 are projected to undergo range reductions of 1-75%, with an average upward shift of their climatic niches along the altitudinal gradient of 690 m. Large frugivores from intermediate elevations, such as toucans and cracids, as well as nectarivores with extreme adaptations and specializations, are expected to experience the most severe range reductions. Distributional and altitudinal shifts will lead to spatial reorganization of communities and a reduction or complete loss of functional group richness, particularly in lowland areas. This could impact ecosystem services relevant for degraded area restoration, such as seed dispersal, fruit availability, and pollination of specialized plant species with economic importance. The low representation of future climatic refugia within protected areas highlights the need to incorporate climate change trends into future conservation strategies for these landscapes.

Este estudio propone estrategias de mejora continua y sostenibilidad para la Planta Tratamiento de Agua Potable (ptap) de la Institución Universitaria Antonio José Camacho (uniajc), utilizando herramientas de Lean Manufacturing. El objetivo es impactar positivamente en variables críticas como el desperdicio, el consumo de agua, el consumo energético, la capacidad de la planta y la calidad del agua tratada. Se realizó una caracterización completa de la planta y se identificaron los problemas existentes. Mediante un análisis detallado se determinó que el desperdicio de agua y la calidad del producto eran los principales desafíos por abordar. Se aplicaron herramientas como el diagrama de proceso, Jidoka, Value Stream Mapping, diagrama de causa raíz, amef, control visual, Andon y mantenimiento autónomo para proponer soluciones y mejorar la eficiencia de la planta, reduciendo los costos operativos y los problemas ambientales asociados, permitiendo a la planta adaptarse a las crecientes demandas futuras. Además, se evaluó el consumo energético y se propusieron medidas para reducirlo. Los resultados de la implementación de estas mejoras muestran un beneficio claro en términos de costos y bienestar para la Universidad y sus estudiantes.

Introdução: A leishmaniose é uma doença transmitida de animais para seres humanos que vem causando uma grande preocupação para a saúde pública devido aos números alarmantes: são, em média, três mil casos anuais e uma letalidade por volta dos 7%. Sua transmissão acontece por protozoários do gênero Leishmania, através da picada, onde a própria ação humana é um fator essencial para determinar o seu risco de disseminação. Entretanto, pouco se fala sobre as dificuldades que existem em regiões sem acesso a um sistema de saúde de boa qualidade. Objetivo: É proposto uma maior atenção, por parte dos responsáveis, para com as pessoas de baixa renda que, infelizmente, residem em lugares inadequados. Materiais e Métodos: Duas regiões de uma cidade de Minas Gerais (considerada endêmica para a leishmaniose) foram selecionadas, e foram divididas em seções e, também, foi demarcada uma terceira seção, onde não foi feita nenhum tipo de ação. Durante vinte e quatro meses, os pesquisadores acompanharam essas regiões, colocando armadilhas para a captura de insetos. Resultado: Nesse período de análise, 1.727 espécimes foram coletadas, sendo 267 nas seções que receberam ações do tipo manejo ambiental, 444 onde ocorreu pulverização química, e 1.016 nas seções em que não houve nenhum tipo de ação. Conclusão: Nota-se que o manejo ambiental foi o que se mostrou mais eficaz estatisticamente, evidenciando que a modificação ambiental, com a eliminação das condições propícias para o desenvolvimento da fase larvária do vetor, é fundamental para o controle da doença. Portanto o trabalho da vigilância é indispensável e importantíssimo.

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a charismatic species considered Vulnerable in Colombia but yet largely unknown in the country. The species is mostly threatened by the continuous decline in its habitats, mostly derived from deforestation and habitat loss, additional to hunting and conflicts with humans. Thus, the future of jaguars in Colombia depends on protecting and recovering existing habitats. The aims of this study were to 1) evaluate jaguar distribution and identify the remnant patches of habitat in Colombia, 2) define an ecological connectivity network within the country, and 3) propose a priority areas portfolio for the conservation and recovery of jaguars. We used a presence background model for estimating species potential distribution and subsequently identified remaining habitat patches across the country based on land cover and species-specific ecological attributes. We then created an ecological connectivity network based on circuit theory and following a multi-criteria approach identified jaguar priority areas for conservation (JPCA) and recovery (JPRA). Jaguar potential distribution comprises 1103122.43 km2, from which 56.71% maintain suitable patches of potential habitat. We identified 960 corridors between remnant patches of natural or semi-natural vegetation. Based on the criteria, JPCAs with greater importance were identified in each of the five Colombian regions. JPRAs were located mainly towards the Andean and Caribbean regions. These JPCAs and JPRAs could serve as a guide for designing and implementing management strategies for the long-term conservation and recovery of the species in Colombia.

This research examines the dynamics of commercial real estate prices in the Brazilian market, exploring the potential presence of speculative movements within the real estate market for the period 2012-2023. The study utilizes a conventional present value asset pricing model with a consistent discount factor and employs established bubble tests from the finance literature. These tests encompass assessments for explosive bubbles, periodic bubbles, multiple explosive bubbles and intrinsic bubbles. As a result, this approach allows us to diagnose unsustainable trends in the trajectory of real estate asset prices, should speculative bubbles be detected within the series. Utilizing data from the Fipezap survey provided by the Institute of Economic Research Foundation (FIPE), the study identifies evidence of periods marked by price exuberance, as indicated by the explosive bubble test and the multiple bubble test for some cities and the national price index. However, using the corresponding tests, no evidence of periodically collapsing bubbles and intrinsic bubbles was found across any of the considered cities.

Conservation biogeography, which applies principles, theories, and analyses of biodiversity distribution patterns to address conservation challenges, can provide valuable insight and guidance to policy making for protection of biodiversity at multiple scales. The temperate and tropical ecosystems of the Nearctic-Neotropical transition in the small western state of Colima, Mexico, support a mosaic of remarkably diverse fauna and flora and provide a rare opportunity to determine spatial distribution patterns of terrestrial vertebrate species, assess human-induced threats, and identify potential conservation strategies. We analyzed the spatial distribution patterns and correlated them with the current land cover and extent of the protected areas. Despite its limited geographic extension, 29% (866) of all vertebrates, and almost a quarter of both endemic and threatened species in Mexico, live in Colima. Our analysis identified clear high-richness concentration sites (i.e., “hotspots”) coincident for all groups and that elevation and both temperate and tropical ecosystems composition exert significant influence on richness patterns. Furthermore, current species´ distribution also showed significant correlation with natural and disturbed landcover. Significant hotspots for all species groups coincided poorly with the limited protected areas in the state (only 3.8%). The current state of natural land cover (less than 16%) in the state, coupled with its remarkable biological importance, highlights the need for further complementary conservation efforts including expansion and creation of new protected areas, significant restoration efforts and other conservation measures to maintain this uniquely biogeographic and biological diverse region of the country.