| 1. |
- Berbés-Blázquez, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding how access shapes the transformation of ecosystem services to human well-being with an example from Costa Rica
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecosystem Services. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-0416 .- 2212-0416. ; 28, s. 320-327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increasingly, ecosystem services have been applied to guide poverty alleviation and sustainable development in resource-dependent communities. Yet, questions of access, which are paramount in determining benefits from the production of ecosystem services, remain theoretically underdeveloped. That is, ecosystem assessments typically have paid little attention to identifying real or hypothetical beneficiaries and the mechanisms by which benefits may be realized. This limits their ability to guide policy and interventions at the local scale. Through a qualitative mixed methods approach, this article analyzes how access to different aspects of the production of provisioning services is negotiated in Bribri communities (Costa Rica) of small-scale plantain farmers with alternative modes of agricultural production. The analysis considers access to land, labour, knowledge, tools, markets, and credit. Our analysis reveals how institutions of access are organized differently in traditional vs. conventional systems of agriculture and how these shape power dynamics and pathways to well-being. We conclude that understanding institutions regulating access to ecosystem services provides more useful insights for poverty alleviation than approaches that assume homogeneous access to benefits.
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| 2. |
- Fuhrimann, Samuel, et al.
(författare)
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Variability and predictors of weekly pesticide exposure in applicators from organic, sustainable and conventional smallholder farms in Costa Rica
- 2019
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Ingår i: Occupational and environmental medicine. - : BMJ. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 77:1, s. 40-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Estimates of pesticide exposure among applicators from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce, and exposure assessment methods are sometimes costly or logistically unfeasible. We examined the variability in weeklong pesticide exposure among applicators in Costa Rica and its predictors.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 221 pesticide applicators from organic, sustainable and conventional farms in 2016. We administered structured questionnaires to assess pesticide application practices at two time points (4-6 weeks apart). We adapted an existing algorithm to fit the context of smallholders and derive weekly pesticide exposure scores. We used linear mixed-effect models to examine within-worker and between-worker score variability. We then identified sociodemographic and occupational predictors of weekly pesticide exposure scores. Results: We observed high within-worker and between-worker variability in weekly pesticide exposures (eg, up to 180-fold and 70-fold differences in average weekly exposures within and between workers, respectively; intraclass correlation coefficient=0.4). Applicators working on conventional and sustainable farms had exposure scores twofold and 1.5-fold higher than those working in organic farms, respectively. Farm workers who received training on pesticide use had weekly pesticide exposure scores of 33% (95% CI 1% to 55%) lower than those who did not receive any training. Conclusions: In this study of applicators from smallholder farms in Costa Rica, we determined the importance of collecting questionnaire data on self-reported pesticide use repeatedly due to its high variability within workers and absence of application records. Our questionnaire-based exposure algorithm could allow the calculation of semiquantitative estimates of average pesticide exposure for applicators from other LMICs.
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| 3. |
- Mora, Ana María, et al.
(författare)
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Prenatal Mancozeb Exposure, Excess Manganese, and Neurodevelopment at 1 Year of Age in the Infants' Environmental Health (ISA) Study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Health Perspectives. - 1552-9924. ; 126:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Although growing evidence suggests that early-life excess manganese (Mn) impairs neurodevelopment, data on the neurodevelopmental effects of mancozeb, a fungicide containing Mn, and its main metabolite ethylenethiourea (ETU) are limited. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether prenatal mancozeb exposure and excess Mn were associated with neurodevelopment in 355 1-y-old infants living near banana plantations with frequent aerial mancozeb spraying in Costa Rica. METHODS: We measured urinary ETU, hair Mn, and blood Mn concentrations in samples collected 1-3 times during pregnancy from mothers enrolled in the Infants' Environmental Health (ISA) study. We then assessed neurodevelopment in their 1-y-old infants using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd edition (BSID-III). We estimated exposure-outcome associations using linear regression models adjusted for maternal education, parity, gestational age at birth, child age, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment score, and location of neurodevelopmental assessment. RESULTS: Median (P25-P75) urinary ETU, hair Mn, and blood Mn measured during pregnancy were 3.3 μg/L (2.4-4.9; specific gravity-corrected), 1.7 μg/g (0.9-4.1), and 24.0 μg/L (20.3-28.0), respectively. Among girls, higher ETU was associated with lower social-emotional scores [β per 10-fold increase=-7.4 points (95% CI: -15.2, 0.4)], whereas higher hair Mn was associated with lower cognitive scores [-3.0 (-6.1, 0.1)]. Among boys, higher hair Mn was associated with lower social-emotional scores [-4.6 (-8.5, -0.8)]. We observed null associations for blood Mn, language, and motor outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that maternal exposure to mancozeb and excess Mn during pregnancy may have adverse and sex-specific effects on infant neurodevelopment. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1955.
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| 4. |
- Till, Christine, et al.
(författare)
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Caregiving and infants' neurodevelopment in rural Costa Rica : Results from the Infants’ Environmental Health Study (ISA)
- 2019
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Ingår i: NeuroToxicology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0161-813X. ; 74, s. 100-107
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Early caregiving is one of the strongest influences on children's development, and among the most significant modifiable environmental factor. The aim of this study was to explore the association between quality of caregiver-infant interactions and neurodevelopment of infants living in banana-growing communities in rural Costa Rica characterized as having environmental toxic exposures. Home visits were conducted with 94 caregiver-infant dyads from the Infants’ Environmental Health Study (ISA), living within Matina county, Limón province. One-year infant neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development®, Third Edition (Bayley-III). Quality of caregiver-infant interaction was assessed with a standardized observational task: Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training Teaching scale (NCATS) at around two years of age. Multiple regression analyses examined associations between components of caregiver-infant interactions and neurodevelopmental outcomes, adjusting for mancozeb and manganese exposure and other potential confounders. Compared to NCATS normative data for U.S. Hispanic mothers, 35% of the sample had overall caregiving interaction scores ≤10th percentile cut-off, indicating less than optimal interactions. Higher quality of caregiver-infant interaction was associated with higher expressive communication ability in infants [ß = 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.06)], controlling for pesticide exposure and confounders. Aspects of caregiving such as stimulation and growth-fostering of infants were most strongly associated with language outcomes. Results suggest an association between positive caregiving on language development for infants living in a rural agricultural area in Costa Rica, and highlight aspects of caregiving that could be targeted to improve resilience of these children who live in vulnerable conditions.
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| 5. |
- Van Wendel De Joode, Berna, et al.
(författare)
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Manganese concentrations in drinking water from villages near banana plantations with aerial mancozeb spraying in Costa Rica : Results from the Infants' Environmental Health Study (ISA)
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491. ; 215, s. 247-257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Elevated manganese (Mn) in drinking water has been reported worldwide. While, naturally occurring Mn in groundwater is generally the major source, anthropogenic contamination by Mn-containing fungicides such as mancozeb may also occur. The main objective of this study was to examine factors associated with Mn and ethylenethiourea (ETU), a degradation product of mancozeb, in drinking water samples from villages situated near banana plantations with aerial spraying of mancozeb. Drinking water samples (n = 126) were obtained from 124 homes of women participating in the Infants' Environmental Health Study (ISA, for its acronym in Spanish), living nearby large-scale banana plantations. Concentrations of Mn, iron (Fe), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and ethylenethiourea (ETU), a degradation product of mancozeb, were measured in water samples. Only six percent of samples had detectable ETU concentrations (limit of detection (LOD) = 0.15 μg/L), whereas 94% of the samples had detectable Mn (LOD = 0.05 μg/L). Mn concentrations were higher than 100 and 500 μg/L in 22% and 7% of the samples, respectively. Mn was highest in samples from private and banana farm wells. Distance from a banana plantation was inversely associated with Mn concentrations, with a 61.5% decrease (95% CI: -97.0, -26.0) in Mn concentrations for each km increase in distance. Mn concentrations in water transported with trucks from one village to another were almost 1000 times higher than Mn in water obtained from taps in houses supplied by the same well but not transported, indicating environmental Mn contamination. Elevated Mn in drinking water may be partly explained by aerial spraying of mancozeb; however, naturally occurring Mn in groundwater, and intensive agriculture may also contribute. Drinking water risk assessment for mancozeb should consider Mn as a health hazard. The findings of this study evidence the need for health-based World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on Mn in drinking water.
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| 6. |
- van Wendel de Joode, Berna, et al.
(författare)
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Pesticide exposure and neurodevelopment in children aged 6–9 years from Talamanca, Costa Rica
- 2016
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Ingår i: Cortex. - : Elsevier BV. - 0010-9452 .- 1973-8102. ; 85, s. 137-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Certain pesticides may affect children's neurodevelopment. We assessed whether pesticide exposure was associated with impaired neurobehavioral outcomes in children aged 6–9 years. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 140 children living near banana plantations and plantain farms in the Talamanca County, Costa Rica and assessed their neurobehavioral performance. Exposure was determined by analyzing urinary metabolites of chlorpyrifos (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol, TCPy), mancozeb (ethylenethiourea, ETU), and pyrethroids (3-phenoxybenzoic acid, 3-PBA). Repeated urine samples were obtained for 36 children. We estimated associations of pesticide concentrations with neurobehavioral outcomes using multivariable linear and logistic regression models. Median (25th–75th percentiles) TCPy, ETU, and 3-PBA concentrations were 1.4 (.7–3.1), 1.2 (.7–3.0), and. 8 (.5–1.5) μg/L, respectively. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranged between. 32 and. 67. After adjustment for potential confounders, higher urinary TCPy concentrations were associated with poorer working memory in boys (n = 59) (β per 10-fold increase in TCPy concentrations = −7.5, 95% CI: −14.4, −.7); poorer visual motor coordination (β = −1.4, 95% CI: −2.7, −.1); increased prevalence of parent-reported cognitive problems/inattention (adjusted OR per 10-fold increase in urinary concentrations = 5.8, 95% CI: 1.6, 22.9), oppositional disorders (aOR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.0, 16.0), and ADHD (aOR = 6.8, 95% CI: 1.8, 28.6), and; decreased ability to discriminate colors (aOR = 6.6, 95% CI: 1.6, 30.3; the higher the score the worse). Higher ETU concentrations were associated with poorer verbal learning outcomes (β = −7.0, 95% CI: −12.7, −1.3). Higher 3-PBA concentrations were associated with poorer processing speed scores, particularly in girls (β = −8.8, 95% CI: −16.1, −1.4). Our findings indicate that children living near banana and plantain plantations are exposed to pesticides that may affect their neurodevelopment, which for certain domains may differ between boys and girls. We recommend the implementation of measures to reduce pesticide exposure in children living nearby banana plantations.
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