P. Polyanthus in the Lowland and Highland Areas of the Two Countries
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Interested in European research? RTD info is our quarterly magazine which will keep you in touch with the main developments: results, programmes, events, etc. Write, fax or e-mail for a free sample copy, or a free subscription, to: Research Directorate-General, Communication Unit European Commission 200 rue de Ia Loi/Wetstraat, B-1 049 Brussels Fax: + 32-2-295.82.20; e-mail: [email protected] EUROPEAN COMMISSION Research DG/E - INCO-DEV Programme Contact: Mr Jaak Sinnaeve - rue de Ia Loi, 200, 8-1049 Brussels Tel: (32-2) 295 40 45 - Fax (32-2) 296 62 52 5:tJ o I J ~ .. ? 6 2, itt~ I 3 3 ( tl'~J •• /., ~ ... ~ .. ~ J:~; < .. J ·'" (I :3?, j EUROPEAN UNION - LATIN AMERICA SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION IN THE 90' s UNION EUROPEA - AMERICA LATINA COOPERACION CIENTIFICA EN LOS ANOS 90 Vol 1: Life Sciences and Technologies for Developing Countries (STD Ill} European Co!nmission Delegation i!·H·~·HV l I.~Jl ,. •• 1 t 2300 ~1 Str\rJet N\N ~hingtonJ DC 20037 Published by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION Research Directorate-General LEGAL NOTICE: Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1999 ISBN 92-828-7832-5 © European Communities, 1999 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Germany PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Preface European Union- Latin America Scientific Cooperation in the 90's It gives me great satisfaction to present this overview of the results of almost a decade of continuous support from the European Community to cooperation between our scientists and their Latin American counterparts. In addition, this publication provides researchers with a valuable source of information on the projects supported, their scope, objectives, and results, and gives full details of the teams involved and how to contact them. The reader will find in the pages that follow the practical results of the Community's policy on scientific cooperation with the Latin American region. As in the case of other developing regions, Community policy has sought to harmonise a contribution to the region's socio-economic progress with our own scientific interests. Implementation of this policy has allowed Community scientists to gain access to localities displaying particular environmental, agricultural, ecological and public health characteristics, and to undertake their research in these areas. As a counterbalance, we believe that Latin American researchers have derived great benefit from interaction with their European peers. Given their own scientific quality, this sharing of experience places local teams in a privileged position from which to contribute to finding science based solutions to problems faced by their communities. It is precisely with the aim of tackling these problems effectively that, after extensive dialogue with the scientific authorities and communities of the region, the Commission selected areas on which to target cooperation. Agriculture and agroindustry, health and environmental issues were considered the most important priorities, as the reader will be able to see in the body of this publication. However, in order to capitalize on the human potential available, research in other relevant fields such as earth sciences, materials and different branches of engineering was also supported when resources permitted. We firmly believe that our cooperation has led to the creation of a permanent network of scientific interaction, embracing a vast number of Latin American and European scientists, and which is even broader and more far-reaching than the sum of the results of the projects presented here. The importance of Latin America for the European Community has recently been brought to the forefront by the Summit of Heads of State of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the European Union, which took place last June in Rio de Janeiro. The dialogue that has taken place over the years in different fora has been reinforced by the Heads of State of the two regions with their decision to establish a Working Group of Representatives. This institutionalised Working Group should provide a renewed impetus to our cooperation: whether this will be achieved through the enlargement of the specific programme for cooperation, by further facilitating access to the specific thematic programmes of the framework programmes, by the conclusion of cooperation agreements, or by the combination of some of these options, is still an open question. The Working Group of Representatives will be the forum for reflection and advice on the most appropriate way to develop the full potential of our cooperation in the future. The Rio Summit underscored the will of both regions to deepen that cooperation, and the European Commission will apply its best efforts and full capacity to the successful achievement of that aim. Brussels, October 1999 J. Gabolde Director III Introduction During the 1990s, the European Community pursued scientific cooperation with Latin America through a series of different programmes. For the period 1990-1994 two complementary schemes were in operation. First, the Life Sciences and Technologies for Developing Countries (STDIII) programme, which formed part of the EC's Third Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development aimed at mobilizing EC and Developing Country scientists to work on pressing problems of all developing countries, including Latin American countries, in the areas of human health and agriculture. Second, the International Scientific Cooperation (ISC) scheme, which aimed at developing long lasting working relationships between EC and Latin American scientists, covered a wider range of subjects and set priorities by mutual agreement with the national authorities of individual countries. Through these two schemes a wide-ranging development effort was complemented by a country-specific initiative. The ISC scheme also granted fellowships for Latin American scientists to do research in European laboratories and develop contacts with the European scientific community. In 1994, a new scheme combining these ideas was introduced. This was the INCO-DC programme (Scientific and Technological Cooperation with Developing Countries), which formed part of the EC's Fourth RTD Framework Programme and which ran until 1998. It focussed specifically on three sectors of widespread importance (sustainable management of renewable natural resources, sustainable improvement of agricultural and agroindustrial production, and health) and used a regional basis, in this case the region being Latin America, on which to set research priorities and build projects. The newest programme, which started in 1999 and runs for a further four years, is the Research for Development (INCO-DEV) component of the Fifth RTD Framework Programme. This programme targets research of a problem-orientated nature, maintains the regional approach and subject-matter coverage of the earlier INCO-DC programme but adds to it a section on policy research for sustainable development. This volume contains summaries of joint research projects involving partners in Latin America. It covers all STDIII and INCO-DC projects, and ISC projects which started in the 1992-1994 period. A table summarizing the number of activities carried out and EC financial contribution is given below. Jaak innaeve Head of Unit XII-E-4 Research for Development IV EC-Latin America S + T cooperation activities Number of Number of EC financial activities institutional contribution partners (million ECU) Joint Research projects STD III (1990-1994) 96 388* 31.76 ISC (1990-1994) 363 933 57.88 INCO-DC (1994-1998) 121 818* 58.50 Fellowships (1990-1994) 319 638 10.44 TOTAL 899 2777 158.58 *Includes some partners from non-Latin American developing countries v Table of Contents Preface Introduction Table of contents Volume 1 - Life Sciences and Technologies for Developing Countries (STD Ill) 1991-1994- TS3 contracts Page no. Agriculture 1 Health 111 Volume 2 -International Scientific Co-operation (ISC) 1992-1994- C/1 contracts Page no. Agricultural Sciences 1 Biological Sciences 63 Chemical Sciences 115 Earth Sciences 159 Environmental Sciences 203 Health and Biomedical Sciences 271 Materials Sciences 365 Physical, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences 413 Volume 3 - International Scientific and Technical Co-operation with Developing Countries (/NCO-DC) 1994-1998 -IC18 contracts Page no. Health 1 Natural Resources and Agriculture 133 This Volume: Index of Projects by Subjects 219 Index of Institutes by Countries 227 Genera/Index of Projects by Scientists 241 VI STD III Agriculture Contract number: TS3*CT910003 Period: October 1991 to July 1995 INFLUENCE OF CULTIVATION ON ORGANIC NITROGEN STATUS IN TROPICAL SOILS. ADJUSTMENT OF A MATHEMATICAL MODEL TO NITROGEN FERTILITY Co-ordinator: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Tarsy Carballas) Objectives + Evaluating the effects of usual agricultural practices (nitrogen fertilisation and rotation) on the state and evolution ofN reserves in soils in the Venezuelan Llanos (savanna system). + Modelling the N cycle in tropical areas to achieve both improvements in soil productivity and conservation.