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The pre-Columbian Andes are renowned for agricultural terrace systems in areas of steep terrain. Most studies have concentrated on regions characterized by seasonally-variable limited precipitation, yet research in high-precipitation and cloud-forest regions of the North and Eastern Andes demonstrates the diversity of terrace technologies adapted to different landscapes. This paper presents research from survey, excavation, and digital modeling of three types of well-preserved agricultural terraces found in a 50 km2 area in central Chachapoyas, northeastern Peru. These terrace types—which we refer to as linear segmented, contour, and sinkhole—were all comprised entirely of earth, not stone. Results from digital modeling using ArcGIS hydrology tools indicate different manners through which each terrace type structured the movement of water over the ground surface, supporting previous arguments that similar earthen terrace infrastructure in Colombia, Ecuador, and eastern Peru were likewise designed to manage runoff drainage rather than support irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews Hippotis Ruiz & Pav. and Schradera Vahl, two Rubiaceae genera with centers of diversity in western South America. Both are inadequately known and in need of field study. Recent authors' circumscriptions of H. albiflora H. Karst. and H. mollis Standl. are narrowed here, and four new species of Hippotis are described: H. antioquiana C. M. Taylor from northwestern Colombia, H. ecuatoriana C. M. Taylor from central-southern Ecuador, H. elegantula C. M. Taylor & M. Calderón from the western Amazon basin in Ecuador, and H. vasqueziana C. M. Taylor from lowland northeastern Peru. Four new species of Schradera Vahl are also described here: S. cernua C. M. Taylor and S. francoae C. M. Taylor from western Colombia, S. condorica C. M. Taylor & D. A. Neill from southern Ecuador, and S. morindoides C. M. Taylor from southern Ecuador and northern Peru. Schradera condorica at least sometimes is a free-standing tree, a habit newly documented for this genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews Hippotis Ruiz & Pav. and Schradera Vahl, two Rubiaceae genera with centers of diversity in western South America. Both are inadequately known and in need of field study. Recent authors' circumscriptions of H. albiflora H. Karst. and H. mollis Standl. are narrowed here, and four new species of Hippotis are described: H. antioquiana C. M. Taylor from northwestern Colombia, H. ecuatoriana C. M. Taylor from central-southern Ecuador, H. elegantula C. M. Taylor & M. Calderon from the western Amazon basin in Ecuador, and H. vasqueziana C. M. Taylor from lowland northeastern Peru. Four new species of Schradera Vahl are also described here: S. cernua C. M. Taylor and S. francoae C. M. Taylor from western Colombia, S. condorica C. M. Taylor & D. A. Neill from southern Ecuador, and S. morindoides C. M. Taylor from southern Ecuador and northern Peru. Schradera condorica at least sometimes is a free-standing tree, a habit newly documented for this genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1998 Brasilia Peace Agreement ended a territorial dispute between Ecuador and Peru that, due to the size and location of the contested area, had remained a source of regional instability and continental tensions for decades. This paper examines the circumstances that finally allowed negotiations, beginning in 1995, to overcome an almost two-centuries-old conflict, long after almost all territorial disputes in South America had been laid to rest. It will focus in particular on the diplomatic endeavours by the guarantor countries of the 1942 Rio de Janeiro Protocol, which involved a unique set of negotiations, and the setting up of the first effective multilateral peace operation in South America. It also suggests that the peace agreement benefited from the dynamics of economic integration underway since the 1980s. Finally, it considers the implications for regional security arrangements, as well as Brazil's leadership credentials in South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this analysis we make an approach to the impact and importance of a transnational perspective when studying current international migrations. More specifically, the objective of this paper is to reflect on the impact of the monetary and «social» remittances of Peruvian and Ecuadorian immigrants living in Spain, considering their households as transnational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]