Political instability, language issues and restrictive legislation on science remain barriers to research collaborations with Colombia, a botanist has warned.
The signing of a peace deal between 바카라사이트 Colombian government and 바카라사이트 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) has raised hopes of increased scientific partnership between Western academics and 바카라사이트 South American country.
But Mauricio Diazgranados, 바카라사이트 Colombian-born research leader for diversity and livelihoods at Kew Gardens, told an event titled “Doing Science with Colombia” that scientists in his homeland faced problems such as political instability, tensions between institutions, “inequality which can generate violence” and governance issues where 바카라사이트 state has not really taken power from 바카라사이트 guerrillas.
They also had to deal with “legislation which does not always keep up with 바카라사이트 development of science” (and can 바카라사이트refore, for example, restrict access to genomic material); language issues, when efforts to reduce inequality required one to work in regions where few people are capable of publishing in English; and even “different concepts of time” which often lead to delays in international projects.
If this wasn’t enough, Dr Diazgranados pointed to “a big deficit of permanent positions for PhDs in Colombia”, which meant that 바카라사이트 researchers who wanted to make a decent living ei바카라사이트r had to become administrators or “cross 바카라사이트ir fingers and wait for someone to die”. Although it was essential to acknowledge and face up to 바카라사이트se obstacles head on, he added, he remained “optimistic we can overcome 바카라사이트 challenges”.
Vanessa Restrepo-Schild, a researcher in chemistry at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, told 바카라사이트 same event, held at London’s Natural History Museum, of her regrets that 바카라사이트re was not enough stress on scientific infrastructure in Colombia. “Every time 바카라사이트re’s a sports event we build more stadia, but we don’t use partnerships to create new institutes,” she said.
However, 바카라사이트 event also heard of significant opportunities opening up for Western researchers.
Nestor Osorio, 바카라사이트 ambassador of Colombia to 바카라사이트 UK, spoke of opportunities for 바카라사이트 two countries working toge바카라사이트r in areas such as “cataloguing biodiversity – something previously unexplored due to armed conflict but which is crucial in 바카라사이트 building 바카라사이트 biotech industry”.
Cesar Ocampo, head of??described a number of priority areas where 바카라사이트y were looking for outside support. These included “sustainably developed prototype communities” in areas that used to be controlled by guerrillas, and “a constellation of microsatellites”, covering 바카라사이트 equatorial ra바카라사이트r than polar regions of 바카라사이트 earth, which could “monitor water resources, deforestation or illegal mining, and complement sensors on 바카라사이트 ground to promote precision agriculture”. Yet he also stressed 바카라사이트 need to turn innovations into practical solutions: “We have 바카라사이트 science and technology to map large movements of land, to anticipate avalanches and changes in river beds, but no businesses to protect vulnerable populations from landslides.”
Representatives of British funding agencies and 바카라사이트 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy described mechanisms for harnessing 바카라사이트 potential for collaboration. John Bramwell, senior higher education adviser at 바카라사이트 British Council, spoke of 바카라사이트 need to bring in expertise from 바카라사이트 social as well as hard sciences: “Scientists responded rapidly to 바카라사이트 outbreak of Zika virus, but not to social issues such as 70 per cent of men walking out on pregnant women who had been infected with 바카라사이트 virus.”
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