Crossing Boundaries. Transdisciplinary research for conservation

Understanding human-nature interactions at a landscape level is key for conservation and understanding biodiversity. These questions require a suite of tools and perspectives beyond the ones traditionally used in biological sciences.  I will present the case of the conservation of the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) living in a river in southern Ecuador, which suffers from pollution caused by artisanal and small gold mining (ASGM) in the headwaters of the river basin.  ASGM impacts include mercury pollution, water contamianted with heavy metals and a suite of social issues. ASGM affects particularly the health of children causing nervous system disorders and reducing the life expectancy of the miners themselves. Furthermore, its impacts can have a very far reach, with water carrying these pollutants hundreds of kilometers away.   The conservation of the crocodile is an opportunity to preserve all the ecosystem. Moreover, it is a good argument to work with the local community to solve some of the problems caused by ASGM and the social and environmentals impacts it causes. We use metallurgical engineering, environmental chemistry, epidemiology, bio-technology, landscape ecology and more to tackle these issues. ASGM is a wicked problem, and the solution lies beyond any disciplinary boundaries.