The high exposure risks of workers to herbicides in low- and middle-income countries is an important public health concern because of the potential resulting negative impacts on workers' health. This study investigated workers' personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance as a risk mitigation measure; particularly workers who apply herbicides for Working for Water (WfW) - a South African invasive alien vegetation control programme. The study aim was to understand workers' low PPE compliance by analysing their risk perceptions of herbicide use, working conditions and socio-cultural context. Research methods included ethnographic observations, informal interviews, visual media, questionnaires and a focus group. Study results indicated that low PPE compliance persists despite workers' awareness of herbicide exposure risks and as a result of the influence from workers' socio-cultural context (i.e. gender dynamics and social status), herbicide risk perceptions and working conditions (i.e. environmental and logistical). Interestingly, teams comprised of mostly women had the highest compliance rate. These findings highlighted that given the complexity of PPE compliance, especially in countries with several economic and social constraints, exposure reduction interventions should not rely solely on PPE use promotion. Instead, other control strategies requiring less worker input for effectiveness should be implemented, such as elimination and substitution of highly hazardous pesticides, and altering application methods.

El acceso a servicios de salud es un tema de creciente preocupación, en el caso colombiano haganado importancia frente al aseguramiento. Objetivo: construir un concepto de acceso e identificar barrerasy estrategias, desde la perspectiva de actores en Medellín. Material y métodos: investigación cualitativacon énfasis en tres zonas de Medellín. Resultados: se identificaron similitudes y diferencias en la visióndel acceso, las cuales permitieron construir el concepto. Las barreras y los facilitadores se atribuyen afactores de oferta y de demanda. La mayoría de las barreras se dan en el acceso real, durante la búsqueda ycontinuidad del tratamiento. Algunas características sociales de la población también son factores determinantes.Discusión y conclusiones: los actores recurren a estrategias para solventar las barreras de acceso. Elanálisis cualitativo del concepto de acceso, de las barreras y las facilidades permite identificar alternativasque pueden servir de insumo para políticas en salud.

Ecotourism plays a vital role in both economic development and depending on the scale, it can also aid environmental conservation. Ecotourism planning often considers culture‐based and nature‐based tourism separately, failing to recognize the synergies between them, with the potential to market locations as biocultural destinations. Using Colombia as a case study, we created metrics of taxonomic biological diversity as measured by vertebrate species richness (including birds, mammals, freshwater fishes, reptiles and amphibians) and institutionalized cultural richness (by counting the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage sites, museums, endemic music festivals, Afro‐Colombian Territories and Indigenous Reserves) and evaluated the spatial correlations between them. To determine biocultural ecotourism potential, we evaluated whether biocultural richness was accessible and mapped potential biocultural ecotourism supply. By mapping areas of sports fisheries, birdwatching destinations, national park annual visitors and airport arrivals we also estimated spatial demand. We also analysed the difference between biocultural ecotourism supply and demand to assess the realized and untapped potential for biocultural destinations. While biocultural richness is high in the Amazon, Pacific and Caribbean regions, we found that there are no win‐win‐win locations where culture, species richness and accessibility are all high. Areas with great potential for biocultural ecotourism development largely coincide with designated Indigenous Reserves and Afro‐Colombian Territories. Our paper suggests that Colombia is currently safeguarding its biocultural capital and that it remains inaccessible to tourists. This study underscores the power of integrating cultural and biological variables to reshape the ecotourism sector. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

While Indigenous food systems remain critical for community well-being, traditionally harvested foods are a potential source of toxic exposures. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) is seeking to restore shellfish harvesting in Burrard Inlet (British Columbia [BC], Canada), where the cumulative effects of industrial activity have nearly eliminated safe harvesting. The Trans Mountain Expansion project would triple the capacity to transport oil through the inlet, threatening TWN's progress to restore shellfish harvesting. To inform ongoing efforts we assessed contamination by heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury) and 48 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) congeners in different shellfish species (Softshell clams, Varnish clams, and Dungeness crab) in three areas. We compared our results against local screening values (SVs) established by the TWN and BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, as well as provincial and national benchmarks. In total, we analyzed 18 composite samples of Softshell clams and Varnish clams (5 individuals per sample), as well as 17 individual crabs. We found chemical contamination in all species at all sites. PAHs were most frequently detected in Softshell clams, highest in the site closest to the pipeline terminus. Clams presented higher levels of contamination than crabs for PAHs, but not for heavy metals. For Softshell and Varnish clams, all heavy metals across study sites exceeded at least one of the population-specific SVs. Of the 14 PAHs detected, benzo(a)pyrene presented a median concentration in Softshell clams of 3.25 μ/kg, exceeding local SV for subsistence fisher. Our results call for further assessment of human health impacts related to food harvesting within Burrard Inlet and establishing a long-term coordinated program co-led by the TWN to monitor contamination and inform future harvesting programs. The study draws attention to the need to consider locally-relevant toxicity benchmarks, and include potential health impacts of food contamination in appraising development project proposals.

Human populations and ecosystems are extensively exposed to pesticides. Most nations lack the capacity to control pesticide contamination and have limited availability of pesticide use information. Ecuador is a country with intense pesticide use with high exposure risks to humans and the environment, although relative or combined risks are not well understood. Here, we analyzed the distribution of application rates in Ecuador and identified regions of concern because of high potential exposure. We used a geospatial analysis to identify grid cells (∼8 km × 8 km) where the highest pesticide application rates and density of human populations overlap. Furthermore, we identified other regions of concern based on the number of amphibian species as an indicator of ecosystem integrity and the location of natural protected areas. We found that 28% of Ecuador's population dwelled in areas with high pesticide application rate. We identified an area of ∼512 km² in the Amazon region where high application rates, large human settlements, and a high number of amphibian species overlapped. Additionally, we distinguished clusters of pesticide application rates and human populations that intersected with natural protected areas. Ecuador exemplifies how pesticides are disproportionately applied in areas with the potential to affect human health and ecosystems' integrity. Global estimates of population dwelling, pesticide application rates, and environmental factors are key in prioritizing locations to conduct further exposure assessments. The modular and scalable nature of the geospatial tools we developed can be expanded and adapted to other regions of the world where data on pesticide use are limited.

The rights of homosexuals and same-sex couples are currently the subject of debate on the public stage and in courtrooms around the world. This debate is often colored by prejudice and misconceptions regarding homosexuality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study investigates the opinions of Colombian women about same-sex couples’ rights and women’s attitudes toward a homosexual child (maternal acceptance). Using a nationally representative data set, we find that that younger, wealthier, and more educated Colombian women are more likely to support their homosexual child and approve of same-sex couples’ rights, while women with misconceptions regarding the human immunodeficiency virus and homosexuality are less likely to be supportive of a homosexual child and less likely to approve of same-sex couples’ rights.