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Wild meat is an important source of dietary protein and fat for many indigenous peoples in Amazonia. However, rates of wildlife harvest are often unsustainable, threatening not only biodiversity but also the food security of indigenous peoples. During the last decades, Ecuadorian Amazonia has undergone profound socioeconomic changes which have significantly altered peoples' livelihood strategies. Little is known, however, how such changes have affected wildlife hunting. Based on data from a household survey, this paper analyzes the socioeconomic drivers of wildlife hunting among indigenous peoples in Pastaza, in the Ecuadorian Amazonia. The results of a random-effect tobit analysis reveal that, wealthier households which have higher shares of off-farm and non-farm employment tend to harvest smaller amounts of wild meat. A probable explanation to this is that having a permanent and well-paid job implies an increased opportunity cost of time, leading to a decrease in the time spent hunting and, therefore, decreased wildlife harvests.

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This paper compares land use patterns of mestizo colonists and indigenous populations in the central Ecuadorian Amazon, based on data from a household survey covering mestizo colonist, Kichwa and Shuar households. As expected, colonists mostly engage in commercial agriculture and cattle ranching, but there are substantial differences in land use patterns between the Shuar and the Kichwa. The Shuar engage in cash cropping and cattle ranching, and on average, devote even more land to agricultural uses than mestizo colonists in this sample. In contrast, the Kichwa engage more in subsistence crop production and less in commercial agriculture. Such different patterns appear related to local conditions, earlier migratory and settlement patterns, and the level of exposure to markets. The implications of this for policy are explored in the conclusions.

This study was designed to embrace three areas: a) serologic and radiologic diagnosis and surgical treatment of hydatidosis in an asymptomatic human population, b) animal diagnosis and the treatment of dogs, and c) evaluation of extent of knowledge and performance of educational interventions among rural families and health, livestock, and education professionals and technicians, in order to help control the disease transmission cycle. Indirect hemagglutination and ELISA tests were performed on 5,556 apparently healthy people. Of these, 42 (0.8%) had positive results on both tests, for a seroprevalence of 754.6 per 100,000. These 42 subjects were scheduled for liver ultrasonography and a chest x-ray; of the 26 who complied, 16 showed images compatible with a hydatid cyst. Those 16 cases were sent to the hospital for surgery. In 9 of the cases the diagnosis was confirmed surgically, for a prevalence of 161.7 per 100,000. Arecoline hydrobromide was administered as a laxative to 2,358 dogs to detect the strobilar form of Echinococcus granulosus, and positive results were found in 11% of the dogs. Official data for slaughterhouses indicated the presence of hydatid cysts in 13% of the cattle, 4.4% of the sleep, and 4.2% of the pigs slaughtered in the region. The educational program included an evaluation of the extent of knowledge by surveying heads of household; an educational intervention among families through an informal active participatory process using educational games, in which 1,082 families participated; and an educational intervention with professionals and technicians using distance and in-person approaches. To evaluate the program, the results of knowledge tests before and after educational interventions with 200 families (cases) were compared with those from 95 families who did not participate (controls). Of the 1,423 heads of household initially surveyed about their knowledge of echinococcosis/hydatidosis, 783 of them (55%) said they knew nothing about the infection. It was found that the participatory educational games were well adapted to the lifestyle of people from rural areas and made change possible. Training was provided to 276 health professionals, 201 technical assistants, and 453 rural teachers. The program reached 100% of the staff members of the area's rural primary health care services.

With data from a household survey covering migrant settlers and indigenous (Kichwa) communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (SBR), this study analyses the drivers of agricultural diversification/specialisation, focusing on the role of ethnicity and the livelihood strategies (LS) they follow. Data were collected using the Poverty and Environment Network methodology of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR-PEN). In order to establish the drivers of agricultural diversification, the number of crops and the Shannon index of crops areas were used as the dependent variables in ordinary least square (OLS) models, while a multinomial logit model (MLM) was used to assess a household's degree of diversification. The results of the OLS regression provides evidence supporting the notion that households, with Livestock-based and Wage-based livelihood strategies (LS) are less diversified and more specialized than households with Crop-based LS. Ethnicity has a positive and significant effect on agricultural diversification, with Kichwa farms more diversified than those of their migrant colonist counterparts. The results of the multinomial logit model (MLM) show that large Kichwa households, with Crop-based and Forest-based LS are more likely to adopt a highly diversified agricultural strategy. Based on these findings, we recommend a redirection of agricultural incentives, towards the adoption of diversified agricultural systems, as a strategy to promote more sustainable production systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region.

Keywords:Off-farm employment Diversification of livelihood strategies Mestizos and indigenous populations Household survey Amazon Ecuador a b s t r a c t How do migrant colonists and indigenous populations differ in their land and labor allocation in the Amazon, and what does this imply for their income levels/livelihoods and the environment? We address this by analyzing patterns of on-and off-farm employment of rural populations, both mestizo and indigenous, in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We use data from an unusual survey that covers both mestizo and indigenous households. As elsewhere in rural areas of the developing world, off-farm employment is found to be the principal income source for 68% of the population and accounts for 53% of total household income on average. Within off-farm employment, farm wage employment is most common for the poor, who usually have little human (education) or natural capital (agricultural land). For educated individuals, in contrast, non-farm wage employment is commonly the choice. In the Amazon, the government (national, provincial, municipal) is the main employer, which is linked to recent large government investment in infrastructure and decentralization, leading to significant expansion of nonfarm employment opportunities for rural populations close to major towns. The implications of this for livelihoods, sustainable development and the environment are explored in the conclusions.

The authors present 27 cases of vertebral hydatidosis with clinical and laboratory findings. The most frequent location of the lesion was the lumbar spine. Principal neurological symptoms were paraparesis, sphincter disturbances, paresthesia and paraplegia. The average number of surgical interventions per patient was 2.6; the most common procedure was laminectomy with extirpation of the cyst and surgical toilet. The results of surgical treatment were generally good in the immediate postoperative period, but long-term results were poor.