Doctor in Biology graduated from the National University of Córdoba, since he was a child Pedro Jaureguiberry was attracted to nature, the problems of living beings and somehow he always lived away from the big city. He was born in Colonia Caroya, 50 kilometers from the city of Córdoba, a province where he still resides and is one of the three winners of the second edition of the prestigious Frontiers Planet Prize, which rewards scientists who achieve significant advances in climate science (the others two winners are from the United States and Germany).
Jaureguiberry is then the only Argentine distinguished in the event that took place in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, and received one million Swiss francs, something like more than a million dollars (almost the same amount as a Nobel Prize), that should be used in new research. He continues to work as a CONICET associate researcher at the Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology, in his homeland, from where he spoke with Clarín.
-The Frontiers Planet Prize highlights the importance of your work in the global fight for biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability. How do you define all this problem?
-The loss of biodiversity includes many changes that occur in nature that are caused by human activities. So what we did in this award-winning work was to measure, based on thousands of scientific works already published, how the hand of man affects biodiversity in a very broad sense. We show that, at a global level, land and sea use change and direct exploitation have been the two dominant drivers of biodiversity loss in recent decades.
-What other conclusions were reached in the award-winning study?
-The ranking that we developed on the causes of biodiversity loss at a global level also includes the direct extraction of natural resources as the second cause. In third place is pollution, in fourth place is climate change and finally is the problem of invasive exotic species. For example, we saw that in marine environments the first cause is the direct extraction of natural resources and the second is climate change. The message of this work is for whoever wants to take it, for anyone, that it is not about not obtaining resources from nature but about finding ways so that what is extracted is sustainable over time. That is, do not take something that will no longer be there later. The message is not only for those who can decide but for all people, because we can all do something more responsible from turning off the water tap in your home, on a larger scale the irresponsible practices of some companies to making a law that prohibits or regulates an activity so that this exploitation of the resource is sustainable. That’s why it’s not just about raising awareness about politics from above but about individual attitudes from below. Natural resources are not infinite.
-What are the most frequent problems due to the loss of biodiversity in Argentina?
-Changes in land use are mainly due to the expansion of agriculture and livestock. Argentina has a productive matrix that is very dependent precisely on changes in land use, which is the primary driver. We would have to look for alternatives, solutions, because it is one of the key factors for the economy, but at the same time the main element in terms of the biodiversity chain. In Córdoba, for example, a large part of the province has been oriented towards land for agriculture, around 70% of the territory. There has been talk of concepts such as regenerative agriculture and agroecology that, if promoted on a larger scale, would be very positive for the production system. The loss of biodiversity also has to do with hunting, fishing, and wood extraction. In Argentina we need a large-scale change due to the loss of biodiversity and to rethink the lifestyle we lead.
-Is there little awareness of all this damage?
-If we look at the numbers of the last fifty years, there was an exponential increase in many things, because the population grew, because we all want a higher standard of living. All countries want to develop more and that has a very large environmental impact. So we must find a way to make this use of nature sustainable and raise awareness among societies.
-In schools, could much more be done to try to transmit all these messages to children and young people?
-I notice a big change in the new generations. Kids today are more aware of the issue of natural resources than we were at that age. And it seems to me that it is very important for children to think about the concept of sustainability, to understand that resources run out. Alternatives should be discussed from politics so that the changes are on a large scale, encouraging, promoting. And put the options on the table. Human beings carry out thousands of activities on the planet in order to survive, they extract resources that they need to live, the issue is that, as I said, they are limited.
-He mentions the topic of climate change in his study. There is a lot of talk about all this but what is your view?
-Climate change existed historically on the planet, but it is not compared to what is happening now where very large transformations have been observed in short periods. Maybe we don’t notice it as much because we have the comfort and technology, but from an ecological point of view it has a great impact. We do not see the problem, beyond the consequences, because we use nature to live. So if there are some extreme weather events or they are more frequent then we suffer there.
-Won a highly prestigious international award on climate science, always training in Argentina. How does it feel to have stayed and done research in the country?
-It was always complicated being a scientist. Since I have been a researcher I have had to overcome difficulties in obtaining funds for projects or delays in receiving them. I was lucky to have financing from both here and abroad but it is not common. We do not start from the same place as other colleagues from other continents. Generally, almost all groups need to obtain funds to go to the field for inputs and the salaries are not high either. And regarding betting on science in the country, I believe that beyond the organic structure that any government decides to give – or not give – to science, it is important to keep in mind the necessary contribution of scientific activity to solve the problems and challenges of the country. country.
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Pedro Jaureguiberry is a Doctor in Biology from the Faculty of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of the National University of Córdoba (UNC). He is an associate researcher at CONICET at the Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology (IMBIV,UNC). He was recently the winner of the second edition of the prestigious Frontiers Planet Prize held in Switzerland. He was part of the group that prepared the global report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).