SCIENCE science.org 3 DECEMBER 2021 • VOL 374 ISSUE 6572 1209
the imposition of road development proj-
ects undermines communities that aspire
to protect nature and strive for community
self-determination ( 3 , 8 ).
Despite humanity’s profound depen-
dence on nature ( 9 , 10 ), government
policies and market transactions are still
based on maximizing economic gains
through capitalist extractivism. Even in
cases where national laws rightly protect
the environment, damaging policies are
approved through loopholes and work-
arounds. We urge local decision-makers,
as well as the foreign governments that
finance such projects ( 11 ), to work toward
a sustainable way of life, with real partici-
pation of communities and the recogni-
tion of the rights of nature ( 12 ). We must
guarantee the conservation of the scarce
Chaco Serrano forest, on which the people
of Argentina depend.
Guadalupe Peralta^1 *, Francisco M. F. Bertea^2 ,
Luciano Cagnolo^1
(^1) Laboratorio de Interacciones Insecto-Planta,
Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal,
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas
y Técnicas and Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
(CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina.^2 Centro
de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y
Sociedad, CONICET-UNC, Córdoba, Argentina.
*Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES
- UN Environment Programme, “New UN Decade on
Ecosystem Restoration offers unparalleled opportunity
for job creation, food security, and addressing climate
change” (2019). - M. R. Zak, M. Cabido, J. G. Hodgson, Biol. Conserv. 120 ,
589 (2004). - J. U. Deon, Íconos Rev. Cienc. Soc. 70 , 151 (2021)
[in Spanish]. - Legislatura de Córdoba, “Land for road works declared
of public utility” (2020); https://legislaturacba.gob.
ar/declaran-de-utilidad-publica-terrenos-para-obras-
viales/ [in Spanish]. - Law 26.331, “Minimum Budgets for the Environmental
Protection of Native Forests” (2007). - Law 27.604, “Fire management” (2020).
- G. Pedraza, “Autovía Paravachasca: Entre gallos, medi-
anoche, y a un costo insólito,” L a T i n t a (2021); https://
latinta.com.ar/2021/07/autovia-paravachasca/
[in Spanish]. - A. Escobar, Sustain. Sci. 10 , 451 (2015).
- D. J. Haraway, Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the
Chthuluceno (Duke University Press, 2016). - S. Díaz et al., Science 359 , 270 (2018).
- “Decreto 295/2021,” Boletín Oficial de la República
Argentina (2021); http://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/
detalleAviso/primera/243920/20210504 [in Spanish]. - A. Acosta, E. Martínez, La Naturaleza con Derechos: De la
Filosofía a la Política (Adya-Yala, Quito, 2011).
10.1126/science.abm7988
Sri Lanka’s hasty
agrochemical ban
Rice, Sri Lanka’s major staple crop, is
grown in 40% of the country’s arable lands
( 1 ). More than 90% of Sri Lankan farm-
ers use agrochemicals for rice cultivation
( 2 ). In May, the Sri Lankan government
banned the production and importation
of agrochemicals, including artificial fer-
tilizers, pesticides, and weedicides, and
ordered an immediate and complete switch
to organic agriculture ( 3 , 4 ) in the name of
ecological and human health ( 3 ). Because
the agriculture sector in Sri Lanka was
unprepared for this sudden policy change,
farmers protested the government’s deci-
sion in fear of yield and income loss ( 5 ).
Although there are good reasons to reduce
the use of agrochemicals ( 6 ), to protect
humans who depend on the affected crops,
the changes must be made gradually.
Sri Lankan farmers were not given
enough time or support to make the
switch to all organic materials between
the announcement in May and the start of
the rice growing season in October. There
is still no standardized supply of organic
substitutes available to farmers, who have
had to make difficult decisions about how
to proceed without the approved materials.
Exacerbating the situation, imported organic
fertilizer from China was found to have
harmful bacteria (Erwinia and Bacillus,
pathogenic to plants) and therefore could
not be used ( 7 ).
Although organic agriculture may ben-
efit biodiversity and reduce contamination
of ecosystems ( 8 ), such strategies also risk
lower yield and higher food insecurity ( 9 ).
Sri Lanka is already at high risk of food inse-
curity due to disruption to cultivation and
harvesting during the COVID-19 pandemic
lockdowns ( 10 ) and growing season changes
caused by climate change ( 11 ). Given these
challenges, Sri Lankan leaders must take
people’s safety into account as they create
environmental legislation. Agricultural poli-
cies should aim to ensure food security and
farmers’ livelihoods. Gradually reducing the
volume of agrochemical usage and redesign-
ing landscapes to promote diversified farm-
ing practices could be a cost-effective way
to balance yield and farmers’ income with
biodiversity and ecosystem health ( 12 ).
Tharaka S. Priyadarshana
Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore City,
Singapore. E-mail: [email protected]REFERENCES AND NOTES- US Department of Agriculture, “Grain and feed annual:
Sri Lanka” (2020); https://apps.fas.usda.gov/
newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileNa
me?fileName=Grain and Feed Annual_New Delhi_Sri
Lanka_03-27-2020. - VeritéResearch, “Sri Lanka’s first independent island-
wide farmers’ survey on the government’s chemical
fertiliser ban” (2021); http://www.veriteresearch.org/
farmerspulse/. - Presidential Secretariat, “Importation of chemical
fertilizers will be stopped completely” (2021); http://www.
presidentsoffice.gov.lk/index.php/2021/04/22/
importation-of-chemical-fertilizers-will-be-stopped-
completely/. - US Department of Agriculture, “Sri Lanka restricts
and bans the import of fertilizers and agrochemicals”
(2021); https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/
Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Sri
Lanka Restricts and Bans the Import of Fertilizers and
Agrochemicals_New Delhi_Sri Lanka_05-14-2021.pdf.- Z. Farzan, “Protests grow as Sri Lanka’s farmers oppose
chemical fertilizer ban,” NewsFirst (2021); http://www.
newsfirst.lk/2021/10/18/protests-grow-as-sri-lankas-
farmers-oppose-chemical-fertilizer-ban/. - W. Aktar, D. Sengupta, A. Chowdhury, Interdiscip. Toxicol.
2 , 1 (2009). - S. Rubatheesan, “Maha season begins, but farmers
are not in the field,” The Sunday Times (2021); http://www.
sundaytimes.lk/211017/news/maha-season-begins-
but-farmers-are-not-in-the-field-458876.html. - V. Seufert, N. Ramankutty, S c i. A d v. 3 , e1602638 (2017).
- E.-M. Meemken, M. Qaim, Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ. 10 ,
39 (2018). - N. Singh et al., Curr. Dev. Nutr. 5 , 248 (2021).
- W. Karunarathne, “How Sri Lankan farm-
ers experience climate change,” SLYCAN
Trust (2021); http://www.preventionweb.net/news/
how-sri-lankan-farmers-experience-climate-change. - T. Tscharntke, I. Grass, T. C. Wanger, C. Westphal, P.
Batáry, Trends Ecol. Evol. 36 , 919 (2021).
10.1126/science.abm9186TECHNICAL COMMENT ABSTRACTS
Comment on “A Middle Pleistocene Homo from
Nesher Ramla, Israel”
Assaf Marom and Yoel Rak
Hershkovitz et al. (Report, 25 June 2021,
p. 1424) conclude that the Nesher Ramla
(NR) fossils represent a distinctive Homo
paleodeme that played a role as a source
population for Neanderthals. However,
the highly diagnostic features of the
Neanderthal mandible—clearly displayed
by the NR fossils—are largely overlooked.
Our analyses indicate that the NR fossils
represent simply a Neanderthal.
Full text: dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abl4336Response to Comment on “A Middle Pleistocene
Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel”
Hila May, Rachel Sarig, Ariel Pokhojaev, Cinzia
Fornai, María Martinón-Torres, José María
Bermúdez de Castro, Gerhard W. Weber, Yossi
Zaidner, Israel Hershkovitz
Marom and Rak claim, on the basis of a few
mandibular features, that the Nesher Ramla
(NR) Homo is a Neanderthal. Their com-
ments lack substance and contribute little
to the debate surrounding the evolution of
Middle Pleistocene Homo. Limitations and
preconceptions in their study prevented
them from achieving resolution beyond a
dichotomous interpretation of the NR as
either a Neanderthal or a modern human.
Full text: dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abl5789E R RATA
Erratum for the Research Article “The genetic
architecture of the human cerebral cortex,” by
K. L. Grasby et al., Science 374 , eabm7211 (2021).
Published online 22 October 2021; 10.1126/science.
abm7211Erratum for the Report “Hierarchical crack
buffering triples ductility in eutectic herringbone
high-entropy alloys,” by P. Shi et al., Science 374 ,
eabm7979 (2021). Published online 15 October 2021;
10.1126/science.abm7979INSIGHTS