Latin America in Times of Global Environmental Change the Latin American Studies Book Series

The Latin American Studies Book Series Cristian Lorenzo Editor Latin America in Times of Global Environmental Change The Latin American Studies Book Series Series Editors Eustógio W. Correia Dantas, Departamento de Geografia, Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil Jorge Rabassa, Laboratorio de Geomorfología y Cuaternario, CADIC-CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra de Fuego, Argentina Andrew Sluyter, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA [email protected] The Latin American Studies Book Series promotes quality scientific research focusing on Latin American countries. The series accepts disciplinary and interdisciplinary titles related to geographical, environmental, cultural, economic, political and urban research dedicated to Latin America. The series publishes comprehensive monographs, edited volumes and textbooks refereed by a region or country expert specialized in Latin American studies. The series aims to raise the profile of Latin American studies, showcasing important works developed focusing on the region. It is aimed at researchers, students, and everyone interested in Latin American topics. Submit a proposal: Proposals for the series will be considered by the Series Advisory Board. A book proposal form can be obtained from the Publisher, Juliana Pitanguy ([email protected]). More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15104 [email protected] Cristian Lorenzo Editor Latin America in Times of Global Environmental Change 123 [email protected] Editor Cristian Lorenzo Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas —Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (CONICET) Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales—Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina ISSN 2366-3421 ISSN 2366-343X (electronic) The Latin American Studies Book Series ISBN 978-3-030-24253-4 ISBN 978-3-030-24254-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24254-1 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland [email protected] Preface This book was inspired by the results of a research project on the global environmental change in Latin America. It was based in Ushuaia, Argentina, at the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. The members of this project work in different fields related to the Environment, such as International Relations and Political Sciences, History, Economy, Forest Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. I had the pleasure to work with them as the Principal Investigator in the project “Approaches to the global Environmental problems from the Province of Tierra del Fuego” and was conducted in the term 2016–2018. It was funded by the Agencia Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas. Participated in this project (in alphabetic order): Ana Mirka Seitz, Fernando Estenssoro Saavedra, Guillermo Martínez Pastur, José Marcelino Alonso, Julián Kelly, María del Pilar Bueno, María Vanessa Lencinas, Patricio Yamin, and Rosina Soler. In August 2017, we had the first meeting in Buenos Aires. We discussed our preliminary findings in the discussion panel “Global Environmental Change: Latin America in the World Politics”, into the XIII National Congress of Political Science. Some months later, we continued our discussions in Ushuaia by organising the international seminar “The Global Environmental Change: the strategic challenges of Latin America in World Politics” in November. On the following day, we held two Conferences, framed in the event “Latin American Talks: Natural Resources in the World Politics”. All of them meant a fantastic opportunity to enrich our comprehension about the global environmental change in Latin America. We invited to join our discussions to the community in Ushuaia and the main governmental authorities in the Province of Tierra del Fuego at the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas, in matters of International Relations, Environment, and Science and Technology. With regards to the activities in Ushuaia, I would like to thank the support of the Government of Tierra del Fuego. In particular, to María Cecilia Fiocchi (Subsecretary of International Relations), Mauro Pérez Toscani (Secretary of Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change), and Daniel Martinioni (Minister of Science and Technology). v [email protected] vi Preface In this book, we break down the broader topic of global environmental change into different issues related to climate change and biodiversity. The different chapters address the international relations of Latin America and the Caribean (LAC) countries, the past and present of regional integration in South America on natural resources, the profile of the scientific knowledge production in natural resources, and different and relevant themes related to the climate change and the loss of biodiversity. The authors enable us to think the challenges of this region in the world politics in times of global environmental change. This book also includes the contributions of others LAC scholars. I also thank them because they enable us to have more and new insights into the comprehension of the global environmental change. I am pleased to share our results and hope to stimulate to our readers to go deeper in the amazing studies in Latin America, and in particular, into a topic of global importance that challenges us as human beings. Ushuaia, Argentina Cristian Lorenzo [email protected] [email protected] Introduction Our planet is experiencing drastic changes. We live in a world where droughts, tropical storms, hurricanes, cold outbreaks and several weather events are increasing their frequency. Even most critical ecosystems in the planet are under critical risk. Global warming is affecting Antarctica and surrounding oceans. What happens in the most remote region of the world can affect the Earth. Because of that, actions to reduce the risk of the consequences in Antarctica is urgently needed. The decisions taken today will affect the future of the Earth (Rintoul et al. 2018). Looking backwards, the efforts to explain the global environmental change has been multidisciplinary. Different drivers were identified such as energy use, food security, land use changes, natural disturbances, pollution, loss of biodiversity, population growth, and the indiscriminate consumption of natural resources (Camil 2010). However, it is still insufficient to achieve a safe situation for the humankind. Several institutions in the world are currently working on global environmental change. In the United States, the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We can also find the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. In South Africa, the Global Change Institute at the University of Witwatersrand. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change conducts activities in Montevideo (Uruguay). However, the inceptions of the institutional framework on global environmental change are related to the interests of developing countries. Arizpe et al. (2016) noted initiatives since the 1980s from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (also known as NASA), the United States National Research Council, and the International Council of Scientific Unions. Moreover, Jacobson and Price (1990) stated that some meetings took place by the end of the 1980s and the so-called developed countries such as Canada, France, Germany, the United States (US), Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom supported some initiatives. The Global Environmental Change is still challenging the current global system. In 2014, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (also vii [email protected] viii Introduction known as UNESCO) and the International Social Science Council showed a neg- ative perspective on the future of the environment, alerting the worldwide community on the potential consequences of the global environmental change (UNESCO & ISSC 2014). This document was released in the same year that the

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