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Urban ecosystem Services in Latin America: mismatch between global concepts and regional realities?

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Abstract

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most urbanized and biologically diverse regions in the world but is often characterized by weak environmental governance and socioeconomic inequalities. Given large expanses of intact biomes, a long history of pre-Colombian civilizations, and recent urbanization trends, the urban ecosystem services (UES) concept has the potential to address issues of well-being for its citizens. We review relevant regional and global literature and use expert-based knowledge to identify the state of the art of the UES concept as applicable to green spaces in LAC and elucidate three overarching guidelines for management and future research needs: 1. LAC cities can be socio-ecologically unique; 2. Drivers of UES in LAC can be different than in other regions; and 3. Context and demand need to be accounted for when valuing UES. Overall, we show that research on UES is mostly from the global north and rarely accounts for the diverse and complex socio-political and ecological drivers of LAC’s urbanization processes. We find that, as in other regions, the biophysical context and land use policies play a major role on UES provision. However, socioeconomic inequalities and weak governance are key drivers in UES supply and demand in LAC. Context-specific information on how to promote, educate, and apply UES is particularly important, not only in LAC, but in other regions where inequities, rapid urbanization, and climate change effects are stressing socio-political and ecological systems and their adaptive capacities. Standardized approaches from developed countries should be used to complement - not substitute – LAC context specific approaches for studying and applying UES. We suggest that improved research funding and local governance can also provide critical strategies, information and the means for more effective management, planning, and equitable provision of UES.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Nina Singh –USA, Juliana Montoya Arango – Colombia, and Ina Falfán -Mexico for their helpful reviews. HJH is supported by FONDECYT 1140319 “Vegetation knowledge-based indicators for urban sustainable planning”; CD is supported by FONDECYT 3150352 “Provision of urban ecosystem services, exploring the effects of planning, urbanization, climate and environmental conditions on the urban forest of Santiago and La Serena”; FDB is supported by FONDECYT 3150351 “Modelación de servicios ecosistémicos de parques urbanos en sectores metropolitanos”. SR is supported by FONDECYT 1161709 “Contribucion del enfoque de servicios ecosistémicos a la planificación urbana”; FDB and SR are supported by CONICYT/FONDAP 15110020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Modeling and Monitoring Ecosystems, Universidad Mayor, Jose Toribio Medina 29, Santiago, Chile

    Cynnamon Dobbs

  2. Functional and Ecosystem Ecology Unit (EFE), Biology Program, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Universidad del Rosario, Kr 26 No 63B-48, Bogotá, DC, Colombia

    Francisco J. Escobedo & Nicola Clerici

  3. Geography Department and Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Universidad de Concepcion, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion, Chile

    Francisco de la Barrera

  4. Instituto Latino-Americano de Economía, Sociedade e Política, Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana, Av. Tancredo Neves 6731, Foz do Iguaçu, PR, CEP 85867-970, Brazil

    Ana Alice Eleuterio

  5. Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología, A.C, Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa, 91070, Veracruz, Mexico

    Ian MacGregor-Fors

  6. Department of Ecosystems and Environment, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering and Center for Sustainable Urban Development, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna, 4860, Macul, Chile

    Sonia Reyes-Paecke

  7. Geography Department, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Universidad de Chile, Av Portugal 84, Santiago, Chile

    Alexis Vásquez

  8. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Pref. Lothário Meissner, 632, Curitiba, Paraná, CEP: 80210-170, Brazil

    Jorge Danilo Zea Camaño

  9. Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Lab, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa, 11365, La Pintana, Chile

    H. Jaime Hernández

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  1. Cynnamon Dobbs
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Dobbs, C., Escobedo, F.J., Clerici, N. et al. Urban ecosystem Services in Latin America: mismatch between global concepts and regional realities?. Urban Ecosyst 22, 173–187 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-018-0805-3

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