Wastewater in Latin American urban peripheries: Identifying research trends and challenges through a systematic literature review.

Water is a defining element for cities and their inhabitants. Throughout urban systems, water is either produced or received, used, and finally disposed of as wastewater. As Latin American urbanization accelerates, problems related to wastewater are increasing due to its inclusion as the main source of river pollution, as well as the high cost of infrastructure development and maintenance. The consequences of wastewater disposal are particularly relevant in areas frequently associated with urban expansion, like peripheries whose growth follows constant transitions between rural, peri-urban, and urban areas. Such consequences are often related to heterogeneity, lack of urban services and sanitation infrastructure, water pollution and health risks, as well as the development of informal compensatory systems. A systematic literature review was conducted to broaden research panorama and identify spatial, temporal, and thematic trends and challenges present in wastewater assessments of Latin American urban peripheries, this using the SALSA (search, appraisal, synthesis, and analysis) protocol in a search through international databases Scopus and Web of Science Scielo, in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. In these databases, 228 papers satisfied selection criteria and show a growing trend of publications about urban wastewater since 1988. Most case studies are from Brazil (58 %), Mexico (14 %), and Argentina (9 %). Their main approaches are quantitative research (82 %) in urban contexts (57 %). Most studies were found to be operationalized using environmental geochemistry methodologies, suggesting a dominance of technical, reductionist approaches. Integrated and mixed perspectives including actors and other societal elements are suggested as a central research challenge. Without an integrated view, it will be unfeasible to enhance decision-making processes and governance in the pursuit of sustainable water management.

A systematic review of social participation in ecosystem services studies in Latin America from a transdisciplinary perspective, 1996-2020.

In this article, we propose that ecosystem services (ES) should be studied integrating social participation and the narrative of social actors. We analyzed the ES literature (1996-2020) in Latin America (LA), basing our review on the concept that the study of this topic should be transdisciplinary and post-normal (i.e., extended peer communities). We prepared the review using the Scopus® and Web of Science™ (WoS) databases. We found 1069 articles related to social participation in ES studies in 20 LA countries, identifying 310 articles for further analysis using screening and eligibility protocols. We also used a random sample (n = 50) of the 310 articles for a detailed analysis of social participation and extended peer communities. Results showed that articles increased from seven in 2010 to 39 per year from 2015 to 2019. English is the primary language used (91% of the articles), with only one journal accepting publications in Spanish. The most common collaboration combination has been one LA author and one or more non-LA authors (41% of the articles). The semantic network analysis showed 35 thematic clusters, with the most common corresponding to ES protection and provision issues. Direct social participation was included in 62% of the articles, mainly through interviews; however, consultancy processes have dominated the participatory perspective of the authors without transformative involvement. We discuss article language and low inter-countries collaboration, both influencing the lack of social participation required for the transdisciplinary analysis of ES.

Behind the scenes: Scientific networks driving the operationalization of the Social-Ecological System framework.

The analytical framework of Social-Ecological Systems (SES) has been endorsed worldwide because of its ability to describe the complex feedback relationships between social and ecological subsystems. The framework promotes multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, with the expectation that studies will be carried out through groups and collaborative networks via the application of mixed research methods. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature to understand whether the operationalization of the SES framework has been achieved in this way. For this, we used the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Scopus database. Based on the results, there is wide methodological plurality, although there are few studies that have opted for mixed methods that capture the complexity of an SES. In terms of scientific networks, we found that the community is composed mainly of consolidated groups of scientists from the Global North in which authors-researchers with betweenness centrality roles were identified, who connect the entire network, reaching the Global South, where peripheral groups, which are barely consolidated and develop their studies, mostly in their own regions, prevail.