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This contributed volume presents relevant examples of socio-environmental research that highlight the challenges and opportunities of using geotechnologies in interdisciplinary settings across the vast, culturally, and environmentally mega-diverse region known as Latin America. While remote sensing has been mostly used for mapping and monitoring physical features, geographic information systems open up opportunities for the integration of socio-economic and environmental data collected through individual and community-based surveys, in-situ measurements, and other participatory research techniques to offer additional analytically grounded power when evaluating socio-environmental processes that shape Latin American landscapes. The topics addressed in this book include deforestation and land degradation, borderlands dynamics, agriculture and agroecological systems, environmental conservation and development, public health, tourism, environmental justice, archeology, volunteered geography and urban planning, among others. The book is intended for academics, graduate and undergraduate classrooms, and general audiences with interest in Latin America and the socio-environmental issues that threaten the sustainability of the region and local communities. The book will also appeal to practitioners, managers, and policy makers interested in the application of geo-technologies and field-based research to address complex socio-environmental problems in the Global South.

This book provides an overview of the tropical marine environments of Brazil and a multi-disciplinary assessment of the impact of ongoing climate change in these environments. These changes will affect physical, biological and biogeochemical characteristics of coastal zones and oceans, modifying their ecological structure, their functions and the various services provided to humans and have the potential of causing severe socioeconomic impacts in local (coastal zone), regional (continental shelf and shallow seas) and global (ocean) scales. The Tropical Brazil presents a unique opportunity to evaluate how spatial and temporal heterogeneity influences the response and resilience of marine environments to climate changes. This region comprises the main reef constructions of the Western South Atlantic Ocean, the majority of the Brazilian deltas, one of the longest mangrove areas of the world, a very narrow and shallow continental shelf, extreme variations in sediment and nutrient flows,as well as undeniable importance in transferring heat and mass between hemispheres.

The basis of this proposal is the study of quality of life from an interdisciplinary perspective. This volume presents a set of contributions from different sciences that analyse the quality of life in Argentina. The contributions come from the social disciplines (Geography, Economics, Demography, History) and from the field of health (Nutrition, Medicine, Psychology) as well as the applied sciences (Statistics, Applied Mathematics). The purpose is to present various dimensions related to the well-being of the population, particularly in relation to poverty, human development, health, nutrition and morbidity. Although there are works from different sciences associated with the object of study, they all have a geographic component based on cartography. Consequently, the importance of geography is highlighted, as the territorial base allows for the study quality of life from a unique perspective where the map emerges as a fundamental descriptive tool. Such an approach is useful to diagnose the quality of life and its uneven spatial distribution, either through index or different associated variables. Thus, the maps are fundamental to study the territorial configuration of the quality of life at the different scales of analysis, showing spatial inequalities and the areas where it is necessary to take measures to improve the population's living conditions.

The book's objective is to present the energy transition process in Brazil over time and offer new perspectives on this process in the eyes of a sustainable future. The book unfolds over 15 chapters covering historical, geopolitical, technological, and economical aspects, as well as aspects conceptually familiar to the energy transition such as public perception, low-carbon technologies, digitalization, Sustainable Development Goals, and even recent topics such as the pandemic of COVID-19. The Brazilian electricity and transport sectors and climate change governance are the main focus of this book. The paths taken throughout this book demonstrate the particularities of Brazil and present this country in a unique and differentiated way in terms of the various approaches to the energy transition. It is a book that brings a multidisciplinary, innovative vision and information published for the first time.

This book highlights the knowledge about landscapes and characteristics of the earliest hunter-gatherer lifeway in Southern Patagonia. It presents an analysis of the archaeological investigations carried out during three decades by an interdisciplinary team that involved archaeologists, anthropologists, paleontologists, geologists and specialists in pollen and diatoms. The database yielded was recovered from systematic survey and excavations from the Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphic layers of the rockshelter known as AEP-1, Piedra Museo Locality, situated in the central plateau of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Piedra Museo is a unique place in the world of high academic interest with some of the earliest archaeological remains in the Americas. Researchers defined  two strata and several Stratigraphic units in the site based on the sedimentological and pedological characteristics. The depositional zones contain archaeological remains that are interpreted as hunting events corresponding to two main different occasions in the human colonization of the region, and a third human occupation during the Middle Holocene. Last one occurred then of the massive rockshelter roof colapse. The faunal remains led to a new approach to the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this enclosed basin. This volume describes the management of lithic raw materials and social networks from first human occupation of the Patagonian region to territorial consolidation of hunter-gatherer societies.

The book is presented as an Atlas where the map plays a fundamental role in the study of quality of life, as it shows its progression in Argentina from the 19th to the 21st Century. In the book, it can be observed how the concept has evolved along with the dimensions and variables that better represent its spatial distribution. This is one of the original points of the book: the temporal study of the living conditions of the argentine population, empirically and spatially, emphasizing their territorial representation.Although the book maintains the same socioeconomic dimensions (education, health and housing), the tour through the different chapters offers a historical window that allows the reader to know what the forms of information collection were like in different historical moments.This book is written for geographers and members of the scientific community interested in the study of the well-being of the population. It also allows us to observe the evolution of the quality of life from the 19th century to the 21st, so it may be of interest to historians as well.

This book describes cases and experiences in connection with environmental and cultural ecosystem services in Argentina. It contributes to the debate in connection with different approaches to analyse ecosystem services, focusing on the environment, the Law and social perspectives and concerns. Among the topics discussed are the implementation of the National Forests Act, the regulation and recognition of ecosystem services, the role of indigenous people, the policies in place for nature and forest conservation in different regions of Argentina.This book is one of the few research studies about cultural ecosystem services developed in Latin America and presents an attractive combination of the legal, environmental and social approaches and was written by an interdisciplinary team of academics who have theoretical and practical experience in this region where there is a valuable natural and cultural heritage.

This book presents the state of the art for the studies of strategies and tactics for the procurement of preys in Argentina in different regions and chronologies (from the end of the Pleistocene until historic moments).

This edited volume offers a critical reflection on the failed experiment to redevelop the city of Rio de Janeiro according to the neoliberal strategy of entrepreneurial urban governance and mercantile regulatory transformations, which were leveraged by mega-sporting events.

This volume discusses the challenges of Latin America in global environmental geopolitics. Written by leading experts, this book brings together Latin American research on global environmental change. They cover a range of topics such as climate change, water, forest and biodiversity conservation connected with science policies, public opinion, priorities of international funds, and international politics of Latin American countries. The book describes the discrepancy between the international priorities and the regional needs or country interests. It includes several case studies and analyses the cooperation in multilateral negotiations on climate change. It also offers a synthesis of debates around global environmental changes and Latin American politics, which the authors have previously promoted in different academic events in South America, including in Santiago de Chile in Chile, and Buenos Aires and Ushuaia in Argentina.This book assessesthe environmental problems from different perspectives, highlights the scientific development in the environmental changes affecting Latin America and offers a new view on geopolitics to help face those issues. Specialist readers in international relations, political sciences, environmental sciences, geography and geopolitics will appreciate this up-to-date examination of Latin America and the global environmental change.

This book introduces selected contributions from the GEGAL (Spanish acronym for Latin American Geoarchaeological Studies Group) Workshop held at La Paloma Beach, Uruguay, with a focus on Coastal Geoarchaeology, and an attendance of more than 50 researchers, students and professionals from several Latin American countries.

This book introduces selected contributions from the GEGAL (Spanish acronym for Latin American Geoarchaeological Studies Group) Workshop held at La Paloma Beach, Uruguay, with a focus on Coastal Geoarchaeology, and an attendance of more than 50 researchers, students and professionals from several Latin American countries.