Towards Sustainable Environmental Quality: Priority Research Questions for Latin America (LA)

FURLEY, TATIANA HEID; BRODEUR, JULIE; SILVA DE ASSIS, HELENA C; CARRIQUIRIBORDE, PEDRO; CHAGAS, KATIA R; CORRALES, JONE; DENADAI, MARINA; FUCHS JULIO S.; MASCARENHAS, RENATA; MIGLIORANZA, KARINA SB; MIGUEZ CARAMÉS, DIANA MARGARITA; NAVAS, JOSÉ MARIA; NUGEGODA, DAYANTHI; PLANES, ESTELA; RODRIGUEZ-JORQUERA, IGNACIO ALEJANDRO; OROZCO-MEDINA, MARTHA; BOXALL, ALISTAIR BA; RUDD, MURRAY A; BROOKS, BRYAN W

Orlando, Florida

Congreso; 7th SETAC World Congress; 2016

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)

The Global Horizon Scanning and Prioritization (GSHP) Project is a SETAC initiative that aims to collect and prioritize the most important future environmental quality research questions as recognized by scientists and engineers from around the globe. We report here the key questions from the Latin America (LA) GSHP Workshop, which was held in Buenos Aires in September 2015. Prior to the workshop, SETAC members and other scientists from LA were asked to submit research questions which, in their view, represented priority needs to address in the region. 100 questions were received. Prior to the workshop, these 100 research needs were partitioned among 7 categories (Risk Assessment, Environmental Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Health, Contaminants of Emerging Concern, Spotlight on LA, Environmental Management and Policy) and then the top 20 questions were identified during the workshop. These prioritized questions included: characterization of diffuse individual and combined chemical contaminants risks; development of environmental and health risk assessment tools and bioassays to a better management of natural resources extraction, industrial production and chemicals use; best available environment effects monitoring tools to control pulp and paper mill activities; level of pollution and toxic effects of nanomaterial, plastic waste and microplastics; best analytical toods, bioaccumulative potential and long term environmental and human health effects measurement of pesticides and pharmaceutical compounds, metabolites and their mixtures; emerging contaminants regulation; influence of climate change on contaminants fate and effects; the difficulty of extrapolating the results of single species tests to environmental risk assessments considering climate peculiarities of LA; new field and lab methods and approaches development that takes into account ecological and environmental complexity; key environmental variables that trigger harmful algal blooms and toxins production; indigenous species sensitivity to better predict local impacts; development of useful ecotoxicological tools for regulating industrial and domestic effluents; progressive goals to improve ecotoxicological effluent control and water resources protection; current LA environmental regulations efficiency and the need for equalization between the countries; the effectiveness of protected areas to safeguard biodiversity; and improvement of risk management approaches for solid wastes. We anticipate that these critical questions will support a long term strategic research strategy to advance more sustainable environmental quality in LA.