MACNBR   00242
MUSEO ARGENTINO DE CIENCIAS NATURALES "BERNARDINO RIVADAVIA"
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
capítulos de libros
Título:
Regional Assessment of Latin America: Rapid Urban Development and Social Economic Inequity Threaten Biodiversity Hotspots
Autor/es:
PAUCHARD A; BARBOSA O; MAIRA J; ROJAS C; VILLAGRA P; FAGGI A; MARQUEZ F; APONTE G; MAC GREGOR FORS
Libro:
589 T. Elmqvist et al. (eds.), Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities: A Global Assessment
Editorial:
CBD
Referencias:
Año: 2013; p. 589 - 608
Resumen:
The relationship between cities and biodiversity is extremely complex
in Latin America. The region is simultaneously the world?s most urbanized, has
some of the world?s largest social and economic inequities, and hosts some of
the world?s most biodiversity-rich ecosystems, including several biodiversity
hotspots. As cities in Latin America are expected to continue to expand, partly on
areas harboring valuable biodiversity hotspots, there is an urgent need to
understand how biodiversity and ecosystem services interplay in and around cit-
ies. This assessment aims to describe urbanization trends in Latin America and the
related impacts on urban biodiversity and ecosystem services, complementing the
general framework with shorter case studies of four cities around the region. It
also explores the potential for city planning to provide support for biodiversity
and ecosystem services. The study found that cities in Latin America exhibit
extreme social and economic differences, which generate a complex mosaic of
urban settlement structures and ecosystem management systems. Low-income
neighborhoods are typically either interspersed with the local ecosystems in
peri-urban areas or completely lacking green spaces. High-income neighborhoods
have a higher concentration of green areas, but are usually dominated by non-
native species. It also found that conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, and
ecosystem services provisioning, are low priorities in urban planning; they are not
acknowledged as key elements for the quality of life of the city inhabitants and
human well-being. The knowledge base is also limited, as research on the
consequences of rapid urbanization on biodiversity and ecosystem services in
Latin America is poorly developed. However, initiatives to increase focus in urban
planning on support for ecosystems are being taken and examples have been
found of urban inhabitants actively promoting stewardship of urban greens.