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

FURLEY, T.; BRODEUR, J.C.; SILVA DE ASSIS, H.C.; CARRIQUIRIBORDE, P.

Orlando

Congreso; 7th SETAC World Congress SETAC North America 37th Annual Meeting; 2016

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

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 conclusions of the Latin America (LA) GSHP Workshop 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, were priority needs to address in the region. 100 questions were received. These were organized in 6 categories and ranked. The resulting top 20 questions were: Environmental Chemistry: -Adsorption/release of toxic compounds form plastic wastes, -Impacts of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems, -Quality criteria and limits for environmental legislation. -Quantification of contaminant metabolites and breakdown products in abiotic and biotic matrices. Ecotoxicology: -Climate change influence on fate and effects of pollutants, -Extrapolation of results from regulatory single species toxicity test to local taxa and scenarios, ?Understanding the complexity of pesticide toxicology in ecosystems, -Laboratory and field methods and approaches to address ecological complexity. Health, CECs and Environment: -Impacts of nanomaterials on ecosystems and human health, -Algal toxins production and risk for human health. Risk Assessment: -Characterization of individual and combined risks of diffuse chemical contaminants. -Development and refinement of tools for sustainable production and use of chemicals. -Risks characterization of pulp mills effluents for human and the environment. Environmental Management and Policy: -Continuous improvement of the maximum limits of toxicity for agriculture, and domestic and industrial effluents, while maintaining ecosystem services. -Current environmental regulations effectiveness and its implementation and enforcement in LA. -Standardization and harmonization across LA countries. -Effectiveness of protected areas to safeguard biodiversity from pollutants. -Risk management improvement for solid wastes. Spotlight on LA: -Sensitivity information of regional species for better prediction of impacts on local ecosystems. -Impact evaluation of natural resources extraction. -Tools for characterizing and classifying industrial and residential effluents. These questions should be considered as part of a long-term strategic research plans in LA.