Socio-Environmental Research in Latin America (eBook)

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. 

Dr. Santiago López is an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and Director of the Environmental Education and Research Center at the University of Washington-Bothell, Bothell, WA. He holds a PhD in Geography and the Environment from University of Texas at Austin, a MA in Geography from Arizona State University, and a BEng in Geographical Engineering from the Armed Forces University (ESPE) in Ecuador. His research interests include human-environment dynamics, land use and land cover transformations, and climate change with an emphasis on GIScience applications and has taught about these themes at higher education institutions in the US and Ecuador.