Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most urbanized and biologically diverse regions in the world but is often characterized by weak environmental governance and socioeconomic inequalities. Given large expanses of intact biomes, a long history of pre-Colombian civilizations, and recent urbanization trends, the urban ecosystem services (UES) concept has the potential to address issues of well-being for its citizens. We review relevant regional and global literature and use expert-based knowledge to identify the state of the art of the UES concept as applicable to green spaces in LAC and elucidate three overarching guidelines for management and future research needs: 1. LAC cities can be socio-ecologically unique; 2. Drivers of UES in LAC can be different than in other regions; and 3. Context and demand need to be accounted for when valuing UES. Overall, we show that research on UES is mostly from the global north and rarely accounts for the diverse and complex socio-political and ecological drivers of LAC's urbanization processes. We find that, as in other regions, the biophysical context and land use policies play a major role on UES provision. However, socioeconomic inequalities and weak governance are key drivers in UES supply and demand in LAC. Context-specific information on how to promote, educate, and apply UES is particularly important, not only in LAC, but in other regions where inequities, rapid urbanization, and climate change effects are stressing socio-political and ecological systems and their adaptive capacities. Standardized approaches from developed countries should be used to complement -not substitute -LAC context specific approaches for studying and applying UES. We suggest that improved research funding and local governance can also provide critical strategies, information and the means for more effective management, planning, and equitable provision of UES.

Infraestructura verde, servicios ecosistémicos y sus aportes para enfrentar el cambio climático en ciudades: el caso del corredor ribereño del río Mapocho en Santiago de Chile 1 Alexis E. Vásquez 2 RESUMENEl trabajo discute los argumentos a favor de la infraestructura verde urbana y la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos como componentes claves de sistemas urbano-ecológicos resilientes ante al cambio climático. En segundo lugar, se aplica el marco analítico desarrollado al caso del corredor ribereño del río Mapocho en Santiago, discutiendo su aporte actual y potencial para enfrentar el cambio climá-tico a través de la evaluación de tres servicios ecosistémicos claves (1) efecto enfriador, (2) rutas para transporte no motorizado, y (3) mitigación de inundaciones. La integración de los conceptos de infraestructura verde, servicios ecosistémicos y adaptación/mitigación al cambio climático, brinda un marco apropiado para esclarecer cómo los espacios verdes urbanos pueden aportar a enfrentar el calentamiento global y los efectos negativos derivados del cambio climático. En Santiago, el principal aporte del corredor ribereño del río Mapocho es la mitigación de emisiones de gases invernadero al servir como una importante ruta para el desplazamiento no motorizado, especialmente en bicicleta. Su aporte a la disminución de las temperaturas atmosféricas y a la mitigación de inundaciones es mucho más limitado. El desarrollo de un corredor verde ribereño en el río Mapocho puede contribuir a mejorar la provisión de los tres servicios ecosistémicos evaluados y de esta forma constituir importante eslabón en un sistema de infraestructura verde en Santiago para mitigar y adaptarse al cambio climático.Palabras clave: Infraestructura verde, servicios ecosistémicos, mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. ABSTRACTThe paper discusses the arguments in favor of urban green infrastructure and the provision of ecosystem services as key components of urban-ecological systems resilient to climate change. The analytical framework developed here is then applied to the riparian corridor of the Mapocho River in Santiago, in order to discuss its current and potential contributions to tackling climate change. The discussion is based on the evaluation of three key ecosystem services: (1) cooling effects, (2) routes for non-motorized transport, and (3) fl ood mitigation.

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Watersheds are complex environmental systems, where geomorphologic, hydrologic, climatic and ecological processes take place, and which are severely impacted by urbanisation. In this paper, six Santiago Andean piedmont watersheds have been researched, according with the degree of urbanisation that they reach, which varies between Macul-San Ramón, where about 40% of their land covers has been already urbanised, until Pirque, where agricultural and rural features are still dominants. Using geographical information systems, the impact of urbanization on several ecological indicators, such as vegetative productivity, biomass, soil moisture and surface temperature are analysed. Total Imperviousness Areas, Runoff Coefficients and Environmentally Sensitive Areas allow the estimation of the state of the watersheds ant their contribution to the environmental health of Santiago city.

The concept of Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) has emerged in response to the need to highlight and ensure access to the multifunctional benefits of green spaces in changing cityscapes. Recent literature reviews around UGI have focused on environmental benefits and services, and the management of these spaces has been comparatively neglected. In addition to this, the core conceptual and practical research around UGI management has been produced in the Global North, and far less research has been generated in Latin America, despite the contextual challenges and opportunities brought by this rapidly urbanizing and diverse region. In response, this trilingual systematic review asks: What are the research trends in terms of topics and case studies that characterize UGI management research in Latin America? Which management types are the focuses of this research? A total of 47 publications, found through Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO, were subjected to both quantitative and qualitative assessment. The research was both geographically concentrated and predominantly recent. Government-led initiatives made up the highest proportion of the research, and more than half of the publications described local government as the principle actor in the management of the UGI studied. Community-run initiatives were consistent across the temporal span of the articles found, and their established presence was supported by the qualitative review. Findings also revealed a directional push toward governance practices but significant obstacles in the form of weak local government, divisions driven by a lack of context-sensitive approaches to informal settlements and socioeconomic segregation, and a management discourse that jarred with urban practices by indigenous communities. Through demonstrating the contribution of existing literature on UGI management in Latin America, this review highlights the need for further published research on the region.

Threats to ecosystems are closely linked to human development, whereas lack, insufficiency, and inefficiency of public policies are important drivers of environmental decline. Previous studies have discussed the contribution of IUCN's Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) in conservation issues; however, its applications in different policy fields and instruments for achieving biodiversity conservation have not been explored in detail. Here, we introduce a framework to operationalize the RLE in public policy, facilitating work of governments, practitioners, and decision makers. Our analysis identified 20 policy instruments that could reduce risks to ecosystems highlighted by different Red List criteria. We discuss how RLE could inform the policy process by analyzing different instruments that could be designed, implemented, and modified to achieve risk reduction. We also present practical examples from around the world showing how ecosystem conservation could be improved by operationalizing the RLE in policy instruments. The RLE criteria can inform the policy process by helping to shape objectives and identifying policy instruments that directly address the causes and severity of risks illuminated in Red List assessments. We conclude that RLE could be expanded into a broader holistic spectrum of policy instruments, which could be a key to achieving the ecosystem conservation.

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