Local Air Quality Issues and Research Priorities Through the Lenses of Chilean Experts: An Ontological Analysis

Abstract

Air pollution problems can be large, complex, and ill-structured. They can vary from location to location and combine many complex components: urban expansion, increasing vehicles and industrial emissions, biomass burning, geographic and meteorological conditions, cultural aspects, and economic effects. However, the existing research, accumulated knowledge, and local research priorities are spread over many disciplines and lack a systematic mapping to help manage and develop new strategies for researchers and policy makers. Ontological analysis can be used as a tool to capture this complexity through simple natural-language descriptions and a structured terminology. We describe the development of an ontological framework for "Air Quality Management in Chile" and its application to evaluate the current state of the research. The process was based on focus groups and validated by a panel of multidisciplinary experts. We used the developed framework to highlight the topics that have been heavily emphasized, lightly emphasized, or overlooked in the Chilean research. The framework developed can help researchers, practitioners, and policy makers systematically navigate the domain and provide the opportunity to correct blind spots by enabling more informed hypotheses that deal with air quality issues at a national level. We believe that applying this same process to different countries will yield different results (due to differences in local knowledge and experience). The framework presented could be used to evaluate other important stakeholders (government, media, NGOs, etc.), which will provide a complete picture of how local societies deal with air quality issues at different levels. Additionally, local government institutions will benefit from this analysis by improving funding allocation and opening new research opportunities to improve the distribution of the local body of knowledge.

The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdowns on the Air Pollution of Urban Areas of Central and Southern Chile

“…and geographical factors (the use of firewood increases in colder and more humid climates) (CNE, 2015;Manzano et al, 2020). However, the long-term exposure to smoke produced by burning wood has been associated with a reduction of lung function, the development of asthma and chronic bronchitis, heart problems and premature mortality; while short term exposures have been associated with acute bronchitis, asthma attacks, worsening of lung diseases and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections (Mead et al, 2018;Cheong et al, 2019;Pani et al, 2020;Punsompong et al, 2021).…”

Air pollution—A look beyond big cities

“…With only a few years remaining before the deadline for meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations 2030 Agenda, a better, more regionally appropriate understanding of air pollution in medium and small cities is necessary. Appropriate and sustainable alternatives at a global level require an understanding of the particularities of these places (Manzano et al, 2021), but characteristics are not yet well explored. The establishment of sensors for monitoring the air quality in these places is a mandatory first step.…”