Bibliography on open access in Latin America and the Caribbean

Bibliography on open access in Latin America and the Caribbean. Selection mainly based on open access publications describing open access initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prepared for UNESCO-Latin America and the Caribbean Section of the UNESCO-GOAP Global Open Access Portal

Fishers and groupers (epinephelus marginatus and E. morio) in the coast of Brazil : integrating information for conservation

Groupers are a vulnerable but economically important group of fish, especially for small-scale fisheries. We investigated catches and local ecological knowledge (LEK) of diet, habitat, and past fishing experiences. Landings, prices, interviews, and restaurants demand for two species, Epinephelus marginatus (dusky grouper) and Epinephelus morio (red grouper), were registered. We visited 74 markets and 79 sites on the coast of Brazil in 2017–2018, and we interviewed 71 fishers: Bahia (NE), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (SE), and Santa Catarina (S). The landings sampled of dusky grouper (2016–2017) in Rio de Janeiro were: n = 222, size 38–109 cm, weight 1–24 kg, average 3.84 kg; in São Paulo, São Sebastião were: n = 47, size 39–106 cm, weight 2–8 kg, average of 2.77 kg; and at Santos: n = 80, 26–120 cm, weight 0.36–15 kg, average 2.72 kg. Red grouper was observed in markets in the northeastern Brazil. We did not observe Epinephelus marginatus from Bahia northward; a maximum size of 200 cm was reported south of the Bahia, besides Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coasts, 20 years ago (or longer) by 12 fishers. Local knowledge of fishers was important for grouper data of habitat and diet; the reproduction period was identified by fishers as September to March. Groupers can be considered as a cultural and ecological keystone species. We suggest protective measures: 1) fishing zoning, 2) islands (MPAs) with the surveillance of fishers, 3) late Spring and early Summer as key periods for management (grouper reproduction), 4) studies on grouper larvae, 5) mapping of fishing spots, 6) studies on local knowledge. Collaboration with small-scale fishers and local knowledge could contribute to low-conflict management measures. In that regard, integrative models of management from Latin America, by using local knowledge and citizen science, could produce successful grouper management for Brazilian data-poor fisheries, a contrasting reality to the Mediterranean areas. Finally, the distribution of E. marginatus in Brazil leave us with questions: a) Have dusky groupers disappeared from Bahia because of a decline in the population? b) Was it uncommon in Northeast Brazil? c) Did changes in water temperatures forced a movement southward?151CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP307762/2013–0; 301592/2017–914/16939–7In addition to FAPESP and CNPq, we acknowledge Eduardo Camargo and Marco Antonio A. G. Araújo for helping with fieldwork in NE Brazil and Mara Magenta (UNISANTA) for helping us with infrastructure for fish larvae observation in the laboratory. We are grateful to the fisher-buyers Antonio, Elenilson and Valdecir. We are also very grateful to Rodrigo Caires, who supported us with taxonomic matter

Mass introduction of electric passenger vehicles in Brazil: impact assessment on energy use, climate mitigation and on charging infrastructure needs for several case studies

Mobility has proved to be a major challenge for human development, especially in urban centers worldwide, where more displacement is required, since fossil fuels consumption is increasing as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing air quality degradation and global warming. The predicted population increase in cities tends to increase the demand for mobility and to further exacerbate those impacts. Therefore, sustainable transport is key for the future of mobility, and electric vehicle (EV) has emerged as a recognized sustainable option. However, there are many electric vehicle barriers diffusion. This research aims to contribute to the diffusion of EV in Brazil, by assessing: 1) whether EV is a more sustainable technology when compared with ethanol vehicle; 2) the impacts of the expansion of electric mobility on CO2 emissions, in Sao Paulo; 3) how to overcome the barriers for the charging infrastructure deployment at the municipality level, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte; and 4) key challenges and opportunities from the mass adoption of EV in Brazil. A plethora of different methods were used, including scenario analysis, multi-criteria decision methods, geographic information systems and SWOT analysis. Main results point to EV as the best technology to mitigate passenger transport related CO2 emissions in Brazil, due to its low carbon footprint. In Sao Paulo, this option could reduce around 11 MtCO2 by 2030 and save 6,200 billion USD in energy with the replacement of 20 percent of gasoline cars with EV. To meet 1 percent of EV's market share, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte together will need around 6,500 charging stations concentrated in around 1/3 of their territories (level 2). Brazil may likely have up to 10 percent of EV penetration by 2030, with the diffusion taking place mostly in southeastern municipality. Ethanol, lack of electric mobility public policy, non-urbanized like subnormal agglomerates, and risk areas, like flood hazard, are major obstacles for EV diffusion in Brazil

Resource recovery from wastewater treatment: challenges, opportunities and guidance for planning and implementation

Considering the current resources scarcity, Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) should be adapted to become more sustainable. For example, it is possible to recover resources present in municipal wastewater. However, regional studies about integration of resource recovery processes at different scales or about the main barriers to implementation in developing countries are missing in the literature. Also, there is a need for planning methodologies to identify the most sustainable solution in each context. Understanding the current situation is an essential step to support planning and accelerate resource recovery implementation. To address these issues this thesis aims to guide planning, technology and policy development towards resource recovery from municipal WWTP in large cities of developing countries. This thesis presents a comprehensive knowledge base for wastewater treatment plant managers and decision-makers leading to a better understanding of resource recovery solutions and the actions needed to facilitate implementation. The methodology comprised critical literature reviews and two case studies. Secondary data from literature and primary data (obtained through questionnaires) were collected and analysed. Megacities in developing countries are analysed in the papers, with the focus on the Macrometropolis of Sao Paulo, which is the most populous area in the Southern Hemisphere. The current situation shows a low implementation of resource recovery practices in the region, and local conditions affect the implementation of water reuse, and nutrients and energy recovery. A framework consisting of eleven steps is proposed to support planning and decision-making on resource recovery from wastewater. This new tool was tested and can be applied by decision-makers in wastewater sector for better operation and management. Market, legislation, local economic development, and cooperation with stakeholders are relevant aspects covered in the analysis. There is a great potential to expand wastewater treatment integrated with nutrient and energy recovery strategies in developing countries. Potentials for phosphorus and energy recovery were estimated and some recovery scenarios are recommended. In conclusion, the findings can help planning and elaboration of resource recovery projects in wastewater treatment in urban areas and stimulate creation of public policies. The main research gaps identified in this thesis can guide further research and technological development in this field

Testing the boundaries of subnational diplomacy: the international climate action of local and regional governments

Since the 1990s, a number of local and regional governments around the world have started to engage in a real international or ‘paradiplomatic’ climate agenda. While the multilevel governance approach has advanced the examination of the actors and levels involved in climate governance, there is within this body of literature a limited consideration of the legal capacity of non-state actors to act across scales. This article addresses this gap and examines the potential limitations imposed on subnational diplomacy by international and domestic legal orders. The article draws upon the example of Brazil where, despite constitutional limitations on the involvement of subnational governments in international relations, paradiplomacy has been termed ‘federative diplomacy’ and institutionalized within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and within the Presidency of the Republic. The article shows that the diplomatic activity of local and regional governments is still constrained by international and domestic legal frameworks. If cities and regions are to help in addressing the inadequacies of the international climate regime, then domestic and international legal frameworks will need to further accommodate subnational diplomatic activities

Technology of the Oppressed

How Brazilian favela residents engage with and appropriate technologies, both to fight the oppression in their lives and to represent themselves in the world. Brazilian favelas are impoverished settlements usually located on hillsides or the outskirts of a city. In Technology of the Oppressed, David Nemer draws on extensive ethnographic fieldwork to provide a rich account of how favela residents engage with technology in community technology centers and in their everyday lives. Their stories reveal the structural violence of the information age. But they also show how those oppressed by technology don't just reject it, but consciously resist and appropriate it, and how their experiences with digital technologies enable them to navigate both digital and nondigital sources of oppression—and even, at times, to flourish. Nemer uses a decolonial and intersectional framework called Mundane Technology as an analytical tool to understand how digital technologies can simultaneously be sites of oppression and tools in the fight for freedom. Building on the work of the Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, he shows how the favela residents appropriate everyday technologies—technological artifacts (cell phones, Facebook), operations (repair), and spaces (Telecenters and Lan Houses)—and use them to alleviate the oppression in their everyday lives. He also addresses the relationship of misinformation to radicalization and the rise of the new far right. Contrary to the simplistic techno-optimistic belief that technology will save the poor, even with access to technology these marginalized people face numerous sources of oppression, including technological biases, racism, classism, sexism, and censorship. Yet the spirit, love, community, resilience, and resistance of favela residents make possible their pursuit of freedom