1. Descriptive analysis of trends in studies on environmental governance in Latin America
The 94 studies use various analytical frameworks linked to the understanding of socioecological systems, sustainable development and sustainability (18); environmental governance as a mechanism for plural participation (13); legal and institutional frameworks for the sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems (11); natural resources, ecosystems and territory management (9); others (referring to multiple stakeholders, interdisciplinary approaches, integration of various frameworks, theory state formation, decision-making, and new public management) (7); justice and environmental rights (7); environmental and development public policies (7); institutional frameworks for ecosystem management (SES-Ostrom) (6); community management of ecosystems and territories (5); political ecology (4); ecological democracy (2); conflicts linked to the use, management and distribution of natural resources (2); good living (2); and socioenvironmental evaluation (1). In many cases, information about the analytical frameworks used is not included in the abstract (46) (Figure 1: Analytical Frameworks).
The polysemy of the term environmental governance is shown by the 23 explicit references found in the reviewed socioenvironmental studies (see Annex 1: Summary Table).
The most commonly used types of governance are the governance of specific ecosystems (16 cases, including analyses of ecosystems in general as well as water and forest ecosystems, etc.); a combination of 2 or 3 different types of governance (11); environmental governance (8); community governance (7); governance on specific issues (6 in total, associated with climate change, conservation, risks, health, the use of plastics and energy issues); international and multilevel governance (6 each); good governance, collaborative governance and institutional governance (4 each); participatory and prosustainability governance (3 cases each); complex, territorial, regionally sustainable, local and environmental decentralized governance (2 each); and regional, multistakeholder, market, bottom-up, counter-neoliberal ecosystems and urban environmental governance (1 each) (Figure 2: Governance Types).
Regarding the themes (ecosystems, systems, sectors and topics), the most studied ecosystems are the water ones (28), followed by the topic of conservation (23), forest ecosystems (20), climate change (10), the agricultural sector (8), the energy sector (8), coastal, marine and fishing ecosystems (7), others (7, such as land tenure, territorial planning and zoning, human and environmental health, human development, environment and global environmental policy, alternative paradigms development); the mining sector (5), sustainable economic and commercial systems (4), ecotourism and tourism sector (4), urban systems (3), socioecological systems (3), pollution (2), volcanoes (1) and disasters and risks (1). (Figure 3: Themes (ecosystems, systems, sectors and topics)
The studies report information on different geographic scales, for example, at the regional level for Latin America (43 cases) and Latin America and the Caribbean (5) as well as other regions: Asia (20), Africa (19), Europe (14) and North America (2) (Figure 4: Regions Reported).
They analyze cases in 20 Latin American countries. The most studied countries are Mexico (27), Brazil (25), Colombia (13), Peru (9), Ecuador (9), Chile (8), Costa Rica (7), Argentina (7), Bolivia (4), Uruguay (3), Guatemala (3), the Dominican Republic (2), Nicaragua (2), Honduras (2), Saint Lucia (1), Puerto Rico (1), Panama (1), El Salvador (1), Cuba (1), and the Netherlands Antilles (1). (Figure 5: Number of cases reported in Latin American Countries)
Regarding the timing of studies on environmental governance and analytical frameworks, the first publication appeared in 1995. From 2010 to 2021, there was a sustained increase in the number of publications, with 2018 having the highest number of articles (17) (see Annex 1: Summary Table).
Studies generally use combined methods, the most common being documentary analysis (44), case studies (29), interviews with key informants (27), discourse analysis (19), measurement and evaluation (19), comparative studies (11), fieldwork (12), public policy analysis (9), participatory methods (4), spatial and GIS analysis (2), application of analytical frameworks (8), scenario analysis (4), ethnography (3), and systematic reviews (2) (Figure 6: Methodology).
Regarding the approach, in most cases, a critical analysis is made (28), methodological proposals are developed (26), criteria for determining the effectiveness of governance are identified (24), public policy recommendations are made (18), proposals to improve different forms of governance are analyzed (17), various expressions of collective action are studied (15) and, to a lesser extent, scenarios are predicted (4) (Figure 7: Approach).
2. Trends in environmental governance studies according to the approach
There are different approaches to the use of the term environmental governance as a conceptual and/or analytical framework, as is evidenced by the qualitative analysis of information reported in the abstracts and by the relationship between the objectives and reported results. The order that the analysis follows corresponds to the hierarchical place of the approach based on the sum of the cases found (for further reference, see Annex 1) (Figure 8: Analytical Frameworks and Different Approaches).
2.1. Critical analysis
From the critical analysis approach linked to decision-making, actions, generation of mechanisms, strategies and governance structures, the studies indicate that some legal instruments (international and local, such as management programs) do not recognize or contribute to the formation of environmental subjects. Similarly, regulatory frameworks tend to marginalize or not include the ecological knowledge of local groups because they favor market interests (Di Giminiani 2016; Sindico and Hawkins 2015; Aalto 2016; Watts and Depledge 2018) and economic valuation without taking into account environmental or social demands (Ioris 2009). The authors highlight the persistent failure of some international governance frameworks to solve issues that contribute to the continuous and widespread destruction of the environment and ecosystem services (Raftopoulos and Morley 2020; Laterra et al. 2019). This failure affects local managers, who act as bridges between government agencies and local communities, as they face the institutional dilemmas of multilevel and multiscale governance expressed in paradoxes of legalism and social emancipation (Prado et al. 2020).
Regarding political ecology, the effects of neoliberal policies adopted in different countries and sectors of Latin America are analyzed: those that threaten common values and various socially legitimized community and collective processes, taking advantage of lax environmental legislation as well as the state’s participation in weakening resistance and demobilizing social activism against megaprojects and extractivist “development” projects (Rojas 2020; Andreucci and Radhuber 2017; Duarte-Abadia et al. 2015; Renfrew 2011).
From the postneoliberal and postdevelopment perspectives, the studies propose using new tools to analyze and better understand socioenvironmental conflicts in highly conflictive scenarios (Córdoba et al. 2018; Grasa 2020). They also report that in some countries, new environmental governance measures have been imposed; although they have had positive social and environmental results, contradictions and uncertainties persist that affect socioecosystems negatively (Schmink et al. 2019). From the perspective of the management of natural resources, ecosystems and territories, authors argue that it is not enough to identify key actors in socioecosystems since there are important gaps in institutional networks that inhibit the transmission of information between scales and sectors (Vignola et al. 2019). The poor services infrastructure and lack of coordination between key sectors also limit individual agency (Harris and Carter 2019).
From a critical analytical perspective, for some authors, environmental governance as a plural participation mechanism is a seemingly empty concept since studies on megaprojects show that although this idea is supposedly adopted to increase public participation and promote ecological sustainability, in the real world, it is a simulation (Pieck 2013). In some cases, the parties involved demanded participation in the design and execution of policy interventions in spaces that need them in order to incorporate their needs and experiences to improve governance and thus avoid maldevelopment (Russo et al. 2021; Selfa et al. 2015).
2.2. Methodological proposals
Regarding the creation, application, improvement or transformation of methodological proposals that improve the operability of environmental governance and the coupling of social and natural analytical frameworks, authors develop proposals to explain the challenges faced by societies in moving toward sustainability and achieving adequate environmental governance in various socioecosystems. They highlight aspects such as considering local communities and contexts in addition to revealing the potential existence of governance patterns. Many of these methodological proposals are formulated to assist in monitoring and influencing decision-making (Schaller et al. 2016; Vollmer et al. 2021), generating operational theoretical frameworks that link activities and achievements, and identifying useful learning for others (Olsen 2002; Sherman 2014). The aim is to help rigid and centralized governance models transition to adaptive and resilient models that can be modified over time (Sánchez et al. 2018; Galvis et al. 2018; Coates 2021) and to establish internal governance initiatives that manage the various interests and levels of influence of the parties involved (Taylor 2005). Among the methodological frameworks applied are the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) (Monteiro et al. 2018), Participatory Water Monitoring (Pareja et al. 2018), the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) and Systems Approach Framework (SAF) approaches (Semeoshenkova et al. 2017), the Social Multi-criteria Evaluation (SMCE) (Walter et al. 2016), the field environmental philosophy applied to the ethics and ecology of educational and governance processes (FILAC) (Rozzi et al., 2014); the Human Scale Development (HSDA) analytical framework for achieving Transformative Science (TSc) (Spiering et al. 2021); and analytical frameworks on ecological democracy (Mitchell 2006).
Other methodological proposals focus on the management of natural resources, ecosystems and territories to analyze a set of indicators related to the drivers of change and apply the results to specific adaptive management regimes (e.g., to reduce pollution) (Sherman 2014). Interpretations of the three pillars of sustainable development (social, economic and environmental) beyond European contexts are also investigated, and the differences and strategic imperatives of countries in the global South are noted (Fritsch et al. 2020). In other cases, advances in the management of specific natural resources are discussed, and conceptual, methodological and practical challenges for scientists and decision-makers are identified (Botero et al. 2015).
Studies referring to methodological proposals seek to provide references for public policies and different social sectors, pointing out that it is important for operational frameworks to link different activities and achievements using evaluation methods that facilitate the identification of learning in each project and the elements that should be incorporated throughout the process (Olsen 2002).
Frameworks are used to compare social benefit sharing against conventional market institutions to understand how internal governance manages the diverse interests and influences of stakeholders (Taylor 2005). Conceptual models of community comanagement are also addressed with a territorial and functional approach incorporating different levels of governance (community/local, regional and national) with functions articulated in nested spaces that guarantee access to strategic resources in rural communities (Bernal et al. al. 2014). Other studies confirm the relevance of institutional context in integrating multilevel governance and various forms of participation (Schaller et al. 2016; Lebel et al. 2013). In addition, governance proposals are prepared within the frame of these challenges, threats and current environmental planning instruments (Manriquez et al. 2019).
Methodological proposals conceiving of environmental governance as a plural participation mechanism highlight the need to develop new approaches that include the findings of research from different disciplines (McDonnell 2008) to facilitate the transition from a traditional to an adaptive governance model (Sánchez et al. 2018; Coates 2021).
2.3. Criteria identification
Regarding the identification of criteria, strategies, actions and effective or ineffective forms of environmental governance, analyses of legal and institutional frameworks for sustainable ecosystem management highlight the need to identify criteria that reveal the role of legal and institutional reforms in achieving collaborative or territorial governance, as well as their legitimacy, in addition to determining the contextual conditions favoring the achievement of effective governance[3] (Cisneros 2019; Cistulli et al. 2014; Fernández-Maldonado 2019; Bradshaw 2017; Krause and Nielsen 2014; Monterroso and Barry 2012). Other studies recognize fragile or unclear governance in cases where institutional arrangements are weak, both within and between countries, which contributes to ecosystem vulnerability to imminent threats (Doria et al. 2020).
Regarding community management of ecosystems and territories, criteria are identified to determine the influence of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) on the resilience of socioecosystems and decision-making in facing important threats. Studies conclude that socioecological systems with a long tradition of community management, that is, that have established common agreements at the local level, seem to be more resilient to environmental challenges, while communities with internal governance problems have limited capacities to deal with external disturbances (such as global drivers of change or national policies) (Delgado-Serrano et al. 2018). Evidence shows that it is more effective to generate rules in a participatory manner and monitor compliance at the local level, making it possible to generate and maintain community governance (Epstein 2017). Other authors show that governance for community management faces challenges regarding the decentralization of specific actions (such as conservation) since it depends on how and why local actors become involved in regional strategies (Pinel et al. 2018).
The usefulness of multilevel governance in solving conflicts over natural resources between different actors (state, market and communities) at different levels is also discussed (Sattler et al. 2016). Local knowledge and interest in community management (particularly in forestry) produce better social and environmental results than governance at other levels. However, the implementation of these practices may be inconsistent over time, mainly because of a dynamic political environment or variations in government support of resource management policies (London et al., 2017). Criteria called internal variables associated with socioecological systems, sustainable development and sustainability (that is, community governance systems related to ancestral knowledge, history of land use and resources) are identified (Delgado-Serrano et al. 2015), as are external variables (linked to analyses of environmental public policies; environmental agreements and international organizations, governmental policies and public attitudes favoring and/or affecting socioecosystems; the use of regulations and market instruments and the security of individual and collective property rights; the adoption of green protocols and social and environmental responsibility policies translated into financial products, etc.) (Flores 1999; Swallow et al. 2010; Mejia-Escobar et al. 2020). Other studies point out technical and financial capacities as key attributes of governance; institutional memory, learning and knowledge; and participation and accountability and mention that these elements have been eroded by new public management reforms (Eakin et al. 2011; Lostarnau et al. 2011). The relevance of identifying criteria that are not fulfilled and their influence on the construction of ineffective environmental governance are also discussed (Morales-Giner et al. 2021).
2.4. Public policy recommendations
Another relevant aspect of environmental governance studies is their linkage with public policy recommendations (for creating and modifying policies and institutional frameworks) for achieving sustainability. In terms of socioecological systems, sustainable development and sustainability, in many cases, institutional frameworks do not consider the uncertainty and nonlinearity of socioecosystems, the existence of conceptual contradictions in policies and the lack of integration of scientific knowledge into legal frameworks (Martínez et al. 2012). It is recommended that participatory public policies be implemented, but previously, it was essential to achieve adequate centralized management of socioecosystems (Salinas-Rojas and Roussel 2011); undertake actions that favor opportune and effective implementation of international institutional frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), that cover various relevant topics (e.g., health and environment) (Buss et al. 2016); and foster trust relations with government organizations to support the implementation of collaborative actions between actors (Urcuqui-Bustamante et al. 2021).
Likewise, the link between the management of natural resources, ecosystems and territories and public policies is key, although in the studies use very different frameworks, including neoinstitutionalism, new public management, the Anthropocene and political ecology. For example, some studies argue that management practices for sustainability can be adopted only when good governance supported by financial incentives for the effective application of management rules exists (Nasi et al. 2011). However, if institutional frameworks are emphasized, they highlight generating mechanisms that favor permanence of personnel in public administration and formulate strategic governance systems (Bredariol and D'Avignon 2018).
The authors emphasize that it is essential to grant property titles to indigenous peoples and local communities (Gunter and Ceddia 2020). Recent changes in some policy frameworks emphasize the generation of incentives for integrated forest management and the simplification of regulations (Pacheco et al. 2016); other authors propose carrying out internal political reforms that allow local capacity building (for example, in forest conservation) (Jodoin 2017). Regarding the struggle against illegality, some studies mention that it is a priority to generate local benefits from production systems adapted to local communities’ needs (e.g., certification) (McDermott et al. 2015). Other analyses show that public policies can interact positively at different levels as participants combine resources to pursue individual and collective socioeconomic strategies, generating synergies between implementation processes and improvement processes in program design (Izquierdo-Tort 2020). Additionally, some areas have been specified in which governmental and nongovernmental organizations can support local producers in decisions to achieve sustainable productive diversification (Schroth and Ruf 2014).
Some authors consider it necessary to radically modify the institutional structure of international environmental cooperation that allows short-termism to end, especially among economic and political powers (Franchini et al. 2017). It is essential to integrate the human rights approach into environmental impact assessments in order to protect the environment and the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples (Pereira 2021).
2.5. Proposal construction
Proposal construction related to mechanisms, instruments and strategies of local governance for sustainability refers to taking into account socioenvironmental specificities at different scales, which implies going beyond the limits theoretically proposed by sustainability, sustainable development and socioecological systems (Montoya et al. 2006; Zinsstag et al. 2016; Kuzdas et al. 2014; Roldan et al. 2019; Desmaison et al. 2018). The authors mention a tendency in the scientific field to analyze governance segmentally; thus, it is necessary to generate lasting institutional instruments that encourage the real participation of the sectors involved to generate integrated and collaborative governance (Roldan et al. 2019; Kuzdas et al. 2014; Mathez-Stiefel et al. 2017; Eakin and Wehbe 2009; Challenger et al. 2018). Regarding natural resource, ecosystem and territory management, studies consider it necessary to recognize and validate local knowledge systems and create networks to understand social and natural landscapes (Romero et al. 2012) as well as to promote more studies about the socioecosystems of the global South with a sustainable development approach (De Macedo et al. 2021).
Regarding environmental governance as a mechanism of plural participation, research finds that it can help to encourage the implementation of actions that aim at the sustainable use of strategic resources as long as governmental and nongovernmental actors (including private companies, government, and civil society organizations) actively participate. Generating interinstitutional coordination mechanisms with a clear regulatory framework that favors plural interactions and the formulation of regulatory frameworks to stimulate the design, evaluation and modification of public policies can also be helpful (Esquivel et al. 2014; Cassio and Sánchez 2018). For other authors, environmental governance has aims to identify actors in the political arena without considering their position in the capitalist accumulation framework (Renfrew 2011).
Regarding legal and institutional environmental frameworks, a study highlights that weak implementation capacities, insufficient financing, sectoral and social conflicts, and lack of transparency are key obstacles to the implementation of policies and the functioning of governance mechanisms in the region (in forest landscape restoration) (Schweizer et al. 2021).
2.6. Expressions of collective action
The approach of environmental governance as an expression of collective action refers to how social mobilization contributes to the construction of organizations and social movements favoring cooperation and the construction of alternative decision-making systems (Barkin and Lemus, 2014); multiscalar organizations and movements that advocate for the governance of common property resources (Vos et al. 2020); and cases of strong critiques being made because consultation or participation guidelines for local stakeholders are lacking, favoring solely the participation of private entities in governance processes, so that the concept of collective action becomes only rhetorical (Benites-Lazaro and Mello-Thery 2019).
Regarding collective action related to institutional frameworks for socioecosystem management, London et al. (2017) consider the common historical and cultural roots, the presence of leadership, local knowledge, economic dependence on resources and the threat of these to the socioecosystem to generate incentives for collective action and recognize that internal conflicts are the main barrier to community management. Others foreground the need for partnerships between multiple actors at various scales to promote social and environmental justice solutions that recognize the rights of communities to land and water (Stoltenborg and Boelens 2016). One study suggests considering sociopolitical actors associated with the market and mass media as social subjects, since they participate in conflicts and existing forms of governance (Lirios et al. 2015). Other authors affirm that Ostrom’s principles of institutional design (1993) have been useful in explaining how, through organization and community collective action, it has been possible to build governance from the bottom up even though changes in governance have traditionally occurred from the top down (Sattler et al., 2015). Schröter et al. (2014) consider that community natural resource management requires a society with a certain level of self-organization, empowerment in decision-making processes, and interactions with external agents considered reliable by it, with which it can perhaps create effective win-win management scenarios. Likewise, Delgado-Serrano (2017) finds that community activities are not the main cause of natural resource degradation and recognizes that communities face important internal challenges (such as lack of capacities, rigid rules, and noninclusive community management) as well as external challenges (such as lack of economic incentives and compensation models that generate welfare opportunities associated with sustainable management).
Currently, gender diversity and gender studies heed the participation of women in decision-making bodies, especially in traditional societies, where more women occupy positions or leadership (Coleman and Mwangi 2013), and their participation is recognized as necessary to achieve solid and resilient socioecological systems management (Delgado-Serrano and Escalante 2018).
Some studies indicate that institutions associated with natural resource management can contribute to the emergence of conflicts or cooperative actions. Hence, they recommend that policies include resource ownership and conflict resolution mechanisms and recognize social inequalities, facilitate strategies for strengthening collective action and promote equitable participation in dialogue and negotiation for access to and use of resources by marginalized groups (Ratner et al. 2017).
2.7. Future scenario prediction
Regarding scenario prediction in the framework of environmental governance, few studies take this approach, although human and nature rights, sustainability and climate change in particular may force us to reflect on the subject. Studies that explicitly address scenarios conceive that future problems are unlikely to be effectively addressed in certain ecosystems (e.g., coastal and insular areas) despite numerous management plans and development policy initiatives (Debrot and Sybesma 2000). On the other hand, authors consider that to achieve sustainability, a legal-political approach must be taken to facilitate regional integration in strategic sectors (such as energy); they emphasize that new scenarios must include fifth-generation human rights (such as energy security and the human rights to water and a healthy environment, among others) (Balderrama et al. 2019; Wilder et al. 2020). In communities, policies and strategies for future adaptation to climate change remain limited, which is why authors call for support for local livelihoods (Ruiz-Mallén et al. 2015) and encourage commitments to developing and adopting sustainable clean and innovative technologies (both in society and in business sectors) to prevent pollution, among other problems (Pérez-Pineda et al 2017).
3. Main challenges of environmental governance in Latin America
The reviewed literature on environmental governance alludes to various limitations related to the democratic deficit and practices that are generally reproduced by Latin American societies. Schmitter and Karl (1991) recognize that notions of the economic freedom of neoliberal models are not synonymous with political freedom and can even hinder it. They state that in democratic terms, the emergence of political institutions that can compete peacefully to form governments and influence public policies is desirable in order to canalize social and economic conflicts through regular procedures that are sufficient and adequately linked with civil society. In this way, authorities will commit to carrying out courses of action in favor of the public and collective interests.
However, "democracies" in the countries of the region have not been able to fulfill that promise, in part due to difficult transitions from authoritarian governments and the interference and influence of de facto powers that have historically impeded democratic processes and practices from becoming common and constant. The emergence and survival of democracy depend on social preconditions such as the wide distribution of participatory resources and the existence of a trusting and tolerant public that values freedom of choice. Ideally, these elements should permeate the being and must be of environmental governance. However, in Latin America, some of the most important phenomena that hinder the concretion of the meaning of governance are associated with the fact that powerful social actors at the local level and national governments contribute to the reproduction of clientelistic and centralist authoritarian models in which the trafficking of influence prevails (Libert and Trench 2016; Cruz-García et al. 2016). Likewise, the imposition of participation frameworks from above or from the government persists (Brenner and Vargas 2010). Slowness or the deliberate transgression of efforts that contribute to establishing participatory governance processes, as well as new arrangements to face environmental challenges that are dependent on specific political and financial situations at the local and international levels, are also important issues (Libert and Trench, 2016).
One of the key issues for environmental governance in various countries and sectors of government public administration is that there are no guidelines to encourage the participation of stakeholders at the local level, and when such guidelines do exist, they are vague and/or unfulfilled, a situation that is used by private companies to dominate and control consultation processes (Benites-Lazaro et al. 2019). There is a persistent lack of participation of local communities in discussions and deliberations about the potential benefits and effects of projects that are carried out in their territories and an absence of effective participatory mechanisms for decision-making (Benites-Lazaro et al. 2019; Kusters et al. 2020).
At the international level, authors point out the persistent failure of international governance frameworks to address and provide solutions to the widespread destruction of nature, which has even been linked to phenomena such as cultural genocide and ecocide (Raftopoulos and Morley 2020). Although gender issues are addressed in only a few studies, it is essential to encourage studies about women's participation in decision-making processes and their potential contribution to antipatriarchal, postcapitalist and postneoliberal environmental governance.
[3] According to some authors, among the necessary conditions for governance are access to information and the capacities of actors, organizations and institutions at different levels (Cistulli et al., 2014); recognition of the rights of local people and communities (Graziano et al. 2015); and the need to foster trust in governance regimes, mainly among indigenous populations (Evans et al. 2014). For example, territorial governance is subject to the limited interest and capacity of the state to plan, manage and guide spatial development, so it is essential to review the institutional frameworks associated with planning systems, the approach and the types of governance that are promoted (Fernández-Maldonado 2019).