Scientific knowledge regarding natural resources in Latin America: conditioning factors and strategic challenges for the region

Abstract

There is a worldwide trend towards growth in scientific production in different disciplines. Notable progress of certain countries in Latin America in scientific development is recognized worldwide. But beyond this progress, it is necessary to understand how this scientific knowledge is generated and what are the underlying factors shaping the understanding on local natural resources. Scientific knowledge related to natural resources is a key issue for a region that contains the highest proportion of rural population, almost half of the world´s tropical forests and a quarter of the world´s potentially arable land and. Not only the availability of natural resources, but also their governance reinforces the need for an autonomous scientific structure. We argue that funding (allocation and provenance), institutional priorities, international cooperation and unequal representation of gender bias or direct the scientific knowledge and researches in our region. This paper summarizes some evidence of different realities and ways of knowledge production according to: i) autonomy (i.e., funding, human resources and local institutions) in scientific research, ii) collaborations networks with foreign researchers, and iii) the role of women in Latin American science. We discuss about the relevance of an autonomous, participative and collaborative scientific development in Latin American countries.