In times of the Anthropocene, the increase in the occurrence of natural disasters and the growing socio-territorial conflict due to the damage caused to the environment and the control over natural resources is the current challenge to be faced . Latin America and the Caribbean, with its abundant renewable energies essential for the energy transition, stands as one of the centers of attention of this political and scientific discussion. In a scenario of deepening of its historical extractive-export model, the territories of the region are the focus of intense social mobilizations and heated environmental controversies that challenge the governance formats of natural resources and the designs of environmental and territorial institutions and public policies. Faced with these pressing challenges for socio-environmental justice and sustainable development, social sciences are called to think about approaches capable of capturing the complex links between the State, market, communities and territories, as well as the power asymmetries that exist between multiple actors political-institutional, social and economic involved in this equation.
The proposed panel “Environmental governance, territory and public policies in Latin America and the Caribbean” aims to integrate the analysis of governance, the design and evaluation of environmental and territorial public policies in the debate on social, environmental and climate justice. For this study, the analysis was focused on countries such as Uruguay and Mexico. Thus, this session will critically reflect on these institutional innovations and on the conceptual frameworks that social sciences require to analyze environmental and territorial public policies in terms of socio-environmental justice and sustainable development. Special focus will be placed on the design, evaluation and management of strategies and measures in governance systems linked to territorial, environmental and key development sectors.