Triangular cooperation in the enviroment in Latin America: progress and challenges, 2007-2023

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Abstract

Triangular Cooperation (TC) has consolidated itself as a modality within South-South Cooperation that fosters strategic alliances in multipolar contexts. Although there is growing interest in environmental issues within this modality, few studies have analyzed the behavior of environmental TC in Latin America over the past 15 years. This article addresses the question: how has environmental TC evolved in the region and what are its main advances and challenges between 2007 and 2023? Through a systematic documentary review of specialized sources, especially SEGIB reports, this work systematizes and analyzes the trajectory of this modality in the environmental sector. The findings reveal sustained growth of the environmental agenda that, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassed the health sector. The priority areas identified are: biodiversity conservation, disaster management, integrated waste management, and the fight against climate change. The main challenges include balancing economic and environmental objectives, ensuring horizontal relationships among partners, and expanding partnerships toward multi-actor and multi-level schemes. This work provides the first systematization of environmental TC in Latin America, offering empirical evidence on its behavior and the actors involved.

Keywords:

biodiversity conservation , Triangular Cooperation , South-South Cooperation , disaster management , environment

Author Biographies

María Belén Herrero, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) – Argentina

She holds a degree in Sociology and a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires. She has specialized in Epidemiology at the National University of Córdoba and in International Health (Pan American Health Organization). She is a principal investigator in the International Relations Area of ​​FLACSO Argentina and a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). She coordinates the Postgraduate Diploma in South-South and Triangular Cooperation (FLACSO) and the Diploma in International Health. She is a consultant for regional and international organizations. She teaches in the Master's Program in International Relations at FLACSO, in the doctoral program at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires, and in other training programs at the regional level. She coordinates the PeLSSI project "Latin American Thought on Health and International Health." She has served as academic coordinator for the Diploma in South-South Cooperation of the Ibero-American Program for Strengthening South-South Cooperation, 2019-2020 cohort; the Regional Postgraduate Program in CSSyT for Strengthening Central American Integration (FLACSO-UCC-SICA); the First Course on Governance in Health in conjunction with ISAGS/UNASUR; and the Course on Health Diplomacy in the Context of South American Integration (UNASUR). She has authored several articles and book chapters. Her areas of expertise include International Health, public health policies, South-South Cooperation, and Social Epidemiology. Email: bherrero@flacso.org.ar ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6941-0580

Juliana Peixoto Batista, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) – Argentina

Doctor of Law specializing in International Law and Master of Laws in International Relations from the University of Buenos Aires. Lawyer from the Federal University of Ceará (Brazil). Principal Researcher in the International Relations Area at FLACSO Argentina and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). Coordinator of the Latin American Trade Policy Network (Red LATN, www.latn.org.ar). Professor at the undergraduate and graduate levels at the University of Buenos Aires and FLACSO Argentina. Occasional consultant for international agencies and organizations such as UNCTAD, WTO, and UNDP, among others. She has been coordinator of the Diploma in South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Central American Integration organized by the Central American Integration System (SICA) and taught by FLACSO/Argentina in 2021 and technical and administrative coordinator of the Semi-Presential Diploma in South-South Cooperation, organized by the Ibero-American Program for the Strengthening of South-South Cooperation (PFCSS), also taught by FLACSO/Argentina, in its 2019-2020 cohort. E-mail: jpeixoto@flacso.org.ar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0341-5909

María Laura Garcia Perazzo, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) – Argentina

Master's candidate in International Relations at FLACSO Argentina. She holds a degree in Social Work from the University of Buenos Aires and a specialization in Public Policy and Gender Justice from CLACSO and FLACSO Brazil. She works as an Assistant Researcher in the International Relations Department at FLACSO Argentina. Her research focuses on gender studies, international cooperation, and humanitarian action. She has worked in the educational (formal and non-formal), public, and health sectors, advising families in diverse contexts. She is a human rights activist and co-author of the book *¿Me venís a buscar? La construcción de enlaces en adolescentes que habitan las calles* (2022), the result of research on homeless adolescents in Argentina. E-mail: mperazzo@flacso.org.ar ORCID: http://orcid.org/0009-0003-8204-9931