Advances in Science

In Ibero–American countries, as well as in other regions of the world, there is an ongoing discussion on environmental degradation. Higher-education institutions have a vast literature that we want to share with all interested parties and society at large. For this reason, the Association of University Publishing Houses of Latin America and the Caribbean (Eulac-Asociación de editoriales universitarias de América Latina y el Caribe in Spanish)*, as part of our project Linked of the university publishing houses, is launching the Linked by the Environment proposal this year, which will address this concern from different perspectives within the framework of the most important book fairs in the world.

This proposal aims to generate a joint catalog and propel a debate on different contemporary perspectives about various environmental degradation problems we are experiencing in an appropriate format for all sectors of the population. We seek to create awareness and sensitize the people toward the transformation processes necessary to face the current challenges. For the Directors of Eulac, Sayri Karp Mitastein, President; Daniela Verón, Vice President of the Atlantic Area; Marybel Soto Ramírez, Vice President of the Northern Area; and Juan Felipe Córdoba Restrepo, Vice President of the Andean Area, this project is an invitation to think about major issues that threaten our survival and require innovative work and collective decision-making, such as the valuation and conservation of biological and cultural diversity, adaptation and mitigation of climate change, generation of sustainable ways of living, and environmental education. The intention is to encourage a dialog of ideas that will lead to improving the ways in which we interact with the cycles and processes of life. As university publishers, we are convinced that the contents we publish help build multiple alternatives to the planetary crisis.

With the environmental catalog, which can be visited at https://medioambiente.ulibros.com and is a part of Ulibros.com’s own project (https://ulibros.com/), we intend to make this diverse and rich bibliographic production visible, which has arisen from the current contexts of the Ibero–American countries in the face of the challenges of recent years. This initiative also aims to collaborate with the democritization of knowledge and to strengthen academic exchange among researchers and professors from different countries. To date, this catalog, in continuous growth, has more than 1,000 titles on the subject, published by 120 university centers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, and Peru, with more than 1,300 references in different formats: printed, electronic, and open access, among others.

In addition to the numerous features of the catalog, in terms of usability, areas of knowledge, participating institutions and multiple search options, the platform is divided into four major thematic areas, which will be addressed in forums and specialized thematic roundtables in the next versions of the Bogota International Book Fair (Filbo), Buenos Aires International Book Fair, Frankfurt Book and Guadalajara International Book Fair. The main areas are as follows: biodiversity conservation, with more than 207 titles; environmental education, with 269 titles; mitigation of climate change, with 115 titles; and sustainability, with 276 titles. Thanks to technological and metadata possibilities, this referenced bibliographic production will continue to increase gradually.

Through Universidad del Rosario and its journal Advances in Science, we wish to highlight this project, which is framed in Colombia and Climate Change, a special report of this fifth issue of the journal that celebrates its five years of trajectory and growth.

* Linked by the Environment is organized by the Association of University Publishing Houses of Latin America and the Caribbean (Eulac) and networks and associations that are part of it: Aseúc (Colombia), Altexto (Mexico), EUPerú (Peru), Abeu (Brazil), Reun (Argentina), Reup (Argentina), Seduca (Central America), Edupuc (Costa Rica), Reude (Ecuador), and Reduch (Chile), in collaboration with the Union of Spanish University Publishing