ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE WATER USE IN ARID REGIONS: A BIBLIOMETRIC AND SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction: Human activities such as deforestation and industrialization have caused significant environmental degradation, contributing to global warming and the intensification of extreme weather events. Objective: The main objective was to elaborate a synthesis of previous scientific literature on environmental education to promote sustainable water use in arid regions, evaluating the effectiveness and impact on the awareness and behavior of communities regarding water use. Method: As part of the methodology, a search equation was performed in the Scopus and ScienceDirect databases, evaluated with respect to the relevance of the articles, from 1989 to the present. These studies were selected using inclusion and exclusion criteria aligned with the research. A total of 217 articles were selected in Scopus for bibliometric analysis and analyzed with VOSViewer and Bibliometrics. For the systematic review, after elimination of duplicates, 32 articles were selected from Scopus and ScienceDirect, exploring research trends, co-authorships, and conceptual structure in the field. Conclusions: The study allows establishing that most of the research, although focused on environmental education for environmental protection and sustainable development, there are few studies referring exclusively to the importance of environmental education in the sustainable use of water, being important to emphasize these environmental principles, especially in arid regions, which suffer stress due to water scarcity.