The greatest hope for the planet’s nature
Latin America, the “Biodiversity Superpower”¹ can set an example in conservation for the whole world
Latin America and the Caribbean hold a critical amount of biodiversity, however, these fundamental natural resources are at risk with more than 68 percent of South America’s soil currently affected by erosion due to deforestation and excessive agro industry exploitation², among other challenges the region faces. If you are like me, reading this you feel like you just got a slap in the face with this dosis of bad news. But don’t worry, I’m not here today to speak to you about (only) bad news. Today’s article is all about one historic effort made by 24 countries to ensure we can protect the region’s incredible nature.
In March 2018, a process “led by Chile and Costa Rica, as co-chairs, and five other Presiding Officers (Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago)”³ along with representatives from civil society reached an historic proposal to ensure everyone in the region can live in a healthy environment. It was called the -Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean-, also known as the Escazú Agreement. Ok, ok this all sounds well and interesting, but if you are not from the region you may think this has nothing to do with you, so let me share some interesting facts about Latin America and the Caribbean to prove this involves all of us.
The value of Latin America and the Caribbean for the world as a whole
Latin America and the Caribbean, also known as LAC, is the region extending from The Bahamas and Mexico and to Argentina and Chile. LAC holds more than 40 percent of the world’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests⁴. Let me add some perspective to that, according to Wikipedia, I know I never quote Wikipedia but well, sometimes it is the easiest way to find certain information. Anyhow, according to Wikipedia, about 29 percent of the earth’s surface is land while the remaining 71 percent is covered with water. This means that almost 150 million square kilometers correspond to land, LAC has “only” 21.9 million square meters of land. This means that LAC holds under 15% of the total available land on earth, however, as stated above more than 40 percent of the world’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forest call this region home. And these numbers don’t even consider the natural richness of the marine environment around this land. Sounds quite significant doesn’t it?
The bad news is that “human activity has transformed the planet’s ecosystems, their capacities and balance, causing serious consequences for the environment and human health and well-being”¹. Latin America and the Caribbean have been negatively impacted by this process as well. I was yesterday recording a new episode of the podcast Chuchetas Sustentables when I had an aha moment. We had two guests from Fundación Basura (Trash Foundation), who work towards teaching people, government agencies and companies how to reduce their waste up to a point of achieving zero waste living to help protect the environment. Karina Arteaga, one of our guests, at one point of the conversation mentioned that especially us who live in cities tend to look at nature and the ecosystems as something outside of us. The park you visit over the weekend, the natural reserve you go to with school or the mountain you travel to over the holidays. We seem to forget that we, humans, are also biodiversity, we are also part of the ecosystem. Since everything is interconnected, us included, ecosystem destruction at the end of the day means our own.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Environmental degradation and climate emergency have no geopolitical barriers. I think there is no better way of putting it than by referring to the Butterfly Effect. That idea that small changes have large effects. Loss of forest in LAC will have an effect on climate change, soil degradation and water content in the atmosphere that might very well be that proverbial flapping of the distant butterfly wings that can result in floodings in Africa, fires in Australia or hurricanes in the US. Now that I’ve made the case that LAC needs to be protected for the sake not only of its people, flora and fauna. But for the sake of the entire planet, let me get back to the good news part I promised in the beginning.
The good news
As I mentioned before, 24 countries of LAC created the Escazú agreement which can be signed and ratified by the 33 countries in the region. The objective of the agreement is to “guarantee the full and effective implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean of the rights of access to environmental information, public participation in the environmental decision-making process and access to justice in environmental matters, and the creation and strengthening of capacities and cooperation, contributing to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in a healthy environment and to sustainable development”⁶. Basically, what this means is that governments from across the region are making an agreement to not only enforce environmental protection laws but also to make information affecting the environment accessible, understandably and transparent. Yes, those are some seriously good news!
Moreover, the Escazú agreement makes explicit reference to the strengthening of the collaboration capacities within the region. Signaling the understanding that ecosystems go beyond geopolitical limits. Furthermore, since access to environmental information in an understandable way as well as the protection of nature and the most vulnerable member communities in the region in terms of environmental impact are the central elements of the agreement, all of these countries are also making a considerable contribution to the right to transparency as a fundamental tool for citizen engagement. Escazú makes participation a fundamental component, allowing citizens to be involved in all decision making that affects the environment. And the good news doesn’t stop there, the agreement also recognizes people and groups of people in vulnerable situations, ensuring for example that information is provided in local languages even if they differ from the official ones of each country for the people affected by changes around them, caused by projects, business, etc.
In summary, the Escazú agreement will allow LAC to protect public participation, the right to access information and justice in environmental matters and will strengthen the protection of environmental defenders. This last point is critical for the region as Latin america is “the most dangerous region for anyone wanting to protect rivers, forests, mountains and oceans, accounting for 60 percent of the global total of killings of environmental defenders even though it is home to less than a tenth of the world’s population.”⁷ By signing the Escazú agreement, “The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean have an opportunity to make history and become world leaders for environmental and human rights protection,”⁸ said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International”.
As you might be thinking these are great news for all of us, regardless of where you are standing on this very moment. So what’s next? Well, not all of the countries who participated in creating the Escazú agreement have actually signed it, most notably Chile who was one of the two countries who led the negotiations has not signed it yet. Furthermore, in order for the treaty to take effect, at least 11 countries must ratify it. Up to today, when I last looked at the database, only 9 countries have ratified it. What can you do about it? Well first, become informed! This article covers only some basics about how important the agreement is. Second, keep the discussion alive! Tweet, share this and other articles with friends and family, ask the representatives of the countries who have not signed or ratified the agreement yet to do so. Let’s help protect our planet!
