Biodiversity and development: thoughts from Latin America and the Caribbean

This document examines the challenges and opportunities facing Latin America and the Caribbean in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. While the region has abundant natural resources that have been instrumental in driving economic growth, their overexploitation has jeopardized this valuable heritage and exacerbated social inequality, and that, together with habitat loss, deforestation and climate change, threatens long-term sustainability. In that context, the development model must be reoriented towards a more sustainable one that values, preserves and regenerates the region’s natural heritage. Achieving this requires strengthening the participation of local institutions and actors and promoting research, investment and effective environmental governance, including the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, as key actors in the protection of biodiversity. Integrating conservation into public policies and decision-making processes will enable the region not only to ensure a more prosperous and sustainable future for its inhabitants, but also to produce innovative solutions to environmental challenges.