Las prioridades en el campo de la conservacion y el desarrollo sustentable de la region (Resumen – memoria). Consulta con los miembros gubernamentales y no gubernamentales de la UICN en Sudamérica

As the World Heritage Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, over 1100 sites around the world are recognized as World Heritage – places  that are so valuable to humanity that there conservation has been deemed our collective responsibility. Yet many of these exceptional places face  increasing pressure from diverse types of development projects within and around the sites. Assessing the impacts of such projects is essential to both prevent damage to World Heritage and identify sustainable options. This Guidance and toolkit explains the process for achieving these goals. Offering practical tips and tools including checklists and a glossary, it provides a framework for conducting impact assessments for cultural and natural heritage sites.

In Uruguay, against a backdrop of the loss of habitat critical to biodiversity, the degradation of vulnerable ecosystems and soils due to the intensification and expansion of livestock and agricultural activities, poor grassland management practices, and pollution of water bodies and wetlands, the project aimed to implement actions to strengthen systemic, financial, and institutional capacities for biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management, thereby improving the effectiveness and sustainability of the management of protected areas, associated productive lands, and human well-being. This was achieved through: the establishment of a regulatory, financial, and institutional framework for biodiversity conservation and land degradation neutrality; Implementation of biodiversity and land conservation measures at pilot sites; and Knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, and learning, to promote dialogue between public and private stakeholders.

The ecOcamp, developed by ecOceanica since 2021, is an immersive training program in marine research and conservation, implemented in collaboration with fishing communities in northern Peru. Through a field-based theoretical and practical experience, participants engage directly in marine megafauna monitoring, including aquatic censuses, sea turtle nesting surveys, whale shark registration and photo-identification, and fisheries assessments.

The program combines applied scientific training, participation in real research processes, and collaboration with artisanal fishers, fostering understanding of both ecological and social dimensions of marine conservation. It also integrates a citizen science approach, enabling participants to contribute to long-term scientific data collection.

Beyond capacity building, the model supports the financial sustainability of research activities and generates direct economic benefits for local communities, strengthening the link between science, community, and marine biodiversity conservation.

The Serranía de Chiribiquete National Natural Park is Colombia’s largest terrestrial protected area, covering more than 4 million hectares, and for that reason presents multiple challenges for its management and protection. Its inscription on the World Heritage List as a mixed site in 2018 raised important questions about the area’s sustainability and the best approach to its management. Among the main challenges for managing this World Heritage Site (WHS) are climate change, tourism, and deforestation associated with unauthorized land uses, the latter occurring in areas surrounding the site. However, the greatest challenge likely relates to the presence of uncontacted indigenous communities within the WHM, which is why access to the area is strictly restricted for conservation purposes. Consequently, various strategies have been proposed, including a working strategy focused on the area of influence to address the threats facing the site.

The Colombian Amazon is a biome of extraordinary biocultural richness that provides vital ecosystem services and faces complex socio-environmental pressures. There, traditional practices of Indigenous Peoples coexist with the productive systems of peasant, Afro-Colombian, and peace-signatory communities, as well as extractive activities and armed conflict.

There are also socio-environmental conflicts driven by socioeconomic inequalities among its inhabitants, which contribute to deforestation and affect ecological connectivity. In contrast, there is a tradition of community-led processes that sustainably manage the territory.

This solution presents the results of the Sustainable Amazon for Peace project, which strengthened environmental governance for #PeaceWithNature through conservation practices and the sustainable use of biodiversity in the northwestern Amazon (areas with the highest deforestation rates); supported by public policies formulated by institutions contributing to the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement and climate action.

The Iguaçu region, located at the tri-border area between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, is home to one of the last viable populations of jaguars in the Atlantic Forest. Interaction with human activities, particularly agriculture and livestock farming, has led to conflicts, economic losses, and negative perceptions of the species, thereby increasing hunting pressure on it. To address this challenge, Iguaçu National Park, through the Onças do Iguaçu Project, has implemented an integrated strategy for the coexistence of big cats with local communities in the region. The approach combines responses to predation incidents, preventive measures, training, community engagement, and institutional coordination. A structured protocol guides these actions, including assessment, mitigation, and continuous monitoring. On a regional scale, the Tri-national Coexistence Network strengthens cooperation between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The solution helps reduce conflicts, increase tolerance, and promote the conservation of the jaguar in the landscape.