Parques y progreso : areas protegidas y desarrollo económico en América Latina y el Caribe

Inland waters – such as rivers, lakes and other wetlands – are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They are also the most threatened; almost one in three species is at risk of extinction and monitored populations of freshwater species have declined by 85% since 1970. The loss of these ecosystems has cascading effects on human livelihoods, cultures and our overall well-being. While protected and conserved areas can play an important role in bending the curve of inland water biodiversity and ecosystem loss, they have rarely been designed, designated, and managed for that purpose. Motivated by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s inclusion of inland waters in the target to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030, this report provides guidance in employing protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures to benefit these ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. Through a series of case studies and synthesized research, it highlights how integrating the unique needs of inland waters into area-based strategies can improve conservation effectiveness across all realms, build climate resilience and sustain critical ecosystem services.

Many protected areas worldwide overlap with ‘territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities’ or ‘ICCAs’ (Indigenous peoples’ and community conserved areas’). These overlapped ICCAs include conserved commons, sacred places and Indigenous and community protected areas. Appropriately recognising and respecting overlapped ICCAs in protected area governance, management and practice can strengthen conservation, affirm rights and promote equitable protected area governance. This volume identifies six approaches or pathways and provides guidance on implementing 20 good practices for appropriately recognizing, respecting and supporting overlapped ICCAs in existing, new and expanded protected areas of all governance types and management categories.

Historically, droughts have caused extensive damage. Effective responses to drought remain a challenge, with reactive and crisis-oriented approaches dominating many interventions. The consequences of drought extend beyond households and rural livelihoods, impacting industrial operations and sectors such as energy, agriculture and water supply. Integrating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into drought policies requires a comprehensive, context-aware approach. The aim of this publication is to give authorities and stakeholders the knowledge required to integrate NbS into drought management efforts at global, national, and local levels.

Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are sites outside protected areas that deliver effective and long-term in situ conservation of biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation may be the primary objective of the site, a secondary objective of a site that is managed for other purposes, or it may be an unintended consequence of the way the site is managed. OECMs may be governed and managed by governments, private entities or Indigenous peoples and local communities, or a combination of these. This tool guides an assessor through three steps to apply eight criteria which determine if a site qualifies as an OECM as set out under the Convention on Biological Diversity. For sites which do not currently meet all the criteria, the tool serves to highlight areas where further information or improvements in governance and management are required.

La naturaleza (en los ámbitos del agua, la biodiversidad, la tierra/suelo y el aire/clima) sigue disminuyendo, con importantes repercusiones negativas para la sociedad. Las empresas deben  comprender su impacto y su dependencia respecto a la naturaleza, gestionar los riesgos relacionados con ella e integrar el valor de la naturaleza en su toma de decisiones para identificar y  aplicar oportunidades que contribuyan al objetivo global de una naturaleza positiva. Fundamentalmente, naturaleza positiva representa un cambio sistémico y transformador más que una «reformulación» de las prácticas actuales. El uso de enfoques de priorización puede permitir a las empresas identificar áreas en las que pueden tener una contribución material y significativa  desde el principio, a medida que se adopta el cambio sistémico y transformador a lo largo de la empresa.